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Anyone with a mortgage usually hates seeing the amount of money they owe the bank. Seeing such a sum every time you see your online banking can be a massive weight on your shoulders. To ease the burden, many of us contribute extra repayments from our surplus income with the aim of repaying our mortgage as quickly as possible. This may feel like the right thing to do, as it feels good reducing... Read more Read more

Are you in need of a total money makeover? American financial guru and self-made millionaire Dave Ramsay has seven-step process for you. These are explained in his book, The Total Money Makeover. Here, he advocates a specific process to become financially secure. Despite the book's “snake-oil” sounding title, the steps are excellent. These seven steps aren’t without... Read more Read more

A couple of weeks ago, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ, New Zealand’s central bank) lowered the official cash rate to record lows, and indicated it could go lower. Along with some of the other possibilities described below, this has revitalised the old saying that “cash is trash” – or in other words, that funds left as cash in bank account are rubbish compared with what can be achieved... Read more Read more

Nowadays, having a grown-up child living at home is reasonably common. In fact, one third of millennials are living with their parents. The rising cost of living, especially relative to incomes, is at least a partial cause of this, resulting in many young adults struggling to leave the comforts of the family home and instead lingering in the family home a lot longer than previous generations.... Read more Read more

Perhaps your sum is from; an inheritance, a lottery win, an insurance pay-out, or just a stroke of luck. Whatever the case, you’ll soon start thinking about what to do with the funds. Any extra cash is always an opportunity to improve your financial situation, but many people waste such windfalls because they don't have a specific plan of what to do with it. One potential issue to... Read more Read more

The question to fix or float is nearly as old as mortgages themselves. Mortgage competition is heating up in what has been called the ‘rate wars’ between banks and other financial institutions. Mortgage rates are determined by banks, typically based on the rate at which they can borrow from international banks and the Reserve Bank. The official cash rate (bank rate) has already dropped... Read more Read more

While it’s always been a challenge to get together the deposit for a home, it’s certainly not got any easier for first-home buyers over recent years. Having a roof over your head to call your own is the cornerstone of most people’s financial plan, so to help out, here are the top five ways you can get a bigger home deposit: 1. Increase your savings Increasing your savings is a... Read more Read more

Self-insurance is a term used to describe when a person or company sets aside funds to meet contingency or emergency needs such as; injury, loss, or any other event such as, a person’s home being knocked down by an earthquake. If such an event happens, you spend the saved sum to help sort out the situation. But if the event doesn’t occur, you get to keep the money you may have otherwise paid... Read more Read more

Myths about money are everywhere. Unfortunately, much of what you know about money is probably wrong and holding you back from success in your financial life. We all must be aware of how our thoughts impact our behaviour with money. As we all know, how you think and feel often dictates how you’ll act. We truly are living in the age where we have access to information 24 hours a day,... Read more Read more

Since Bonus Bonds started in 1970, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis have bought them, or purchased them as gifts for relatives or friends. You might have been given some at some point, possibly only to lose track of them over the years. Though Bonus Bonds were started by the New Zealand government, the management of them was later sold in 1990 to ANZ Bank. What are Bonus Bonds? ... Read more Read more

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lowered the official cash rate to the lowest it’s been in New Zealand’s history. This is a significant financial event, with practical implications for most Kiwis. So what does it mean for you? First, let’s summarise what the Reserve Bank is. Read more Read more

Early retirement is the major lifestyle goal of many people. However, early retirement isn’t always all it’s made out to be, so it pays to be aware of potential issues and how to avoid them. Here are the top four pitfalls of an early retirement: 1. Spending too much during the early years of retirement The primary challenge when choosing to retire early is making sure... Read more Read more

Imagine if what we know now about finances, we knew back in our teen years – how much better off would we all be? When most of us were in high school, we didn’t learn anything about money, budgeting, or investing. However, nowadays, by the time you leave your teenage years, you’re hopefully no longer financially clueless. Here are six of the best financial lessons you wish you knew as... Read more Read more

Did you know that more than 2.4 million of us are invested in a KiwiSaver Scheme? Did you also know that over 1.5 million members of KiwiSaver don’t make any contributions, despite there being some great advantages of contributing to KiwiSaver? Below are some of the changes to KiwiSaver expected for the rest of 2019, noting that further change to KiwiSaver is coming in 2020... Read more Read more

For many, it can seem like becoming wealthy is an impossible task. This feeling can be made worse by present-day realities such as expensive housing and low interest rates for any money we save in the bank. Thankfully, according to research which canvassed a wide range of millionaires, becoming wealthier requires only two qualities that anyone can develop: perseverance and resilience. That... Read more Read more

Property investment has been a great method of wealth creation for many New Zealanders, especially for generations such as the ‘baby boomers’. But recently, a lot of things have changed, or are about to, including: Especially in larger cities, yields are too low to make a cashflow profit, It is becoming harder to offset any rental property cashflow losses against other... Read more Read more

No matter what you earn, building a comfortable savings and investment nest egg will be difficult if you’re constantly spending on a multitude of things – even if you can afford them. While nice things and experiences can be tempting, here are four ways to ensure you say no to purchases – even when you think you can afford it. 1. Perform some quick maths to check your reality... Read more Read more

Recently proposed changes to the amount of financial backing New Zealand banks need to operate could have a significant impact on all New Zealanders with a mortgage – or about to get one. Such changes could also impact those saving money in the bank. Read more Read more

Hot on the heels of introducing restrictions to property ownership by non-residents and the extending of the “bright line test” for taxable property sales from 2 years to 5 years, the Labour-led coalition government is now following through with another of its property-related proposals aimed at levelling the playing field for taxpayers. Whilst most people were busy buying Christmas... Read more Read more

Most financial experts say that you should have at least three to six months of living expenses kept as a readily accessible emergency fund. In spite of this, a recent study completed by BNZ showed that 41% of New Zealanders live from pay day to pay day, that is, basically spending their entire income before they’re paid again. People in this situation usually have limited or no... Read more Read more