Welcome to round 8 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in the Europe fund. We will be comparing the cost between the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the tables below […..]

Welcome to round 7 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in the emerging markets fund between 3 of the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the table below […..]

Welcome to round 6 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in a NZ mid cap stock fund between 4 of the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the table below […..]

Welcome to round 5 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in Australasian property and Australian resource funds. We will be comparing the cost between 4 of the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the table below […..]

Welcome to round 4 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in a NZ Bond index fund between 5 of the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the table below […..]

Welcome to round 3 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in a United States top 500 stock fund between 4 of the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the table below […..]

Welcome to round 2 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in a Australian top 20 stock fund between 4 of the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the table below […..]

Welcome to round 1 of the battle between the heavyweights. If you haven’t done so already, check out the introduction that sets the tone to this heavyweight battle.

Today we are comparing the costs of investing in a NZ Top 50 stock fund between 5 of the lowest cost fund providers that can be summarised in the table below […..]

I used to bury my head in the sand when it came to investing because it seemed there were too many options that I stopped trying. It is paralysis by analysis. Well, today I am here to help make things easier. I would hate for you to steer clear of investing because it seemed too difficult. It really isn’t once you get started, and the long term benefits can help set you up for life. Index funds are a big part in my path towards financial independence.

Let’s take a look at the main index fund providers in New Zealand and how they compare […..]

Welcome to our second reader case study. This is where I encourage you, the readers, to write in with your situation that you want looked at.

I do my best to answer your questions and provide recommendations for your situation. I also encourage you all to post your thoughts in the comments sections to help out our subject.

Today, we have Stu (not his real name) wanting to know if he can reach financial independence before the age of 55 (7 years) […..]

Knowledge is power. By doing research, you will be able to determine how much the car you want is worth. This means you will be very unlikely to over-pay for the car. This is very easily done by […..]

So you’ve decided you want to purchase a car. We can easily shop around by looking at the advertised sale price of the vehicle. That is fraught with danger though, as there are […..]

Transportation is most people’s second largest expense, behind housing. If you are wanting to get in control of your finances and accelerate your savings, saving money from owning a car can be a […..]

he best retirements are planned. You know what you want to do in retirement. You know how much it will cost. You know how much you will need saved. Less surprises will mean less stress and a greater likelihood of outliving your money.

The problem is life doesn’t always work as planned. We may […..]

The importance of a healthy mind and body as we approach retirement cannot be under-estimated. Your biggest asset is not your house or your bank balance. Your biggest asset is you and you need to take care of it. Just like any other asset, you need […..]

Show of hands how many readers have a written will or trust of what will happen when you get sick or die? I can’t see your hands but the statistics show […..]

Life insurance deserves a topic of its own as it is such as a large amount of money. The cost of life insurance grows at a rapid rate once we hit the age of 50. Many of us don’t question this cost though. Yes, we know it is increasing, but many of us don’t believe we can […..]

Myth 1 - NZ Superannuation will not be around when you retire

 Maybe, maybe not. It could still be available in 40 years but it may be modified. The age of retirement could be 70. There could be a tiered a structure, where the longer you delay […..]

Retirement is often looked upon as an escape. An escape from work. An escape from routine. An escape from structure. It is seen as a new stage of life. A life where we have a bit more freedom to do things we have been waiting 40 years to do. To […..]

The landscape for retirement is not the same as it used to be. James is retiring today (born in 1953) and has a life expectancy of 78 years. Kevin is born today and can expect to live to age 91.

James has just 13 years of retirement for his money to last. Kevin has almost double the time – 25 years. He needs […..]

Running out of money in retirement is a real concern for most. As discussed in the previous post, sequence of returns can be a major determinant of whether our money will last our lifetime. If we are unlucky enough to retire just before a recession, or worse, a depression, then our chances of outliving our money drop substantially. Particularly if we […..]

Let me explain using two fictional employees – Mike and Jacob.  They worked for Megacorp Inc and were identical in all aspects of their job. They both started working at age 25 and both worked for 40 years. Their salary and salary growth were identical, along with their Kiwisaver contributions. They made the same investments with their savings during which they both earned […..]

There are two commonly dispelled methods that tell you how much you need to retire. I will go over why they may be wrong for you and how to calculate a more reliable number […..]

If I am being honest, I never thought that early retirement used to even be a possibility on an average middle-class income. I thought we HAD TO go to university, get a job for 45 years and then retire. End of discussion.

But I am here to tell you early retirement is a definite possibility and I have […..]

Retirement is a big change in our lives that cannot be underestimated. Generally speaking, we transition from working for 40-50 years according to someone else’s timetable. Our days are structured. We know exactly […..]

In 2017 an Australian rich lister named Tim Gurner made headline news proclaiming that millennials can’t afford homes because they spend too much money – mainly on avocados apparently!

“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each

I don’t know if I am supposed to be offended. You see […..]

In a world full of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and reality TV, we all love a bit of voyeurism. Looking at other people's lives from the outside seems to interest us. Maybe because we like to learn from other people - what we want to do., what we don’t want to do. Maybe we just want a bit of excitement and feel like we are living vicariously through them. Either way, it is a bit of pastime.

So today is a special day my little voyeurs. I am going to open up on a step by step level, how I got to where I am today […..]

I’m pleased to present our first reader case study on this blog. This is where I encourage you, the readers,to write in with your situation that you want looked at.

I do my best to answer your questions and provide recommendations for your situation. I also encourage you all to post your thoughts in the comments sections to help out our subject.

Today, we have Jim (not his real name) wanting to know what he should do next in order to achieve his goals of marriage, kids and retirement before 60 […..]