112. Resilience, Balance, Community, and Happiness

This week, I’m sharing the story of Rachel, a 90s kid from Timaru. Rachel is the youngest of four, with three brothers, and a ten year gap between her and her oldest brother, and they all grew up with a stay at home mum and a Dad who always took any and every job he could to provide for their family. Although Rachel just assumed that hers might be a standard life plan of go to school, complete some tertiary study at some point, get a full-time job and work your way up the career ladder, she has ended up veering off on a path entirely of her own making. Aged 32, she now works where and when she wants to and is not afraid to work full-time or not at all. She’s created a financial cushion for herself, which is smaller than you might expect, but it's plenty enough for her. This is coupled with a large and supportive family and community, meaning she gets to go out and be herself, knowing she’s never alone. I reckon that Rachel’s story is one of resilience, adaptability, and crafting a life that balances work, faith, community, and financial independence on her own terms, and she is genuinely happy and content with where she has been and where she is yet to go.

You can listen to 112. Resilience, Balance, Community, and Happiness online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

112. Resilience, Balance, Community, and Happiness is an episode from The Happy Saver Podcast - Personal Finance in New Zealand by Ruth.

This episode is 00:58:08 long.

This episode was published on Oct 7, 2025.

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