Pūtea Sorted

Whakamahia te paetukutuku o Sorted.org.nz - Ki te hanga mahere pūtea e mārama ai ki tō whiwhinga me ō whakapaunga pūtea, ā, me te whakamahi hoki i te tātaitai Mōkete e āwhina i a koe kia mārama ai mēnā e taea e koe te utu i te mōkete

Ka taea e ngā mema māraurau te tango i ō rātou penapena KiwiSaver (tae atu ki ngā whiwhinga tāke). Engari me noho tonu te $1000, nui ake rānei ki tā rātou pūkete KiwiSaver. E māraurau ai koe ki tētahi first home withdrawal a KiwiSaver:

• Me noho hei mema o te kaupapa KiwiSaver, tētahi atu tahua penihana e whakaaetia ana, mō te toru tau neke atu rānei,
• Kāore anō i pupuri whare, whenua rānei i mua, (engari tērā ngā here mō te kaihoko kāinga),
• Me hoko kāinga, whenua rānei i Aotearoa,
• Me noho i roto i te kāinga, i runga rānei i te whenua e hoko ana koe mō te 6 marama,
• Kāore i whiwhi i te first home withdrawal i mua.

Tēnā hihira mēnā he tahua kua whakaaetia, tō kaiwhakarato Kiwisaver, mō te First Home Withdraw.

Ngā whakaritenga tāpaetanga KiwiSaver.

• Me auau tonu tō tāpae i te tapeke mōkito ki te KiwiSaver mō te 3 tau.
• Ko te tāpaetanga mōkito he 3% o tō whiwhinga moni katoa.
• Ehara i te mea me raupapa ngā tau e 3, engari hui katoa me eke ki te 3 tau tāpaetanga. Hei tauira, mēnā kua noho koe hei mema o KiwiSaver mō te 3 tau engari i whakatārewa koe i ō penapena pūtea mō te 6 marama, e kore koe e māraurau ake mō te First Home Grant, kia tāpae koe mō te 6 marama anō.
• Ko ngā tāpaetanga me ahu mai i ō mātāpuna whiwhinga moni katoa, kaua i tō mātāpuna matua anake.

Mēnā ehara koe i te tangata whiwhi moni, me tūao tō tāpae moni, kia eke ki te 3% o te utu kaimahi mōkito rawa, i runga anō i te wiki mahi 40 hāora.

Mēnā ko koe tonu tō rangatira, kei runga rānei i te penihana, ā, e tuku ana i ngā tāpaetanga tūao, me tuku tāpaetanga koe i te wā kotahi, neke atu rānei, ia tau, mō te 3 tau, o te 3% neke atu rānei o tō whiwhinga moni ā-tau katoa.

Mēnā i tuku koe i te pahekotanga o ngā tāpaetanga aunoa, tūao hoki, me eke te tapeke ki te 3% neke atu rānei o tō whiwhinga moni ā-tau katoa.

Tīmata i konei ki te kite mēnā e māraurau ana koe, ā, mō te aha hoki?

https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/first-home-decision-tool/ 

E māraurau ai koe mō tētahi First Home Grant, First Home Loan hoki/rānei:

• me pakeke ake i te 18 tau
• me iti ake tō moni whiwhi ā-tau i ngā poki moni whiwhi o ngā marama 12 kua hipa
• kāore ō puringa kāinga/whenua i tēnei wā, engari kāore te whenua Māori e uru atu
• kua tāpae koe i te tapeke mōkito, neke atu rānei, ki a KiwiSaver (tētahi tahua e whakaaetia ana, tētahi kaupapa whakawātea kaituku mahi rānei) mō te toru tau, neke atu rānei
• me hoko whare i runga anō i ngā poki utu whare ā-rohe
• me whakaae koe ki te noho i roto i tō whare hou mō te 6 marama, neke atu rānei

Me whakarite hoki koe kia tutuki i tō whare, whenua rānei ngā whakaritenga puringa whare/whenua.

Mēnā koe i te tāpae atu ki tētahi kaupapa penihana i tua atu i te KiwiSaver, waea mai ki a Kainga Ora i 0508 935 266 ki te hihira i te māraurautanga o tō tahua.

Tirohia hoki a www.kaingaora.govt.nz ki te whakarite mēnā e hou ana ēnei mōhiohio.

