This week's budget announcement had a focus on sorting out the books, and no straight sugar hits for individuals. Infrastructure, healthcare and education seemed to be the clear priority of our fiscal plan, but three&nbsp; relief for the cost-of-living pressure many face.&nbsp; Along with that, council rates have gone up for Auckland and the South Island's West Coast, and the Reserve Bank's signalled that there will be an increase to the OCR shortly - so the period we've seen of low interest rates on a mortgage is coming to an end.&nbsp; So how can we prepare ourselves for a toughening economy? Was it good that we didn't have any government handouts?&nbsp; Managing Director for the Private Office - Nick Crawford - joins Tim Beveridge for Smart Money...&nbsp; LISTEN ABOVESee <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Janet Xuccoa: Your list of trustees has to be tight and reputable

Looking to make sense of your dollars? Newstalk ZB’s Smart Money delves into the deep, dark recesses of unwanted debt, traverses the highs and lows of investments and helps to ensure you money works for you.Our industry experts give us their top tips on a wide selection of topics including mortgage rates, stock, savings, goal-setting and retirement.

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