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.
Q&As: KiwiSaver still great for children, even though the fee subsidy is gone; Now might be an okay time to get into a rental property — for family in the right circumstances; Should young retiree switch some savings into a share fund?; Two Q&As offer advice — on school fees and insurance — to woman with dying husband.
Q&As: Mother seeks advice on financial steps to take after husband is diagnosed with terminal illness; Investor in KiwiSaver cash fund hasn’t done as badly as he thinks; Happy landlord reaps rewards from treating tenants well; Advice from this column about loans within families has saved time for a reader time — and money for her parents.
How would you have done in financial knowledge survey? It’s question time. How would you have answered the following in a recent survey: “Which is generally considered to make you the most money over the next 15 to 20 years: a savings account, range of shares, range of fixed interest investments, or a cheque account?”
Q&As: Many reasons why repaying home mortgage is better than investing in a rental property; Couple who haven’t heard from their KiwiSaver providers need to take initiative; Accountant passes on his tricks about how to keep track of KiwiSaver contributions.
Q&As: No use crying over split milk: Investor can still make use of 10-year rule; Not all landlords have a dream run with their tenants; How KiwiSaver returns are boosted; Do KiwiSaver contributions need inflation-proofing, and if so, how?
Time to top up KiwiSaver to make the most of the scheme. Mid-June is top up time for many people in KiwiSaver. If you don’t take action in the next week or two, you could miss out on up to a thousand dollars or so from the government.
Q&As: Another — much happier — take on being a landlord, compared with last week; 2 Q&As on how KiwiSaver works for a 64-year-old and a young man turning 18; KiwiSaver member who is trying to time markets should give up on attempting the impossible.
Q&As: Are rental properties the low-risk way to invest?; How to find out which financial institutions are covered by the government’s deposit guarantee scheme; Getting rid of KiwiSaver mortgage diversion was a mercy killing.
Nyah nyah to Morningstar. One aspect of the recent Morningstar report on investors’ experience of managed funds — in which New Zealand came bottom out of 16 countries — got little coverage in the news media. Ironically, it’s about media coverage.