Ngā whakaritenga moni whiwhi

I ngā marama 12 i mua i tō tono, me whiwhi rawa koe i te:

$95,000 iti iho rānei i mua o te utu tāke, mō te kaihoko takitahi.

$150,000 iti iho rānei i mua o te utu tāke mō ngā kaihoko takirua, neke atu rānei.

Anei ngā poki utu ā-Rohe

Ina hoko koe i tētahi kāinga kua tū kē, ka taea e koe te $1000 mō ia o ngā tau e 3 (neke atu rānei) kua utu koe ki te kaupapa. Ko te nui o te pūtea e taea ana e koe ko te $5000 mō te 5 tau, neke atu rānei.

Ina hoko koe i tētahi kāinga hou, whenua rānei hei whakatū whare, ka taea e koe te whiwhi i te $2000 mō ia o ngā tau e 3 (neke atu rānei) kua utu koe ki te kaupapa. Ko te nui o te pūtea e taea ana e koe ko te $10,000 mō te 5 tau, neke atu rānei.

Kāo, e kore koe e mate ki te whakahoki i aua pūtea, engari tērā ngā āhuatanga me whakamōhio koe i ngā panonitanga ki tō tono i muri mai i te tukutanga o tō tono, ka whai pānga pea ki tō māraurautanga.

E tukua ana ngā First Home Loan e ētahi pēke me ētahi atu kaituku moni, ā, e oatitia ana e Kāinga Ora. Ko te tikanga o tērā ka utu noa iho pea koe i te 5% moni kuhu kaua ko te 20%. Hei tauira, ko te kāinga e $500,000 te uara, ka whakarato noa iho pea koe i te moni kuhu o te $25,000 ka taea i te tapeke o tō KiwiSaver (tangohia te $1000 me noho ki tō pūkete KS) me ō pūtea penapena.

Me tutuki i a koe ngā paearu ōrite ki te First Home Grant, me tutuki hoki ngā whakaritenga mō te poki Utu Whare ā-Rohe. Anei te rārangi o ngā Kaituku moni e tuku ana i te First Home Loan i tēnei wā. Ka taea e koe te toha i ēnei taipitopito, te tohu rānei i ō kaiwhakauru ki https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/first-home-loan

www.westpac.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 177 277

www.tsbbank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 231 232

www.kiwibank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 272 278

www.nzcuemployees.co.nz
Waea: 09 579 0448

www.co-operativebank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 134 034

www.sbsbank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 727 2265

www.nzcubaywide.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 BAYWIDE
Email: enquiries@nzcubaywide.co.nz

www.nbs.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0200101700
Email: nelson@nbs.co.nz

www.nzhl.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 332 837

Mēnā e noho ana koe i tētahi whare Kāinga ora i tēnei wā, he koha te takuhe Tenant Home Ownership o te 10% o te utu hoko o ētahi whare Kāinga ora, atu ki te mōrahi o te $20,000.  Kāore te takuhe Tenant Home Ownership i te wātea i ngā rohe e nui ana te popono mō ngā whare kāwanatanga.  Ko ētahi o ēnei rohe ko: 

• Tāmaki Makaurau 
• Te Whanganui-a-Tara 
• Ōtautahi 
• Kirikiriroa me 
• Tauranga

Kia mōhio, e wātea anake ana tēnei mō te hokonga o ētahi whare Kāinga Ora motuhake, ā, e kore e pā ki te hoko i ētahi atu whare. Mēnā he kainoho koe, ā, e hiahia ana ki te tono mō te takuhe Tenant Home Ownership, ka taea e koe te whakakī i te pukatono takuhe Tenant Home Ownership hei wāhanga o tō tono ki te hoko i te whare e nōhia nei e koe. Ka kitea ngā puka me ētahi atu mōhiohio i konei

https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/tenant-home-ownership/

Ko te Kaupapa Pūtea Taurewa o Kāinga Whenua he kaupapa i waenga i a Kāinga Ora me Kiwibank hei āwhina i te Māori ki te pupuri kāinga i runga i ō rātou whenua kaipupuri-maha. E wātea ana ngā pūtea taurewa ki ngā kaitiaki whenua Māori me te hunga takitahi e whai ana i te mana ki te noho ki ō rātou whenua kaipupuri-maha. He rerekē ngā whakaritenga me te tukanga tono, nā reira tēnā kōwhiria te kōwhiringa e hiahia ana koe ki te rapu kōrero anō.

