How is my “Kernel S&P Kensho Moonshots Innovation Fund” performing? In a word. Poorly. It’s down 27% with no signs of stopping its slide. But I can’t complain; the fund manager themselves forewarned me. Now that I’ve invested in this specific fund for almost a year, I thought it an interesting exercise to see if the returns are living up to my high expectations. Hmmm, let’s just say, it’s not quite what I was hoping for.
I’m a giant jumble of competing thoughts as I sit down to write this final blog post of the year. I’m not much into the generic inspirational end of year content that gets pushed out, so instead, I’ll just keep this one real, and it’s a bit of an insight into my life during the first two weeks of December. I’ll try (and fail) to be brief.
Today’s blog post is a follow on for all the non-homeowners who told me that they were curious about the expenses I incur for my own home, which you are missing out on by renting. There are a lot more expenses than just paying your mortgage. Knowing what owning a house costs ME might help you plan your future house purchase or make you even happier renting than you already were.
I’m delighted to tell you that Christmas is imminent! At the time of publishing this blog post, it’s just 34 days away. Yes, indeed it is. You will no doubt have noticed the headlines telling us to shop early for Christmas and stock up due to a predicted lack of supply? Therefore, I have been doing a little bit of shopping for the readers of my blog. Jonny and I have come up with a plan to give away a bunch of goodies, all of which aim to help you in your journey to financial independence.
This blog post results from a brief yet alarming conversation I had with a 15-year-old who has three years remaining at school before they planned to head off to university. In answer to my question, “how are you going to pay for it,” they quickly replied, “with student loans, because they are interest-free”. It was not my place to comment at the time (although in my head I was screaming to say something), but given I write a blog, I’ve created a space where I can give their response some thought. So, I will.
I’ve been thinking about the concept of “natural spender and natural saver” for quite some time. When people email me, they will often reference themselves as being very clearly one or the other. They have popped themselves into a category and then used that to explain their views and actions around how and why they handle their pūtea (money) the way they do. It’s never sat quite right with me, and it feels too restrictive and concrete to categorise yourself that way.
I received an email recently that brought tears to my eyes if I’m frank. It was from someone who is in despair about not being in a position to own a house in New Zealand. I wanted to create a blog post about it because the struggle that the writer is experiencing is not unique; in the same week, I received several other messages along the same lines.
This blog post took ages to research but should make your decision around choosing a KiwiSaver fund easier. Hopefully. This blog post title is a bold claim because the KiwiSaver market is fecking confusing. Still, I felt this was a blog that I had to write because frequently, I respond to emails or have conversations where people ask me point-blank what KiwiSaver fund should they use.
Because I like to make life difficult for myself, I thought I would write a blog post on the tax implications of using a FIF. A Foreign Investment Fund. Due to the proliferation of online investment providers like Hatch, Sharesies, InvestNow, Smartshares, Kernel, Betashares, Stake etc. I’m getting more and more emails from people who are concerned about the national and international tax implications of using these platforms.
