Cutting back your spending
Some more unusual ideas on ways to spend less:
– Wait for a week
– Stay away from shops
– Separate bank accounts
– Ideas from FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early)
– Wear the same clothes repeatedly
– Fish and chip dinner parties
– Many other great ideas from listeners
Are KiwiSaver funds good value for money? If not, what should you do about it?
A listener asks about Financial Markets Authority report on KiwiSaver and other managed funds
– 3 key findings: impact of fees, wrong indexes, commissions paid
– KiwiSaver still worth being in because of government and employer contributions
– But go for low fees
– Funds with high returns often don’t stay good
– Is KiwiSaver best if contributing for grandchildren?
Listeners’ KiwiSaver worries
– Conservative funds are not low-risk
– Why funds with lots of bonds are losing value fast
– Don’t try to time markets by moving your money
– How to organize your KiwiSaver in retirement
– Is this a good time to invest more?
Reminder: Have you contributed enough to get maximum from the government?
Is rental property a good investment?
Listeners’ questions covering:
– Tax changes
– Politics
– Tenant issues
– Incentive to save by paying down debt
– Property managers
– The pluses and minuses of gearing — borrowing to invest
Listeners’ letters about KiwiSaver and inflation:
– Should you stop KiwiSaver contributions when your balance falls?
– Should you switch KiwiSaver provider in a down market?
– With inflation at 7%, do you need to earn 10.3% before tax to stand still?
Would-be first home buyers giving up, and turning to shares
Canstar Consumer Pulse Report 2022:
– Fewer potential first home buyers
– They think it will take longer to save a deposit
– Fewer stay with family while saving, and fewer expect family help with buying
– Meanwhile, share investing grows, especially among younger people
Some shocking results in survey on New Zealanders’ finances
Canstar Consumer Pulse Report 2022:
– More than half spend more than they earn — especially young
– 2/3 don’t have enough rainy day money
– Nearly ¼ don’t save anything
– Only 45% are debt-free, excluding mortgages
How you might change your habits.
What to do about the 2 big investment worries — inflation and wobbly sharemarkets
– Short term — who knows?
– Take the long-term view
– What we can learn from this
Why comparing returns on rental property and shares is tricky
– A recent example…
– … But borrowing (aka gearing or leveraging) changes comparisons
– The worst that can happen with an investment
– How geared rental property can go wrong
– What about your own home?
– Update from last time on my single shareholding
Dividend reinvestment — how to grow your shareholdings painlessly:
– Mercury Energy has just started a plan — why I signed up
– Other companies that offer them, and a couple that don’t
– Why take part? Costs, convenience, dollar cost averaging
– When not to: Use dividends for income, concentration of shareholdings