Be careful with risky investments. Photo / 123RF
As we say goodbye to 2021 and welcome in 2022, it's a good time to catch up on the very best of the Herald columnists we enjoyed reading over the last 12 months. From politics to sport, from business to entertainment and lifestyle, these are the voices and views our audience loved the most. Today it's the top five from Mary Holm.
Q: I have $300,000 to invest but I have decided not to continue with term deposits with my bank as interest is less than 1 per cent.
I am considering talking to a mortgage lender in Auckland with an interest rate of 7 per cent. Your thoughts please?
A: Be careful. Very careful. You don't get a much bigger return without taking much more risk.
It's always wise to flip an investment round, looking at it from the perspective of the people receiving your money.
Read the full article: Where should I invest?
Q: I have wanted to take a three to six-month sabbatical for some time now as I feel really jaded. I am considering selling my house, resigning from my job, renting for a while, recovering from surgery and then finding a new job and buying another house.
There are local and global shortages of skilled people in my field, and having been made redundant twice, I know I can always find work and make enough money to live on. Is this a mad idea?
A: No, it's a fantastic idea.
I've noticed a tendency for women who write to me — particularly single women older than 40ish — to be conservative in their investments and life choices. It's understandable, but it's a real pity.
True, you still have a mortgage and your savings aren't huge. But after a break you could come back with renewed zeal to reduce the debt and boost the savings.
Read the full article: Take a time out from work
Q: I'm 40 years old and work in a very good paying job in a low-cost-of-living area of New Zealand. I paid off my mortgage last year and am now focusing on saving 50 per cent of my salary for retirement.
A: I vote for quitting the job, especially given your age. You have many more years to save for retirement — or, for that matter, to do a course or get other training so you can earn good money doing something you love. There are lots of online courses you could look into.
Read the full article: I hate my job
Q: I have spare cash. Is there any way I can safely invest in a way that helps to support our country? I am not talking millions. I am talking between $20,000 and $50,000.
With people being actively dissuaded from seeing housing as a "business investment" (which is fine) there is more money people will want to invest.
Is it just best to put it in an asset fund with a good reputation, or am I missing other good opportunities to help New Zealand?
A: How about exploring the Mindful Money website? It helps you find KiwiSaver and non-KiwiSaver funds that invest in ways you like.
Among other things, you can rank the issues that matter most to you — for example, choosing to exclude fossil fuels, weapons, tobacco, gambling, pornography, alcohol, palm oil, genetically modified organisms, human rights and environmental violations, and animal testing.
Read the full article: Ethical investment
Q: Last week's letter from the person unhappy in their job struck a chord with me. In 2000 I was in a job earning a figure similar to that quoted by your correspondent ($95,000-plus). Had the company car etc. I was in my early fifties, my wife was working, children at uni. Living the good life. Working long hours, 120-plus staff. Good fun.
Yeah right.
One morning driving to work, I thought, "Why am I doing this? I hate this life." Went home that night and talked to my wife and decided with her full support to get out of there. We were okay but not super well off financially because of the way we lived.
This turned out to be the best thing I could have done at that time. Funnily enough, my wife took the same path less than six months later.
A: For those who missed last week's column, I suggested the reader move to another job, even though she would earn less.
Thanks for a thought-provoking letter. Today is May 1, International Workers' Day, so it seems appropriate for all workers to think about why we are working, and whether we're in the right job.
Read the full article: Escaping the money maze
