I refuse to spend $903 on a single pair of glasses. But I can manage $326 for three pairs. This is a blog post about wearing glasses and as I sit down to write this even I’m unsure if those people who come to my blog for my thoughts on investment and good money management are going to hang around long enough to see the point of me writing it? So, this post won’t be for everyone, but it is for everyone who either wears glasses or knows someone who does.
In mid-March, I happened to have RNZ on in the background when one of their guests mentioned that they got such a fright at the drop in their KiwiSaver balance that they immediately switched from a Growth fund into a Conservative fund in an effort to stop themselves losing money. I remember stopping what I was doing and smacking myself on the head in a Homer Simpson ‘DUH’ moment and saying out loud to myself “Noooo. What did she do that for? And why did she have to say it on the radio where other people might think it’s a good idea to do the same?”
I’ve had a number of emails asking about the changes to Smartshares, in particular the introduction of their new S&P/NZX 50 ETF (NZG) and how it compares to their existing NZ Top 50 ETF (FNZ). A deep dive into Smartshares for this post was a timely reminder for me just how intertwined and complex the investing marketplace is and that it’s really set up for the investor that already knows how to invest. Finding information was tough, so I reached out directly to Smartshares as I figure it’s best to go straight to the source right?
I realised recently that I rattle off financial terms, assuming that people know what they are. And that annoyed me a bit, because the reason I started blogging was to demystify financial jargon and yet, here I was, rattling off a bit of jargon! One of these terms is ‘sinking fund’. Today I thought I would quickly explain what a sinking fund is and why I use them myself.
On Tuesday 15th June, it finally rained down here in Central Otago (rain is rare here), so the time had finally come to update our wills and I had run out of excuses! By making sure that you have a current will you can relax and know that everyone understands your wishes and how you want your estate to be handled once you are gone.
Even though Level 2 had felt quite ‘normal’ here in Alexandra, going to Level 1 on the 9th of June did have me going “phew, we did it”. Collectively as a town, region and as a country, WE DID IT! That’s a pretty good feeling. Well done whanau of 5 million! But personally speaking, I don’t quite feel out of the woods yet. My thoughts are along the lines of “don’t relax too soon Ruth”. Therefore, I’m going to listen to my gut instinct and from a financial standpoint, I’m not done with being cautious just yet.
So, this week I thought I would share some of the really positive snippets and lessons that I’ve taken from the emails I’ve received from many of you in the month of May because you say SUCH GOOD STUFF.
Under the “Our Story” section on the Kernel website, they say the following: We encourage open and free sharing of opinions so that everyone feels as though they can collaborate and contribute.” Not the usual spiel you would find on a fund manager website, don’t you agree?
There has been quite an increase in questions over the last couple of weeks, which is not at all surprising given how much uncertainty is out there. And this week, having answered so many emails, plus I was finishing writing and recording my final podcast episode of this series, I’ve not quite gotten around to a new blog post. So this week I’ve decided to republish a post I wrote back in 2017 because I feel that it’s still very relevant today.
