For 20 years, Kiwis tuned in to see Mike McRoberts read the 6pm news. His calm, trusted voice delivered the country’s biggest stories live from disaster zones, war zones, or political chaos. But in 2024, Mike became the story - and he had to read it himself.
When Three's Newshub was shut down, McRoberts found himself reporting his redundancy live on-air, in one of the most public job losses New Zealand has seen.
“We’d covered redundancies before. But I’d never imagined I’d be reading one about us,” Mike told Where’s My Money in its first episode of Season 4.
But while most of the coverage focused on his career, we wanted to talk about something different: the money side. Because redundancy isn’t just about losing a job, it's about what happens next.
People think that just because you’re well known, you’re financially bulletproof. You’re not. I still have a mortgage, I still have responsibilities. This was a huge change for me financially.
Even before the newsroom shut its doors, Mike was already asking the same questions many Kiwis face when their income suddenly dries up - how long will the payout last? What should I do with the redundancy payments? Where should my money go and what do I do with the money I have?
The payout — and the pressure that comes with it
When a redundancy payment lands, the temptation to make big moves can be huge: invest it, flip it, grow it fast. But for Mike, the choice was far more conservative.
His son, who worked for a fintech startup, encouraged him to put the payout into gold.
“He told me to move it into gold straight away,” Mike says. “But I just couldn’t do it. I’m too risk-averse.”
Instead, Mike chose security first - pay down debt, reduce exposure, and build flexibility for whatever came next. It's a simple approach to not gamble with your safety net, but it's a strategy many seasoned financial coaches recommend:
Prioritise your home and essential expenses
Preserve cash buffers
Avoid chasing high-risk returns under pressure
“I’m not interested in ‘get rich’ plays. I’ve always preferred certainty over chasing big returns,” Mike admits.
The power of financial ‘anchors’
One of the most important lessons Mike shared had nothing to do with numbers, and everything to do with stability.
When things get rough, you need anchors: your whānau, your partner, your skills, your identity outside of work. That’s what keeps you above water when your income disappears.
Financial planning isn't just about money. It’s about building support systems that hold steady when your income doesn’t, and for Mike it meant drawing strength from his family, his reo Māori journey, and a lifetime of journalism experience that gave him options. But it didn't mean that Mike rushed into another newsreading job. Instead, he pivoted toward something he’d been quietly building: his passion for te ao Māori.
“This was a chance to do something I actually wanted to do.”
He accepted a newly created role as Te Ao Māori Editor at NBR, adding speaking work, writing, and corporate engagements alongside it. He actively diversified his income, while staying true to his experience and interests that provided multiple stable income streams.
“I went from nearly unemployed to over-employed pretty quickly.”
The surprising upside of redundancy
In the end, redundancy forced Mike to confront something many of us avoid: what happens if the salary stops?
By staying disciplined, playing to his strengths, and not chasing fast money, he built a version of financial freedom that looks a lot different than the headlines suggest.
It sounds strange, but I found an immense freedom once I stepped away. I get to work on what matters, say what I want, and build a future that isn’t tied to one job.
Hear Mike’s full conversation (including his money mistakes, redundancy payout strategy, and financial reinvention) in the first episode of Where’s My Money: Season 4 streaming now on rova.
