A Mum Asks Her Daughter What Money Is Artwork

That Home Loan Hub

Welcome to That Home Loan Hub, your ultimate guide to mastering the world of home loans and property. I'm Zebunisso Alimova, here to simplify the complexities of real estate and provide you with expert insights and the latest trends.

Whether you're a first-time homebuyer, an experienced investor, or simply curious about the property market, this podcast is for you. Join me each week as we unlock the secrets to property success and help you make informed decisions. Let's dive into the world of property together!

All Episodes

That Home Loan Hub

A Mum Asks Her Daughter What Money Is

April 18, 2026 • Zebunisso Alimova

0:00 | 6:01

A five-year-old sits down for a holiday chat and accidentally delivers a clearer money lesson than most adults. Zara joins us on the mic and we start with the basics: what money is, what you can do with it, and how you earn it through simple “jobs” like helping out at home. It’s funny, honest, and surprisingly practical for any parent thinking about kids and pocket money in New Zealand.

From there, we get into the part that really matters for building kids’ financial literacy: saving. Zara explains saving in her own words, talks about putting coins into her money box, and sets a clear goal for opening it on her birthday. We unpack why goal-based saving works so well for children, how to talk about spending without shame, and how small habits can shape long-term confidence with money.

We also introduce KiwiSaver in plain language, including why some families choose to open a KiwiSaver for kids early and how long-term saving connects to future goals like buying a first home. Along the way, Zara makes a bold request for $2,000 from listeners, which turns into a perfect moment to talk about value, patience, and big dreams on a small budget.

If you enjoy real-life parenting chats, money basics for children, and practical NZ personal finance conversations, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a parent or caregiver, and leave a review, then email us and tell us what you were doing while you listened.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Buy your first home in NZ Weekly Webinars

You thought it's not possible or the dream is too far away? Come to my webinar and I will show you, you are much closer to your dream, than you think you are!

Join Here - https://bit.ly/4m9SL72

Holiday Intro And Meet Zara

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Welcome to the holiday edition. It's a school holidays edition. And I have a very special guest in here. And her name is Zara. For those that don't know, Zara is my Mummy.

unknown 0:26

No.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

I'm your mommy.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

And you are my daughter.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Yeah. And how old are you, Zara?

SPEAKER_00 0:33

One.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Are you really?

SPEAKER_00 0:37

One, one, one, one, one, one. What's that equal?

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Oh, you're giving me a hard task.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Five.

What Money Means To A Kid

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Oh, five. Awesome. Well, Zara is five, and she's in the hot chair today.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Oh, I know. And we're gonna talk about Ali Mova Zibonisa.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

We're gonna talk about Zibonisa Ali Mova. Alright, we're gonna talk about money. I want to ask Zara as a five-year-old what does she know about money?

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Money? You can buy houses and go toilet for a toilet.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Oh my gosh. Zara, do you realize there's a lot of people that are listening to you right now?

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

All over the world. You know how at night we listen to various storyline online stories, and people can listen? Yeah, so right now there's lots of people that are listening to you.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Is it real? It is for real. Oh, for real.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Yeah. So, Zara, as a five-year-old, how much do you know about money?

SPEAKER_00 1:47

What's that mean? I don't understand.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

What is money?

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Money is money.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

What do you do with money?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Buy stuff.

Earning Money Through Little Jobs

SPEAKER_01 1:57

And how can you earn it? By doing jobs. What sort of jobs do you do?

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Clean up the car, wash the car, and um catch hands.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

And then I'll be back. So Zara, do your friends at school know about money? I think so. Do you study about money at school?

SPEAKER_00 2:23

No. We used to in my old class last year.

Growing Up Goals And Spending Dreams

SPEAKER_01 2:27

But not in this class? No. So when you grow up, what do you want to be? Police. You wanna be a policewoman? Really? Wow, that's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

I can catch your people.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

You can catch bad people. Do you think they earn a lot of money?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

I think so.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Mm-hmm. And what do they do with money when they grow up?

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Buy stuff.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

What sort of stuff are you gonna buy? A big squishy? A big squishy, okay. Very important. I mean a unicorn. Oh a unicorn. And Zara, can you tell me? Do you know anything about saving? Saving money.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

If you save, you get more money and you can buy anything.

Saving Coins For A Birthday

SPEAKER_01 3:12

You can buy bigger things then. Yeah. Yeah. So you shouldn't spend all your money at once.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Yeah, I'm saving them in D for my birthday.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

I can't hear you. Come back to the microphone. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

I'm saving my money coins in my c in my b box.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

You're saving money in your money box? Yeah. And when are you gonna open that?

SPEAKER_00 3:31

On my birthday.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

When are you gonna turn? Six. And when is that? First of June. Ooh, that's coming. What are you getting for your birthday from mummy?

SPEAKER_00 3:43

I don't know. You can't tell me.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

I can't tell you. Okay. And what do you want from our listeners?

SPEAKER_00 3:50

What what does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 3:55

People that are listening to you right now.

The $2,000 Ask And KiwiSaver

SPEAKER_00 3:57

I want them to get me$2,000. All of them.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Wow,$2,000, guys. You've heard this girl. She wants$2,000 for her birthday. What are you gonna do with$2,000?

SPEAKER_00 4:12

I will save it.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Oh, that's good.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

And buy something that's very a lot of money.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

And Zara, do you know about KiwiSaber?

SPEAKER_00 4:22

What's Kiwi Saver?

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Kiwi Saver is when you put money away to save. And when you are 18 or 20 even, you can buy a house using KiwiSaver. Oh wow. And did you know you already did you know you already have a Kiwi Saver?

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Nope.

Listener Questions And Goodbye

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Well, Mommy opened you a Kiwi Saver because it's a very good idea to open a Kiwi Saver when you're very, very little. Where is it? You can't see it. Can you show me it? Later.

unknown 4:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Anything else you want to tell people that are listening to you right now before we say goodbyes?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

What are they doing right now?

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Oh, me?

SPEAKER_00 5:03

No, those guys who are listening to me.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Oh, they're probably listening to you. We'll ask them to email us and let us know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Hi. What's your are you a girl or boy?

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Well, we don't know. Sometimes there are girls that are listening, sometimes there are boys.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Grandpa or are you a kid? Are you a baby? Do you have hair? I bold.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Very important.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Or are you weird?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Alright. So on.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Is your face cool or weird? Bye.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

So on this note, we're gonna say goodbye to everyone.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Bye.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

And what else are we gonna say?

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Cheers. Happy holidays! Happy holidays and for Easter. My name's Zara. And why are you faulting me? Goodbye.

MPT Agencies

Producer