New Zealanders Are Wasting Their Time & Money

Most people misallocate their time worrying about share platform fees when they should be asking their boss for a raise. They're trying to optimise $3 in fees instead of increasing their income by $10,000. Luke and Mikey break down the hierarchy: time allocation first, income allocation second, capital allocation third. We cover why when you're young, time is your capital, and when you're older, capital buys your time back. You can get more money, but you can't get more time. Yet most people waste hours researching investments instead of spending that hour asking for a pay rise. We cover why misallocating time is worse than misallocating money, the needle-moving activities that actually matter, and why successful people do boring things consistently. Stop looking for magic solutions in chapter 8 when you haven't finished chapter 1. Time is your most valuable asset. Are you treating it that way? Find Mikey: https://guardiansmith.co.nz/   / officialmikeysmith   Amy from http://Levridge.co.nz has come on as a sponsor of Keep The Change to help people with their financial planning. Stuck? Find Amy : [email protected] Instagram:   / amy.levridge   Website: https://www.levridge.co.nz Generate are supporting my vision to improve the financial literacy of 100,000 kiwis by sponsoring Keep The Change. Cheers Generate. Head to https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/change/ to find out more. 00:00 — Intro 00:29 — Misallocating time vs money in 2026 03:36 — Time first, income second, capital third 06:09 — Optimising tiny investments instead of taking action 09:02 — Starting before you feel ready 12:04 — Busy is not the same as effective 15:32 — Business lessons in delegating low-value work 18:24 — Efficiency, scale, and protecting your time 20:47 — Escaping the $35/hour ceiling 24:46 — Income growth before investment returns 31:05 — Month-end tracking vs 30 days of action 33:30 — Automating small financial tasks 36:01 — Screens and the capture of attention 38:17 — More or less: reallocating time deliberately 39:15 — “Sort it” vs actually getting it sorted 44:34 — Big levers for the rest of 2026 50:20 — Youth, time capital, and buying freedom later 50:52 — Shiny objects in business and investing 54:17 — Hobbies, leisure, and choosing the right season 57:27 — Money as a tool for options 1:00:04 — Risk, action, and capital allocation 1:03:25 — New Zealand’s “success tax” and tall poppy culture