We get asked this often, when clients have more deposit than is required and wonder if they should leave some of the money in the KiwiSaver to keep the balance higher.

When we buy house, car and contents cover, it’s really common to never look at them again. However you really should review these as things change.

What happens to your KiwiSaver while you are overseas, and what are the potential pitfalls?
There are a few things to consider, so you don’t miss out while you are away.

Many first home buyers are not sure where to start when it comes to getting their first mortgage.

Most end up just wandering into the bank to ask a few questions and then get swept up into the banks process, end up with an approval but no real advice or understanding of how first home buyers get a mortgage.

Here at DUX we have helped hundreds of people to get into their first home.

We answer a lot of questions and have advised many people on how to tweak their situation to make it a bit easier when its time to buy.

Here are 5 tips for first home buyers to help make it easier to get a mortgage and buy a home.

There is an article on the Herald about a new Breast cancer drug that is getting good results, but is $5000 a month for the pills.

So naturally people would like this to be covered by Pharmac so it can be done for free. This is not that easy, as Pharmac has a specific budget and every issue out there has new drugs people would love to be funded.

 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.