Our Finance Blog

As the year comes to an end it’s a good time to take a breath and some time to reflect on the good and bad of the year, and look forward to the year ahead too….

Today the Monetary Policy Committee increased the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 75 basis points from 3.5 percent to 4.25 percent which lifts the OCR to its highest point since December 2008. It’s the ninth OCR…

Blink helps bring you affordable home security that’s innovative, and easy-to-use. They are smart home security devices using video cameras linked to the free Blink Home Monitor app on your smartphone. Blink helps you protect what…

With the banks recently announcing more record profits there has been more talk of seeing open banking in New Zealand, but how this has been spoken about has given a very limited view to the benefits….

It’s always interesting that in soft property markets people tend to hold off buying, and yet when the market is running hot they will jump on any house at almost any price. BUT … my wife…

As mortgage advisers we are often contacted by property investors who struggle to understand how the banks assess their loan applications. To the property investor the property looks like a good investment, and yet the bank…

Yes, we have high home loan interest rates and we could have these for a few years. We have had high home loan interest rates before, but for many homeowners we have gotten used to the…

Too often Kiwis will accept poor performance and just go with the flow. But we shouldn’t really do that. The KiwiSaver providers that have had poor performance are doing a marketing push and suggesting that you…

Not all personal loans are created the same, some are very expensive so while they may give you a “fast approval” they are not the best personal loans for debt consolidation. Many personal loans are completed…

It’s hard for first home buyers these days and so we have put together some tips for first home buyers using their KiwiSaver in an effort to help. KiwiSaver was introduced in 2007 as a retirement…

When I was not happy with my KiwiSaver fund manager and the way it was invested in then I knew I could switch my KiwiSaver … and I did. It’s easy to switch and if you…

Like any investment it is important to take some time and review how your Kiwisaver is performing for you, and that includes how it is set up and how it performs. A lot of people are…

According to the Maramataka the reappearance of Matariki brings the old lunar year to a close and marks the beginning of the new year. In short, it is the Māori new year. What is Matariki?Matariki is an abbreviation…

With the sharemarkets around the World in turmoil many people are concerned as they see their KiwiSaver balances dropping, but some are feeling more comfortable in the knowledge that they have protections in place. High inflation,…

You will have heard media and our Reserve Bank talk about inflation and how inflation must be controlled in 2022. Inflation has hit a 30-year high and we’re told that it’s not good, but many people…

The banks now make it easy to refix your home loan with the click of a button, but should you use this method? We say NO, and here’s a good reason why we say that. This…

There has been a lot of media coverage recently on how the banks are now looking at spending and bank statements in more detail when assessing people for a mortgage approval. Previously you would be asked…

You may have heard of friends refinancing their home loans and wondered why they were doing this. It seems like a hassle, and will a different bank be any better? And some Kiwi’s still believe that…

You might be thinking of splitting lending across banks, but the bank doesn’t want you to do this. The bank will try whatever they can to keep all of your banking, lending and even insurance and…

We are seeing many financial commentators now starting to talk about inflation and therefore interest rate increases, which of course means higher home loan rates. As they say, “where there is smoke, there is fire” and…