All in Index Funds

Does investing in Index Funds or ETFs work?

Ok, so the question is, does investing in index funds or ETFs actually work? Given that last week, I wrote about the fact it has been five years since I started blogging, I thought I’d give you an update on how two of our investments have been tracking during that time. The blog, after all, was created so that I could teach myself about investing by actually putting some money in and then sharing what I have learnt with others. I figured it would save everyone else having to constantly reinvent the wheel!

What I’ve learnt in five years of personal finance blogging.

To my surprise, I’ve chalked up five years of writing this blog! And I can’t quite believe it. I thought I’d blog today about what I’ve learnt, observed and what it’s like to write a blog because there is not a single day that has gone by that I’ve not emailed or spoken with someone about what I tend to refer to with my whanau and friends as ‘blog stuff’.

Was I right or wrong? Checking ‘what if’ share investing scenarios.

This is a blog post about all the investing “What if’s”. Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you bought shares in a company when you first heard about it, but you didn’t do it? And you find yourself years later saying “oh, I NEARLY bought that stock, but I didn’t…” Now you are wondering what even happened to the company share price and what WOULD have happened to your own net worth IF you had actually purchased some?

Begin at the Beginning: Step-by-step Path to Financial Independence

Whatever it is that you are embarking on that’s always the best place to start in my opinion. The beginning. Then just follow the path, in my case, the path to financial independence and eventually not being tied to a job to earn my income. It’s a long journey but it’s one worth starting. I’m often writing emails that cover the same points over and over again, so I thought that today I’d put that information into a blog post for all of the people wondering where to start and how to string all the bits of information you have learned about money into a cohesive order.

KiwiSaver and First Home - Invest For Both

With our house prices continuing to climb, more and more pressure is going on first home buyers to save up the large deposit they need to buy a house. This is hardly news to you I know and this blog post is not really aimed at those of you who are poised and on the cusp of buying your first home, instead, it’s aimed at your far younger children, siblings, nieces, nephews and friends who might also want to both buy a home one day AND retire.

Should I buy VTSAX or US 500 in New Zealand?

This week I read a question on the Kiwi Mustachian Facebook page from a woman by the name of Kimberly who was asking a particularly good question. I thought that such a question required more than a social media soundbite and that it might also be useful to other Happy Savers. This is an important question and it needs a detailed answer because in my view Kimberly is on the brink of making one of the most important investment decisions of her life and she needs to feel comfortable with what she is doing.

An Alternative to Property Investment that Works

I’ve long said that there are alternatives to buying rental property and today I wanted to actually give you some decent detail on this. So today I’m going to give you an idea of what investing into KiwiSaver and index funds/ETFs actually looks like a few years down the track. I find with this blog of mine that it’s helpful to share some real numbers instead of just talking hypothetically all the time.