Each week the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. But for the next three weeks we've gone political, asking the leader of each political party currently in Parliament for their best money tip for the average person. This week, it's the Greens. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Politicians are always banging on about the economy. Who has the better understanding of it, how they're the person to get our economy running hotter, why the other guy's ideas are stupid.

Which is all well and good, but what about on the day to day level?

Do our politicians remember what it's like to be the little guy like you or me, and are they keeping an eye on the issues affecting our lives? How hard it is to make ends meet? Maybe even a few suggestions on what we can do for life to be a bit easier?

Money issues touch every part of our lives, and I want to know what the people in charge think about it.

So, I sat down with Green Party co-leader James Shaw to get his best money tip to help out the average person. 

He said the first thing to do was to write it all down, and be honest with yourself about your finances.

We also talked about how his own finances got better once he started doing this, and how to use your friends to help you.

For the interview, listen to the podcast.

Still to come: Prime Minister and National leader Bill English, United Future leader Peter Dunne, and Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell, and hopefully Labour's new leader Jacinda Ardern. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters declined an invitation to take part.

Already out: ACT leader David Seymour.

Have a question about this podcast, or a suggestion for next time? Come and talk to me online. You can find me on Facebook here, and Twitter here. Don't forget, you can subscribe to this podcast here and on the Apple podcasts app.