Close
Enter your
text here
Posts Tagged :

retirement

Invest or save? Three things every Kiwi should consider before plotting a path to financial freedom

You, your wallet, and your spare change walk into a bank. What, were you expecting a punchline? Well, these isn’t one! Your financial future is no joke. That said, the wealth of savings options available to Kiwis these days will have you laughing all the way to the bank. Or credit union. Or investment company. Or or or… do you see the problem yet? Saving money is always a smart idea. But we reckon being spoiled for choice still presents…

read more
Five ways to screw up your retirement: a lifelong project

Step One: Spend money you don’t have First of all, you probably want to spend lots of money. More money, in fact, than you’ve got in the bank. Let’s say you’ve got a good job and you’ve found a place to rent in the Auckland market and you’re happy with your lifestyle. Why not crank it up to the next level by moving out of your flat, buying a bigger car on HP and maybe going on that overseas’ holiday.…

read more
hand holding burning money
Are your finances on FIRE? (That’s Financially Independent, Retiring Early)

If you’re anything like the average Kiwi, you see retirement as something that happens after you turn 65 (or, *cough*, 67). You stop working, live off the pension, and you’re Officially Retired. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and there are people all over the world challenging ideas about post-65 life. Here’s five things you should know about the New Retirement. Your finances can be on FIRE One of the ‘new ways’ is called FIRE  –  Financially Independent…

read more
Man with empty pockets
Debt-free retirement out of reach for many Kiwis

Here at Credit Simple HQ, we’re always talking to Kiwis from all over the country about their credit scores and their finances. So when we noticed a trend – that is, older Kiwis telling us they don’t feel sorted for retirement – we thought we’d dig into the data to see if the numbers would tell us a story. And that data shows that New Zealanders over 55 are buckling under debt pressure, with the age group making up an increasing…

read more
Retired couple sitting on chair looking out at Lake Wanaka
Five simple facts about retirement for Kiwis (and why you need to get your ducks in a row)

We haven’t paid into the Cullen Fund for seven years Heard of the Cullen Fund? It’s named after Michael Cullen, who was Minister of Finance in 2001 when the fund was set up. It’s also called the NZ Super Fund, and it’s designed to partially fund our retirement pension. The fund is currently $33.1b. In July 2009 the National government stopped contributing to it, and if that hadn’t happened, it would have been $52.6b in January this year (according to…

read more
Free money, anyone? Cash in with KiwiSaver

Have you got your free five hundy for the year yet? That’s $521 free money of yours sitting at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) waiting for you to claim it. Here’s how to milk your KiwiSaver. The big five hundy What? Yes, every single person in the country aged over 18 can get $521 a year back from the government. But you’ll need to be in KiwiSaver to get this tax credit (read more on the IRD website). When you sign up and…

read more
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
Retired couple playing video games
Two easy ways to fast-track your retirement

Let’s have a quick talk about the meaning of life. Well, maybe not the whole nine yards, but do you have moments in your cubicle when you wonder if the way you’ve got your life planned is the smartest way to go at it. What are your plans for financial security, and where do you hope to be when you retire? And how soon do you want it to happen? Here’s an unnerving thought: is it possible your plans for…

read more
Man using ATM outdoors
Does your bank reckon you should have your KiwiSaver with them, all under one roof? Read this first

I banked a cheque the other day (yes, I know! Some people are still using cheques) and as I stood there at the counter, the teller asked me if I had my KiwiSaver with the bank. “No, it’s elsewhere,” I said. “Why don’t you bring it to us?” he asked. “Because I’m with another bank and their fees are lower,” I said.  “But you should have your KiwiSaver with your everyday bank,” he argued. Now this made me a bit…

read more
Are you YOLOing your finances?

Before we had the Kardashians to keep up with (yes, there was life before the Kardashians), we kept up with the Joneses. The Joneses were more figurative than literal and didn’t have their own TV show; they represented the people next door who owned more (and better) gadgets than you. The Joneses and the Kardashians – along with social media, celebrity culture and reality TV – are responsible for creating the #YOLO attitude: You Only Live Once. It’s a lifestyle…

read more