Approx 90k a year salary, I'm 20, have a few goals atm.

About 35k saved, want a 30k car for my 21st, looking into a new motorcycle (18k maybe)

Approx expenses each fortnight are $1300, rest of my money is spare pretty much unless I'm buying stupid stuff.

Any advice where to put my money?

Hi,

I have a UK pension, I've been contributing in it for 2 years and am moving back to NZ. I see to move it, the funds need to be moved into a QROPS (recognised overseas penseion scheme). I see since 2015 Kiwisaver does not meet the requirements.

Is there any news of Kiwisaver meeting this requirement in the future, any latest news?

I saw this article posted around the issue, but I can't quite understand it? - https://www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/tp/publications/2024/2024-taxation-emergency-response-bill/ris---taxation-of-transfers-from-overseas-pension-schemes.pdf?modified=20240825215314&modified=20240825215314

Ideally the only reason I want to move it to Kiwisaver is so that I can use it towards a house deposit.

Thanks all.

Hi everyone,

I’m in the process of purchasing my first home through a house and land package and would appreciate some advice.

Here’s my situation:

The building agreement I received from the building company is one document that includes the prices of land and house.

I haven’t signed the building agreement/contract because I was 2% short of the 20% deposit. My broker recommended having the full 20% ready before signing, so my family is helping with that, and the funds should come through in a week or two.

In the meantime, my mortgage broker has submitted my home loan application to get things moving, and he’s told me that I need to provide the signed agreement as soon as I have it.

I’ve engaged a lawyer, and they’ve completed their review of the agreement. They sent me an email summarizing key points and recommendations, including several things I need to clarify with the builder (e.g., escalation halt date, set sunset clause date, etc.).

I understand that as a purchaser, it’s my responsibility to read and understand the agreement. However, when it comes to clarifying legal terms with the builder, I feel quite lost and worried about making the wrong decision, especially with the amount of money involved. This is a major financial commitment, and since I don’t have anyone close by to guide me through it, I’m unsure whether I’m asking the right questions or if the responses I get truly protect my interests.

Is it common for buyers to handle these discussions/communications themselves, or can my lawyer communicate directly with the builder?

For those who have been through this, how did you manage communication between all parties? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Looking for some help please as we’re chopping into our 15 days to get unconditional on our first home 😩

Insurance - the bank requires us to arrange an insurance policy on the property before they will approve our mortgage. The policy must list them as the mortgagee, and have no caps, exclusions or restrictions to do with natural disasters.

• None of the quotes I am getting are giving me the option to have a mortgagee listed?

• Mortgage broker is saying we need to get COI for the bank to approve out loan, but how do we get this if we can’t get insurance as settlement date is so far out?

• Property has a “flood susceptible area” that is in a back corner of a paddock, and the house is raised up on a flat elevation miles away from the shown flooding area. But Mortgage broker says insurance needs to indicate they will still cover property. But none of the insurance companies have asked at all about this kind of issue?

• We need to send all this insure stuff to our solicitor to approve and send to bank???

Is it possible to rent out a house alone? On an average salary? No one in my family has done it alone, so I'm just wondering if you still could?

Had an accident recently and Ami determined I was not at fault so the $400 excess was waived. I selected their motorhub partner to repair when they reached out to say I had to pay the excess! I disputed it of course and they conceded, but it left a bad taste that they tried it on me. My partner and her sister are with Ami and they told me they went through the same thing. Is this a coincidence or do they do it by default?

After tax incomes. Also includes income from our rental property obtained by subdividing our first home and building a new house on the back section. Various categories may seem low due to my work paying for things like phone bills, internet and fuel. Mortgage seems pretty high because we’re trying to pay it down pretty aggressively while we can.

Hello lovely people!

Would just want to know if my understanding regarding the Paid Paternal in IRD.

Scenario: My wife is pregnant and her due date is July 09, 2025. She is currently employed but on a fixed term - started March 16, 2024 and will end on April 30, 2025. She’s working 37hrs per week.

