NZ Herald Q&A Column – Mary Holm https://maryholm.com NZ's most trusted personal finance journalist Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:45:36 +0000 en-NZ hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.21 NZ Herald 28 February 2026 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-28-february-2026/ Fri, 27 Feb 2026 11:00:13 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12753 Woman, 63, plans to live in caravan… … Couple who do that wonder about selling the house they rent out Do inflation numbers take shrinkflation into account? How to find a financial adviser I goofed up on a student loan moral issue QI’m 63, single, with $150,000 in KiwiSaver, a home worth about $840,000, mortgage $87,000, and short-term debt $30,000. I own a caravan with annexe 20 minutes...

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]]> NZ Herald 14 February 2026 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-14-february-2026/ Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:00:47 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12747 How to help student financially — and KiwiSaver tip for parents of teens Reader caught in scam impersonating me Bitcoin plunge a warning for all investors — like tulip mania Where to invest proceeds from selling rental QMy daughter starts her first year of university this year and could be studying for three to five years. We have $10,000 ready to pay for her first year.

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]]> NZ Herald 31 January 2026 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-31-january-2026/ Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:00:38 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12737 Note to readers: fortnightly column Couple in 70s should sell 1 of 2 rentals and relax How to invest savings in retirement … … and for other goals such as uni The power of reinvesting dividends — and when not to What if KiwiSaver access age rises? From now on this column will be published fortnightly. I’ve got books to write and other plans to keep me busy. But I still love receiving your...

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]]> NZ Herald 20 December 2025 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-20-december-2025/ Fri, 19 Dec 2025 11:00:47 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12734 How to keep inheritance out of relationship property 2 Q&As on living in a retirement village What’s wrong with so many New Zealanders? See you next year — and tips on getting your letter published QI read with interest your response last week to the student who has inherited a large sum of money at 22, as it mirrors the situation my two brothers and I faced when we were in our twenties.

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]]> NZ Herald 13 December 2025 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-13-december-2025/ Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:00:15 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12724 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 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-6-december-2025/ Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:00:40 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12720 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 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-29-november-2025/ Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:00:48 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12714 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 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-22-november-2025/ Fri, 21 Nov 2025 11:00:16 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12706 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 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-15-november-2025/ Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:13 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12694 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 https://maryholm.com/nz-herald-8-november-2025/ Fri, 07 Nov 2025 11:00:58 +0000 https://maryholm.com/?p=12690 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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