NZ Herald Q&A Column

NZ Herald 12 December 2020

Q&As:
– Young couple should maybe take a rest from house hunting
– Which mortgage term? Split it
– Reader argues for concentrating on energy shares, but I disagree
– Why Boomers have had bad luck with Southern Cross
– Online game aims to help children learn about money

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NZ Herald 5 December 2020

Q&As:
– Diversification — the only free lunch
– Drop health insurance and self-insure? It’s risky
– Increasing insurance excess slashes bill
– Leave GST alone, says reader
Plus:
– Meaningful Christmas gifts
– ‘Please don’t stop giving’

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NZ Herald 28 November 2020

Q&As:
– Take care with “kids in chocolate shop” attitude to shares!
– Many exempt from proposed NZ Super residency rules
– Why Southern Cross doesn’t give long-term membership discount
– Don’t like Southern Cross? Go elsewhere

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NZ Herald 21 November 2020

Q&As:
– Early retirees should think about how that affects their children
– FIRE fan shares his savings numbers
– Exchange traded funds should have been included last week
– Reader’s time overseas won’t affect his NZ Super
– Enticing young into subsidising elderlies’ health insurance won’t work …
– … But maybe a GST change could help
– Accountant’s comment to tax complainers

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NZ Herald 14 November 2020

Q&As:
– FIRE movement lets you retire many years earlier
– Keep up basic health insurance in retirement, despite cost
– Rental or shares could save woman from reliance on the state
– Sorry, but overseas relative can’t get KiwiSaver government contribution

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NZ Herald 7 November 2020

Q&As:
– Ignore hot tip about market downturn — unless it scares you
– Switching from term deposits to KiwiSaver in retirement is not without risk
– “Millionaire-making” companies on warnings list
– Weighing up mortgage offerings is tricky
– Covid-19 aside, bank communicated poorly

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NZ Herald 31 October 2020

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?

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NZ Herald 24 October 2020

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

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NZ Herald 17 October 2020

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

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NZ Herald 10 October 2020

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

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