Money Talks: Kura Forrester - Finding the funny side of house buying hell

Actor and comedian Kura Forrester talks money with Liam Dann. Photo / Supplied

A regular gig on Shortland Street has given actor and comedian Kura Forrester some financial security for the first time in her career, finally allowing to buy her first home.

Forrester says she is thrilled to get on the property ladder, but describes the whole process, with its paperwork and financial logistics, as terrifying "for a dumb-arse like me".

So, naturally, the Billy T Award-winning stand-up comic is working the experience into her new routine.

"It's a unit and it's tiny but I was so stressed out about it, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done," she told the Money Talks podcast.

"I didn't even know that mortgage brokers work [for you] for free. One of my friends was like: you can just go and see one. I was like wow!

"So I went and met this poor lady, she was so patient me. But her first question was: what's your annual income? And I was like, I don't know. She was like, okay, you're going to need to know that."

The highly variable nature of income for actors and others in the creative sector can make getting those sort of numbers extremely difficult.

Forrester, who plays Shortland Street receptionist Desdemona Schmidt, says she still has to deal with the insecurity of being a contractor.

"It's amazing how people think because you're on TV it must mean you're rich," she says.

"I'm like, guys, if only you knew."

Even with a 12-month contract, there are no long-term guarantees in the high-drama world of soap operas.

"They can kill you at any time," she says.

"They try not to and they're really good people, but if your character just finds herself in the middle of a fire ... you don't have a job."

Forrester says she is always prepared to go back in to the hospitality sector if she needs to.

"And I'm okay with it," she says. It wouldn't be great. But I don't want to ever have a 9-5 office job; I wouldn't be good at it."

On the podcast, Forrester talks about growing up and deciding she wanted to be an actor and the her parents had for her.

"I'll never forget the day I said to my dad, I want to be an actor," she says. "He was like: what, on Shortland Street? Good luck."

Forrester says it's only now, after almost 20 years of struggling, that her parents have been able to relax about her financial security.

"My mum in particular, is like, she's okay now, she's secure. Because it is such a risky business to get in to."

• Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn't about personal finance and isn't about economics - it's just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it's had on their lives and how it has shaped them.

• Money Talks is available on IHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes come out every second Wednesday.

• You can find more New Zealand Herald podcasts at nzherald.co.nz/podcasts or on IHeartRadio.