Let’s educate our way out of 500%+ loans. When I first saw “Annual interest rate 547.50%” on a New Zealand website offering loans, I thought there’d been a mistake. But no. That’s the rate for a small, short-term cash loan from www.savemybacon.co.nz.
Q&As: Reader could do with a re-think; Economist calls for in-depth look at NZ Super; Easy way to make KiwiSaver contributions; Should we use KiwiSaver money to repay student loans?; How about starting to charge interest on student loans?; 3 readers remember what tertiary tuition fees were like in their day.
Q&As: Should reader buy a NZ house now — while still overseas — or later?; 3 readers’ varying views on student loans; 2 readers seem to be a bit muddled about the new KiwiSaver tax credit.
Q&As: Best ways to play the KiwiSaver game if you are an employee with a mortgage; 2 readers argue — convincingly — with my comments last week on student loan repayment; Why a reader changed her attitude to repaying her children’s student loans.
Q&As: Students get a good deal by world standards, and shouldn’t dodge student loan repayments; How come the bonds in a balanced KiwiSaver fund report losses?; Winning the tax game if you have a home and a rental property; Where to get free budget advice.
How to join the new debt cutting trend. We’re all living through three “great transitions”, said the keynote speaker at a recent conference. One transition is from West to East — with the growing emphasis on China and India, another is from analog to digital, and the third is from debt to saving. Let’s look more at that third transition.
Q&As: Most people still get their money doubled in KiwiSaver, or close to that…; …And no, KiwiSaver is not self-funded by members; What happens in April 2013 to KiwiSavers who pay their own employer contributions; Good and bad employers and KiwiSaver; A little book that says it all — almost.
Columnist is wrong — mortgage repayment is well worth it. Contrarian investing — when you put your money into investments that most people are getting out of — sometimes works well. Such investments are usually cheap. But should we extend that to borrowing when most others are repaying debt?
Bridging the gap between those who want to borrow and those who have to. There were times when I felt distinctly uncomfortable at the government’s recent Financial Summit to discuss what should be done about loan sharks.
Q&As: Why it takes both partners working to afford a house these days; Buying a house with a co-owner might prove tricky; Did I muddle pounds and dollars?; Big lottery winner would have some negotiating power with a bank — but only so much; Difficulties of borrowing to invest in shares; Winners of seminar tickets.