Guides

GUIDE

How to pick your KiwiSaver fund

Even if you’ve been in KiwiSaver for a while, your fund may not be a good fit.

HOW TO GUIDE

How to refinance your mortgage

Refinancing (also called remortgaging) is a normal part of home ownership. It’s when you replace your mortgage with another in...

HOW TO GUIDE

How to shop smarter using pay-later options

Pay-later options can be a helpful way to spread out the cost of something over time with no charges added...

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Knowing your rights

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

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Stretching our retirement savings

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

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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,...

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Losing a partner

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

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Redundancy

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

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Separation

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

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Starting work

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

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Living in retirement

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

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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...

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Studying

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

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Going flatting

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

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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,...

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Wills

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

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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...

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Shares

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

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Buying a first home

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

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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 and growing money together

Being in a relationship brings new opportunities to build wealth that we wouldn’t have on our own. Moving in together...

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Planning for retirement

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

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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...

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Retirement money

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

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Making money plans with your partner

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

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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...

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About NZ Super

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

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Net worth

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

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Mortgage types

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

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Money tracking

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

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Managing a mortgage

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

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Investing in property

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

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Investing basics

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

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About investing

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

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Shopping for a mortgage

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

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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...

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Insuring our homes

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

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Student loans

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

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Insurance types

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

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About insurance

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

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Hire purchase

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

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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...

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Personal loans

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

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Managed funds

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

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Family trusts

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

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Enduring powers of attorney

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

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KiwiSaver: Looking after it

To make the most of KiwiSaver, you need to make some important decisions along the way.

GUIDE

Before borrowing

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

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Credit reports

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

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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...

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Consolidating debt

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

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Credit cards

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

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KiwiSaver: How it works

Most of us can benefit from joining KiwiSaver. Here are its main features.

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My investor type

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

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Car loans

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

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Kinds of investments

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

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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...

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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...

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Bonds

When we buy a bond, we’re lending money to a government, council or company.

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Bank deposits

Savings accounts and term deposits with a bank, credit union or building society are convenient for saving.

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Investing questions

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

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Investment advice

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

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Getting advice

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

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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...

6 steps to live Sorted

Start your safety net

Get your KiwiSaver right

Start tackling your debt

Cover your people, money, stuff

Run your retirement numbers

Set your targets, then hit them!

Guides

Money mistakes we make at uni

For 2021, skip resolutions for something better

Mindfulness, money and this moment

12 Christmas hacks your bank account will love

Shopping Christmas sales online? Read this first.

Identifying your money mindset

Don’t trade forex before reading this.

How to suss out if that website is fake

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I'm looking for general information on

Planning & budgeting

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KiwiSaver

Tackling debt

Protecting wealth

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Home buying

I'm looking for a specific guide

How to pick your KiwiSaver fund

How to refinance your mortgage

How to shop smarter using pay-later options

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 and growing money together

Planning for retirement

Baby on the way?

Retirement money

Making money plans with your 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

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