Mā Kiwibank te pūtea taurewa e whakaae, e whakarato hoki, ā, me tutuki i a koe āna paearu tuku moni whānui, tae atu ki ngā paearu a Kāinga Whenua. Ka whakarato hoki a Kāinga Ora i te inihua mōkete kaituku moni mō te pūtea taurewa.

Tēnā tirohia a https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/kainga-whenua/ mō ētahi atu mōhiohio.

Ahakoa e kore ēnei hui awheawhe e kōrero motuhake mō ngā whare Papakāinga, e akiaki ana mātou i ngā kaiwhakarite ki te kawe i tētahi kape o Te Aratohu o ngā Whare Papakāinga, ka kitea i konei ā, he hua hoki tō tēnei mātārere 

Ka puritia e te Housing Foundation te toenga o ngā hea o te whare (hei tauira, 40%), ā, ka rekoatahia kōrua tahi ko te Housing Foundation ki te taitara o te whare hei kaipupuri, kia taea e koe te hoko mai i aua hea. Ka taea tēnei e te nuinga o ngā kainoho i roto i te whitu ki te tekau tau. Me whiwhi koe i te moni kuhu (ō pūtea penapena tāpiri i te KiwiSaver) me te mōkete mō te tapeke o te utu hoko, e hoko ai koe i tō wāhanga o ngā hea. Ka whakamāramatia āmikitia tēnei ki a koe i mua o te tono i a koe kia waitohu i te Whakaaetanga Shared Ownership.

Ka taea e koe ētahi atu mōhiohio i konei, mō ngā whiringa Shared Ownership me te Rent to Own i https://www.nzhf.org/

Me kōwhiri te katoa i tētahi tahua hei whakaurunga, nā reira ko tēhea te tahua pai rawa mōu? He hiranga tonu kia kōwhiria tō tahua i runga i ngā paearu hira (kaua i te mea he ingoa rongonui, tētahi atu take rānei). Mēnā kāore koe i kōwhiri hohe i tētahi tahua i te wā i uru koe ki te KiwiSaver, nā te kāwanatanga tēnei mahi mōu, mā te whakauru i a koe ki tētahi o ngā tahua "taunoa" e iwa. I pēnei ai kia tīmata ai koe, kia tae ki te wā kia whakatau koe i tētahi ake mōu. Engari me pēhea te kōwhiri i tētahi? I te tuatahi me rapu ko tēhea momo te tahua e tika ana mōu.

I te mea he rite te nama ki te ahi, ā, ka tere horapa, me rapu moni tāpiri koe ka whakamahi hei whakapoko ahi. Me aro aua moni ki te nama kotahi, kia poko rā anō taua ahi. Kātahi ka neke ki tētahi atu kia wātea katoa ai. Ko tēhea nama hei kōwhiringa i te tuatahi? Ko te ara wawe ko te aro ki te mea e teitei ana te pāpātanga huamoni, engari he nui te hunga ka tīmata i te nama iti rawa hei ānga i te tuatahi. Rapua i konei te mea pai ki a koe. Ka mahara ake e kore koe e noho mokemoke ana i tēnei take: e wātea ana te āwhinatanga. Toro atu ki te tīma i MoneyTalks, ahakoa muna, i 0800 345 123, help@moneytalks.co.nz, pātuhi rānei 4029.

E kore pea koe e mōhio i te taumaha o te huamoni me ngā utu kāri taurewa i runga i a koe, e pēhi nei i a koe, kia kore ai e hoka. Nā, whakawāteatia taua taumahatanga: rapua he kāri huamoni-iti, ā, ka whakarite i tō whāinga kia aro atu ki te noho nama-kore i ngā marama me ngā tau e tū mai nei. Kei whea mai?

I te mea ehara a KiwiSaver i te pūkete penapena, engari he pūkete haumi kē ka piki, ka heke hoki te uara, he pātai pai tērā hei whiu. He tika kia nui ake te tāpaetanga? I tua atu i te whakarite kia nui te tāpaetanga kia uru mai ngā tāpaetanga a tō kaituku mahi me te kāwanatanga, otirā he whakaaro atamai te KiwiSaver nā tērā, kei a koe kē te tikanga ka pēhea te nui o te tāpaetanga. Hei āwhina i a koe ki te whakatau, he ngāwari noa te whakatau tata i te nui o te tahua ka eke i a koe i roto i a KiwiSaver. Mēnā kāore koe i hiamo i te nui o ngā hua e manakotia ana, e rua ō ara ki te panoni i tērā - ko te nui o ō tāpaetanga me te momo tahua kei roto koe. Koirā ngā tautuhinga KiwiSaver e rua ka taea e koe te panoni hei hiki i tō hua anamata.

