#1 – Have a “trial run” of living on one salary It is a wise move to try this while it is a choice and not a requirement. It will give you the time and flexibility to work out how you can adjust your household budget. You can also save the salary that you […]
Archive | blog
what a global trade war could mean for New Zealand
In July 2018, Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against products imported from China, for alleged unfair trade practices. And so the trade wars began. The USA has a trade deficit with China of US$419 billion. This means that they import $419 billion worth of goods more than they sell to China. The USA’s main imports […]
Kiwisaver Changes
Kiwisaver changes effective 1 April 2019 The changes that have taken effect on 1 April 2019: You have more options around the amount that you can pay into your KiwiSaver At present, if you are a salary or wage earner, you have been able to contribute 3%, 4% or 8% of your salary into your […]
How to tackle debt
Debt is a drag on a person – both financially and emotionally With high interest debt, the costs of the interest payments make it extremely difficult to repay the principal of the debt, never mind the interest. There are 2 types of debt: GOOD DEBT and BAD DEBT Good debt is debt associated with an […]
Keeping an eye on currency rates
The value of the NZ dollar against the US dollar has been headline news almost daily for the last few weeks as the NZD has fallen sharply against the value of the US dollar. Why is this so important? When the value of the NZ Dollar drops against another currency, it means that it costs […]
What is credit risk and why does it matter?
When I am talking about fixed interest as an asset class, I often talk about credit risk as being an important concept when investing. In fact, it could be THE most important concept when investing in fixed interest and cash – particularly if you believe that these 2 asset classes are the absolutely secure part […]
Why I’m excited about India
I first heard a presentation about the potential of investing in India about three years ago, and I was mesmerised India is the world’s largest democracy, and is likely to take over from China as the world’s most populous nation by 2028, according to UN calculations. India is a young nation In terms […]
What the Australian Government Royal Commission could mean for us here in New Zealand
The Australian Government has commissioned a royal enquiry into the banking, superannuation and financial services industry in Australia and the enquiry began its hearing process in March 2018. The purpose of the Commission was to determine if there had been any misconduct in the financial services industry. The Australian public were invited to make submissions. […]
taking stock at the end of a financial year
With 31 March fast approaching, I am sure that there are many business clients (and accountants) hanging on to their sanity by their fingernails at present. However, as the end of the financial year approaches, it is the natural point at which most business owners stop to benchmark how their financial year has been compared […]
What is Bitcoin?
What exactly is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a crypto currency, which was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and started operating in 2009. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system which operates freely over the internet. Electronic money stored in electronic vaults The bitcoins are representative of electronic money, and are stored in electronic vaults. You […]