Episode Details

Why do so many smart, motivated people struggle to stick to money goals?

You set the intention to save more, invest properly, or finally get organised, and then, a few weeks or months later, it falls apart.

It’s not that you don’t care or don’t know what to do. It’s that your mindset and financial habits get in the way.

In this episode of Making Cents, financial journalist Frances Cook is joined by Dom Vettise, a clinical and performance psychologist who specialises in helping people move from “pretty good” to world-class performance.

Dom has worked in some of the most high-pressure environments imaginable, including with Olympic athletes, New Zealand Rugby, and the All Whites. These people who simply have to perform when the stakes are highest.

What’s surprising is how directly that same psychology applies to everyday money decisions.

The mental habits that determine whether an athlete performs under pressure are the same ones that shape your financial habits, from sticking to a savings plan, to following an investment strategy, to breaking the cycle of “I’ll start again next month.”

In this conversation, we unpack:

• Why mindset matters more than motivation when it comes to money

• How stress and pressure sabotage financial decision-making

• The role of perfectionism in derailing progress

• Why self-sabotage shows up just as you’re starting to do well

• Practical ways to take control of your mental habits so your money goals actually stick

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This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

#MakingCents #FrancesCook #Investing #SavingMoney #GoalSetting #Mindset #HighPerformance #SportsPsychology #PerformancePsychology #NewZealand #Olympics

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:12 Meet Dom Vittice: from forensics to Olympic psychology
• 00:03:20 What it's really like working with elite athletes
• 00:07:26 Success leaves clues: learning from what goes right
• 00:11:29 The framework: understand me, be me, stay me
• 00:13:32 Reframing pressure: distress vs eustress
• 00:16:44 Breathwork and staying present under pressure
• 00:22:45 Mental filtering and disqualifying the positive
• 00:24:09