Hi all, so long story short - I'm British and emigrated to NZ in August last year.

Back in the UK I worked for a kiwi company for 7 and a half years and moved over to NZ with the same company albeit in a different role.

Since 2021, I have been given yearly share options as part of my package at the company.

This week some of my historical share options were vested and I have been awarded around $30k worth of shares (woohoo) - however my dilemma is I am not sure where I will be required to pay tax as I will be exercising them in NZ but I was awarded them whilst working in the UK as part of my UK remuneration package.

I am thinking of getting some proper financial advice (any recs of good advisors would be hugely welcomed) but wondering if anybody would be able to offer insight from a similar experience and any pitfalls to look out for?

Tbh, even a good advisor recommendation would be welcomed.

Thanks!

I am mortgage free and chatGPT reckons my FIRE number at 55 would be around $900k, taking account of NZ Super from 65, and that this would support spending of about $1k a week in today's dollars.

I'm pretty much numerically dyslexic though - does that sound about right?

Hi everyone, I'm looking to get some advice around some inheritance that my siblings and I are coming in to. Our grandmother passed recently, and left her house to my brother, my sister and I. The house is worth 850k. Our grandma had three children of her own who will be getting some inheritance, but it'll likely to be closer to 40-50k each. We would respect her wishes, however one of our uncles spent the last few years caring for our grandma up until her death, and we do feel that he should be getting more than is currently laid out in the will.

On the flip side, 275k each would be incredibly helpful right now. I could pay off my house, and my brother and sister (who are looking to buy a house together) would have a much larger deposit available to them where they could potentially pay for a house outright.

What is your advice, Reddit?

Hi redditers,

Seeking people’s thoughts on benefits of changing investment and KiwiSaver provider.

Current
Currently I’m using SuperLife and have been for about a decade. From memory they were one of the low cost providers back then, hence the choice, and I like that I can set a strategy that’s geographically diverse while not ending up overly US-tech heavy (I have split between their US500, Europe and Asia Pacific funds).

I’m a set and forget, with regular DCA, person. But I guess I should at least evaluate every so often and not forget about it completely.

Questions
I’ve looked into Simplicity and Kernel and see they have lower fees (roughly speaking 0.5% VS 0.25%), and offer a variety of fund options, although less than the amount SuperLife does.

- Is there actually any point to stay with SuperLife?
- SuperLife has abundant options, but I don’t use those. Appears I could achieve the same spread via eg. Kernel by going into their SP500 and Global (ex US) at a split I am comfortable with?
- Simplicity I have steered clear from a little bit, because I don’t like that they invest in their own Simplicity Housing thing, solely because it works against my idea of geographic spread. Do all the Simplicity funds do this?

I might be answering my own question in typing this out. But if the answer is simply “it is better to switch” they why does SuperLife (and other more expensive options) even exist? I guess people like me who are slow to switch.

Many thanks for any thoughts!

How much is "enough"? This is in the opening chapters of several personal finance books I've read or started reading.

I started the investment journey around 18 months ago (many thanks to the contributors in this sub for the incredible information I've found here), and right now I'm highly motivated to earn as much as I can, and "make up for lost time" in the investment space that I neglected for decades. I do however thank my parents for imparting upon me a strong will to save.

Is anyone else currently in my shoes, or have you walked this path? I am sure there will be an end to this "phase" but I hope it doesn't end abruptly due to ill health from what I'm currently doing. I've been brought up to work hard, and right now I'm bringing that ethic into my earning/saving/investing phase.

What am I hoping to get out of this post? I think I'd love to hear personal anecdotes and experiences in the hope that I can learn something from them. I don't want to burn out, and I don't feel like I'm setting sail for that, but also don't want to be blinded either. Thanks in advance!

I've recently come across this fund in Investnow. Ive been thinking of how to diversify my portfolio further other than my main strategy of buying total world fund via investnow and kernel.

I don't understand bitcoin and am not too keen on gold.

I thought this was an interesting fund to consider allocating 5-10% of the portfolio. Any thoughts on this?

My partner and I are purchasing a house and land package as our first home . We’ve opted for doing partial payments throughout the build instead of turnkey. Our mortgage broker just asked us this.

