Guides

GUIDE

Knowing your rights

Understanding your rights as a consumer and as an investor can make a big difference should things go pear-shaped.

GUIDE

Stretching our retirement savings

How do we turn our life’s savings into a steady income?

GUIDE

Questions to ask a lender

It's important that you know just what you can and can’t do with a loan, and what the costs are,...

GUIDE

Losing a partner

Losing a partner is no time to have to deal with money issues. Yet there is quite a lot to...

GUIDE

Redundancy

The uncertainty that comes with losing a job or redundancy is a challenge, but leaving one role always opens up...

GUIDE

Separation

Separation or divorce is a stressful and upsetting time. It also unfortunately negatively impacts any wealth that has built up...

GUIDE

Starting work

One of the best things about starting work is the freedom that comes with earning our own money! It’s a...

GUIDE

Living in retirement

These are the choice years, when we’ll finally have the time and freedom to do all those things on the...

GUIDE

Getting a fine

No-one likes fines, but the quicker we pay them the better off we’ll be. Unpaid fines can end up costing...

GUIDE

Studying

Studying can be an investment in our future. Interest-free student loans seem like easy money, but borrowing too much could...

GUIDE

Going flatting

Sharing a flat is a big step towards being independent, but it also means we have to get used to...

GUIDE

Get out of debt fast

The longer we take to pay off debt, the more it costs us. So if there’s room in the budget,...

GUIDE

Wills

Why do we need a will? People mainly use them to write down family members they want to provide for...

GUIDE

Choosing a retirement village

Decisions about retirement villages are important; they tend to have a long-term personal and financial impact. Buying into a retirement...

GUIDE

Shares

When we buy a share, we're buying a small part of a company and a share in any profit the...

GUIDE

Buying a first home

Getting into a first home takes careful planning and, for most of us, serious budgeting! These tips for first home...

GUIDE

Saving: Paying ourselves first!

One of the best habits we can get into is “paying ourselves first” and making it automatic. The more we...

GUIDE

Being in a relationship

Partnering up brings new opportunities to build wealth that we wouldn’t have on our own. Moving in together or getting...

GUIDE

Planning for retirement

Ask anyone who's retired and they will say to start saving as soon as you can! Even if it seems...

GUIDE

Baby on the way?

Finding out we’ve got a little bundle of joy on the way is an exciting milestone! A new arrival is...

GUIDE

Retirement money

Statistically we’re living much longer these days. Seeing that we could be retired for more than 25 years, we’re going...

GUIDE

Planning with a partner

If we’re partnered up and planning, both sides need to be involved in the process. It’s all about getting on...

GUIDE

This year's NZ Super rates

The current rates of New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super) below give a broad idea of how much the state pension...

GUIDE

About NZ Super

New Zealand Superannuation (NZ Super) is the government pension paid to Kiwis over the age of 65. Any eligible New...

GUIDE

Net worth

Simply put, net worth is the difference between the value of what we own and the total amount that we...

GUIDE

Mortgage types

There are many types of mortgages, each with its own interest rate, fees and flexibility. Each of these things affect...

GUIDE

Money tracking

Budgets help us plan where our money should be going, but it’s also important to track where our money actually...

GUIDE

Managing a mortgage

It can feel good being a home sweet homeowner! But – and there is “the but” – we still need...

GUIDE

Investing in property

Lots of New Zealanders own rental property – it has been a popular form of investment over the years. The...

GUIDE

Investing basics

When it comes to investing, there are some key fundamentals. Think of them as a cycle to come back to...

GUIDE

About investing

Investing is all about buying things that put money back into our pockets. Sound intimidating? It’s really not. Those of...

GUIDE

Shopping for a mortgage

A house is often the biggest purchase of our lives, and a mortgage (also called a home loan) is typically...

GUIDE

Insuring ourselves

When we’re fit and healthy, it’s hard to imagine life changing. But what would happen if we couldn’t earn an...

GUIDE

Insuring our homes

Since a home will probably be the biggest asset we own, we’ll need to protect it in case something unexpected...

GUIDE

Student loans

Borrowing to study can be a great opportunity, although it’s important not to borrow more than we need.

GUIDE

Insurance types

Life is full of risks of things that could happen – the house burning down, the car being stolen, illness...

GUIDE

About insurance

Sometimes things go pear-shaped. If an earthquake strikes, our house burns down, our car is in a crash or we...

GUIDE

Hire purchase

With an HP we can take home a product and use it while we’re paying it off. It can seem...

GUIDE

Setting goals: Targets to shoot for

Here’s the first step to sorting our finances: working out where we want to be moneywise and what our priorities...

