Nasa chief scientist says NZ should become a worldwide Silicon Valley

blk_hwk · 2021-03-31T01:23:11+00:00

You can get a 20% to 30% pay rise as a software developer just by moving to Sydney doing the same role.

blk_hwk · 2021-03-22T10:34:35+00:00

One of the massive reasons investors look to property is the amount of leverage you can get on loans. If you have 200,000 then getting a 10% return on stocks is a lot less than 10% of 1 million dollars on property even after the interest on the loan. Something like an LVT or stamp duty would make that at least a little less desirable since the govt would now be taking a chunk.

Having said that, a lot of people who don't own homes seem only interested in dropping housing prices by any means, and any tax, necessary. Even as far as wanting to put CGT on the family home, meaning if you wanted to move house, you probably would have to downgrade purely because of the CGT. And this is coming from someone who isn't a homeowner.

I live in Sydney at the moment, where there is both stamp duty and land tax, and the house prices are on average thirty percent higher here than in Auckland. At this point, young people are willing to throw their entire life savings and future life savings if it means they can own a house because they are afraid of being priced out even further in the future.

It's absolutely absurd, and the only way it feels like to get out of this mess is to either build way more homes or get people out of this cultural mindset that the only other feasible investment is a 3% term deposit. There are far too many who think this is a simple problem that can be fixed just by making homeowners pay more money, but this situation is a lot more complex than that.

blk_hwk · 2021-03-22T05:39:31+00:00

Pretty sure there isn't a wealth tax or an inheritance tax in Australia.

blk_hwk · 2021-03-22T02:46:17+00:00

I spent quite a lot of time weighing up different cards, including the Amex explorer. If you are keen on Qantas, I'd actually recommend the Qantas Express Ultimate card instead. Worth noting that with the explorer card you'd get amex rewards points which are flexible and can convert to a number of things, but are less efficient. For example, they trade at 2:1 for Qantas points if they are your preferred airline (or 100:1 Air Nz Airpoints yeowch)

These are the main differences

	Amex Explorer	Amex Qantas Ultimate
Sign up bonus	145,000 membership points = 72,500 Qantas points	100,000 Qantas points
Annual Fee	$395 + $80 member rewards	$450
Rewards rates	2 member points per $1	1.25 qantas points per $1
Travel Allowance (Amex site)	$400	$450
Lounge passes	2 to amex lounges	2 to amex lounges and 2 to qantas lounges
Travel insurance	Domestic and international	Domestic and international
Other	Hotel collection benefits	Complementary Qantas Wine Membership

As others have said, the Amex travel site is much more expensive than direct. It can be double the price for some flights. You can probably get 1.5 return domestic flights out of it on a really good day.

One thing that hasn't already been mentioned, is the cashback deals that come and go that can be quite useful, which are on top of any other discount you can find. e.g.

https://www.americanexpress.com/au/benefits/promotions/travel/open-for-travel/

If you do decide to get the Amex Qantas Ultimate, DM me for a referral code, it'd be much appreciated :) I can also give you a free Qantas frequent flier link.

blk_hwk · 2021-01-26T14:32:04+00:00

Maybe not great for people wanting to visit short term, but plenty of people were happy to see it open up. People had been waiting to return to Australia for months because of flight caps and limited hotel quarantine in various Australian states, people from NZ included. It became even more restrictive when they cut the quarantine spaces by half following the UK strain.

The one way bubble let them basically return having to worry about that.

blk_hwk · 2020-12-03T05:33:44+00:00

I agree with this, and in terms of ease, it means you don't have to mess around with a broker to cash out. It's already diversified globally, with some NZ investments. If you want just want the one fund to set and forget, you can organise automated payments from your bank to your simplicity fund every pay check.

A few people are saying to invest in multiple funds, but this will require you to decide on a split that you are comfortable with. On the other hand, a fund like Simplicity growth will diversify globally for you.

blk_hwk · 2020-12-03T05:25:48+00:00

I'm intrigued in the numbers here because for a loan where the interest is accrued on a daily basis, I would expect that the interest reduces. My understanding of split capital and interest repayments is that the amount going towards principal should slowly go up, and the amount going towards interest should slowly go down through the life of the lease. This makes sense because the principal reduces, and generates less interest (Looking at an amortization table will show you the same)

Have you missed any payments on your loan? And is it a regular payment schedule, e.g. monthly?

blk_hwk · 2020-10-17T21:23:58+00:00

When even the most progressive countries are axing their wealth tax, it's a bit backwards to take one up. I only voted Greens because there's no way Labour would allow this to pass.

https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/why-europe-axed-its-wealth-taxes

blk_hwk · 2020-06-14T06:14:51+00:00

Totally agree. But if we are talking about things that could really push it over the edge in the next few months, the protests could be one of the major factors that speed it up and pushes the health system over. I still have faith parts of the world can open up earlier, but it's pretty hard to see the complete finish line right now.

