Close
Enter your
text here
Posts Tagged :

debt

Retired couple enjoying sailing
Worried about the retirement age going up? Here’s how to kick your finances into shape before you hit 50

Hey Gen X! Here’s what you need to know about your money and finances before you turn the big 5-0. The next decade and a half is going to tick away fast and some of us need to grow up and get serious about our finances.  You don’t want to be stuck at home eating baked beans whilst your friends post their fabulous post retirement travels on social media do you? Home truths about your finances as you get older…

read more
Man jumping through hoops
Buddy, can you spare a million? How easy is it really to get a mortgage in New Zealand?

It’s amazing, really, how many hoops you have to jump through these days just to earn yourself the privilege of borrowing hundreds of thousands dollars in a home loan. But how many hoops are we talking, exactly? How difficult is it in the current market to get yourself a mortgage? A bit tricky, says Maria Slade, author of Buyer Beware, A New Zealand Home Buyer’s Guide. For starters, you don’t really get past GO without a 20 per cent deposit…

read more
Parents behaving badly: How parents’ money habits can rub off on the next generation

The concept of ‘monkey see, monkey do’ is alive and well in Kiwi families, and that includes when it comes to our parents’ habits with money. When parents behave badly with money, guess what their children do? As a parent, your role modelling is one of the most powerful indicators of how well your children will survive financially. Whether your children are two or 20 you can set them a better example. Don’t see money and spend it Do you see…

read more
Bill past due
How to deal with debt collectors – including your rights and privacy

There’s nothing like owning a ferocious guard dog for dealing with debt collectors. Chomp, chomp, chomp. There goes the arm of that dastardly fella. No, no, no. Stop there. Kiwis consider debt collectors to be a lower form of life. Regardless, setting the dog on them isn’t going to solve your problems – it’ll just make them worse. Debt collectors don’t even taste that nice. We know it’s common behaviour to stick your head in the sand when you can’t…

read more
Young, single, and on a budget? Skip the mistakes that others make

You’re young, single and on a budget. It’s hard being a ‘yadult’ sometimes. But life’s a lot more fun if you’re not stressing about the power being cut off. Take some tips from others’ mistakes and skip the ‘shoulda known better’ stage of your financial future. Here’s how: Have a spending plan. That’s a budget, but if you think of it as spending plan it doesn’t feel like a torture device. The idea is that you get a pen and…

read more
Lady in square holding shopping bags
Are you a victim of lifestyle inflation? Our 10 (very honest) principles will help you beat the disease

Once upon a time I used to head to the nearest bakery or fruit shop for cheap lunch. A 50c bread roll or banana was sustenance enough to keep me going until I got home to have a decent balanced meal. Bit by bit over the years my bun and fruit habit evolved into buying $10 packs of sushi when I’m caught short without a packed lunch. Why? Because like virtually every person alive I can fall into ‘lifestyle inflation’.…

read more
Got a Christmas debt hangover? We’ve got five tips to sober up your bank balance

The post-Christmas season can be a tough one, and our data shows Kiwis are more likely to let their credit bills languish unpaid at this time of the year compared to any other. If you’re anything like the average New Zealander, you’re probably feeling the effects of spending up large in the lead-up to the festive season and in the wake of Boxing Day sales. Usually around 6.4% of credit card accounts go past due without being paid, but in the January…

read more
Auckland
In the habit of ‘whacking it on the mortgage’? Start treating it like any other debt (and get ahead)

Need a new kitchen? Fancy that round the world trip? Just whack it on the mortgage. In 21st century New Zealand we extend the mortgage every time we have a bit of ‘spare equity’ built up. It’s like we’ve inverted the whole concept of borrowing and the aim of paying it off has disappeared out the window. If you don’t pay that mortgage down as you would other debt, you could be forced to work until you drop just to…

read more
Man working out outdoors
Boost your savings with the Three Ts (track, trim, and target)

Saving is the worst. I cannot save money. I just can’t. I look at my payslip each month and take out the rent, the food, the car, the power, the water, the gas and there’s barely enough left to pay for the odd drink after work let alone save up for a deposit on a house or anything stupid like that. I know I was supposed to pay myself first but somehow that just never worked out. By the time…

read more
Couple unpacking boxes in home
The pros and cons of going guarantor

‘Going guarantor’ are two dangerous little words. “Nan, will you go guarantor on my car? You don’t have to pay any money.” Stop right there. Going guarantor can be a great way to help others out. But it’s way more risky than most people think. Read this article before you say yes or no. The worst-case scenario is that the lender comes after you for the money. Parents have lost their homes from going guarantor and families have been torn…

read more