A recent article in Stuff suggested that half of Kiwis surveyed had no idea what the Member Tax credits are.

This is pretty horrifying considering its been 10 years since KiwiSaver came in and it's all over the internet.

Christmas day is 16 weeks from Monday (the 4th of September).

Now that this has horrified you, you should be wondering about what you are going to do for Christmas and the spending for it.

7 years ago, DUX was formed.

It was the last Friday of August in 2010 and the place I had worked for 6 years, and assumed I would be working at for another 10+, decided that they did not want me there anymore.

With the market’s focus on getting people into KiwiSaver, a growing number of Kiwis hitting retirement are finding there is little in the way of products or advice for them.  Jason Krupp looks at some of the key factors they need to consider to protect their nest eggs. 

Mighty River Power has been one of the single biggest equity catalysts on the Kiwi market in decades, with the partial float of the state-owned electricity company attracting mum-and-dad investors in droves.

A lot of people are surprised and a bit shocked after last the US election results and while I won’t be discussing the actual results of the election and the fall out (plenty of the media, who were wrong about the election will spend time telling you what will happen), it’s important to know about the market impact.

Money Mind-set is the concept of having the right thoughts about money and setting your mind set accordingly.  It’s about focusing to spending only money you have, not racking up debt, and saving as much as you can for your goals.  A good money mind-set will help you grow wealth better over the years, and remove all the money stress most people have.

Cancer can hit anyone, what would you do if it happened to you?

Today is the 6th birthday of DUX Financial.  It’s crazy to think it’s been 6 years, but it means I have now been at DUX longer than any other financial company.

Leaving aside the overblown hyperbole of the journalists in this article (I don’t think any company advertises itself as a cluster bomb company, but whatever), it’s important to know where you are investing and if you have preferences to not invest in certain areas, to see what you can do about it.

Building a home is an exciting, and often fraught experience, and it’s hard to get concrete knowledge on what to do.  Often the builders hold onto information and make it difficult for you to know what your options are.

The rules around Trans-Tasman transfers are a bit odd, and a giant pain in the neck, but worth it.

It took years for the two governments of New Zealand and Australia to get to a place where we could get Trans-Tasman portability, and while the KiwiSaver providers leaped at it, the Australian ones, not so much.

It’s adviser bashing time at the New Zealand Herald again as they breathlessly announce that some Financial Advisers only deal with a few KiwiSaver companies.  They never say outright it’s bad, but it’s the impression they are trying to give.

It’s not a surprise to read about people racking up lots of debt on the mobile lenders.  People will always find a way to borrow if they are that way inclined.

You may be aware that the New Zealand Reserve bank has changed the rules for lending on investment properties.

The Government has announced some changes to the KiwiSaver Homestart grant (and by extension the Welcome Home Loan) that kick in today.

It’s pretty damning about their processes and sales tactics.

While what Youi does was obvious to those in the industry, with their direct push model, and focusing on cheapness rather than benefits, it’s not just Youi who does this, they have been the most blatant.

The government has announced some changes to KiwiSaver withdrawals for 2nd chance first home buyers that will come into place on the 1st of July 2016.

I am not convinced that the answer to people not planning for retirement, is more Do It Yourself (DIY) focus. Sure, it’s better than nothing, to use the calculators etc., but the problem with these is the placebo like effect of having run the calculator, and then your brain basically deciding you are done, and then you go back to whatever else you are doing, and spending.

Far be it for me to suggest that a student association is unlikely to put out a press release saying everything was fine for students, but they are not exactly the best source for an unbiased opinion.