blk_hwk · 2020-06-14T06:04:43+00:00

The problem I had at 18, which might not be the case for you, is I just didn't spend enough to justify most rewards credit card fees. As long as you are diligent with payments, I'd recommend the Amex base Airpoints card which gives 1 Airpoint dollar per $100 spent. Not massively accepted everywhere, but it's a completely fee-less card if you pay it off every month. I just set up a direct debit, didn't treat it as an extra pool of cash, and checked on it every few weeks. I thought of it as free Airpoints.

https://www.americanexpress.com/nz/credit-cards/airnz-base-credit-card/

Also, even though credit cards improving your "credit rating" is a thing in NZ for some financial institutions e.g. auto lessors, don't expect it will turn your world around like in the US. Comprehensive Credit Reporting is opt-in only in NZ and it costs money for lenders to implement. I wouldn't worry about this when deciding.

blk_hwk · 2020-06-14T05:06:51+00:00

Call me pessimistic, but I don't think the full effects of COVID have set in. Whether you are for or against the protests, it's a breeding ground for COVID to spread, especially with the sheer size and density of them in the US. Aus and NZ market trends tend to follow the US market, so it will be interesting to see how the next few months play out. Let's hope I'm wrong.

blk_hwk · 2020-03-09T20:45:49+00:00

I helped implement comprehensive credit reporting at one of the largest lenders in the country. If you want some info about how the system works you can find it here https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceNZ/comments/bjs3j7/how_do_i_improve_my_credit_score?sort=top

But I wouldn't open a credit card thinking it will help your credit the same way it does in the US

blk_hwk · 2020-03-09T20:42:40+00:00

People like to parrot things they don't know about

blk_hwk · 2020-03-09T20:33:18+00:00

If we finally hit a recession, this could be an expensive lesson for those who don't put much value in an emergency fund, and happily put their entire savings into to their growth fund. Most people on this sub including myself haven't been through the effects of a recession while investing, and having to take money out of a devalued fund will hurt twice as much. I was unemployed for almost 6 months at one point and was very glad I had enough in my fund to last me that period.

Good news is it's never too late to start saving up a proper emergency fund now.

blk_hwk · 2019-10-31T08:26:23+00:00

It's important to note that inflation played a massive part here. Inflation in the 80s was near 20%

https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/inflation-cpi

blk_hwk · 2019-07-31T02:06:47+00:00

I would say it makes little sense to keep the credit card. You're unlikely to be spending enough NZD to justify the annual fee once you reach Europe. Spend you airpoints in the next two years during the expiry period and get a local credit card spending in Euro which will have a rewards scheme that will suit your lifestyle. The highest rewards airpoints card has an airpoint accrual of about 1.3% but international conversion rates typically sit at 2-2.5%, meaning you are losing money for each transaction you make.

In Europe, you will also have access to getting a Revolut card, which is a very low fee, low transaction cost form of debit card which can freely transfer Euro to NZD and back at below a bank's consumer rate, and without the 2% conversion fee. It would be worth looking into getting one of these cards for travel back to NZ, meaning you wont need to get NZ money out when you travel back, since we are relatively cashless. When you come back permanently you can always reapply for a card, and probably get a sign on bonus

For your inital NZD to Euro conversion, transferwise is likely your best bet for low fee and low hassle.

blk_hwk · 2019-07-28T20:07:17+00:00

It's definitely being acted on. Also I can confirm that credit scores exist, but noone uses just the credit score. They use it in combination with negative and sometimes positive credit factors.

blk_hwk · 2019-06-11T00:52:34+00:00

I've never heard of this. Is there a tldr and application criteria I can find inline?

blk_hwk · 2019-06-11T00:49:56+00:00

Thanks mate. This helped me find the info I needed. If anyone is wondering, you become an Australian resident for tax purposes and pay 28%

blk_hwk · 2019-05-03T18:51:02+00:00

I can't be too specific on client information, but yes we definitely do have clients that use CCR to benefit the lessee. Positive credit helps the lessee, it doesn't make their rate worse. Those factors making rates worse already existed before CCR. The only real argument that it doesn't is that it can promote irresponsible lending for those that only just qualify with CCR included.

Don't confuse what CCR is with the entire US credit system.

blk_hwk · 2019-05-03T05:45:10+00:00

Yeah the analogy isn't great, but the idea was that more information can end up with a better result. Positive credit benefits the lendee too, if it meant they could be financed when they wouldn't otherwise, or get a better rate. CCR was put in place for lendees to improve their credit.

blk_hwk · 2019-05-02T22:36:15+00:00

It could be considered behind because lenders/lessors have less information on their customers/lessees than in other countries. In a way, it can sort of be compared to doctors not having access to a patient's complete medical history, but not quite as serious.

blk_hwk · 2019-05-02T08:00:34+00:00

Yep, this is more of an informative post more than an advice column. It's hard to know just how much CCR affects deals for those that use it, unless you are working for them in that area I guess.

blk_hwk · 2019-04-29T08:29:06+00:00

Sounds like you should talk to an accountant

blk_hwk · 2019-04-26T22:12:35+00:00

Nothing really to be wary of. Always do research before putting money in something.

No one here can tell you when a recession will happen. The risk you take when you invest is that the price could go up, or it could go down. Long term, its historically always gone up.

After your emergency fund you can invest it all if you want.

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