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.
The older you are, the better the deal in KiwiSaver. Wake up and smell a more comfortable retirement, middle-agers! A survey released today shows that no-longer-youthful New Zealanders are less likely to be in KiwiSaver and more critical of the scheme. And yet arguably they get the best deal out of it.
How the lolly choice has changed. The economists have given up on the idea, and it’s time the rest of us did too. I’m talking about making financial decisions based only on the cold hard facts and numbers, and not taking into account emotional and psychological factors.
Why a reader advises his son against KiwiSaver… …and why I disagree. A reader’s letter explaining why he’s advising his 18-year-old son not to join KiwiSaver has not convinced me.
Slow and steady not always the way to win. Slow and steady isn’t always best when it comes to regular investing. We’ll look at making annual investments, to keep it simple. But the same principle applies to contributing to KiwiSaver or other investments in which you make more frequent deposits of the same amount.
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.
A big year for KiwiSaver. In the annals of KiwiSaver history, 2012 will be notable for two things. It will mark the start of a two-year shift away from government input and towards more employee and employer input, and it will be the first year in which members can withdraw their savings in retirement.
Men don’t have a monopoly on financial ability. New Zealand women are less confident about their finances than men, a recent survey suggests. Should they be?
Should KiwiSavers with mortgages keep contributing? This year’s changes to KiwiSaver make it debatable whether members with mortgages should keep contributing to the scheme.
A year of change for KiwiSavers — and would-be joiners. We’re in for a mixed year with KiwiSaver. Contributions from the government and employers will decrease. Still, there’s a good reason for employees who haven’t yet joined the scheme to get in now. Meanwhile, some over-65s will become eligible — for the first time — to withdraw money in retirement.