Based on this link from IRD: https://www.ird.govt.nz/paid-parental-leave/qualifying/work-requirements

• She will be able still receive payments even if her contract will end on April 30 as she have worked for an average of at least 10 hours a week for any 26 weeks over the 52-week period.

Is my understanding correct? If yes, can she immediately apply for a paid parental right after her contract ends? And would it be a lump sum?

Thank you! 🙂 Bless everyone!

The unconditional offer has been accepted, and I paid out the agreed-upon 10% deposit to the RE agent's account.

Next day the vendor is asking to release that money to them immediately, instead 10 days as previously agreed.

I wanna say no, because:

• if they knew they gonna need it, why didn't they mention this in advance?
• they already negotiated 2 months longer settlement than I wanted
• Giving up the little protection I have as a buyer doesn't feel like a great idea

But I should say yes, because I don't wanna antagonize them and give them reasons to screw me over in some way. I've done them a lot other small favours and concessions already too, but this one seem liek a big favour..

I feel pretty bad about this choice, because there's really no positive outcome for me. My question is, what's the lesser evil then?

(I did ask my lawyer, but they always take forever to answer, so I might as well ask somewhere else.)

Have 25k in my savings account 7k in voo on sharsies, 6 months rent in high interest savings account and same with car and insurance payments, keen to put 10k into something but I'm not sure where to put it somthing different from voo can't decide between milford, invest now or a term deposit, kinda nervous to put that much into voo in one go 🤣😅 any suggestions, money won't be needed for 3 to 5 years

I’m looking at purchasing a pretty expensive watch for my partner as a special gift.

It is not a walk in and purchase sorta of watch, it’s more of we’ll call you when we have the watch.

I travel often - in this scenario, how do I get it duty free?

Thanks in advance.

What's the best platform to invest $316.39 per week?

I’m looking to start a budget for my income and spend to start saving for a houser . I thought a good place to start would be to look at one of those flow charts I see posted on here every so often. Could someone please point me to how I can create one and any beginner advice?

Thanks

Hi everyone,

So my partner and I (both 35) have run through our finances and done the budget for the year and are in the following position:

• Gross income of $150k (40k of which is self employed).
• 1.5 million of residential property equity.
• 50k owing on the rental property.
• 2 kids.
• no other debt.
• We have an adequate rainy day fund.
• 50k gift on offer (only to be used for property).

We are considering what next to do with our money and investments in preparation for retirement and figured we would ask and get different opinions too, some of our options we are considering are:

• buying a third property that would cost no more then 600k (including renovation costs) and require work from me, I am a builder.
• moving from our existing family home into a bigger one (up to 1.3M roughly) and offsetting a bigger mortgage with estimated rental income of $750 conservatively from our current home. This would need a top up from us weekly.
• Investing 100% in an ETF or managed fund with a projected annual growth rate of 10.6% and retiring on the compounding interest.
• Investing 100% in Kiwisaver with the same thinking as point 3, I think this is better for taxes but haven't read enough.
• Investing 20% into crypto and 80% into a similar managed fund.

As it stands with our mortgage on our rental being covered we are essentially mortgage free and that is a position I don't take for granted so the idea of getting another one and using the family home as security is daunting. We would like to hold onto both current properties. We have $600 a fortnight to play with on the income that hasn't come from the self employment which we would throw at the fund or top up mortgage etc.

Would love to know what others would do in this position and by all means if you have other ideas it would be great to know :) cheers

Hello Internet,

I'm looking to put together a budget worksheet to estimate my outgoings and savings whilst owning a home.

I will be looking in the price range of 650k - 850k in Auckland, most likely north or west Auckland.

Does anyone have any estimates as to what numbers I could use for utilities, insurance, rates, etc without having to get quote after quote for things like insurance?

Costs would be for a single person. My utilities are included in my current rent so I find it hard to guesstimate.

Thanks!

