This is the million-dollar question – quite literally in many parts of the country.

Buying a home is probably going to be the single biggest purchase we ever make, so it needs to be well considered.

The number one consideration we should make when looking at buying is […..]

If you’ve come for the big reveal, you have come to the right place.

How much does it really cost to build a house in 2023/24?

Let’s get right into it […..]

February was an amazing month of sunshine in the area. What an introduction to our new location. We […..]

Call it what you want. A u turn. A pivot. An about face. A full 180. A flip flop. But we are have changed our minds on solar panels.

In May, we spoke of our thoughts on solar panels which we were considering for the new build.

The conclusion at the time was […..]

As part of our new build house we are in the middle of having completed, we were weighing up the decision to get solar panels or not.

At the beginning I was excited about the prospect of starting a building from scratch in our expected long term location. It seemed the ideal time to install solar panels […..]

Kernel came out with an article over the weekend that renters could be $600,000 better off in retirement than homeowners.

This definitely piqued my interest.

I have […..]

One of the most common questions I see in public forums, even more so with increasing interest rates, is “how long should I fix my mortgage for?”

You are not […..]

I’m not sure if today’s blog is necessary or if it is a common oversight.

I have seen it from a couple of my clients, and thought I would share this information in case there are more out there that […..]

With the housing market as hot as it is, a common question is “Is now a good time to buy a house?”

It’s a valid concern. Experiencing a large drop in house price shortly after buying doesn’t feel nice.

But my return question would be […..]

House prices have been going crazy in the last year, which again is raising the concern of how expensive houses are. But are they […..]

With house prices again in the headline news, out come all the feelings of FOMO from people not wanting to miss out on the capital gains party.

The old cliched line of house prices doubling every 10 years comes out and people are told that you can’t lose buying a house.

Recency bias is[…..]

A common refrain cropping up in discourse today is that the housing market is too big to fail. That the government won’t let house prices fall. These feelings have only been exacerbated by the reserve bank’s recent announcement that it will roll out a funding for lending programme, where it will lend up to $28 million to banks at the […..]

There have, are, and will always be arguments over whether it is better to own a house or to rent. It is a debate that can get very heated at times, so strong are people’s opinions.

There is never a […..]

Recently, I wrote about a commonly used false argument to pay your mortgage off early.

Another of the most sighted reasons for paying off your mortgage early is that the feeling that it will bring knowing that you no longer have a mortgage to pay. For many people, it will reduce your annual expenses by 30% or more. That is a lot lower cost of living and let me tell you, it does […..]

About a month ago, I wrote an article with tips on what to look for when buying a house. Today, I am sharing some of my experiences and tips for those looking for a place to rent […..]

One of the greatest money quandaries for those who own a house is whether extra funds should go towards the mortgage or invest.

I even wrote an article about this myself.

Whenever I bring up this topic, the payoff the mortgage camp are extremely staunch and it seems that the majority of New Zealander’s are in this camp, which has prompted several […..]

I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned when looking for a new house. Feel free to share any of your tips in the comments […..]

Who doesn’t want a holiday? A holiday is a getaway. A break. An escape. Holidays are usually great things. But what is the one thing holidays have in common?

In a recent podcast I detailed our plans to build a passive house. Our reasons for doing so are:

1/. To cut down our environmental footprint by building a house that needs less heating and cooling;

2/. To save money over the long term. Sure, the build will have a higher up front cost but […..]

I frequently hear of talk from the property industry how affordable houses are in New Zealand at the moment thanks to record low interest rates.

They conveniently forget one enormous thing though [….]

Kyle is in the market for a first home. He wants a 3-bedroom house, but it seems all the 3 bedroom homes in his suburb are out of his price range. Kyle went to the open home of a 70 square metre 2-bedroom house that ticks several of his boxes. However, it is much smaller than he would like for his 3-person family, which is likely […..]

Recently I published an article in response to a factually incorrect and irresponsible article from the Stuff news website.

Well they are at it again […..]

It may be a new year, but the same old housing propaganda has continued.

The latest being an article about someone who has increased their wealth in just 6 years, all by buying a home […..]

Last Wednesday, we discussed 6 reasons in favour of paying off the mortgage early. Today, it is the turn of not paying off the mortgage early […..]

There are certainly disadvantages to paying off the mortgage early, but today we will discuss the reasons why it may make sense to pay off the mortgage early […..]

The other week, I posted an article about focusing on the big three expenses of housing, transport and food. How progress can be made so much more quickly by cutting down on the big expenses, instead of the smaller expenses.

Well today I will go into detail of how I managed to cut on housing costs. Just one financial move that will save me hundreds of thousands of dollars […..]

I realise I’m touching a hornets’ nest with this one. Simplicity is the do good favourite son or daughter of many people. And for good reason. They have done great things for investors in New Zealand.

I recommend Simplicity funds to many of my clients due to their low cost and diversified funds.

However, I am not a fan of this latest offering […..]

I am a member of a few personal finance related online forums and I frequently see the question of “Where should I put my emergency savings?”

Without a doubt, the top answer always tends to be to keep it in the mortgage account, for those that have a mortgage.

Now the members of these communities mean well, but unlike financial advisers, they are no repercussions for bad advice, or advice given without explanation of the risks […..]

Previously I’ve written about the hidden costs of home ownership, that housing is not the dream, so called property gurus, and false housing stories. Anyone would think that I am against home ownership.

I am not against home ownership. I am for maths and facts.

So that brings me to today’s short post based on a common misperception of current and wannabe landlords […..]

When was the last time you read an article about hose prices in New Zealand? My guess is it hasn’t been too recent.

Up until last year there were articles daily. “Record house prices”. “I made $500,000 flipping property”.

Banks, property developers, property investors, and real estate companies were all actively promoting content on our computer screens. Where have they all gone now? It’s been extremely quiet […..]

Just over a month ago I published an article about the sale of my apartment. I have had a couple of clients and readers comment that I must have done well from the sale.

Well here I am to pour fire over popular opinion of housing. The housing market is so hot because of all these stories we tell ourselves. I made $100,000 in 10 years sounds pretty exciting doesn’t it? But it doesn’t tell the whole story […..]

The difference between millennial's and previous generations is not minor. The difference is the world is currently a much tougher place financially.

I can hear boomers spitting out the coffee as they read the opening sentence. “Honey, I can’t believe what I am reading. Look what this clown is saying about those entitled, selfie taking, avocado eating, Laté drinking, slackers. He is saying they are the same as you and I were at that age. Unbelievable […..]

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 […..]

We have all been sold on the dream of owning a home. It is a national obsession. If we don’t own a house, we should be striving to own a house. Get a good job, work hard, start a family and buy a house.[…..]

I can’t count how many times I have seen or heard someone say: “I bought my home for $400,000, and sold it for $700,000. We made $300,000”.

On the surface, it looks like a fantastic result for the homeowner and it may well be, but it is not the whole story. What is the story missing? […..]