KiwiBudget on RNZ's Nine To Noon: a budget built around your payday
By Jack Ridder ·
On Friday 16 October I joined Kathryn Ryan on RNZ National's Nine To Noon to talk about KiwiBudget. It was my first national radio interview, and I was nervous, happy and a bit shocked all at once. If you missed it, you can listen to the interview on RNZ. It's about six minutes long.
Here's what we talked about, with a bit more detail on the things there wasn't time for.
Where the idea came from
I started working in supermarkets at 15 and was there for about five years. Over that time I watched the cost of living change what people do at the checkout. When I started, I never saw anyone with a calculator out. Now it's common to see people adding up their trolley as they go, and some putting things back.
That stuck with me. Plenty of Kiwis are doing everything right and still finding money tight, and the tools out there don't make it any easier.
Why KiwiBudget is different
Kathryn asked the question I most wanted to answer: "There are other budgeting apps out there. How is your one different?"
Most budgeting tools work by the calendar month, but most Kiwis are paid weekly or fortnightly. A monthly budget never quite lines up with when your money actually arrives, and a bill that comes out on the 20th falls in a different pay period from one month to the next.
KiwiBudget is built around your payday instead. It also understands the New Zealand things that overseas apps don't, like tax codes, student loan repayments and KiwiSaver. If your second job feels like it's taxed to death, our guide to secondary tax in NZ explains why.
What the app does
- Connects to your bank. KiwiBudget uses Akahu, a New Zealand open finance provider, to read your transactions with your permission. There's no typing in every purchase, and we never see your banking password. How bank connections work has the details.
- Sorts your spending for you. We keep our own list of New Zealand merchants, so your transactions land in the right category without you doing anything.
- Shows what's safe to spend. The home screen doesn't just show your bank balance. It shows what's safe to spend between now and your next pay.
- Helps you cut back. On paid plans, the Money Coach looks at where your money goes and helps you find ways to spend less.
Where things are at
KiwiBudget launches on 16 November 2026. When we spoke, the app was with Apple and Google for review, and 12 beta testers had been putting it through its paces. KiwiBudget is my full-time job now, with help from a few freelancers along the way.
Thank you
Thanks to Kathryn and the Nine To Noon team for having me, and to everyone who listened, sent a message or signed up afterwards.
If you'd like to try KiwiBudget when it launches, join the waitlist and we'll let you know the moment it's ready. If you're from the media, everything you need is on our press page.
Photo: Jack Ridder, October 2026, his own work. Free to reuse under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, with credit to Jack Ridder.