Q&As:
– Young couple should maybe take a rest from house hunting
– Which mortgage term? Split it
– Reader argues for concentrating on energy shares, but I disagree
– Why Boomers have had bad luck with Southern Cross
– Online game aims to help children learn about money
Q&As:
– Diversification — the only free lunch
– Drop health insurance and self-insure? It’s risky
– Increasing insurance excess slashes bill
– Leave GST alone, says reader
Plus:
– Meaningful Christmas gifts
– ‘Please don’t stop giving’
Q&As:
– Take care with “kids in chocolate shop” attitude to shares!
– Many exempt from proposed NZ Super residency rules
– Why Southern Cross doesn’t give long-term membership discount
– Don’t like Southern Cross? Go elsewhere
Q&As:
– Early retirees should think about how that affects their children
– FIRE fan shares his savings numbers
– Exchange traded funds should have been included last week
– Reader’s time overseas won’t affect his NZ Super
– Enticing young into subsidising elderlies’ health insurance won’t work …
– … But maybe a GST change could help
– Accountant’s comment to tax complainers
Q&As:
– FIRE movement lets you retire many years earlier
– Keep up basic health insurance in retirement, despite cost
– Rental or shares could save woman from reliance on the state
– Sorry, but overseas relative can’t get KiwiSaver government contribution
Q&As:
– Ignore hot tip about market downturn — unless it scares you
– Switching from term deposits to KiwiSaver in retirement is not without risk
– “Millionaire-making” companies on warnings list
– Weighing up mortgage offerings is tricky
– Covid-19 aside, bank communicated poorly
Q&As:
– Don’t put more good money after bad — please!
– Did the girls deserve lower pay back then?
– IRD can offset your refund against tax debt
– Bonus Bond alternative not so easy
– Are couple in their eighties planning Bonnie and Clyde robberies?
Share investing for fun:
– 2 reasons to invest in shares: long-term growth and entertainment
– New Zealanders’ interest growing fast — especially 25–44s and males
– Like 1980s?
– Unlikely to beat the market
– Watch for pumping and dumping
– Don’t be an insider trader
– Margin trading and options
– 2 helpful websites
– Conclusion: only money you can afford to lose
What is investment risk and what can you do about it?
New free booklet I wrote: Hit and Myths — an introductory guide to investing — at fma.govt.nz
Today we look at one of the booklet’s 8 Myths About Investing: “Investing is too risky”. Types of risk:
– You won’t get the return you want because of inflation
– You won’t get the return you want because of volatility
– You’ll lose some or all of your money
Importance of diversification
You can also watch a webinar I did with FMA on investing, at fma.govt.nz
What to do about low interest rates at banks (and the demise of Bonus Bonds)
– Not as bad as people think
– But still many unhappy
– Suitable alternatives — safe, low volatility — offset mortgages, cash funds, low-risk KiwiSaver funds
– Be braver? — if long-term money — middle-risk KiwiSaver funds. Probably not higher-risk funds or shares or rentals