Tame recalls enjoying Mr Billings’ drama class, but was not necessarily his most well-behaved in the class.
“I was definitely a performer in school,” he says.
But he admits he wasn’t particularly motivated.
“I remember in the fifth form, I had really good marks. And then I was like, yo, my marks are so good. I don’t need to try. And so I just didn’t try and sixth form was an absolute disaster.
“I scraped by, I just did not apply myself academically at all at high school.”
It’s something of a stereotype for people from Christchurch to begin a conversation talking about which school they went to.
“Obviously schools are a big deal in Christchurch,” Tame says. “And schools are inextricably linked with class, as they are in every New Zealand city, but in Christchurch, I think, in more ways than most.”
When it comes to money, Tame says he had financial literacy drummed into him by his parents from an early age.
His father, an accountant, was always quick there to remind him about paying tax on any of his entrepreneurial efforts - selling plums in a roadside stall, delivering papers or busking at the local mall.
Tame recalls his busking partner Mike had the musical talent but says he had a knack for maximising their earnings.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever busked before, but we quickly worked out which songs made the most money. We knew that certain songs would appeal to a certain demographic that was more likely to give us cash,” he says.
“We would play Cat Stevens over and over again. We would have a little bucket and when it filled up, we would then, when no one was looking, secret that money away in our pack, so it looked like we never had more than a few bucks in the bucket, so people walk past and they give you more cash.”
Tame’s mother - a maths teacher - made sure he didn’t fritter away his earnings.
“From the moment that I had regular income, my mum would make me keep a balance book and every month I had to work out my sums. The rule was that I had to save 65% of what I earned and I could spend 35% of what I earned.”
“So, I wasn’t blowing all of my money. I saved from the word go - very nerdily.”
Tame always had a passion for news and says he felt like he had “found his tribe” as soon as he started at broadcasting school in Christchurch.
But he still has an entrepreneurial bent.
“I dip my toes in the share market as other people do with mixed success, to say the least,” he says.
“As a younger person, I definitely had an entrepreneurial streak and funnily enough, if I weren’t in journalism, as fulfilling as my job is now, business, commerce and economics are still really interesting to me.”
“I think if I had another career, especially if I were starting now, that’s probably the direction I would head in.”
Tame’s life has changed in recent years. In 2023, he married fellow journalist Mava Moayyed before the couple moved in together. It means that Tame is now the step-father of her seven-year-old son, and says that it has changed his priorities.
“I still feel passionately about this, that for the right stages in life, high-density living is absolutely crucial in New Zealand. I think that for far too long, we have just allowed this kind of sprawl and protection of these big spaces with very few people living on them in the central parts of our city in particular. And so I was determined when I moved back from New York to have an apartment,
“Like I say though, it’s all a time of life thing. My stepson’s seven years old. The thing about living in New Zealand is when you’re seven years old, you want to be able to go outside and shoot a basketball.”
He says that he has also had to think about life insurance and wills as well.
“That kind of stuff is all stuff that I am now way more conscious of than I would have been a couple of years ago.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more from Jack about his career and relationship with money.
Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn’t about personal finance and isn’t about economics - it’s just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it’s had on their lives and how it has shaped them.
The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large for the Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist, and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003.
Money Talks is available on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