I'm beginning training as a pilot this year, and while my mandatory course fee's are still paid for (although its maxed out and im still paying some out of pocket), I want to know if itd be possible to use the cost of living loan payments to pay for some additional flight hours during my training.

Thank you.

Trying to keep someone navigate credit card debt. They’ve made bad decisions leading to credit card debt now unable to pay. Have been paying the minimum. I’ve advised to ask the bank to change card type to low interest. Can the bank refuse to do that? Also is it a good idea to withdraw KiwiSaver to get rid of credit card debt? Income is minimal & not fixed.

Happy Friday, fellow wage-slaves! 🤪

I’m around 10 years away from picking up my gold card. I have a pretty good six figure income, with relatively good job security. I’ll probably be okay, but I know guys my age who are losing their corporate jobs, and will probably never get a well-paid job again.

Anyhoo, at some point, we have to think about a downsized life, and a more modest income. One of the growth areas in the economy is caring for the elderly, and I see more and more Driving Miss Daisy cars around the place. The conditions are quite stringent: you need a police background check, you need to have done a first aid course, a dementia care course etc etc.

Actively helping your passenger in and out of the car, helping bring in shopping bags etc. means you can charge a chunk more than a taxi service, so I wonder if it’s not a bad gig either on its own, or to supplement retirement.

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has direct experience or knows someone who is operating one of these franchises.

Thanks heaps.

Hi, asking for a friend who will retire once they receive their redundancy (it is confirmed they are being made redundant).

What is the best way to minimise the tax?

Should he ask to remain until after March 31st and then get paid out or will it not really matter if it is paid out this tax year?

Earning ~$125k at the moment and will get paid out for 12 months.

Earnings in NZ are very varied and some of the very high values you see on here are not typical. No matter where you are at in earnings I hope you find a path to reach the goals you have.

Copied from Linked page of Luke Kemeys (CA)

The median income of a working New Zealander is now $68,120 per year.

Stats NZ split it out per age group.

This sort of data is comparison porn for a lot of people.

But it's worth understanding what you're looking at.

Median weekly earnings ⬇️

The middle point of the distribution of weekly earnings from paid employment. For example if 99 people receive wage and salary earnings, the median weekly earnings are the weekly earnings of the 50th person - when people are ranked by weekly earnings.

So effectively half earn more than the median and half earn less.What is important to remember is that everyone has different wants in life and individually we need to understand how much we need to earn in order to be able to make ends meet or get closer to your goals.

https://preview.redd.it/90wzpjww47ge1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2d9ad06d1286a984fc1f80dbfba902639f31ae0

FYI - the data is before tax too. $68,120 is $52,574.38 after tax, ACC and KiwiSaver.

Hi Team!

Does anyone have a good, simple excel budget template that I may copy? I am not needing one to go into too finer detail but a NZ one would be appreciated?

Cheers

Hi all, Im taking the big leap into self employment soon and would value some advice. Im on a good salary but have just come out of a separation (~4 years now). I now have a house that I own 100% and 2 kids. My needs are fairly simple/cheap (although not much is cheap nowadays) and the near term financial objective is to clear the mortgage, which is about 600k currently. If it matters, Im 49 this year.

In April/May, I will cease my salaried position and take on 2 clients, with a total income of between 400-500k p.a. This will fluctuate but Im budgeting based on 400k income to the company. I own my company 100% and my current view is to pay myself ~200k p.a. and if there is a surplus at the end of the FY this can be paid out to me as dividends or salary (I dont yet understand if there’s tax implications/ difference here)with a small portion held as retained earnings. I work from home and clients are in NZ at this stage, could change. I will use my personal car and will expense petrol. This part is fairly straightforward, some learning to do on the finer details eg how to claim ‘rent’ on home office etc.

