Borrowing

The following is a selection of articles mainly from January 2005 to the present. To explore this topic in more depth and access earlier columns, please use the search box.

Articles

NZ Herald 20 April 2013

Q&As: Two readers warn about trying to control children's inheritances
- Do adult children expect an inheritance these days?
- A bit of confusion over KiwiSaver and tax
- Two readers' ideas on rethinking student loans

NZ Herald 26 January 2013

Q&As: Beneficiary can do well with KiwiSaver - with help from a Buddy
- Elderly couple shocked at how fast reverse mortgage is growing
- Should reverse mortgage interest rates be lower?

Syndicated column 2 June 2012 - Let's educate our way out of 500%+ loans

When I first saw "Annual interest rate 547.50%" on a New Zealand website offering loans, I thought there'd been a mistake. But no. That's the rate for a small, short-term cash loan from www.savemybacon.co.nz.

NZ Herald 5 May 2012

Q&As: Reader could do with a re-think
- Economist calls for in-depth look at NZ Super
- Easy way to make KiwiSaver contributions
- Should we use KiwiSaver money to repay student loans?
- How about starting to charge interest on student loans?
- 3 readers remember what tertiary tuition fees were like in their day

NZ Herald 14 April 2012

Q&As: Should reader buy a NZ house now - while still overseas - or later?
- 3 readers' varying views on student loans
- 2 readers seem to be a bit muddled about the new KiwiSaver tax credit

NZ Herald 7 April 2012

Q&As: Best ways to play the KiwiSaver game if you are an employee with a mortgage
- 2 readers argue - convincingly - with my comments last week on student loan repayment
- Why a reader changed her attitude to repaying her children's student loans

NZ Herald 31 March 2012

Q&A: Students get a good deal by world standards, and shouldn't dodge student loan repayments
How come the bonds in a balanced KiwiSaver fund report losses?
Winning the tax game if you have a home and a rental property
Where to get free budget advice

Syndicated column 24 March 2012 - How to join the new debt cutting trend

We're all living through three "great transitions", said the keynote speaker at a recent conference. One transition is from West to East - with the growing emphasis on China and India, another is from analog to digital, and the third is from debt to saving. Let's look more at that third transition.

NZ Herald 4 February 2012

Q&As: Most people still get their money doubled in KiwiSaver, or close to that ...
- ... And no, KiwiSaver is not self-funded by members
- What happens in April 2013 to KiwiSavers who pay their own employer contributions
- Good and bad employers and KiwiSaver
- A little book that says it all - almost

Money column for February 4 2012

Syndicated column 3 December 2011 - Columnist is wrong - mortgage repayment is well worth it

Contrarian investing - when you put your money into investments that most people are getting out of - sometimes works well. Such investments are usually cheap. But should we extend that to borrowing when most others are repaying debt?

Syndicated column 27 August 2011 - Bridging the gap between those who want to borrow and those who have to

There were times when I felt distinctly uncomfortable at the government's recent Financial Summit to discuss what should be done about loan sharks.

NZ Herald 23 April 2011

Q&As: Why it takes both partners working to afford a house these days
- Buying a house with a co-owner might prove tricky
- Did I muddle pounds and dollars?
- Big lottery winner would have some negotiating power with a bank - but only so much
- Difficulties of borrowing to invest in shares
- Winners of seminar tickets

Syndicated column 29 January 2011 - Turning interest into your friend

New Zealanders are, apparently, a fairly satisfied bunch - except when it comes to our financial situation. But maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Syndicated column 17 November 2009 - It pays to know how numbers grow

The recent fuss over food price rises shows how little feel many New Zealanders have for the power of compounding numbers. And that lack of knowledge could harm them when borrowing and investing.

Syndicated column 14 July 2009 - Recession could be a blessing for most

The response to a question in a recent survey bothered me a little. Asked what they would do with a $10,000 cash windfall, 54.3 per cent of the respondents said they would pay off debt or save the money - down from 58.3 per cent three months earlier.

It's not exactly a huge drop. But I was hoping for a substantial increase.

Syndicated column March 24 2009 - You can indeed go wrong with bricks and mortar

I first heard people saying, "You can't go wrong with bricks and mortar" years ago, when I lived in the US. I bet the saying isn't quite as common there these days, now that millions of people have, indeed, lost huge amounts because of property.

Yet we still hear that untrue "truism" in New Zealand. And in the last few weeks, as some people are trying to convince us that the house price slump is over, it keeps popping up.

NZ Herald March 7 2009

Q&As: Don't try to time markets. Stick with your regular retirement savings, although you may want to modify where you save.
Teen's worries are unfounded about how Dad's income would affect KiwiSaver first home subsidy - but other subsidy issues still undecided.
Tax-wise, it's better to borrow for taxable activities than to buy a family home.
Plus: Clarification on the taxation of interest on loans between family members.

