One of the hardest aspects of your personal finance is Investing. Investing is all about buying things that put money back into your pockets. Anyone can have an investment portfolio, whether it is in shares, index funds, real estate, bonds, cash, peer to peer lending, or even cryptocurrency- if that’s your thing.
Here are some recent blog articles related to Investing that will get you started.
Sharesight Review: how to track individual shares
If you’re like me, you’ll know how tough it can be to keep track of your individual share investments on your own. That is why I generally only invest in index funds, but I do have some individual shares with Genesis Energy. So how do I track them? Well, after contemplating how best to invest, Tony Ryburn decided to take…
End of Year wrap up 2021
Another year is coming to an end. I hope that you will get to get the chance to take a small break over the holidays. It’s been a challenging year, to say the least for me. Not only did the lockdown and Covid measures make work very demanding, my family situation has changed significantly in the last year. Hence I…
My Experience with Peer to Peer Lending
When I started investing in 2013, I only knew one thing: I needed to start investing. I was still working out the details of how and what I would be investing in. I tend to learn best by just doing. So I jumped into investing with a small amount of money. The first investments I ever made were in four…
How Can You Change Your KiwiSaver Provider?
When you join KiwiSaver, you are automatically assigned a default provider if you don’t select a fund. But you don’t need to stick with this same provider. You can change your provider at any time. The best thing to do is spend some time choosing the KiwiSaver scheme that is right for you- which in the long run, you will…
Thematic Investments: Reviewing Kernels New funds
If you haven’t heard, Kernel has introduced two new funds. Both these new funds are thematic funds. Thematic funds are the opposite of diversified funds like Vanguard International Shares Select Exclusions Index Fund or AMP’s All Country Global Shares Index Fund. Both of which have thousands of companies in them both diversified in terms of country and industry. Thematic funds have…
How to Invest For Your Child’s Future in New Zealand
You are a responsible parent; you want your children to have the best possible start in life. They should be eating well, doing well in school, and keeping up with their regular dental check-ups.You can also invest in their future. If you invest in your children’s future by setting up an investment account for them, you will also have the…
Financial Independence, In Theory, is simple- Right?
The idea behind becoming Financial Independence (FI), or financial independence retire early (FIRE), has always been simplified down to this. Work out how much you need, or want to spend in a year. Then multiply that by 25 to get the size of the diversified investment portfolio you need. In theory, this will allow you to use the 4% “safe…
End of Year wrap up 2020
2020 has come to an end. And what a year it has been. March tested our risk tolerance with a historic drop in world share markets of around 25%. Early in March, I had a look at past viral outbreaks and their effects on the share markets. There was a suggestion going around that pandemics and epidemics effects on the…
Saving a Little Early is Better than Saving a Lot Later
At the beginning of each year, a lot of people make resolutions. You might think it’s silly, but there is some basis for it. Even though it is just the start of another year, the New Year is a way to trick our brains. It’s an anchor in time. Anchoring is a cognitive bias where you depend too heavily on…
Smartshares Exchange Traded Funds: Understanding the Unit Price
I’ve recently had a few email questions regarding Smartshares and their unit price, so I thought I would try to answer them here so that you can also get your head around how the Smartshare funds work. Again, I am not an expert- I’ve tried to answer these questions both from what I know, doing research, and just reaching out…
DIY Investment Services in NZ. What’s the difference between them?
The share market had one of it’s largest falls in a long time recently- and it has probably been a nervous time for many investors. When the market fell- I decided to do nothing and ride it out. And as I write this today my investments have bounced back up and past what they were pre-fall. All the volatility in…
Everyday Investment Advice: Is it Any Good?
Sometimes it’s easier to identify bad advice than it is to identify good advice. I find this to be especially true when discussing investing in general- and even more so when talking about investing in shares or index funds. I thought I would discuss some of the advice I have come across over the years and share with you some…
Longheld Myths about the Share Market
Certain myths seem to persist over time. For instance- there’s the myth that there is a dark side to the moon. I blame Pink Floyd for this one! There is no dark side to the moon- it’s just the far side. Which has the same light and dark as the side we can see. The share market is like the…
Kernel Wealth Index Fund Review- What you need to Know
As you all know, I am an avid index investor. I’m generally interested in low-cost, well-diversified index funds. There is a good deal of evidence out there that low-cost, well-diversified index funds give you the best chance of getting a great return from the share market with little effort. No researching companies or timing entry and exits of positions- while…
Should You Pay Down the Mortgage Early or Invest Instead?
Whether you should pay down your mortgage faster, or invest instead, is one of the longest-running debates in personal finance. What should you do with any extra money that you might have- pay off your mortgage, or invest? There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to both sides. Sure, you can be completely analytical and run the numbers to get an…
Filing My Foreign Investment Fund Tax Return
31 March 2020 marked the end of the financial year for the year 2020 – which also means that in the next few months you will need to file taxes! Luckily, we have an easy tax system in New Zealand. For many people you who are on salaried wages, your tax is automatically done for you through PAYE (pay as you…
Where Should You Invest Your Hard Earned Money?
One of the most asked questions, when it comes to investing, is generally along the vein of “I have X amount of dollars, where should I invest it”. And it’s a hard question to answer with just that much information. There are two other pieces of information that you need to know when deciding where to invest your money. One…
DIY Investing in Funds and Shares in New Zealand: Popular Investment Platforms for Kiwis
Investing is an excellent way to grow your wealth over time- and this is especially true with shares. But where do you begin- which investing service or platform should you use? How do you start “do it yourself investing”. I am going to introduce you to some of the best services and platforms to invest with as a DIY investor…
Get Your Personal Finances Sorted in Five Stages
It takes time to get your personal finances sorted. And often you don’t know where to start. And the thing is that no one can really show you how you should sort your personal finance, after all, personal finance is exactly that- Personal. However, there are several key stages in personal finance that you do need to get sorted. These…
AMP NZ Share index fund vs SmartShares NZ Top 50: Fee Update
A little over two years ago AMP Capital NZ introduced three new low-cost index fund for Kiwi investors. They were the; NZ Shares Index Fund with a management fee at 0.33% and Buy/Sell spread of 0.10% All Country Global Shares Index Fund with management fee at 0.38% and a Buy/Sell spread 0.15% Hedged Global Fixed Interest Index Fund with a…
There’s Always More to Come
So remember to subscribe to be the first to get my latest post directly to your inbox!

Visit my Resources Page to find out how you can get 50% off Pocketsmith!

Use This Link to get 1 month Free on any new car insurance policy
Information presented on the Website is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not meant to be taken as financial advice. Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through. Please note that I only recommend products and services that I have personally used.