Money Talks: Where drag queens, economists, comedians and business leaders all agree

When it comes to helping Kiwis out of poverty, almost every Money Talks guest agreed that we need to give children a better education about money and how it works. Photo / 123RF

Whether its The Hits' Jono and Ben talking about financial disasters, business leader Joan Withers talking about breaking out of traditional housewife role in the 1970s, two things stand out as common themes in The Money Talks podcast series.

First, a number in a bank account is seldom a motivating life goal for people. It is almost always a byproduct of successfully following a passion.

Secondly, when pushed on how they'd help more Kiwis out of poverty, almost everyone seems to agree we need to give children a better education about money and how it works.

From actors like Kura Forrester to economists like Christina Leung and Brad Olsen, a passion for what they do has been the driving force.

The Money Talks podcast series lets successful New Zealanders tell their story.

"I've never wanted to be really rich," Withers told Money Talks.

A nice house, a nice car, a rural lifestyle "and not having to think twice about having the right clothes to wear" were all important, Withers says.

"But aspirations beyond that? I was never going to be a Graeme Hart."

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under winner Kita Mean is even more surprised by her own success in business.

"I never really understood money or knew what it did," she says.

Kita (or her alter-ego Nick Nash) got into all sorts of financial bother on leaving school.

Like a lot of people, she fell into the trap of easy credit and had little understanding of the impact that would have on her life.

"It was basically like dangling a carrot in front of me and I was like, 'Woo hoo'. It felt like free money."

The real value of money and the importance of being in control of it didn't really kick in until she bought her first business.

To listen to any of these stories of financial success and failure click on the links.

Previous series of Money Talks include guests like Sir Michael Cullen, Chloe Swarbrick, Rob Fyfe, Brendan Lindsay and comedian broadcasters Matt Heath and Jason Hoyt.

• 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.