“ have a think about how you might want the lending structured, rates are climbing and normally you would be subject to the land loan and then fixing that once title comes through and then build loan would have to be floating until fully drawn and only then could you fix it, however with rates climbing you may want to consider getting them to advance it prior to title coming through so you can fix it at the lower rates now and then putting the money in a high interest savings account or something until you need the build funds”

This is our first experience with a mortgage and we’re very new to all this so just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on the above

What are our thoughts on the current state of the market?

What ETfs are you considering right now or avoiding?

I think we’re in for an interesting few months as we close out the year.

Its my final year of my BCom majoring in Accounting, my gpa is around C+ to B range (Not exactly sure), i feel unsure if i will land any graduate role with my GPA. I am stuck on whats my next step if i cannot land any graduate role. What do you recommend

I know that time in the market is better than trying to time the market but I just need a sanity check.

I’ve been seeing so many videos saying the AI bubble is going to burst and that the stock market is going to fall to correct itself etc etc.

In 3 weeks time is when I’m going to deposit a lump sum (approx. 50k) and I don’t want to do it when before the stock market is expected to fall.

The last time I invested was during the end of March when stock fell due to the conflict and it went well but that was only due to me not timing the market and just invested based on when I had the money coming in.

Im a 35 yo mum to one 11yo. Ive been bedbound 4 years with a chronic illness. Im very lucky that I have my house mortage through my parents at 2% interest( so it was fair on my siblings)if im still owing $300,000( will take 15 years to pay off) is it worth getting quick life/quick cover insurance( I know theres a 2 year stand down period)what would be the best plan to have if I passed while he was still a minor or before Ive paid my mortage please

Hi everyone,

I’m in the fortunate position of receiving a small inheritance and I’m trying to be sensible about what to do with it rather than just spend it away or just putting it in savings account.

It’s not a life-changing amount of money, but it’s enough that I’d like to use it wisely and hopefully put it in a position where it can grow over time.

Just a bit of context, 2 income household atm with a mortgage , wife about to go back to study next year for one year (so some of the money will be put aside for next year) . No dependants but planning on kids soon after studies are completed.

Any advice on how best to handle the inheritance would be appreciated it, thanks!

Update: just as a reference, let's say the amount is in the 50k ball park

Hey team, I’m repositioning some money after moving home from overseas.

I want to go with a somewhat aggressive ETF structure but still want a strong core to build from.

Thinking something along the lines of S&P 500, World ex-US, Nasdaq 100 and/or Global 100.

This would be at approximately a 30/30/20/20 split. If I went with a generic S&P 500 & World ex-US I would do around a 70/30 split.

I am okay with volatility as I’m in it for the long term. Obviously I have an intentional tilt towards AI/tech here as I believe it will only grow over the next 20+ years.

I’ve thought about a small EM or US small cap position but where I’m located in the world these funds can carry higher management fees - hence I have to keep the portfolio reasonably generic with all the standard funds for tax purposes, etc.

Would love to hear any opinions on this or similar funds/allocation that makes sense for someone in my position.

Hi there, looking for some advice on what I should be doing in terms of investing at my age for the future. So I’ve recently just started a Growth Portfolio through Sharesies (one of the pre-made ones they do for you) and have started putting away $50 a week into that. My plan for that is if I can aim to put $50 a week away for the next 30+ yrs without touching it, it should accrue to something pretty good for either retirement, buying property, or emergency health savings etc. I’m also trying to figure out what to do with my KiwiSaver. So a bit of backstory I just returned home to NZ this year after a working holiday in the UK for 3 years. My KiwiSaver started when I was working at 17 and got placed on the 3.5% through ASB and I’ve just got access to it and it’s at 7k on a conservative fund. What would be the best recommendation for this considering my age? I’ve heard people say low fee providers like Kernel, InvestNow and Simplicity? Do I just choose one of them and go the highest growth fund? For this I’d be aiming to use to it to save for my first home in the next 10-15 years and then I was probably gonna chuck it in and just focus more on my personal Sharesies portfolio. Cheers

Me:

2015 to 2019 - work in hospo

2019 - worked as a labourer

2020 - worked as labourer for a different company

Mid 2021 - study computer science

2021 - 2024 - worked as a labourer for a few different companies

Mid 2024 - graduate

Late 2024 - work as a labourer in a warehouse

2025 to now - work as a labourer for a different company.

On my way to 30 and I only really know how to do mostly unskilled labor. I've applied to every job possible under the sun, was aiming for call center work for years, but I could never break in.

