Preparing your financial survival kit

Natural disasters are unpredictable and in many cases can be life changing for those caught up in them. The recent disasters around the world, including Christchurch, Japan and as of this morning Sumatra, have got many Kiwis talking about and actively putting their survival plans in place. Whilst the main emphasis should be placed on [...]

Do I Need a Family Trust?

This is a question that we as advisers are often asked. Over the years Trusts have been widely used for a variety of reasons, from removing ownership for risk reduction, to ordering family inheritances for families to ensure fairness and safety, to just needing more control over finances with reference to a guide (a Trust [...]

Why do I need a Financial Adviser?

The most common feedback I get to this question is that they have no money so why bother! But, what if getting a financial adviser could help you with that?  This will not always be true, and will you need to be motivated to make some changes, but success is waiting, the big holiday is [...]

The Budget – Quick Overview

Changes to Kiwisaver: For the year ended 30 June 2012 a halving of the Member Tax Credit Removing the tax free status of employer contributions from 1 April 2012. From 1 April 2013 the minimum employee and employer contribution rate will rise from 2% to 3% Comment: Although we understand there needed to be changes, [...]

What will the new tax changes mean to me?

This article has been written and researched by Judi Galpin from DecisionMakers in Palmerston North. The May budget outlined a number of tax changes to come into effect on 1 October this year. There have been complaints that the tax changes will not ‘give me anything extra’.  In many cases this may be the case, [...]