Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's why now is actually a good time to invest, and how to do it safely. Hosted by Frances Cook.

It's a fact of life that when the market goes down, it's an opportunity for some people.

Some even refer to times like this as the share market "going on sale", because stocks become so cheap.

But if that's what you're hoping to do right now, you need to do it right.

For starters, you need to be financially stable. Nobody knows what life will throw at us over the next few months, as we face down an unprecedented combination of economic and health crisis.

So it's important that you have a healthy savings account, and manageable levels of debt.

Some companies are likely to collapse in this crisis, and you need to factor in that it could be one you work for, or one that you've invested in.

The investing strategy you bring in now could pay off big time in the future, and there certainly is money to be made in these times - as long as you plan it well from the start.

For the latest Cooking the Books I talked to Nick Crawford from The Private Office.

We discussed why people call it the share market going "on sale", why diversification is the key to buying in, and how to make sure the rest of your life is financially stable.

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 https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook