Which investment? And why cash funds might be best
– Email asks: 4.5% in bank or use KiwiSaver?
– Where to put short-term, medium-term and long-term money
– What are cash funds?
– How they compare with bank term deposits
– How to find a cash fund
Q&As:
– The 27 cents that infuriated a reader
– KiwiSaver government contribution as reader approaches 65
– Managed fund investor must hang in there
– Just buy a home for your child….
– … Or buy part of a home
– Reader didn’t make it to second half of sentence
Q&As:
– Become a digital nomad — but keep the house
– What it’s like working with a financial mentor
– Sell the house and rent in retirement?
– Some banks reject parents’ loans to children for house buying
– A warning on lending to an elderly parent
Important info in your KiwiSaver annual statement — and how to improve it next time
– What’s in the statement
– Total at 65, and weekly spending through retirement
– How your provider came to those numbers
– What to do if you want them to be higher
– Why moving to a higher-return fund is not wise
It’s OK to give up on ever owning a home.
– Home ownership falling — people need family help to buy
– It can work to be a long-term renter
– Advantages of renting
– But you need to save lots for renting in retirement
– Prediction — long term house prices will fall relative to incomes
– Best way to save
Q&As:
– KiwiSaver provider’s ad looks like cherry picking to me
– Retired couple should sell their rental property
– You can repay reverse mortgages any time
– Reader takes note of bank credit ratings when choosing term deposits
– A reader’s story: Surviving Covid jitters, and upping KiwiSaver and mortgage payments
Q&As:
– How could I resist? Quite easily, actually
– A short-term reverse mortgage works well for this reader…
– … But rates postponement might be better for this one
– Don’t overlook other banks’ term deposits
Readers’ stories:
– Column helps with recovery from accident
– House deposit money better in the bank
Q&As:
– A reverse mortgage that hasn’t gone well …
– … But it might work for this reader
– A great tip on how to get more on your term deposit
– Buying shares is much cheaper these days
– A reader’s story: Many wise moves, and a great attitude
Q&As:
– How to avoid the boss’s meanness — a different way to contribute to KiwiSaver
– Credit card interest rise alarming
– Don’t bail out of KiwiSaver
– Funds’ relative performance all over the place
– 2 more providers let you withdraw dividends from funds — which can work well in retirement
– A reader’s story: Lessons learnt boost confidence
Laddering — a clever way with term deposits and perhaps your mortgage
– What is laddering?
– Who might be affected?
– Why do it? — gives longer-term returns on deposits (which are usually higher); frequent access to some of your money; some protection from bad luck with timing.
– How it might work with a mortgage