Me kakama ka tika! Kaua e aro atu ki ngā whakatairanga tatauranga e ngana nei ki te whakaohomauri i a koe ki te penapena. Tērā pea ka iti ake te hiahia i tā rātou i whakaaro ai. Me pēnei kē te whakaaro: mō ia $100,000 ka penapenatia e koe, ka rite tērā ki te āhua $100 i te wiki hei te roanga o tō whakatānga. Ā, tāpiri ake tēnei ki te penihana o Aotearoa. Nā, ko tō whakautu kei te āhua kē o ngā whāinga o tō āhua noho.

E rapu ana rātou i te moni auau e kuhu mai ana mō ngā hia tau e tū mai nei! Koirā te mea e āhei ana rātou ki te mahi moni. E rite tonu ai te rere o āu moni i a koe e utu ana i tō mōkete, e rua ngā mea ka tirohia motuhaketia e rātou. Ko te tuatahi ko te nui o tō moni kuhu. Koirā i noho ai a KiwiSaver hei āwhina nui ki te hoko i tō kāinga tuatahi - ka āhei koe ki te tango moni hei hiki i tō moni kuhu. Ko te tuarua ko te nui o te moni whiwhi e wātea ana ki a koe ki te whakahaere i aua utunga. Ko te nui o aua mea e rua, ka nui ake pea tā rātou tuku moni ki a koe, e uru ai koe ki tētahi whare.

Nā, whakaarohia mō te wā poto mēnā kāore he here o te KiwiSaver me ōna pūtea. Ki ōu whakaaro ka hia te nui o te pūtea ka noho ki ō tātou pūkete? E kore pea e nui. Ka noho pea a KiwiSaver hei kāri "whakaea nama". Ka piki pea ngā nama o te tangata, ka whakamahia te KiwiSaver ki te whakaea, ā, ka pērā tonu, ka pērā tonu. Mea rawa ake, ko te whare i penapena moni ai koe, te ahungarua rānei i manakotia e koe, ka nunumi i te tirohanga. Ka āhei pea koe ki te tango moni mai i tō KiwiSaver mēnā ka taumahatia koe, ā, e kore e kaha ki te hoko kai, nā, he oraititanga pai tērā. Engari ko ngā tangohanga take pōhara ehara mō te utu pūtea taurewa, hāmene, ngā kaikohi nama rānei. Ko te tikanga o te KiwiSaver mō ngā whāinga pae tawhiti whai take.

E rongo ana mātou i tō mamae - e kōrero ana hoki te marea mō te huamoni whakaputu me ērā mea, engari mēnā kāore he moni hei whakaputu (ā, e tāketia ana hoki), kua toka tō noho. Ā, mēnā koe e whakamātau ana ki te noho i runga i ō pūtea penapena pērā i te hunga whakatānga, ka uaua kē atu. Koirā i noho ai te mahi haumi hei wāhanga o te anamata o te katoa, ā, me te take e haumi ana tātou ki ngā hea i ēnei rā. Nā, ehara i te mea e akiaki ana mātou i te katoa kia ruku i ngā mahi mōrearea (kei toropuku tō moe), engari mā te haumi ki roto i ngā hea ka āwhina pea i te tipunga o ō moni, e hoki mai ai ētahi ki tō pūkoro.

Āe, e kore e ea i ērā mahi anake. Ehara noa te penapena pūtea i te whakapuru i ngā āpure - engari ko te tohu i ō moni ki te wāhi e hiahiatia ana e koe. Koirā i kaingākau ai ki a mātou ngā mahere whakapau pūtea i ēnei rā, tatū noa ki te mea e karangahia ana he "te utu i a koe i te tuatahi". Ko te whakaaro ia, i mua i tō utu i ētahi atu, me aunoa te puri moni wehe - me huna pea - hei penapena mō tāu e tino hiahia ana. Nā reira kua haere taua moni ki ō whāinga ake - kaua ki ō ētahi atu. Koirā te huarahi e puta ai tō ihu.

