It’s embarrassing to admit. Let’s be honest, talking about money has been taboo for centuries, and most people still avoid it. It’s bigger than numbers; it’s pride, it’s shame. The moment you open up about your finances, it feels like you’ve put a label on yourself.

Money places you on a hierarchy - whether you’re a have or a have not. Whether you’re worth something. It’s something measurable that goes beyond good looks, intelligence or work ethic. It’s cold and it’s hard and it says so much more about you than you think.

Born and raised in a tiny town in the central North Island, I grew up in a valley thinking the world was only as big and as far as I could see.

I fell in love with the written word at an early age, and my competitive instinct made me push further and faster beyond the bounds of what I should have been consuming. I started to read magazines, newspapers and non-fiction, only to expose myself too soon to what was going on behind the hills that sheltered me.

I’d dreamed of being on television, of performing, becoming a model, and it was all snuffed out when crippling anxiety moved in. At seven years old, I developed an auto-immune condition that affected my skin; made me different and forced me to hide.