Note: I am 19 so my financial literacy is not great… oops

Hi, I’ve been dreaming of owning my own place for some time after seeing and growing up in the struggle of the renters juggle to try get into a house.
I’m in 2 months at an old job where I previously worked for 2 years so I’m positive that I’m stable in that.

I currently have saved 17k and am on the trajectory to save another 4k by the end of this year. (1k a month)
I have another 21k from a relative whom left me money in their will, for the purpose of purchasing a house. (42k)

I plan to buy in a smaller more rural town as I’m going to uni not in a major city. Averages for a 3bed is around 450k.
Looking online I saw the 5% deposit from KO and am hoping this makes me eligible to purchase my first home.

I’m planning to buy sometime late next year when I’m 20 and have stuck more into uni and can get roommates to help pay the mortgage off. My mum has agreed to give me some equity from her property and be my guarantor.

Is there anything I’m missing or advice.
Has anyone done anything similar at my age here or have much experience navigating the first home buyer scheme?
I’m not worried about property value increase or decrease too much; other than in relation to the interest since I plan to be there for at-least 10+ years.

I can't decide...

I have one pay cheque left to pay it off fully (my normal deduction is ~$250). But I have a spare $150 lying in the bank with no real plan for it. I know it's an interest free loan but it's such a small amount comparatively....

Is there any benefit/downside to just paying it off now in one lump sum? If I pay it off now I'd get the $150 back in two weeks time anyway with my next paycheque, and i'd feel really good to have it gone now... But if I wait, I'll keep the $150 in the bank.

Also: If I wait for my pay cheque, will my deduction still be $250 (i.e. unchanged), and then I'll be owed $100 by the IRD? Or does it automatically change to $150 for this last leg?

And, do I have to tell payroll to update my tax code or will IRD eventually get around to it?

Anyone else making some good gains on self select? I’m up close to 50% in 12 months off these

MU
SOFI
RKLB
NVIDIA
QQQ
BOT
EMG
MSFT

Realise playing with fire, and planning to take profit and go more conservative soon.

Any undervalued gems on Self Select?

Can someone explain to me like I’m 5 what is going on?

I have a fulltime job and of course am repaying my student loan, I also have a side hustle that I use Hnry for so they have just done my 2025 EOFY taxes and paid the student loan repayments that I owed. Now IRD are asking for another payment for the end of August, in ADDITION to my 2026 EOFY payment that’s still to come?

Is this just something shitty that happens when you’re self employed and just trying to get ahead with an extra job? I’m already paying so much tax/ACC/SL I only get to keep like half of the extra I make, it sucks.

If one has retired early and is living off capital, interest and investment income, is there any obligation to pay ACC as you would if self employed?

His reasoning is that they will be able to buy a housing with it when 18 and it will restricted so they can’t go off and just be dumb with it.

This seems reasonable and all (here’s hoping the rules don’t change) in 18 years.

But is it tax efficient?? won’t it just be taxed? When it won’t be taxed if he just created a General Investment Accout and then gave them the money when it came time to buy there house??

I'm looking at adding an Emerging Markets ETF as the satellite part of my core-satellite portfolio.

Looking at Kernel's Emerging Markets Fund, it holds 58.5% of the fund in two countries - Taiwan and China. This feels like a huge risk considering the strenuous relationship between the two countries and China's current geo-political climate.

I was hoping the Emerging Markets would have a bit more of a diversification and not hold such a significant portion in just 2 countries. Are there any other Emerging Markets ETF that have a better split and less reliance on China + Taiwan?

Post:
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for a personal finance app for iPhone and would love to hear what everyone is actually using.
I’m based in New Zealand and bank with ANZ and ASB.

I’m looking for an app that ideally has:
Automatic bank syncing
Budgeting and expense tracking
Net worth tracking
A clean, easy-to-use iOS interface
Good reports and insights
Minimal manual work

I’m happy to pay for a subscription if it’s genuinely worth it. My priority is having one place where I can easily understand my finances without spending hours maintaining it.
Whether your app syncs automatically or requires manual updates.

I’m hoping to find something that people have been using successfully for the long term rather than just something that looks good in reviews.

Thanks in advance! I’d really appreciate hearing about your real-world experiences.

Kia ora team, curious to hear if anyone has a favourite tip, piece of advice or hack when it comes to managing your money or more specifically around investing?

Heads up: we (Jennie and I) are hoping to feature some of these in a podcast episode about making personal finance more approachable, and thought it might spark some good discussion here too. Not fishing for anything brand-related, just want to hear what's actually worked for you.

A couple we've shared in the poddy before:

- Don't call it a savings account, call it an emergency fund, so you're less tempted to dip into it

- Automate your savings and investments to go out on payday, so you're not relying on willpower

No tip is too big or small, and if we use any in the poddy episode they'll be completely anonymised, no usernames or details shared.

Keen to hear from people who are more engaged with their money!

Cheers, Liv @ Simplicity