Psychology of money

The Investor 30 January 2010

Oh no, oh no, it’s off to work we go. Returning to work after a holiday is rarely easy. Back when I was employed — as opposed to self employed — I remember always feeling as if I were in the wrong job on my first few days back at work.

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The Investor 1 December 2009

Gifts that give on several levels. Perhaps the most important assignment in a university course I teach on financial literacy has little to do with finance. Worried that the course might send the message “the more money you have the better”, I ask the students to think about how money and happiness are related.

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NZ Herald 28 November 2009

A way to make friends and relatives happy at Christmas. Changes to invitation to Capital Market Taskforce meeting. Q&As: Less insurance can save big money and work well — if you are healthy and careful; Gradually get rid of preference shares you don’t want any more.

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NZ Herald 10 October 2009

Q&As: A reader challenges my advice last week about postponing a first home purchase for three years; How to get around the income cap on the KiwiSaver first home subsidy; How to get around the three-year requirement for KiwiSaver first home assistance; Another reader challenges me — on my advice on whether to sell a Mangere Bridge house or a Whangamata house; The merits of coin tossing; Maybe Lotto will make reader’s decision easier.

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The Investor 6 October 2009

Good news goes unheralded. One of the findings in a recent survey caught my eye. Only 12 per cent of New Zealanders surveyed said the value of their financial investments had grown in the previous six months, with 42 per cent saying the value was unchanged and 46 per cent saying it had fallen. The vast majority got it wrong.

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NZ Herald 19 September 2009

Q&As: Even a reader’s accountant seems confused about how gains on share sales are taxed. The law needs to be changed; Property fan who did badly in the share market broke one of the basic rules of share investing; Did I mislead readers about the advantages of dollar cost averaging?

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NZ Herald 29 August 2009

Q&As: Just because a so-called financial expert is confident, that doesn’t mean he or she is right; If you haven’t worked for a while any time in the last five years, you may well be in for a tax refund; Don’t delay joining KiwiSaver, even if you’re worried that you could be made redundant; KiwiSaver tax credit lark for the newly retired is too good to be true.

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NZ Herald 22 August 2009

Q&As: Wealth doesn’t have to equal filth — New Zealanders’ attitude to money may leave them more worried about financial issues; Take your pick between share fund managers who try to outperform the market and those who don’t; Members of work super schemes can do well by also being in KiwiSaver.

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