My top ten money tips — Part 1

  • Be in KiwiSaver — get the free money
  • Get the right risk level — most important
  • Don’t assume success will continue
  • Diversify within one type of asset: shares, bonds
  • Diversify over different assets
  • Plus some listener questions

Next time: The rest of the top ten — about mortgages, term deposits, timing markets, home ownership, and staying put.

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Mary Holm, ONZM, is a freelance journalist, a seminar presenter and a bestselling author on personal finance. She is a director of Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) and a former director of the Financial Markets Authority. Her opinions are personal, and do not reflect the position of any organisation in which she holds office. Mary’s advice is of a general nature, and she is not responsible for any loss that any reader may suffer from following it. Send questions to [email protected] or click here. Letters should not exceed 200 words. We won’t publish your name. Please provide a (preferably daytime) phone number. Unfortunately, Mary cannot answer all questions, correspond directly with readers, or give financial advice.