Guides

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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...

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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...

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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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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...

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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

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

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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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KiwiSaver: Which fund suits?

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

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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

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

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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. In return they promise to pay...

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Bank deposits

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

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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...

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Start tackling your debt

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Run your retirement numbers

Set your targets, then hit them!

Guides

Five easy ways to talk money with kids

Tips when you're having a money talk

How to prep for a money talk

Crunch the food budget

WTFinance?!

Spending futuredollars

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Looking for ethical KiwiSaver options?

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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

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LIFE EVENT

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

Get on track
with our guides

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