NZ Herald Q&A Column – Mary Holm

NZ Herald 13 December 2025

mary — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:00:15 +0000

How 22-year-old should handle inheritance Could NZ funds fail, as they did in Australia? Sell 80-year-old’s home, or get reverse mortgage? And is 75 too young for such a mortgage? How much caution in retirement? QMy mother recently passed away and I, along with my siblings, have received an inheritance which I feel anxious about doing right with. I am only 22 years old. I now own a third of...

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NZ Herald 6 December 2025

mary — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:00:40 +0000

Couple in 70s sell home to fund retirement fun While couple in 50s may choose to stay renting How young reader may get into housing market Where are those tiny KiwiSaver fees? QWe are in our early 70s, retired, and will shortly have about $1 million from the sale of our house. Does it makes more sense to tip that sum into KiwiSaver or give it to a wealth management company? We are mortgage-free...

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NZ Herald 29 November 2025

mary — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:00:48 +0000

Good and bad debt — and when good debt goes bad Cryptocurrency hugely volatile, not for the short term Aliens’ view of gold investments KiwiSaver first home withdrawal when buying bare land Meaningful Christmas presents QIn your last column you repeated the usual mainstream advice of paying down debt before investing. Have you read any of the Value of Debt series by Thomas Anderson?

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NZ Herald 22 November 2025

mary — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 11:00:16 +0000

House-sitting their way to home ownership — and keeping debt down Gold v share funds v rental property Is burying your gold a good idea? Unusual Simplicity fund investments Correction on share fund tax QI’m a 33-year-old woman and house-sit full-time with my partner to save paying rent. We are currently waiting to finalise the purchase of 825 square metres of land, which we expect to settle...

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NZ Herald 15 November 2025

mary — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:13 +0000

Is it time to move out of growth funds? Bank KiwiSaver funds not in compensation scheme Gold v shares? What about costs? Preference shares not an alternative for term deposits QI’m reading a lot about the AI tech stock bubble heading towards bursting and bringing the markets down with it. Now I have always followed your “hold your nerve through the bad time” approach.

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NZ Herald 8 November 2025

mary — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 11:00:58 +0000

How gold compares with shares over the short and long term Property fund wrong for 92-year-old Is this a good time to reduce KiwiSaver risk? Cash fund? Term deposits? A bit of both Reader unfair about last week’s Q&A QI started investing in gold when I was 9, with one gold coin gifted by my aunt. During my working life, I remembered her advice to always ensure that part of my portfolio...

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NZ Herald 1 November 2025

mary — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 11:00:57 +0000

Splurging in retirement not so bad Government’s unrealistic expectations on KiwiSaver Index funds are not for the short term 2 Q&As on cash fund investments and risk QI thought I would tell you my story of not being careful with money. We sold a property in Auckland 10 years ago. We came down to the Coromandel and thought it would be a nice place to live. We bought a two-storey house in...

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NZ Herald 25 October 2025

mary — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 11:00:33 +0000

Reader gets no gain from being in KiwiSaver 2 Q&As about last week’s retired couple planning to sell their home and rent Who offers “build-to-rent” properties? Reader challenges 4.6% on a term deposit QI have recently started working for an employer who treats KiwiSaver employer contributions as part of total remuneration, or salary sacrifice. And I am fortunate or...

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NZ Herald 18 October 2025

mary — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Retirees plan to sell home, rent, and have fun How compensation works if finance company fails Your KiwiSaver tax rate is checked by Inland Revenue Clarification on tax when you rent out your bach QDo you see anything wrong with this scenario? My wife and I are in our early 70s, with limited savings and a mortgage-free house that is worth around $750,000 in today’s market. So we can do more...

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NZ Herald 11 October 2025

mary — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:00:03 +0000

Renting out a bach can be complicated Don’t give bank account number to a possible scammer Defining managed, active and passive funds Problems with proving who you are Rare praise for a bank QRenting out a holiday home is not as straightforward as implied in last week’s column. As I’m sure you know, it can incur GST if the turnover goes over the $60,000 threshold, or if you are...

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