The questions I have relate to the house and trust:

I am considering starting a family trust and placing the house in the trust to protect the asset. I also have small shareholding in a company which I will place in the trust. Is this still a good idea nowadays? I was wondering if I can split my personal salary to paying myself + trust, with the trust servicing mortgage, but I believe this is not allowed. Im also unsure if there is any benefits to the trust being a shareholder of the company.

More broadly, I am trying to set things up to be more tax efficient. I am considering an accountant to help me work through some of these. I am in Eastern Bays in Auckland and would welcome any recommendations. I will likely use Xero.

I would appreciate your collective wisdom / experience.

TIA!

What are your thoughts on this rounded scenario?

$450,000 at 6.95% expiring this week

$100,000 at 5.79% expiring at the end of October.

Would you consider fixing the $450k for:

a) 5.99% for 6 months and break the October one early (reduction of $270/mo, Jul 25), or

b) 5.55% for one year, and then refix the October one for 3 months if possible (reduction of $400/mo, Jan 26), or

c) 5.55% for one year, and then fixing the October one for 6 months and also breaking it early (reduction of $400/mo, Jan 26), or

d) something I've not thought of

Monthly "savings" from interest rate drop will go back into the one with the highest interest rate.

I can't figure out whether it's worth eating the break fees, and if so, where/when.

Thoughts are so that all are due to expire at the same time (we want to change banks either mid year, or next January).

Appreciate any advice.

My broker is away and the refixing snuck up on me due to uncontrollable events.

If I was to invest over 50k in a kernel global 100 fund does kernel take care of fif tax? or do I need to calculate and sort it myself?

My husband just inherited a property from his father. He never really knew his dad so it was unexpected. The house is on Waiheke, has no mortgage against it, and homes shows it as having an estimate of $1.4m.

We are in no position to uproot the kids and move them to Waiheke, it would’ve been nice to keep it as a holiday bach but we have a huge mortgage of our own that we are struggling with so have decided that we need to sell it.

I mentioned it to my neighbour and they started recommending a family member of their who could do the conveyancing.. I’m was little hesitant but before I could answer they had them on the phone and handing it to me.

We have no idea what to expect the cost to be for conveyancing however they have already thrown a rough number at us and expecting an answer tomorrow.

We are looking for some insights from others on what to expect to pay. They have said the cost will be around $2200. Does this sound reasonable?

We’ve been looking for a bigger house (5 bed + 2 living rooms) from our townhouse (3 bed, open plan living/dining/kitchen) for about 6 months. No luck yet. ….The house next door has come up for sale and this would solve our space needs, and we would have a spare room! My wife has asked me a question which has me genuinely stumped:

If we airbnb’d the spare room occasionally would it be like doing so in our own home or would it be treated like an investment property? I think the issue is whether both homes can be our main home? Or am I going off track here?

Despite buying a new car, new phone, various new gadgets I still managed to save more than my goal ($20,000+). I am extremely lucky and grateful that I get to at home and you can focus all my time, energy and money on other productive things. Look forward to this year as I will not be having more outgoings this year (hopefully) as I have already upgraded my gadgets in 2024. Although I did have a few income streams in 2024 I will not consider as 'consistent' but rather 'risky'. Throwaway for obvious reasons.

https://preview.redd.it/gqxnsq5m33ge1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=b3fa9ff34c6adda3832dba35c9791239f1a35094

Hi all. New employment starts shortly with a private superannuation scheme that looks enticing. I know I have to put a break on KiwiSaver to join this one which I don’t mind. My current job is offering me small part time hours as a secondary income and I could do with the money. Can I do the private super one job and KiwiSaver on secondary? I also have a student loan. I know I have to pay out of both jobs for that but am unsure about the KiwiSaver thing. Any wisdom welcomed while I try and get an answer out of the ird. Thank you

Can somebody help I have some business and personal credit card with ANZ I had a big loss of my business so I couldn’t pay the repayment now i called the bank asked them to do easy repayments they purposed me $700 monthly. As i have more repayments I asked them to do $500 monthly they declined and said we will do recovery action What we can do?