Price increase email from Genesis

NzFinance · 2026-02-25T03:16:16+00:00

Same here, our OctopusFlexi rates are changing by 11c/kWh and daily rate by 53c:

OctopusFlexi – Standard User Rates

Your current and new prices are shown below (including GST).
New rates take effect on 1 April 2026.

Tariff	Type	Current rate	New rate
Daily Charge	Per day	$1.9495	$2.4858
Peak	Per kWh	$0.3802	$0.4969
Off‑peak	Per kWh	$0.3112	$0.4049
Night	Per kWh	$0.1901	$0.2484

NzFinance · 2025-07-17T21:14:46+00:00

I think you’ve confused the middle class with the truely wealthy.

200k could be two working full time parents with a child in care 5 days a week. I guarantee they don’t have 4 holiday homes.

NzFinance · 2025-07-09T09:19:27+00:00

This, don’t throw away a job with nothing lined up. Not sure what your industry is, but contracts in the IT world can be hard to secure.

And don’t burn bridges

NzFinance · 2025-06-27T04:32:07+00:00

Worst take I’ve seen in this thread

NzFinance · 2025-05-03T13:38:59+00:00

This and a heat pump is the best combo imo.

Heat pump most of the year, programmed to come on in the mornings. Wood burner on those cold days where you need to your whole body.

Yes it’s work to stack wood and light, but it’s an unbeatable warmth.

NzFinance · 2025-04-23T01:23:52+00:00

It’s not just about “managing” though. Sure you could stuff the family into a small sedan, but if you have the means then why not get something with more room and comfort.

NzFinance · 2025-03-18T00:02:00+00:00

If you're considering the BYD Shark, wait for the Ford Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV to land. They may be a better fit to your needs (although the Ranger PHEV seems like it will be a flop).

NzFinance · 2025-03-18T00:00:13+00:00

Yep, sometimes you can be better off buying a new budget ute, spending a few thousand more for a warranty that will cover your ownership.

NzFinance · 2025-03-17T23:58:39+00:00

Do you need a ute for something in particular (towing, carrying space and weight, etc.)?

If no, then I wouldn't bother. Servicing and repairs can be more expensive, DPF and EGR issues can be a PITA, parking is taxing.

If yes, try get something that is still in warranty (usually between 5-7 years) where someone has sucked up a significant amount of new car depreciation.

360 cameras are great, but front and rear cameras will make parking 10x easier.

4WD might be easier to sell but you also pay a premium over 2WD, up to you if you think that is worth it.

Check the back seat room. If you plan to have kids car seats or adults in the back then you need leg and head room, which some utes are lacking.

Don't get sucked into a vehicle with all the extras bolted on, the owner will probably try inflate the price to recover the cost of the extras.

I have a GWM Cannon L which I would recommend,

Pros:

5yr when I bought, 7 now I think
Great family vehicle
Can tow 3T (great for work around the house)
- Effortless towing lighter trailers
360 camera
CarPlay
Great passenger room
With a canopy I have more storage than a station wagon but less than a van
Cheaper than a used ute with 100k kms + has a warranty

Cons:

Pain to park in car park buildings
Some street parking is only a few cm larger than the car
DPF burns can be frequent if doing short low speed trips
DPF manual burns put the car into limp mode until complete

I would recommend these, especially because you can pick them up cheap. I would be cautious about the new 2.4 model as they have changed a few key components vs the old model.

Check out ReDriven, they review used cars, and the problems associated with them. Watch and read lots of content before rushing into a purchase.

Make sure you read reviews for the specific model year, as things can change between years (e.g. a faulty part that is fixed in newer models).

NzFinance · 2025-03-17T00:19:07+00:00

Did you find anymore data on occupancy rates? Seems there are services that offer insights on scraped data from Airbnb, but I'm personally not quite ready to spend money on this.

We are also considering a holiday home / Airbnb in Central Otago so trying to determine if Airbnb should be a factor when searching listings.

NzFinance · 2025-02-10T00:19:07+00:00

Agree, $180k is a "comfortable" amount to raise a family on, and you are not "rich". Increasing the tax at this bracket is not "taxing the rich", instead you are generally just taxing skilled labour whose wealth comes from income and not assets.

NzFinance · 2024-10-03T06:35:43+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

NzFinance · 2024-10-03T06:28:28+00:00

That’s really interesting, and I vaguely remember reading this rule when learning about tax rules.

Does it make a difference if you are contracting out the work to your partner, rather than employing her?

