By Jock McTavish, accidental educator, reluctant capitalist

Let’s call it what it is:
Financial literacy in New Zealand is about as widespread as a decent pie in Auckland Airport. It exists, but it’s undercooked, overpriced, and suspiciously hard to find.

And here’s the kicker: it’s not a bug in the system. It’s a feature.

How We Got Here (Spoiler: We Never Really Left)

If you made it through high school knowing what a parallelogram is but couldn’t explain what an interest rate does to your mortgage, congratulations, you’re a product of our education system.

New Zealand, like most of the Western world, treats financial literacy the way we treat early-onset gout: quietly, and preferably not in public.
Kids are taught to memorise Shakespeare, balance a chemical equation, and name a volcano or two, but not how to read a bank statement or what happens when you buy something on Afterpay during a “cost of living crisis.”

It’s no wonder entire generations grew up knowing how to pass NCEA but couldn’t pass on a credit card offer without getting fleeced.

Capitalism’s Favourite Client? The Uninformed One.

Here’s the ugly truth: ignorance is profitable.

When people don’t understand how compound interest works, it’s easier to sell them high-interest loans.
When they don’t know how KiwiSaver fees erode long-term returns, it’s easier to skim a bit off the top.
When disclosure documents are written like a sleep aid wrapped in legalese, no one reads them, and that’s very much the point.

The financial services industry doesn’t always exploit the uneducated… but when it does, it prefers them docile, busy, and too embarrassed to ask questions.

Fixing It (Without a Royal Commission, Hopefully)

So, what do we do? Aside from lighting the FMA’s next disclosure consultation paper on fire and starting again?

Here’s a few ideas that might actually move the needle:

1. Start in School, Not in Debt

Make personal finance compulsory by Year 10.
Not just budgeting, but KiwiSaver, credit, inflation, interest, investment basics—the works. If we can teach kids to dissect poetry, we can teach them what an overdraft is.

2. Financial Translations: No More Jargon-Jitsu

Financial service firms should be legally required to provide “plain-English explanations” alongside every product or offer.
Not buried in page 73 of a PDF titled “Product Disclosure Statement (Version 11.2b)”. On the first page. Big font. Written like you’re explaining it to your Auntie Jan at the RSA after two Rieslings.

3. Interactive Disclosure: Show, Don’t Just Tell

You want someone to sign up for your fund? Show them the fee drag over 20 years, side by side with a low-fee alternative.
You want them to buy a mortgage product? Show what their total repayments will look like over time, and what happens if interest rates go up.
Forget glossy brochures. Use sliders, charts, and a bit of humility.

4. Advisor Accountability: You Break It, You Buy It

If your job is to give financial advice, then make sure your clients actually understand it.
Require proof of understanding, quizzes, verbal checks, whatever it takes. If the client signs something they don’t grasp, and you profit from it, that’s not advice. That’s daylight robbery in a blazer.

5. Public Education Campaigns That Don’t Suck

We’ve had “Sorted” since the dinosaurs, but it’s not nearly enough. We need a national campaign on the scale of Smokefree or Drink Driving Kills, except this one explains why payday lenders and zero-deposit car ads are basically legalised theft.

Final Thoughts from the Whisky Chair

Look, I’m no revolutionary. I like capitalism. It’s a fine enough system if you understand the rules.

But when the people writing the rules also profit from you not knowing them? That’s not a free market. That’s a confidence trick with a KiwiSaver login.

Financial literacy shouldn’t be a niche hobby or a “nice to have.” It’s a civic skill, like voting or learning how to reverse a trailer.

The McTavish Club wasn’t built just to chuck newsletters into the void. It’s here to arm people with the one thing the industry doesn’t want you to have: clarity.

And maybe, just maybe, a laugh along the way.

This blog post is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not financial advice, nor should it be treated as such. While Jock has plenty of opinions (strong ones, at that), none of them are tailored to your personal situation, goals, or risk tolerance.

Before making any financial decisions, speak to a licensed financial adviser who doesn’t drink as much whisky as Jock, and ideally one who knows your circumstances better than a blog post ever could.

Basically: don’t blame us if you invest your life savings in cheese futures.