E āhua pākaha nei koe ki a koe anō, i te mea he wā anō ka tukuna ngā here, ā, ka remurere te hokohoko! Kua whai whakaaro anō kia ki te āta whakamahere mō tērā? Arā, whakarite he mahere whakapau pūtea (arā he mahere pūtea) e whai nei i tētahi wāhanga mō ō whakapaunga pūtea ohorere. Ina tuku koe kia whakangā tō mahere pūtea, me te tō mai i ō whakapaunga katoa ki tō mahere, ka māmā ake te pūmau ki te ara.

Ākene he tikanga, he kawenga ahurea whaitake nui ā mātou, kāore i te rapa anake i tō tātou wā, tō tātou aro, engari i tō tātou āwhinatanga ā-ahurea ki te tautoko i ērā. Ahakoa koha, ahakoa tangi, hura kōhatu, tētahi atu hui rānei, he mea nui tonu kia whai wāhi atu tātou. Pērā ki ngā āhuatanga katoa, he mea nui ki a mātou, otirā he rite ki ētahi atu o ō mātou whāinga, te whakamahere ā-ahurea mō tērā. Mā te whakarite i tētahi tahua ohotata hei āwhina i a tātou kia rite kia puta te karanga kia whai wāhi atu - pēnei i te 'pūkete koha' ka whakatahatia kia taea e tātou te whakamahere pūtea, kia rite hoki mō ngā tūponotanga kaupapa ā-whānau, ā-hapū, ā-iwi hoki. Anei tā mātou taputapu whakamahere pūtea, ka taea e koe te tāpiri i tōu ake tahua ohotata, pūkete koha hoki/rānei ki tō mahere.

Use Sorted’s budgeting tool to understand your income and expenses and then use the Mortgage calculator to help you understand if you can afford to repay the mortgage

Eligible members can withdraw their KiwiSaver savings (including tax credits). However at least $1,000 must remain in their KiwiSaver account. To be eligible for a

KiwiSaver first home withdrawal, you must: 

• Have been a member of a KiwiSaver scheme or complying superannuation fund for at least three years, 
• Have not owned a home or land before, (although there are conditions for a 2nd chance home buyer) 
• Be buying a home or land in New Zealand, 
• Intend to live in the home or on the land you’re buying for at least 6 months 
• Have not made a first home withdrawal before. 

Please also check that your KiwiSaver provider is a complying fund for First Home Withdraw. 

KiwiSaver contribution requirements 

• You must have been regularly contributing at least the minimum amount to KiwiSaver for 3 years. 
• The minimum contribution is currently 3% of your total income. 
• The 3 years don't have to be consecutive, as long as they add up to 3 years' worth of contributions. For example, if you have been a KiwiSaver member for 3 years but took a 6 month savings suspension, you would not be eligible for the First Home Grant until you had contributed for another 6 months. 
• Contributions must be made from all your sources of income, not just your main source of income. 
• If you are a non-earner you need to make voluntary contributions of at least 3% of the adult minimum wage based on a 40 hour week. 
• If you are self-employed or on a benefit and make voluntary contributions, you need to have made contributions at least once a year for 3 years of at least 3% of your annual income. 
• If you have made a combination of automatic and voluntary contributions, the total amount needs to be at least 3% of your total annual income. 

Start here to see if you qualify and what for? 

To be eligible for a First Home Grant and/or, you must: 

• be over 18 
• have earned less than the income caps in the last 12 months 
• not currently own any property, this does not include ownership of Māori land 
• have been contributing at least the minimum amount to KiwiSaver (or complying fund or exempt employer scheme) for 3 years or more 
• purchase a property that is within the regional house price caps 
• agree to live in your new house for at least 6 months. 

You must also make sure the house or land you want to buy meets the property requirements. 

If you have been contributing to a superannuation scheme other than KiwiSaver, call us on 0508 935 266 to check that your fund is eligible. 

Also check www.kaingaora.govt.nz to ensure this information is current. 

Income requirements 

In the 12 months before you apply, you must have earned: 

• $95,000 or less before tax for a single buyer 
• $150,000 or less before tax for 2 or more buyers. 

Here are the Regional price caps 

If you buy an existing home, you can get $1,000 for each of the 3 (or more) years you've paid into the scheme. The most you can get is $5,000 for 5 or more years. 