GUIDE

Personal loans

People use personal loans to pay for all kinds of things – weddings, renovations, holidays or consolidating their debts. They’re...

GUIDE

Managed funds

Instead of investing directly and doing it all ourselves, we can invest in a managed fund where our money is...

GUIDE

Family trusts

The idea with a family trust is to protect the ownership of our assets. Here’s how these work: we transfer...

GUIDE

Enduring powers of attorney

An enduring power of attorney (EPA) is a legal document giving someone the power to act for us if we...

GUIDE

KiwiSaver: Looking after it

KiwiSaver is easy to join, and keeps ticking along in the background. But to make the most of our savings...

GUIDE

Before borrowing

Debt comes in many forms – credit cards, hire purchase, car loans, personal loans, mortgages, student loans. There's no shortage...

GUIDE

Credit reports

We’re getting identified more and more by our credit reports these days. When businesses decide whether to lend us money,...

GUIDE

KiwiSaver: Which fund suits?

KiwiSaver is a great way to get ahead financially. There are some key choices to make, however, to get the...

GUIDE

Compound interest: friend or foe?

Einstein called it the ‘eighth wonder of the world’. He was talking about compound interest, which supercharges our savings and...

GUIDE

Consolidating debt

‘Consolidating’ debt means taking out a new loan to wrap all our existing debts together and pay them off at...

GUIDE

Credit cards

Credit cards are an easy way to pay for things with a quick swipe or tap, but they can be...

GUIDE

KiwiSaver: how it works

KiwiSaver is an easy and affordable way to save for retirement. Most of us can benefit from joining, if we...

GUIDE

My investor type

To be successful with investing, it’s important to figure out what type of investor we are, which is sometimes called...

GUIDE

Car loans

Most vehicles – unless they’re classic cars – quickly go down in value, not up. So borrowing to buy a...

GUIDE

Kinds of investments

Investing is the best way to grow wealth and get our money working for us – but how? There are...

GUIDE

Budget - don't fudge it!

‘Budget’ doesn’t have to be a dirty word. It’s just a simple plan showing what money we expect to receive...

GUIDE

How much can I borrow?

The amount we can borrow for a home depends on a couple of things: how much we can afford to...

GUIDE

Bonds

When we buy a bond, we’re lending money to a government, council or company. In return they promise to pay...

GUIDE

Bank deposits

Still keeping a stash of cash under the mattress? Savings accounts and term deposits with a bank, credit union or building...

GUIDE

Investing questions

Ready to start investing? The next step is to make sure we do a good job of it and get...

GUIDE

Investment advice

Advice on investments is widely available. Financial planners, insurance companies, sharebrokers, banks and financial advisers are all more than happy...

GUIDE

Getting advice

Managing money can be challenging – not all of us have the skills to sort out the more complicated stuff....

GUIDE

Assets: Protecting what's important

Protecting your assets is important, from insuring your house to making a will. Learn more about the different types of...

Get that Sorted feeling

Start your safety net

Get your KiwiSaver settings right

Start tackling your debt

Cover your people, money, stuff

Run your retirement numbers

Set your targets, then hit them!

Guides

For 2020, skip resolutions for something better

2020: How about some New Decade resolutions?

Your money, mindfulness, and this moment

Hack the holiday with these 12 Christmas tips

Tips to shop online safely

Could you be a money mule?

Empowering the self-employed

Looking for ethical KiwiSaver options?

About

Learning

Resources

Even more...

Log in to your account

Create your free account

Get on track with our guides

See it all clearly – we've put the spotlight on key money matters so you can make the best choices for you.

I'm looking for general information on

Planning & budgeting

Saving & investing

KiwiSaver

Tackling debt

Protecting wealth

Retirement

Home buying

I'm looking for a specific guide

Knowing your rights

Stretching our retirement savings

Questions to ask a lender

Losing a partner

Redundancy

Separation

Starting work

Living in retirement

Getting a fine

Studying

Going flatting

Get out of debt fast

Wills

Choosing a retirement village

Shares

Buying a first home

Saving: Paying ourselves first!

Being in a relationship

Planning for retirement

Baby on the way?

Retirement money

Planning with a partner

This year's NZ Super rates

About NZ Super

Net worth

Mortgage types

Money tracking

Managing a mortgage

Investing in property

Investing basics

About investing

Shopping for a mortgage

Insuring ourselves

Insuring our homes

Student loans

Insurance types

About insurance

Hire purchase

Setting goals: Targets to shoot for

Personal loans

Managed funds

Family trusts

Enduring powers of attorney

KiwiSaver: Looking after it

Before borrowing

Credit reports

KiwiSaver: Which fund suits?

Get on track
with our guides

I'm looking for general
information on