Money Talk column – Mary Holm

Money Talk May 2020

mary — Fri, 15 May 2020 02:10:57 +0000

This article was published on 15 May 2020. Some information may be out of date. If you give a child $50 a month from birth, and the investment earns 3% a year, it will grow to more than $14,000 by the time they’re 18. At 6% it will be more than $19,000. “I am about to become a grandparent, and I wish to set aside a sum of money to invest to help with the child’s future education,” says...

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Money Talk April 2020

mary — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 21:13:40 +0000

This article was published on 17 April 2020. Some information may be out of date. The same applies to saving in higher-risk KiwiSaver and non-KiwiSaver funds — usually called growth funds or aggressive funds — which largely invest in shares. This does NOT mean it’s best to avoid shares. They bring higher average returns over the long term. But it’s foolhardy to put money you expect to spend within...

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Money Talk March 2020

mary — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:58:47 +0000

This article was published on 27 March 2020. Some information may be out of date. One good thing about having a mortgage is that “investing” is simple. Alongside being in KiwiSaver, the best investment for most mortgage holders is to pay down the home loan as quickly as possible. But once that’s done, what should you do with the money that used to go into mortgage payments? Some people move to a...

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Money Talk February 2020

mary — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 06:39:14 +0000

This article was published on 28 February 2020. Some information may be out of date. They’re boring and they pay low interest. But bank term deposits are probably the best place to park money for a few months — or even a year or so. Anywhere else could be too risky. A reader we’ll call Jackie writes, “I am currently selling my house and anticipate I will have around $500,000 after I pay off my...

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Money Talk January 2020

mary — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 02:12:27 +0000

This article was published on 31 January 2020. Some information may be out of date. Employees usually receive their full employer and government contributions, unless they are on a savings suspension. But what about everyone else? There are still too many self-employed people and others not in the work force getting nothing, or less than they can, from KiwiSaver. She’s 61, has been in KiwiSaver...

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Money Talk December 2019

mary — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 23:38:43 +0000

This article was published on 6 December 2019. Some information may be out of date. Which is better — boosting your savings or paying down the mortgage faster than you have to? It depends. If we look at just the numbers, the comparison goes like this: How much interest are you paying on your mortgage? How much can you earn on your savings — after fees and taxes? Go with whichever is higher.

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Money Talk Christmas 2019

mary — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 23:37:01 +0000

This article was published on 6 December 2019. Some information may be out of date. The last few words of a letter from a reader were the clincher. “Should I keep the rental until such a time as I need to sell it, or should I sell it now and give myself some peace of mind?” asked a woman we’ll call Rachel. “Two years ago,” she writes, “I left the city for the provinces, selling my house in...

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Money Talk November 2019

mary — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:13:17 +0000

This article was published on 8 November 2019. Some information may be out of date. Ask someone which KiwiSaver fund they are in, and most will name their provider — a bank or other financial institution. But the provider doesn’t matter nearly as much as which type of fund you’re in. The choices, listed from low-risk to higher-risk, are: A defensive fund that invests largely in bank deposits.

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Money Talk October 2019

mary — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 21:48:39 +0000

This article was published on 11 October 2019. Some information may be out of date. Is it wise for a husband and wife to be in the same KiwiSaver scheme? It’s an excellent question from a reader I’ll call Sarah, who is in her mid thirties. She had read in my latest book that it’s best to choose a KiwiSaver fund based largely on low fees — and not on how well a fund has performed...

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Money Talk September 2019

mary — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 10:32:54 +0000

This article was published on 12 September 2019. Some information may be out of date. In some ways women are better investors than men. So how come we often end up with lower savings? Many women are reluctant to make riskier investments. That might sound like a good thing. There are certainly some stupid financial risks out there! But sensible higher-risk investments, over the years...

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