Skills worth saving: How lockdown taught us how to beat the budget
Did you make a list of pursuits to keep you occupied during lockdown? If you weren’t wrangling under-5s or endeavouring to homeschool while doing the 9-5, perhaps you attempted artisan sourdough using panic bought flour? Maybe you learned to knit while listening to a whale song soundtrack? Perhaps you set a goal to read one […]
LVR changes? First home buyers, sorry, they mean diddly squat to you
You’re probably well aware that the RBNZ removed the LVR restrictions on 30th April 2020. What you might not realise is that this was done so that the mortgage relief being granted to people as a result of Covid-19 (mortgage holidays etc), didn’t result in breaches of the then restrictions. The media obviously picked up the story and […]
INCOME: Why quality’s (almost) more important than quantity right now
Bigger is better right? The more the merrier too? In a financial context both make a lot of sense. When you think about borrowing money for a mortgage in the Auckland market, the more income you’ve got then the better your chances of getting that mortgage. That’s obvious. However, the Covid-19 situation has brought one […]
Will the LVR changes let you take the next step?
A journalist’s job is to write a headline that gets you interested enough to click on it and read the story. [See above!] Never forget that clicking means you’ll get to see an advertisement that pays their wages. So, when you see “Reserve bank to remove LVR rules”, I want you remember that when you […]
First Home Buyers: Your deposit will come back
Unfortunately, community transmission of Covid-19 has been widespread amongst KiwiSaver funds. Balanced and growth funds have taken the biggest beating, but even the really conservative funds have had a few grazes. Unless you’ve been off the grid for all of lockdown, none of that is news to you. But if you’re an eager first home […]
Lockdowners: Have you done a budget yet?
We’re now into the fourth week of lockdown and you’ve probably had plenty of time on your hands. Time to watch Netflix. Time to use a small portion of the 20kg bag of flour you panic bought. Time to get seriously anxious about your income situation. Time to bury your head in the sand and […]
COVID-19: What’s the short-term outlook for the property market?
Over the last week or so people have asked me what my view is of the property market here in New Zealand with all this Covid-19 business going down. My answers? Well, here’s my outlook short-term. Without wanting to get too scientific about it, Covid-19 has or will result in about a third of New […]