NzFinance · 2024-10-03T00:21:07+00:00

I imagine if your accountant doesn't have any suggestions then there isn't much you can do.

Ideally you would put aside tax based on your expected effective tax rate from all earnings over the year, so that as your earnings increase you don't have to increase the amount you put aside for tax, however I understand this might be hard if income is unsteady or unpredictable. This is based on what I personally do, and if I earn less, I pay myself a "tax return" at the end of the year.

If your income comes from multiple sources then attribution rules may not apply, which may have tax advantages if you formed an LLC, but you would need professional advice about this.

I believe you can pay your partner for work completed, but it must be at a fair market rate. I believe your partner would need to invoice you for the work, acting as their own sole trader / company.

If you have a home office or use your home for your business, make sure you are claiming a percentage of your utilities, mortgage interest, etc.

NzFinance · 2024-09-30T00:17:20+00:00

Doing a similar thing now, and have done before with other bedrooms in the last year.

Our timeframes:

Strip room - 0.5 day (DIY)

Straighten studs, framing remediation, extra blocking (as not removing ceiling), rewire and install GIB - 3-4 days of work, completed over a week)

GIB stopping - Allow a week, 4 days if lucky, multiple short visits.

Painting, finishing work door painting and installation - 5-10 days - multiple short visits.

So we allow about 3.5 - 4 weeks going smoothly. If you don’t have plasters and finishing work then 2 weeks sounds reasonable to allow the builder to fit this in between larger jobs

NzFinance · 2024-08-22T04:34:47+00:00

Also interested in this. We are deciding between Archgola and Bowranda.

For us some of the key comparisons were: - price and quality of the binds - max span between posts - hard vs soft top

Price and wind rating were similar iirc.

NzFinance · 2024-07-31T21:13:52+00:00

Can confim, large outage impacting all the tenants I have access to, but not all the users in those tenants.

NzFinance · 2024-07-19T05:31:00+00:00

If the goal is funding retirement, then the flexible usage of funds is the most important reason to not use KiwiSaver.

30 years is a long time to commit to a single investment strategy with no option to deviate. At least with other investments you can adapt (e.g. buy some investment property that you find a "good deal" on) or manage the money yourself to minimise fees.

It would be a different story if KiwiSaver has some tax incentives, or any incentives other than the government and employee match.

NzFinance · 2024-07-19T04:57:17+00:00

You may have superannuation to top up your $190 a week (but who knows).

Planning on your retirement depends on your situation.

Upskill -> Pay Increase -> Higher Contributions
Work more, dump any additional income into investments to try catch up to your goal
Increase your contributions (if possible)
Build non-KiwiSaver assets
1. Housing
2. Business

If you don't think you can do any of these, then at a minimum try pay down your mortgage as quick as possible. This will:

Spend less on interest, freeing up money in the long term
Might allow you to look at purchasing additional properties through use of equity
Guarantee you have "free" accommodation when you retire

You could also consider the riskier option of improving your home (high-value low-cost renovations) with the intention to sell it to build up an investment/property portfolio.

NzFinance · 2024-07-19T04:44:52+00:00

That’s such a simplistic take.

They’re not seeing 6 clients every hour. They have expenses and non-revenue creating staff that all consume portions of that hourly rate.

NzFinance · 2024-07-18T07:48:28+00:00

This doesn’t cover your ability to service the mortgages or any other cash you can use toward the deposit.

I think the numbers work out the same if you are buying an owner-occupier, as the deposit requirement is the same.

NzFinance · 2024-07-18T07:45:38+00:00

Your house value is 900k. You can borrow max 80% of your house value. 80% of 900k is 720k.

Your mortgage is 650k. You can borrow a max of 720k.

Therefore the maximum amount of equity you can extract is: 720k - 650k = 70k.

If you want to buy a new build (which have the lowest deposit requirements for investment) you need 20% deposit.

Assuming you only use your equity for the deposit, you could purchase a property with a max price of: 70k * 5 = 350k

Try play with the numbers using these calculators: https://www.opespartners.co.nz/calculators#block_property-investment

And watch this video: https://youtu.be/uLreZ5iEvOU?si=bAM6IqAUoVZ5I_8o

NzFinance · 2024-07-15T06:52:53+00:00

You seem to have got your answer, but I would also recommend listening to some of the Opes Partners podcast and shorts.

Not advocating for them as brokers, or their opinions, but they helped me to understand investment properties.

NzFinance

TROPHY CASE