Listeners tell us who they think needs financial help
Entries into our Christmas book giveaway on who you would give my two latest books to, and why
– Themes running through the entries, examples and comments
– The winners
3 clever types of mortgages
But first: Christmas Gift Book Giveaway. How to enter
– Offset mortgages
– Redrawable mortgages
– Revolving credit mortgages
– Can you switch to one of these if you already have an ordinary mortgage?
– A great place for rainy day money
Which funds, in and out of KiwiSaver, are best at different life stages?
– It’s not actually about age
– How to set up your savings
– Best low risk investment?
– Best medium risk investment?
– Best higher risk investment?
– Review situation once a year
Should you fix your term, and for how long, in a volatile mortgage market?
– Why this question is so hard
– Split your risk — like diversification in investing
– Changing the structure of your loan
– Recommendations from Tony Alexander and Bruce Patten
KiwiSaver members taking more risk
– More people move to higher-risk than move the other way
– Bigger growth in money in riskier funds
– Beyond KiwiSaver, fewer people in term deposits and bonds, and more in shares
– A listener’s letter: what should she do about falling KiwiSaver balance?
Are KiwiSaver members getting value for their money?
Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is looking into this.
Report from a panel discussion on the topic at a conference:
– Are fees coming down?
– Some providers pay commissions to advisers who bring in KiwiSaver members
– Some performance fees are unfair
Also, brief comment on controversy over GST on KiwiSaver fees
Start — or increase — your saving NOW
– Starting to save early in life makes a huge difference
– The cost of delaying for just two years
– How much more you can save in a higher-risk KiwiSaver fund
– The power of changing KiwiSaver contributions from 3% to 6%
– Use KiwiSaver calculator on sorted.org.nz
Many ways to “eat your house” in retirement:
– Take in boarders or flatmates
– Sublet part of home — permanently or Airbnb (wttch tax and insurance)
– Subdivide — easier now
– Sell your house and buy smaller or in a cheaper place
– Sell your house and become a renter
– Reverse mortgages
Animal investors — what we can learn from them
These creatures have been picking investments, and mostly doing well:
– Orlando the cat
– Adam Monk the Brazilian monkey
– Lusha the chimpanzee
– A small herd of cows
– Mr Goxx the hamster
How do they do well?
What’s happening here?
Bridging the gender retirement gap
Ideas from a conference on how to help women increase their retirement savings:
– Why the gap is there
– Suggestions on government action
– Suggestions on employer action
– Suggestions finance industry action