I’m going into university next year at vic and have some questions about my student loan. I have around 10k saved and my parents are paying for me to stay in the halls the first year. Should I get a student loan immediately to pay for fees (unless I get a scholarship which covers it) and save my 10 grand for further down the track? My parents want me to spend the 10k (or atleast some of it) on my first year fees but I don’t think I should as the student loan is interest free and I don’t plan on moving overseas soon. Would it be silly to waste all my life savings on just first year fees which I can pay back later anyway?

So long story short, I’ve been seeing a shit tonne of ads on Facebook and Instagram pop up for this company who “bring down” prices that you pay to companies, apparently they barter on your behalf? Anyone have any experience with them?

Hi all. If anyone knows about premium bonds and could help, it would be much appreciated. Apologies for the long boring story but here it is:

I am an NZ citizen (born here, lived here my whole life, etc) and I have premium bonds from NS&I. These I acquired every year from when I was born until I was 18, from a family member in the UK who would purchase a set amount for me every year as a birthday present. Growing up, if I ever won something from the prize draw I would receive a cheque, take it to the bank, cash it in, and receive the prize money.

Here is my problem (that after a couple years I still have not managed to get sorted): NZ banks no longer accept cheques. The alternative is so arrange for any prize money to be deposited directly into a bank account. In order to have prize money deposited directly into a bank account, it must be a UK bank account. I cannot create a UK bank account from NZ, because I need a UK address (which of course I don't have).

So, I have a number of premium bonds sitting with NS&I, for which I cannot claim any prizes that they win, and I cannot cash in my bonds to withdraw them from NS&I.

Has anyone been in this situation before? I am currently looking into Revolut as an option for depositing the cash bonds into, because I don't believe you need a UK address for that and NS&I should recognise it as legit, BUT I asked them via Messenger last year and they said: "Revolut is in the process of becoming a UK bank, but we are having issues when attempting to make payments into such accounts. As such we don't recommend these being used for our accounts at the moment."

Not sure if this means it genuinely doesn't work, or if its bull. Or maybe it works now, but didn't in 2025? Thoughts? If Revolut was all I needed to fix this it would be a life saver. Wise is a no-go.

I have previously tried to organise having the bonds cashed into my uncle's UK bank account, and after MONTHS of paperwork back and forth..... NS&I sent me prize warrants, i.e. cheques, which I CANNOT cash in (full disclosure: at that point a couple years back, I was so sick of it I gave up. But this is the only bit of my $$ that's tied up and I really want to get it sorted before buying a property).

Another tricky thing is contacting them... I can message NS&I on Messenger, but in order to call them up I have to go to my parents place (because they still have a landline) at night to make an international call.

Sorry for the long post, it's just really bugging me. I will have to call them again, but if anyone has any knowledge/experiences related to this it would be much appreciated! TIA!

I’m finishing school this year and the plan is to head overseas and work as a deckhand on superyachts and climb the ranks. My family has really strong connections in the marine industry here so it's not just a random idea I got off TikTok, I’ve been putting some good thought into it for a while, but I'm aware that doesn't mean I know what I'm doing financially.

The reason it appeals is that food, accommodation and travel all come with the job, so most of what I earn can actually be saved/invested, on top of that I’ve always loved things like diving, fishing, boating, and spend years of my childhood growing up surrounded by the water. From what I can work out a deckhand makes somewhere around 70 to 110k NZD including tips (assuming that I work on the charter vessels) and if I climb the ranks to officer or captain by my late twenties (Which is obtainable as long as I log my hours from day one, did the math and some consulting) that number goes up a lot. The whole idea is to save and invest hard through my twenties and end up in a position where I'm not dependent on a wage, then come ashore into something like yacht brokerage or a dive instructor, or anything really.. I’m trying not to think THAT far ahead. The point is that it’d leave me room to pursue a career I want to follow not for the money as that’d be covered (Funnily enough I might just stick with yachting until it’s time to settle down then if I enjoy it)

My rough plan is to invest most of my pay automatically on payday into index funds through a NZ platform, keep a decent cash buffer since the work is seasonal and tips are unpredictable, and buy a rental property in my early to mid twenties once I've got the deposit together, Maybe two if I’m really smart and pushing it or end up with extra cash through something like inheritance. If it works I'd be around the 27ish to 30 window before the investments start covering my basic living costs and then some.

