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Mortgage mistakes are nearly always costly, especially as collectively we all owe more mortgage debt than ever before. Here are the top five mortgage traps you should avoid, along with a few tricks to get your mortgage working for you. 1. Forgetting to shop around Many people make the mistake of using their existing bank and give other options no thought. Just as you would with... Read more Read more

Are you looking for ways to get your money working for you, instead of you just working hard for your money? American financial guru and self-made millionaire Michael Masterson has a few useful pointers for you in his book “Automatic Wealth”. He describes his book as a ‘how to’ for anyone who has the drive to achieve financial success. At first glance, the title ‘Automatic Wealth…’... Read more Read more

Peer-to-peer lending, sometimes called P2P for short, is where borrowers and lenders are connected through an online middleman. The theory is that using an online platform means the middleman could avoid the cost structures of traditional banks and offer better rates – to both borrowers and investors. In other words, P2P lending is when you either borrow or lend money to a stranger. ... Read more Read more

Mortgage cash back is an incentive that banks use to entice new business. It is now common across major New Zealand banks, and is an upfront cash payment made to you for your business. The payment could be for new lending – such as if you’re a first home buyer or property investor – or existing lending should you decide to switch your existing mortgage between banks. Cash back sums do... Read more Read more

A major change to New Zealand trust law was passed on 30 July 2019. The Trusts Act will have implications for all trusts in New Zealand, and once it comes into force will probably cause many to ask whether trusts are still worthwhile. Let’s take a brief look at what’s changing and examine eight reasons why your trust might no longer be worth it. 1. Implications of new... Read more Read more

What is a bottom drawer investment? Some of you may have heard the old saying about bottom drawer investments. It refers to buying a bunch of reliable shares (often called stocks), then sticking them in your bottom drawer along with other valuables, to be forgotten about. This old saying ignores one unavoidable fact: nothing stays the same. When it comes to investing,... Read more Read more

Are you in need of a total money makeover? American financial guru and self-made millionaire Dave Ramsay has a 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

In early August, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) lowered the official cash rate to a record low of 1.0%, 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, cash left for the long term in bank accounts is rubbish compared with what can be achieved by properly investing... 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