I wanted to share the exact costs of a holiday we took in January of this year when we went to Australia and took our first-ever cruise. I went in hugely sceptical of cruising, but I absolutely loved it. We holiday differently from some: Our holiday is fully paid for before we leave. Paying in advance is a far more relaxing way to travel, indeed, the ONLY way to travel, in my opinion.
As I became aware of the weather event slowly unfolding in the upper North Island and, over the days that followed, the scale and breadth of the carnage it caused, it took me right back to the Canterbury Earthquakes and our experiences of coping with a natural disaster. Since the beginning of The Happy Saver, I’ve talked about Emergency Funds, and I’m not letting up. Although they are fantastic for solving minor money problems, they are even better for giving you strength when the absolute worst happens. An emergency fund comes into its own in a real crisis.
This week I thought I’d give you a quick update on our work situation this year. I have mentioned it in passing, but I think it is worth putting more detail around it so that you know a little more about how Jonny and I work, what we earn, and that our unusual situation could be an option for you too.
I’m about to share my 2022 numbers with you. The primary reason is so that you have someone to benchmark against. Because of my blog, I’m lucky that I’m regularly conversing with people interested in discussing personal finances. Those conversations also helped me learn what Jonny and I could improve. Chances are that very few of you have friends and family willing to share their experiences with money to help you learn. Therefore, I’m happy to share ours. Please don’t judge me and my financial position; it’s just information. Use it how you will.
This week, I’ve employed two exceptional 15-year-old women to help me review the new Scott Pape book Barefoot Kids, Your Epic Money Adventure. When I asked if they actually enjoyed reading the book or only did it because I paid them, Ivy said that she thought it would be a boring chore. But then she began to enjoy it because the more she read, the more inspired to start her own business she became. Nina loved reading it because she is interested in books and websites that teach kids about money. But, sure, she said, the $30 was a fab bonus too! In this book review, I bring together all our different thoughts, and you get to decide whether it is worth buying for the kids in your life.
November is the only month that I ever buy a Lotto ticket. The reason is that when my Dad was alive, he always liked receiving a Lotto ticket on his birthday. Almost five years have passed since he died, and I’ve continued to buy a single ticket for his birthday, eagerly checking it to see if Dad had better Lotto luck in death than he did in life. Yeah, Nah. He didn’t! Imagine if, instead of buying a Lucky Dip, I began to buy a share investment instead of Lotto when my Dad died almost five years ago; how much would I have today?
For many years I’ve published the responses to my Net Worth Millionaire Questionnaire. It continues to be a well-read part of my blog. But there has been another questionnaire I’ve wanted to add for a very long time. I want to create a supportive space where people can come to share that they have successfully paid off a single debt or become completely debt free.
This week's blog post got started because I received a random Instagram message from KiwiSaver provider kōura asking me to sign a petition they have launched. Although I chose not to sign the petition, reading it did get me thinking about the gap in retirement savings between men and women and that tinkering with KiwiSaver legislation won’t really address two of the critical findings of an earlier report from the Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission.
This week I’m answering a question that Paul has sent to me, and it is a question that I’ve been dwelling on myself. I’m going to do my best not to get too deep in the weeds with my answer. It might sound like a niche question (Which is better: TWF - Total World Fund or USF - US 500?), but the answer I give is, in my opinion, widely applicable to investors.