If you buy a new home or land to build on, you can get $2,000 for each of the 3 (or more) years you've paid into the scheme. The most you can get is $10,000 for 5 or more years. 

No, you do not need to pay it back, although there are circumstances that you do need to inform of any changes to your application after you submit your application which may affect your eligibility.  

First Home Loans are issued by selected banks and other lenders, and underwritten by Kāinga Ora. It means that you may only need to provide a 5% deposit instead of the normal 20%. For example, a house that is worth $500,000, you may only need to provide a deposit of $25,000 which can be made up of your KiwiSaver balance (less the $1000 you have to leave in your KS account) and any savings you have.  

You need to meet the same criteria at the First Home Grant and meet the requirements for the Regional House Price cap. Here is the list of Lenders that currently offer First Home Loan. You can share these details or direct your participants to https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/first-home-loan/ 

www.westpac.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 177 277

www.tsbbank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 231 232

www.kiwibank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 272 278

www.nzcuemployees.co.nz
Waea: 09 579 0448

www.co-operativebank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 134 034

www.sbsbank.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 727 2265

www.nzcubaywide.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 BAYWIDE
Email: enquiries@nzcubaywide.co.nz

www.nbs.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0200101700
Email: nelson@nbs.co.nz

www.nzhl.co.nz
Waea Kore-utu: 0800 332 837

If you currently live in a Kāinga ora home, the Tenant Home Ownership grant is a gift of 10% of the purchase price of selected Kāinga Ora houses up to a maximum of $20,000. The Tenant Home Ownership grant is NOT available in areas where there is high demand for state houses.

These areas include:

• Auckland 
• Wellington City 
• Christchurch 
• Hamilton and 
• Tauranga. 

Note that this is only available for the purchase of specific Kāinga Ora properties and cannot be applied to buy any other properties. If you are a tenant and want to apply for the Tenant Home Ownership grant you can complete the Tenant Home Ownership grant application form as part of your application to purchase the property you currently live in. Forms and further information are found here https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/tenant-home-ownership/

The Kāinga Whenua Loan Scheme is an initiative between Kāinga Ora and Kiwibank to help Māori achieve home ownership on their multiple-owned land. The loans are available for both Māori land trusts, and individuals with a right to occupy their multiple-owned Māori land. The requirements and application process are different, so please select the option you are interested in to learn more. 

Kiwibank approves and provides the loan, and you will need to meet their standard lending criteria as well as the Kāinga Whenua criteria. Kāinga Ora provides lenders’ mortgage insurance for the loan. 

Please see https://kaingaora.govt.nz/home-ownership/kainga-whenua/ for further information. 

Although, these workshops do not specifically cover Papakāinga housing, we would encourage facilitators to have a copy of A guide to Papakāinga Housing found here and also, this brochure is particularly helpful. 

Shared Ownership is a programme that provides an opportunity for whanau and Housing Foundation to share the ownership of a property. You would buy a majority share of the property (usually 60% or more) making it more affordable for you than if you were to buy 100%. 

Housing Foundation would retain ownership of the remaining share of the property (e.g. 40%) and both you and Housing Foundation would be recorded on the property title as owners until you are able to buy them out. Most households are able to do this within 7-10 years. You will need a deposit (your savings plus KiwiSaver) and a mortgage for the balance of the purchase price to buy your share. This will all be explained to you in detail before you are asked to sign a Shared Ownership Agreement.  

You can find more information here about Shared Ownership and Rent to Own options at https://www.nzhf.org/

Everyone needs to choose which fund to be in, so which is the best fund for you? It's important to pick your fund based on important criteria (not just because it's a familiar brand or something). If you didn’t actively choose a fund when you started in KiwiSaver, the government did this for you by putting you into one of nine “default” funds. This was to get you started, until you got around to making a choice yourself. But how do you pick one? First up is to find which type of fund is right for you. 

Aiming to be debt-free? It’s the high-interest debt that hurts most: payday loans, credit cards, store cards, car loans. That’s what we’re after first. When you have a number of loans on the go, there are a couple of strategies that help to take them down. The first is a "debt avalanche", where you list all your debts and target the highest-interest loan first (the most expensive). The second is a "debt snowball", where you work on repaying the smallest loan first. Find out which could work for you. And remember you’re not alone in this: help is at the ready. Reach out to the team at MoneyTalks, even anonymously, on 0800 345 123, help@moneytalks.co.nz or text 4029. 

