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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

Timing investment markets is everybody’s dream. Self-proclaimed “financial gurus” may lead you to believe they have market timing mastered, and that by following their steps you’ll be on a certain path to riches. In fact, if these self-proclaimed gurus knew how to consistently time the market the last thing they’d do is tell everyone else about it – they’d be far too occupied cruising the... Read more Read more

Many millennials are having a tough time launching their adult lives. The usual blame for this is placed on burdensome student loans, job insecurity, high housing or rent costs, and – of course –surplus cash regularly devoted to smashed avocado on toast and the latest iPhone! As a result, perhaps it’s no surprise that many parents of these grown-up children are offering financial support.... Read more Read more

The holiday period is meant to be a time for getting together, enjoying the company of family and friends, exchanging gifts, and having a good time. Unfortunately, this time of year can also be called ‘silly season’ for good reasons – including financial stresses. Putting these eight holiday financial tips into action can help you enjoy your holiday and keep your spending in check... Read more Read more

The word ‘liability’ has a strict accounting interpretation, though for the sake of this article let’s keep it simple and stick with the Oxford definition of a liability as “A person or thing that causes you a lot of problems.” The opposite of a liability is an asset, which Oxford defines as “A person or thing that is valuable or useful to somebody/something.” The... Read more Read more

The word ‘asset’ has a rigid accounting interpretation, though let’s keep things simple and stick with the Oxford dictionary definition which considers an asset to be “A person or thing that is valuable or useful to somebody/something.” In contrast, Oxford defines a liability as “A person or thing that causes you a lot of problems.” Most of us understand financial... Read more Read more

Supermarkets are useful one-stop shops for a variety of goods. However, in case you weren’t already aware, the multi-billion-dollar NZ supermarket industry is dominated by two players, so we don’t have much choice when it comes to our weekly shop. The big two are: Woolworths New Zealand (owner of Countdown and franchisor of the SuperValue and FreshChoice stores) and Foodstuffs... Read more Read more

American financial guru and self-made millionaire Suze Ormon’s nine financial steps are a great overview of personal finance, and while most of the steps would apply to most people, all steps don’t suit everyone. Susan, ‘Suze’ Ormon built a career as a US financial adviser who progressed into a range of areas including hosting her own personal finance TV show and authoring books on... Read more Read more

Even if you have a faultless record of repaying any debts, if you’ve ever applied for a credit card, home loan, phone contract or hire purchase agreement, you probably know the feeling that comes when you hear the words, “I’ll just have to run a credit check”. When a lender runs a credit check, they’re requesting information that relates to your history of repaying debt to help... Read more Read more

Michael Burry, the American investor who foresaw the issues which created the Global Financial Crisis and whose story was told in the Oscar-winning movie The Big Short, says the focus of passive funds on the world’s largest companies puts downward pressure on the stocks of smaller companies. Burry believes this has created a “bubble” that could burst. Index... Read more Read more

Traditionally, term deposits have been a popular strategy for many retirees and Kiwis who weren’t quite sure about how to choose or access other investments or needed to access the money in the near future. What has happened with term deposits? Before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), New Zealand’s Official Cash Rate was sitting at 8.25%. The official cash rate tends to... Read more Read more

Recent research confirms what many of us may have been thinking – that things are looking better for first home buyers. This particular study is called the Massey Home Affordability Index, and to determine their conclusions, researchers ran a series of calculations which consider the cost of borrowing (mortgage interest rates) as well as incorporating house prices and wage levels. In... Read more Read more

A wise man once said: ‘the only constant in life is change’. Of course, a part of change is uncertainty. While you may not be able to prevent yourself from all forms of uncertainty, you can surely prepare well in advance for any kind of financial uncertainty that may occur in the future. 1. Establish an ‘uncertainty fund’ Similar to an emergency fund, an uncertainty fund is a... Read more Read more

The holiday season is approaching fast, and many of us have already started planning trips away. Keep your hard-earned money working for you by avoiding these seven holiday travel mistakes on your next trip: 1. Using public Wi-Fi, especially for financial transactions When you’re travelling it can be tempting to connect to every airport, café or hotel Wi-Fi signal... Read more Read more

Increasingly we’re being asked about responsible investing. Sometimes called ethical investing, the interest in this area typically comes from two different generations of investors: Baby boomers. This group tend to be retired (or approaching retirement) and they remember the hippie era. Their focus is on leaving a better world for their children and grandchildren. Millennials... Read more Read more