Ah, the fickle credit card. Use it wisely and you’re rewarded with a powerful financial tool that can simplify your life in a bunch of different ways. Use it poorly and you’re liable to end up in a stack of high-interest debt. Here are five simple things you do to maximise the potential of your Read more →
So you’re looking to buy a house, and you want the best mortgage deal you can get. Do you go direct to the banks, or use a mortgage broker? Here’s our take on what the differences are and how you can get the best deal. You can get a mortgage directly from one of the Read more →
The home buying process is full of language that could be confusing to understand. Here are some common terms and definitions used by people you will come across in your home buying journey. Appreciation: An increase in the value of an asset, your house in this case. For example, popularity of the area your house Read more →
In the quest to purchase your first home you’ll probably notice that some properties are advertised using different values, all of which can differ quite drastically. While your bank probably uses its own appraisal methods to calculate your home loan rates in NZ, it’s still a good idea to know what the various terms means. Read more →
To most of us, assessing our KiwiSaver fund’s performance is a bit like negotiating with Winston Peters – it’s never as simple as it seems. Assessing the performance of your KiwiSaver fund isn’t as simple as looking at the increasing balance. In fact, you could very well see your account balance trending up from month Read more →
The foreign, exotic land that is New Zealand’s financial sector is chock-a-block with all sorts of monetary jargon that you may or may not be familiar with. Here are some of the most common terms you might come across: Annual fee – The yearly fee your bank charges you to use a credit card. This can Read more →
It’s absolutely true that putting down a larger-than-necessary deposit can help you save big on interest, but in some scenarios (high rents, good rates, favourable market conditions and so on) you’ll do whatever it takes to get that first foot on the property ladder. In this series of articles, we’re going to cover the absolute Read more →