All in Investment

How Our Daughter Will Pay Cash for University

How Our Daughter Will Pay Cash for University

Ruth
Kids and Money, Money Education, PocketSmith, Saving, Investment

Our daughter will likely attend University or Polytech in 2026. She still has to complete Year 13 in 2025, but after that, she has some decisions to make as she attempts to answer the dreaded and most commonly asked question, “What do you want to do when you finish school?” Going into further study is not a foregone conclusion, but it is certainly an option. As we spend the next year trying to help her decide what comes next, we will also take the time to help her (and us) financially prepare. She has no firm plans as to what she might do, but money comes in handy, that much I know. We want her to pay to study using cash. I’ve met too many ex-students who regret their student loans. Given we all know this cost is coming, we can save for it. 

I quit my job!

I quit my job!

Ruth
ETFs, Hnry, Investment, KiwiSaver, PocketSmith, SmartShares, Smart Invest, Smart, Budgeting, Net Worth

In a recent blog post, I rebalanced our investment portfolio; this time, I’m rebalancing my life. I resigned from my PAYE job. I’m another step closer to early retirement, and I’m VERY excited about it! I always looked forward to working on Wednesday and Thursday each week, and deciding to leave a job I enjoy, plus giving up $20,000 a year, has been challenging. 

We Invest Using the Share Market, Not Property

We Invest Using the Share Market, Not Property

Ruth
ETF, Index Funds, Investment, KiwiSaver, Sharesies, Sharesight, Simplicity, SmartShares

This week, I wanted to show how our US 500 ETF investment is tracking, especially now that this is our only one. And explain how we will use it to provide income for retirement. I also have a quick update on our KiwiSaver. I mainly wanted to share this because investing in KiwiSaver and an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) provides an alternative to investing in rental property, something we have never wanted to do. This blog explains how Jonny and I invest, that investing this way grows our wealth, and how we see our investments providing us with long-term, easily accessible income.

Portfolio Rebalance: We sold $103,000 of investments!

Portfolio Rebalance: We sold $103,000 of investments!

Ruth
ETFs, Investment, Sharesight, SmartShares, Simplicity

In August, I made a significant change to our investment mix. I sold all $103,000 of our Smartshares NZ Top 50 ETF (FNZ). This change ties in with all the other tweaks I’ve made over the years, where I have been progressively refining how we invest and setting ourselves up for future growth. Year after year, our mix changed as I learned and understood more, so this recent change is part of this evolution. If I were to use investment speak, I’d say I have ‘rebalanced my portfolio’.

Investing Is Not Black and White

Investing Is Not Black and White

Ruth
ETFs, Index Funds, Investment, Money Education, Personal Finance, PocketSmith, Simplicity, Sharesies, Kids and Money, KiwiSaver

It’s standard for me to get at least one blunt email saying I’m wrong about a financial decision or purchase I’ve made on behalf of my whānau. Generally, the reasoning given will be based on one aspect, often a technical math issue, ignoring all the other points I mentioned. I used to panic that they might be right and that I might have this money stuff entirely and utterly wrong. But I no longer do. Instead, I take their comments with a grain of salt and consider that it’s probably them who are wrong. Although it takes time, often I’ll research their argument and find that they are.

Applying the 4% Rule. We are selling!

Applying the 4% Rule. We are selling!

Ruth
ETFs, Gold, Sharesies, Shares, SmartShares, Investment, Index Funds

A year ago, I published a blog post titled “We Sold Some Investments: Putting our version of the 4% Rule to the test!” To cut to the chase, we’ve done it again. Having read about The 4% Rule for years and met many people who had retired early and were using it, back in 2023, we decided that we were not yet ready to retire, but pulling some income off our investments would improve our lives at that time. Finding more available cash without working more hours would allow us to do more of the things we wanted to do. 

Part 6: INVESTING - Financial Independence Series

Part 6: INVESTING - Financial Independence Series

Ruth
Budgeting, Debt, FI Series, KiwiSaver, Investment, Net Worth, Index Funds, ETFs

Congratulations, you have made it to the final blog post in this series of six: INVESTING. Investing can be incredibly complex, but I found a way to simplify it. I used to feel overwhelmed by the options available, but now I don't. I’m hoping to help you feel the same way. But still, this is one of the most challenging blog posts I have EVER written. Condensing “investing” into a single document is no easy feat. The Happy Saver was born out of my search for information about what I could invest our money in. It took me years to arrive at our current strategy, which combines KiwiSaver and ETF investments. Ultimately, I finally found THE perfect information, which I want to share today. 

Part 5: DEBT FREE - Financial Independence Series

Part 5: DEBT FREE - Financial Independence Series

Ruth
Budgeting, Debt, FI Series, KiwiSaver, Investment, Net Worth

I think of debt as a phase of life I moved through. That period has passed, and I’ve moved on. Jonny and I have now been entirely debt-free since our early 30s, and I encourage you to head down the debt-free path as well. Debt has always had an ‘ick’ factor for me, a feeling I am grateful for. I like earning interest, but I hate paying it. Despite our bank trying to lure us back into debt to buy a rental property, there has never been a day that I/we regretted becoming permanently debt-free. We never have to seek the bank's opinion about our financial decisions again.

Part 3: EMERGENCY FUND - Financial Independence Series

Part 3: EMERGENCY FUND - Financial Independence Series

Ruth
Budgeting, Debt, Emergency Fund, FI Series, Investment, KiwiSaver, Net Worth

The best thing I ever did was set some cash into a bank account, which we could instantly access in a financial emergency. It is an amount of money set aside in a specific bank account to be used for bailing myself out if something happens that I didn’t otherwise plan for but I need money to pay for. It takes me less than one minute to log into my banking and move money from my emergency account to my spending account. 

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