Q&As: Calculator tells reader to stop saving and live it up a bit; Reader who finds KiwiSaver nauseating has a scary list of things that could go wrong…; …But another one applauds KiwiSaver, while sitting on the home ownership sidelines.
Q&As: Following last week’s first Q&A, a reader suggests another way to bring overseas money to New Zealand; Who’s right, Gareth or me, on tax credit start dates?; We find eight providers who will accept one-off payments into KiwiSaver. Also: More winners of books.
Q&As: Man lives in NZ but his savings are in the US. When should he bring the money here, in light of the dollar’s fluctuations?; 3 Q&As on when the KiwiSaver tax credit begins — depending on when you join and/or start making contributions. Also: More winners in our giveaway of “KiwiSaver: How to make it work for you”.
Q&As: Rent control would do more harm than good; The cost of staying out of the housing market; Reader insists it’s worthwhile to try to time foreign exchange movements. It’s all his!
Q&As: A year-old letter shows the danger in trying to predict what the Kiwi dollar will do; “Plodders” wonder how to match the investments of their landlord friends; Traders in shares beyond Australasia no longer pay the old tax on capital gains; How about taxing rental property the same way as international shares?
Q&As: Is the Kiwi dollar to blame for poor overseas investment performance?; How foreign dividends will be dealt with under the new tax rules; Where to go for historical foreign exchange data — for tax purposes; A lionish company bites back.
Q&As: Should retired couple invest in a commercial property? Why take on that risk?; Can we predict NZ dollar movements?; When is it best to change money from US to NZ currency; A US website that evaluates international charities; Yet another charity offers a Christmas gift programme. Plus: Win a ticket to a seminar.
An exceptionally unlucky reader. International index funds, a favourite long-term investment of mine, don’t look good to one reader. “I bought about $2000 worth of WiNZ in 2000,” he writes. “They are now 27 per cent lower (have been for quite a while). Fortunately for me it was not a huge amount. “Twenty years is a long time to wait for the fund to claw its way back up. Hopefully all the investors in index funds can wait that long!”
Q&As: Is there an 18-year cycle for industrial and resource shares?; Why index fund of Aussie shares has done much worse than its index; Limited submissions on tax changes not good enough; NZ shares, already favoured, shouldn’t get still more favourable tax treatment.
Moving money across the globe is a risky tactic. The situation of a reader may not seem relevant to many others. But there are lessons here for practically everyone.