Test your knowledge of financial basics
Commission for Financial Capability did a survey:
– 22% got everything right
– Men did better and so did older people
– The questions — and later the answers
– Women with children did worse — why perhaps?
Q&As:
– Don’t put more good money after bad — please!
– Did the girls deserve lower pay back then?
– IRD can offset your refund against tax debt
– Bonus Bond alternative not so easy
– Are couple in their eighties planning Bonnie and Clyde robberies?
Q&As:
– How to buy a car without a chequebook
– Advice on banking without cheques
– $11.98 for a 40-hour week!
– More on the tax on KiwiSaver and other PIE funds
– Act fast to beat NZ Super change for some couples
Share investing for fun:
– 2 reasons to invest in shares: long-term growth and entertainment
– New Zealanders’ interest growing fast — especially 25–44s and males
– Like 1980s?
– Unlikely to beat the market
– Watch for pumping and dumping
– Don’t be an insider trader
– Margin trading and options
– 2 helpful websites
– Conclusion: only money you can afford to lose
Q&As:
– Boys’ KiwiSaver first home savings should work well
– No clear answer for family’s mortgage dilemma
– What if that cheque had been bigger?
– Reader can still call it a “cheque” account!
– Challenge on PIE tax only partly right
Q&As:
– Time to accept that cheques are a thing of the past, and learn online banking
– “What’s that?” — the young ask about a cheque book
– For short-term money use term deposits or a cash fund
– Reader misses the point about fun element in Bonus Bonds
– One bank offers car and cash prizes on savings
– How to seek refund if you’ve overpaid tax on NZ Super
What is investment risk and what can you do about it?
New free booklet I wrote: Hit and Myths — an introductory guide to investing — at fma.govt.nz
Today we look at one of the booklet’s 8 Myths About Investing: “Investing is too risky”. Types of risk:
– You won’t get the return you want because of inflation
– You won’t get the return you want because of volatility
– You’ll lose some or all of your money
Importance of diversification
You can also watch a webinar I did with FMA on investing, at fma.govt.nz
Q&As:
– Rule shows how long it takes for an investment — and a debt — to double
– One reader quits Bonus Bonds for term deposits…
– … While another suggests a way to keep the fun rolling on
– Bonus Bonds exit annoys businessman
– Move from term deposits into KiwiSaver fund ups the volatility
– Better to leave the money in two countries than one
Plus:
– Your questions, a webinar and a guide to investing
Q&As:
– If it looks like a scam…
– How to work out return on an investment
– Where to put the grandkids’ Bonus Bond money
– Bonus Bond investor seeks another fun investment
– Readers seek details about NZ Super payments
Handling debt — from mortgages to buy now pay later.
– Worries — job losses, rising interest rates
– 2 types of borrowing — for things that grow in value and things that don’t
– Deferring payments — what that means
– Pay off highest interest first
– Set up automatic payments
– Add to mortgage?
– Buy now pay later. No interest but fees if late.
– In trouble with a loan? Talk to lender.