NZ Herald February 21 2009

Q&As: Terminally ill reader should get his money out of KiwiSaver and eat, drink and be merry.
Reader on invalids benefit can benefit from joining KiwiSaver - and an obliging friend could make it work better for both of them.
Many employee KiwiSavers will be better off reducing their contributions to 2 per cent after April 1 - but not all.
Lending within the family can get complicated when it comes to withholding tax on interest.

NZ Herald February 14 2009

Q&As: The possible perils of parents lending a mortgage to adult children.
Tips on mortgage reduction from a mortgage broker.
How mortgage borrowers could unite to force interest rates down.
2 Q&As on what happens to KiwiSaver money in retirement.

NZ Herald November 29 2008

Q&As: Repaying a mortgage - on a home or rental property - almost always better than saving with term deposits.
KiwiSaver works well for children.
3 Q&As on charitable Christmas giving.

NZ Herald August 30 2008

Q&As: A poem from the past shows how our attitudes to debt have changed. Will they change back again?
Reader wonders how long she has to wait for the government to change the law about employer KiwiSaver contributions

NZ Herald March 29 2008

Q&As: Do Blue Chip, finance company and other investment victims deserve what's happened?
2 Q&As on "nicer" ways to invest than rental property.
Electronic tax payment problems not common.

NZ Herald November 17 2007

Q&As: Why don't banks lend money for share investment?
2 Q&As on how you can best help your grandchildren (or children) into KiwiSaver
Christmas gifts for those who really need them

NZ Herald October 20 2007

THE OTHER B WORD

Budgeting is rather like eating healthily or exercising. Some people like to do it, but for others it's a chore. And for many it's a source of guilt. They think they should do it, but they don't.

This article could be yet another telling the laggards how they will be much better people if they keep track of all their spending. But that's hardly likely to make any more difference than other such articles.

As poet Robert Frost wrote: "Nobody was ever meant, to remember or invent, what he did with every...

NZ Herald March 31 2007

Q&As: Have you got what it takes to borrow to invest in a share fund?
How frequent traders in international shares will be taxed under the new rules.
How Inland Revenue might catch property traders.

Syndicated column March 6 2007: Digging your way out of the big hole

You're never in debt so deep that you can't get out again. At least one reader of this column will be reassured by this message from Raewyn Fox, chief exec of the Federation of Family Budgeting Services.

NZ Herald March 3 2007

Seeking your questions about KiwiSaver
Q&As: Are home equity release (HER) schemes - which lend to retired people with homes but little income - a rip-off?
Sentinel defends its HER schemes, but they are still expensive compared with possible alternatives.

Syndicated column February 3 2007: Help for those in debt

Repaying high-interest debt is sometimes called the best investment. And there's a way to do it that, I suspect, many people don't know about.

NZ Herald July 15 2006

Q&As: Lessons from the Bible: Is borrowing bad?
Is luck or attitude the secret to wealth?
Sharebrokers shouldn't always be expected to give ongoing advice.

Holm Truths autumn 06

Stuff and happiness: Buying things you don't really need

Also in this issue: From the Mailbox - Should a young man buy himself a house?

NZ Herald February 4 2006

Q&As: Man who has made $3 million from shares.
How much risk for a 53-year-old?
How good is advice from banks?

Syndicated column November 15 2005: Borrowing is not all bad - it depends why we borrow

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has been telling us off because we keep raising our mortgage debt. But, from the individual's point of view, how bad is that? It depends on why we borrow.

Syndicated column November 1 2005: Borrowing tricky between family or friends

A quote recently caught my eye. "The easiest way to teach children the value of money is to borrow some from them," it said.

But that applies not only to children. Adults, it seems, take much more notice when someone has borrowed from them than when someone has lent to them.

Holm Truths spring 05

Kids, cash and cards: Help your children learn about money

Also in this issue: From the Mailbox - Saving for the children's future

Syndicated column September 20 2005: Wellington and Christchurch dwellers big spenders and risk takers

So much for Aucklanders' image as the big spenders, risk takers and owers of debt!

Wellington and Christchurch dwellers are more inclined to put some of their savings into high-risk, high-return investments than Aucklanders, a recent survey shows.

Holm Truths autumn 04

'His & Hers' investment styles - How gender affects the way we invest

Also in this issue: From the Mailbox - Borrowing to invest, eg in a rental property

Holm Truths winter 02

Getting into gear: Borrowing to invest makes a good investment better and a bad investment worse

Also in this issue: Great Debate - Fixed v floating mortgages

Holm Truths autumn 02

Burrowing into borrowing: Buying goods and services using credit cards or hire purchase can hurt your wealth

Also in this issue: Great Debate: Credit cards v EFTPOS