Women and Money It is a fact of life that women face a higher level of financial risk during their lifetime than men. There are differences between men and women with regard to lifespan, lifestyles, income and attitudes which can have a negative effect on a woman’s financial position.  Women live around 5-7 years longer than men on average and tend to marry men older than themselves. They are therefore much more likel...

Give And Be Happy Stephen Tindall is one of the wealthiest men in New Zealand and also one of the most generous. The Tindall Foundation gives away millions of dollars every year. Stephen says the satisfaction he gets from the Tindall Foundation is greater than what he received from turning The Warehouse into one of New Zealand’s most successful companies. As well as giving directly to charities, the Tindall Foundation ...

Plan for a Healthy Retirement One of the consequences of an aging population is that there will be increased pressure on an already overloaded public health system. Advances in technology will add to the pressure as new but often more costly procedures become available. Health care costs are 10 times higher in old age than in mid-life. By 2050, 1 in 4 people will be aged over 65, compared to 1 in 8 now. Not only will the ...

How to Recession-Proof Your Finances  There is a direct link between how confident people feel about their financial situation and how much they spend. This was evident in the property boom that occurred prior to the Global Financial Crisis. When property prices were rising, home owners felt wealthier and had the ability to borrow more. Funds borrowed were spent on more property, (investments, home improvements or bigger...

Three Reasons Not to Pay Your Mortgage Off Quicker Reaching retirement age with a debt free home and a pile of money invested is the aim of most people who plan to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Each of these goals requires a significant amount of saving. The big question is: which should take priority? Having a long investment time frame can be advantageous when investing in volatile growth assets such as shares and pro...

Find Your Passions One of the keys to success in life is the ability to find your passions. It is almost impossible to achieve financial success without clearly identifying your goals in life, and your goals are determined by your passions. The simplest method I have found for finding your passions is one developed by Janet and Chris Attwood (The PassionTest: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose). The firs...

Smaller Investors Miss Out One of the unfortunate consequences of increased regulation of financial advisers is that some smaller investors now find themselves squeezed out of the market for personalized investment advice. There are two types of investment advisers who are able to give advice to the public: Authorised Financial Advisers (AFAs) and Qualifying Entity Advisers (QFE advisers). Whereas AFA’s can give investm...

Free Help for Investors The Global Financial Crisis was the catalyst for significant change in the regulation and supervision of financial markets. Just like an earthquake, the Crisis shook the very foundations of financial systems and any weaknesses resulted in damage and destruction. Unfortunately many investors suffered losses and to reduce the risk of this happening again, the foundations of our financial system have ...

Avoid Poverty in Retirement One of the most difficult aspects of planning for retirement is estimating just how much it will cost to live when the kids and the mortgage are gone and you are no longer working. People find themselves in different situations at retirement. Costs of living can vary depending on geographic location and how many people are living in the household. Ideally, everybody planning for retirement need...

Money for Two The changing roles of women in society have led to some interesting trends in how money is managed in relationships. Our mothers and grandmothers came from an era when married women mostly didn’t work, but were given ‘housekeeping’ money. As women began to participate more in the work force, they contributed their income to the running of the household. The soaring cost of houses and mortgages meant th...