All tagged Investing

The Temptation to Sign Up to Endless New Investment Products

The Temptation to Sign Up to Endless New Investment Products

Ruth
ETFs, Index Funds, Investment

I’m not sure what’s going on at the moment, but I’m getting a higher-than-usual amount of emails from subscribers asking me my thoughts on newly released funds. Often, people will say they are looking at funds that buy a particular sector. There are endless iterations of how you can invest your hard-earned pūtea. They will often explain what they already invest in, so it’s usually not too hard for me to see that the new funds they are asking me about are about to have them veer off in quite a different investment direction or switch to something more or less the same. Once again, the options are endless. But the point I am about to attempt to make is not WHAT they are looking at; it is that they are looking to jump on any new opportunities offered.

2022 Review & Net Worth Update

2022 Review & Net Worth Update

Ruth
ETFs, PocketSmith, Sharesight, Simplicity, SmartShares

I’m about to share my 2022 numbers with you. The primary reason is so that you have someone to benchmark against. Because of my blog, I’m lucky that I’m regularly conversing with people interested in discussing personal finances. Those conversations also helped me learn what Jonny and I could improve. Chances are that very few of you have friends and family willing to share their experiences with money to help you learn. Therefore, I’m happy to share ours. Please don’t judge me and my financial position; it’s just information. Use it how you will.

Lotto Loser / Investing Winner!

Lotto Loser / Investing Winner!

Ruth
ETFs, Index Funds, Sharesies, Sharesight, SmartShares

November is the only month that I ever buy a Lotto ticket. The reason is that when my Dad was alive, he always liked receiving a Lotto ticket on his birthday. Almost five years have passed since he died, and I’ve continued to buy a single ticket for his birthday, eagerly checking it to see if Dad had better Lotto luck in death than he did in life. Yeah, Nah. He didn’t! Imagine if, instead of buying a Lucky Dip, I began to buy a share investment instead of Lotto when my Dad died almost five years ago; how much would I have today?

KiwiSaver for kids? YES, please!

KiwiSaver for kids? YES, please!

Ruth
Kids and Money, KiwiSaver, Money Education

I believe it is essential that we don’t just teach our tamariki to ‘save’, but we teach them to become ‘investors’ as well. That’s where the money is to be made over time. Since taking part in the Sharesies Kids and Investing webinar, one conversation thread has stayed with me. It was about whether it is worth signing your tamariki up to KiwiSaver or not. I am firmly in the YES camp.

What is my saving and investing rate?

What is my saving and investing rate?

Ruth
PocketSmith, Saving, Investment

Recently, a question came in via email asking, “how do you calculate your savings rate, please, Ruth?”. I thought it was a question worth elaborating on with a blog post. First up, why even take the time to work out how much you are saving? Put simply, the higher your savings rate, the faster you will have saved up enough money to retire or make going to work entirely optional.

The Happy Saver Christmas Gift Giveaway!

The Happy Saver Christmas Gift Giveaway!

Ruth
Index Funds, Hatch, Kernel, PocketSmith, Sharesies, Sharesight, Tertiary Scholarship

I’m delighted to tell you that Christmas is imminent! At the time of publishing this blog post, it’s just 34 days away. Yes, indeed it is. You will no doubt have noticed the headlines telling us to shop early for Christmas and stock up due to a predicted lack of supply? Therefore, I have been doing a little bit of shopping for the readers of my blog. Jonny and I have come up with a plan to give away a bunch of goodies, all of which aim to help you in your journey to financial independence.

Are you scared of NOT buying a house?

Are you scared of NOT buying a house?

Ruth
ETFs, Index Funds, Investment, Mortgage, KiwiSaver, Hatch, Kernel, Sharesies, SmartShares

I received an email recently that brought tears to my eyes if I’m frank. It was from someone who is in despair about not being in a position to own a house in New Zealand. I wanted to create a blog post about it because the struggle that the writer is experiencing is not unique; in the same week, I received several other messages along the same lines.

What I’ve learnt in five years of personal finance blogging.

What I’ve learnt in five years of personal finance blogging.

Ruth
ETFs, Index Funds, Hatch, Kernel, KiwiSaver, Money Education, Personal Finance, PocketSmith, Sharesies, Simplicity, SmartShares, Investment, Budgeting

To my surprise, I’ve chalked up five years of writing this blog! And I can’t quite believe it. I thought I’d blog today about what I’ve learnt, observed and what it’s like to write a blog because there is not a single day that has gone by that I’ve not emailed or spoken with someone about what I tend to refer to with my whanau and friends as ‘blog stuff’.

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