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Housing is one of the largest expenses faced by most households. To assist with this challenging time, the ‘Big Four’ banks (ANZ, BNZ, Westpac, and ASB), as well as some smaller banks and lenders, have announced that customers affected by Covid-19 can apply to go on a mortgage repayment holiday for three to six months. However, this “holiday” might not be as good as it first sounds.... Read more Read more

Dollar-cost averaging is a wealth-building strategy that involves investing money at regular intervals over a sustained period. It is a smart investment technique employed by investors worldwide. This is the opposite of simply investing a lump sum all at one time. Rather than trying to time the market, you buy in at a range of different price points. If you’re a KiwiSaver member and... Read more Read more

The great depression of the 1930’s spurred a “waste not want not” attitude that defined consumer patterns for a generation. Decades later, the oil supply shock in the 70’s led to the first efforts of energy conservation and efficiency. In more recent times, over the period of just a few weeks we’ve gone from usual life to a lockdown situation where protecting public health is everyone’s top... Read more Read more

Auctions can be a great way to buy a home, however they can also be challenging and stressful, particularly if it’s your first time. Auctions can bring out emotions based on attachment to a potential home, excitement, and sometimes they can also bring out a sort of primitive urge to win. With other methods of sale, you can make an offer, but you usually won’t know how many other people... Read more Read more

Following a decade-plus of generally positive investment markets across the globe, a significant downturn among share markets is finally upon us. Here at Milestone Direct, we don’t pretend to know how bad the downturn will be or how long it will last, however, we do know that some investors will make costly mistakes before values rise again. Here are the four most common... Read more Read more

It’s quite normal for the prices of shares and other investments to go up and down – especially when there’s uncertainty due to oil price fluctuations and coronavirus (Covid-19). The recent volatility has reinforced the importance of being in a suitable fund choice – or mix of investments – to match a range of matters including the overall purpose of an investment, how long someone will be... Read more Read more

Anyone checking their KiwiSaver Scheme balance in recent weeks may have noticed a sharp drop in value. The culprit is the fall in local and global share values (sometimes called equities or stocks) due to the coronavirus – COVID19. This fall has also affected other managed funds and those who directly hold share portfolios. There is no need to panic.... Read more Read more

Interest rates are at record lows and have been falling for some time now. This is good for first home buyers (who can expect low interest rates, which helps them gain homeownership by reducing the regular mortgage repayment required), but has a bad impact on those keeping significant sums of cash in the bank without good reason. So, how bad have things got for savers? To answer, let’s... Read more Read more

From April 1^st, 2020, you’ll be hit with a whopping 45% "non-declaration rate" on interest and dividends if you fail to give the interest payer your IRD number. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD, who collect taxes for the NZ government) has issued new guidance on resident withholding tax (RWT) for interest and dividends from bank accounts and investments. RWT is the type of... Read more Read more

A reserve mortgage is a loan that can enable an ‘asset rich, cash poor’ older homeowner to access the value held in their property by taking out a loan secured against their home. There are usually no regular repayments on the loan. This means the homeowner will receive capital – i.e., money – and in exchange, they delay payment of the loan until they die, sell the home, or move out of the... Read more Read more

If you think you’re spending more at the supermarket lately, you’re probably right. That’s because NZ food price inflation has ratcheted up in price over the year to January 2020 – increasing at nearly double the rate of inflation. (Inflation is the general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money over the years). Feeding yourself - and possibly others - can... Read more Read more

Earning income is crucial to financial wellbeing, but it’s tough to earn if you’re replaced by a worker who never sleeps, gets tired, or asks for a pay rise – these workers are called robots! At first, robots will make existing jobs more productive. But ultimately, jobs will be lost as robots assume more and more of the work. One famous Oxford study went as far as suggesting that... Read more Read more

The more funding there is available to purchase homes, the more the price of homes can rise. The mortgage lending market is growing robustly according to the Reserve Bank’s latest figures, which recorded a $1.1 billion jump compared with the same month a year earlier, the fourth such increase in a row and the strongest burst of activity in four years. The total we all owe in... Read more Read more

A new survey has identified that rich people are much happier with their lives than those on middle and low incomes. Many people could have guessed that without a poll! But the reason this survey is interesting, is because a widespread range of earlier studies have shown there's a happiness "saturation point" - the mark beyond which more money doesn't have much impact on your day-to-... Read more Read more

Minimalism is growing in popularity across the world. Documentaries, podcasts, and books have been made and written about minimalism, explaining how it can change your life for the better leaving you debt free and with more time to work on personal relationships. What is minimalism? It’s difficult to define minimalism because it means something different for everyone. ... Read more Read more

When you’re house hunting, the amount you can afford to spend is all-important. After all, you don’t want to end up house poor, or worse-still, unable to maintain your mortgage repayments should your situation change, or mortgage rates substantially increase. In general, we’ll hardly ever encourage anyone to spend more on a home – in fact, the opposite is much more likely the case!... Read more Read more

The last few months have provided the perfect storm which has benefitted borrowers and punished savers. New Zealand interest rates (or more specifically, the Official Cash Rate) remained unchanged at one percent in November. This left those who’d been holding out for a further drop in mortgage rates disappointed. Given the next review is not until February, with several... Read more Read more

To help you learn from the mistakes of others, here’s a quick-fire list of the 25 worst ways people waste money: New cars. The average depreciation rate for new cars in New Zealand is 40 percent in year one, then 20 percent for the next three years. Enough said. Overpriced phones. When the newest model smartphone offers negligible benefits compared to the... Read more Read more

The new year means you can create a new you – or keep building on the foundation you already have. To help you on your way, here are eight steps to ensure you have the best financial year of your life. 1. Get inspired “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now.” – Chinese proverb Without inspiration none of the steps below will work.... Read more Read more

Interest rates on mortgages and other loans are estimated to rise by between .20 and .60 percent as a result of the Reserve Bank's decision to require banks to put an extra $20 billion of capital into their businesses. The Reserve Bank put the figure at .20 percent, while ANZ believed the impact could be up to triple that, with other estimates somewhere in between. This is because the... Read more Read more