Cooking the Books podcast: The money mistakes to avoid while you're young

You have the biggest opportunity to make the most of your money while you're young. Photo / Getty.

Each week the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how to make the most of your cash while you're young. Hosted by Frances Cook.

When you're young is the best time to make the most money with the least effort.

When you're young is also when you're the least likely to do it.

The secret here is that time is the biggest and best ingredient for growing your money. If you stash away $10 in your 20s, it will do far more for you than $20 in your 40s.

It's all down to the magic of compound interest, which is one of the most overlooked modern miracles.

Put that $10 somewhere smart, and it can start earning you money. Every bit of money it earns you will then also get to work to earn you even more money, and it snowballs to give you bigger and bigger returns.

Time and compound interest. They're the secret to doing well with the least effort from you.

But hey, don't just take my word for it. After all, I'm just a person with a podcast who regularly neglects to follow her own advice.

I called Karl Arns, a 25-year-old authorised financial adviser and institutional commodities dealer for OMF. Yes, a millennial who knows about money, and can tell you about both the theory and practice of doing better with it while you're young.

We talked about how much of a difference it makes to start looking after your money when you're young, even if you start small. We also talked about where to start if it's all a bit overwhelming, and the money traps to avoid at all costs.

For the interview, listen to the podcast.

If you have a question, or something you'd like me to investigate for a future episode, come and talk to me about it. You can find me on Facebook here and Twitter here.

Don't forget to subscribe so that you never miss an episode, on either iTunes or I Heart Radio.