You might not realise how much your credit card interest and fees are holding you back. It’s important to try at least make the minimum payment to avoid being charged late fees on top of interest. But to really get on top of your debt, try to pay more than the minimum. If you find yourself not paying off your credit cards each month, find a low-interest card to help become debt-free faster.  Wouldn’t that feel amazing? 

Since KiwiSaver is not a savings account, but rather an investment account that goes up and down in value, this is a good question to ask. Is it worth putting more in? Beyond making sure you put in enough to get your employer and government contributions, which make KiwiSaver a no-brainer, how much you contribute is up to you. To help you decide, you can easily estimate how much you’re on track to achieve in KiwiSaver. If you are a bit underwhelmed by your projected results, you have two levers to change it – your contributions and the type of fund you’re in. Those are the two KiwiSaver settings you can change to boost your future results. 

It’s never too early! But pay no attention to headline numbers aimed to shock you into saving. You probably need far less than they let on. It’s never too early! But pay no attention to headline numbers aimed to shock you into saving. You probably need far less than they let on. Think of it this way: for every $100,000 you save, that typically equates to around $100 a week throughout your retirement. And that’s on top of NZ Super. So your answer depends on what your lifestyle goal is. It also helps to have a look at what retirees are spending today in terms of a “no frills” or “choices” lifestyle, based on surveys. You may find your retirement number is lower than you think. 

They’re looking to you for a regular stream of money for decades to come! That’s what allows them to turn a profit. To make sure you can keep that steady stream flowing as you repay your mortgage, they look at two things in particular. The first is how much of a deposit you have. That’s why KiwiSaver can be such a help with buying your first home – you’re allowed to withdraw funds to boost your deposit. The second is how much income you have available to handle those repayments. The more you have of both, the more likely they will throw money at you and get you into a property. 

Well, imagine for a second that KiwiSaver didn’t have any rules around the money in it. How much do you think would stay in our accounts? We’d bet not much. KiwiSaver would become a “get out of debt” card. People would run up their debt, hit their KiwiSaver, rinse and repeat. Soon that first home you were saving for, or the retirement you’re looking forward to, would disappear out of sight. You may be allowed to withdraw funds from your KiwiSaver if things get dire and you can’t put food on the table, and that’s a good safety valve. But hardship withdrawals aren’t for paying loans, fines or debt collectors. KiwiSaver is for those long-term goals worth sticking with. 

We feel your pain – everyone goes on about compound interest and all that, but if there’s not much around to compound (and it’s still getting taxed), you get nowhere. And if you were trying to live off your savings like retirees do, it becomes even more challenging. This is why investing is part of everyone’s future, and why many of us are having a go with shares these days. Now we’re not encouraging everyone to take too many risks (no sense losing sleep over this), but investing in shares can help your money keep growing so you get something back into your pocket. 

Yeah, that’s obviously not going to be enough on its own. Saving money is not just about plugging the leaks here and there – it’s also about guiding your money where you want it. That’s why we’re really into spending plans these days, as well as what’s called “paying yourself first”. The idea is, before you pay everyone else, automatically tuck money away separately – sneakily even – towards saving for what you really want. So it goes to your goals – not someone else’s. That’s the way to get ahead. 

You’re probably being a bit hard on yourself, as we all lose control and impulse buy sometimes! Have you ever considered planning for it? That is, make a spending plan (a.k.a. a budget) that has a category for all your spontaneous money moves. When you give your budget room to breathe and bring all your spending into your plan, it makes it easier to stay on track. 

That said, if you’ve got a real addiction and truly are “shopping until you drop” – dropping way too many dollars uncontrollably – make sure to get some help and support straight away. 

We may have cultural practices and responsibilities that are important to us, that require not only our time or presence to support but also our financial help.  Whether it be koha for tangi, unveilings or other hui it’s important that we are able to participate. Like anything that's important to us, similar to any goals we have, we can plan ahead for it financially.  Building an emergency fund helps to be ready when we are called upon to contribute – such as a 'koha account' set aside so that we can budget and be ready for any whānau, hapu or iwi kaupapa that come up. Here's our budgeting tool, where you can add your own emergency fund and or koha account into your plan.