Each week BusinessDesk and the NZ Herald's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how to beat the banks at their own game. Hosted by Frances Cook.

We’re back! Welcome to an all new season of the podcast.

I may have left to have a baby, but I couldn’t stay away for too long, and boy some interesting stuff happened while I was gone.

Not least of which are the changes to mortgage rules.

You may have heard rumours that you can now be turned down for a mortgage simply for buying Uber Eats, or too many takeaway coffees, even if you can afford them.

The rumours are true. Well, kind of.

It’s all because of a change to lending rules, called the triple CCCFA, or the Credit Contract and Consumer Finance Act if we’re being formal.

This law was brought in to stamp out loan sharks, and predatory debt schemes like what’s used by clothing trucks that patrol poorer neighbourhoods. Now that’s a good thing, but the unintended consequences, well, they haven’t been so good.

The changes ended up clobbering the mortgage sector, making it even more difficult for people trying to buy a house.

Because that wasn’t bad enough already.

The backlash was swift, the government backpedalled, and now the whole thing looks set to change again.

Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, interest rates are going up and making mortgages more expensive.

It’s enough to make your head spin, and to make the whole enterprise of buying a house even more intimidating.

So let’s cut it back down to size. What’s going on with the CCCFA, how can you turn these interest rates to your advantage, and how do you play against the banks, and win?

For the latest podcast I talked to mortgage broker Bruce Patten from Loan Market.

If you have a question about this podcast, or question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here , Instagram here and TikTok here