property

1. 6 September 2019

   Baches (or: some terrible financial decisions can be great life decisions, and vice versa)

   File under: some terrible financial decisions can be great life decisions, and vice versa. Owning a bach is almost always the wrong call if you run the numbers — the opportunity cost on half a million…

2. 3 December 2018

   “Past performance is no guarantee of future performance” – especially when it comes to property

   "Past performance is no guarantee of future performance" isn't just compliance-speak. It's especially true for property. A client recently asked whether there's long-run data for NZ residential proper…

3. 8 February 2018

   Should I use my KiwiSaver funds to buy a house?

   The NZ news media keeps warning of "frightening" long-term consequences when people use KiwiSaver to buy a first home. This is a false dilemma. Owning a mortgage-free home by retirement is one of the…

4. 11 November 2017

   Money in the media

   Some links to interesting articles in published media such as The Press, The Sunday Star Times, and The Herald from recent months: John McCrone wrote a valuable article about "How to succeed at the re…

5. 29 October 2017

   How to get better-than-market returns

   For most people, I recommend low-cost, index-based funds — don't try to beat the market, just make sure the market doesn't beat you. But the honest answer is that you *can* get better-than-market retu…

6. 2 July 2017

   Weekend reading (1 & 2 July 2017)

   A weekend round-up of money writing worth your time. Susan Edmunds on divorce after 50 and the case for contracting out before you marry. Edmunds again on creating a sense of wealth by knowing your ne…

7. 17 June 2017

   The big financial decisions you make need to reflect your values and priorities

   My wife and I own a wonderful house. We could have bought one for half the cost, halved the mortgage, and been financially independent years earlier. We made the decision with open eyes — we were prep…

8. 23 May 2017

   Life isn’t a game of Monopoly. There are many different ways to invest money

   My kids pulled out the Monopoly board recently and it struck me how narrow a view of commerce the game offers — buy property, collect rent, hope for capital gains, win by impoverishing everyone else.…

9. 10 February 2017

   A 30 year mortgage is too long

   Note: my views on this have evolved — I'm more comfortable with debt now and less inclined to treat a mortgage as an obstacle to investing. The original argument was that a 30-year term leaves too lit…

10. 24 October 2015

    Can’t afford a home in the current property market? You can still get into a good long-term financial position.

    If you can't afford to buy a home in the current property market, don't despair. You can still build wealth and end up in a good long-term financial position. Owning a home is a legitimate goal for ma…