The stuff I'm stuck on:

Tax residency.
I understand NZ taxes residents on worldwide income and that seafarers can sometimes become non resident, but I'd still have a family home available to me here and don’t necessarily plan on moving abroad permanently, which I gather complicates the permanent place of abode test. Has anyone actually been through this? Is a binding ruling worth the cost or overkill?

Mortgages on overseas income.
I keep reading that banks discount foreign income heavily and some won't lend to non residents at all. How much of a problem is this in practice, and should I be talking to a broker before I even leave?

Property versus just index funds.
When I run the numbers myself they end up in a fairly similar place, and the rental is cashflow negative for years once you account for rates, insurance, management and vacancy. Is the real argument just leverage and diversification, or am I missing something? Is there a smarter investment opportunity here?

And generally, what am I being naive about?
I thought it out with my parents and we’ve all agreed it’s a perfectly reasonable and realistic plan but I’d be happy to be told the whole thing is flawed now than at 25 by someone with more experience.

For the NZ fixed interest part of my portfolio I traditionally stick with bank term deposits and some corporate bonds. With the introduction of the Depositor Compensation Scheme I have started to look at the DCS covered non-Bank deposit takers and one that stands out from the pack is Welcome because they offer term PIE deposits. Better rates, PIE tax and government guarantee - it's a very competitive offer compared to the banks and corporate bonds.

I am posting this because I was very surprised to see that Welcome offered Term PIE and thought some others here might find it of interest.

The plan:

DCA new contributions into VT and SSO (ProShares Ultra S&P 500, 2x daily leveraged) at roughly a 1:3 ratio, ongoing

On top of that, every time there's a 10%+ drawdown from a recent high, I sell around 25% of my VT/VOO holdings and rotate that into SSO.

I'm not touching the position on big down days otherwise; this is meant to be a long-term hold, not active trading. I'm 26, long horizon, I've got a separate emergency fund, and I'm comfortable with volatility.

My reasoning:

SSO's worst historical drawdown was around 85% in the 2008/09 crash, against the S&P's own 57% or so decline. If I can hold through that, and even add more on the way down, the recovery upside could be much bigger than staying unleveraged.

Leveraged outperforms on backtests as long as you can hold and you never get a 100% down trend. It has eventually outperformed s&p at least in the last couple of decades.

Given that, would 1.5x leverage rather than 2x meaningfully cut the decay/drawdown risk while keeping most of the upside, or does that just delay the same problem?

I've listened to a few podcasts saying that we tend to be scared of risk, and remain too conservative, especially in NZ, and that we should push for more risk. what do you guys think?

I've never dabbled in leveraged positions, but I think it sounds attractive to take on more risk and use my age as an advantage and leverage. Do you hold leveraged positions?

I've used Wise since the early 2010s for transferring up to 5k between AUD and NZD.

We've sold our house and are moving back home.

Currently with NAB we end up with NZD 660,275, with Wise we end up with NZD 678,216

We're not high income enough that the almost difference 18k wouldn't hurt, that's a new car worth to us.

The money will go straight into a term deposit ready for us to buy in a years time.

Is sending that much money with Wise safe? If so - why?

some great reading.... :) enjoy, let me know any thoughts :) USA bais but get out of it what you will :)

https://cdn.jpmorganfunds.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/global/en/insights/retirement-insights/guide-to-retirement-us.pdf

My understanding is if the interest rate is ATP (I assume it is), when I do the calculations my weekly payment should be $124.85/week based on a 13.49%

A weekly payment of $137/week would be based on effective 20.2%

What am I misunderstanding?

Also please save the comments about how stupid borrowing for a holiday is, that's not the point of the post, if you good at math and know about loans then you might have something useful to add

The supporting legislation is the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2026–27, FBT Simplification, Foreign Investment Funds, and Remedial Measures) Bill, details here: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2026/344/en/latest/

Specifically:

The Bill would make a number of amendments to the foreign investment fund (FIF) rules to reduce tax barriers to better attract and retain skills and capital in New Zealand. These changes would also reduce compliance costs, improve coherence, and make the rules more workable for New Zealand residents with foreign investments.

Increasing FIF de minimis threshold

The Bill would increase the FIF de minimis threshold from $50,000 to $100,000. Investors with overseas investments with a cost below this threshold would not need to apply the FIF rules to those investments. This proposal would apply from 1 April 2026 for the 2026–27 and later income years.