All in SmartShares

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

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

Ruth
Budgeting, ETFs, Index Funds, Investment, KiwiSaver, Personal Finance, Shares, Sharesies, Sharesight, Simplicity, SmartShares

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

KiwiSaver and First Home - Invest For Both

Ruth
ETFs, Index Funds, KiwiSaver, Retirement, Saving, Shares, Simplicity, SmartShares, Sharesies

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?

Should I buy VTSAX or US 500 in New Zealand?

Ruth
ETFs, Hatch, Index Funds, Investment, Kernel, Shares, Sharesies, Sharesight, SmartShares

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.

Become Your Own Financial Advisor

Become Your Own Financial Advisor

Ruth
Financial Advisors, Money Education, Personal Finance, PocketSmith, Sharesies, Sharesight, Simplicity, SmartShares, Hatch, Kernel

Before I started The Happy Saver I thought the only way to learn about money was to seek out a financial advisor, the supposed experts in the field, so I did go to a couple of financial advisors. As a result of these attempts I completely gave up on letting anyone else tell me what to do with my own money and decided that no one cared more about it than I did myself so I decided to take matters into my own hands and educate myself. I did it by actively taking an interest in my/our money and reading, listening, asking and deep-diving into all things personal finance related.

An Alternative to Property Investment that Works

An Alternative to Property Investment that Works

Ruth
ETFs, Hatch, Index Funds, Kernel, Investment, KiwiSaver, PocketSmith, Sharesies, Sharesight, Simplicity, SmartShares

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.

2020 MONEY WINS from fellow Happy Savers!

2020 MONEY WINS from fellow Happy Savers!

Ruth
ETFs, Index Funds, Investment, Kernel, KiwiSaver, Money Education, SmartShares, Sharesies

I recently asked subscribers of my blog to share their money wins for 2020 so you could get some insight into what fellow Kiwis did on a personal level to navigate 2020. It has been particularly awesome to hear from people during 2020 who had sorted themselves out financially either before, during or after Covid-19 came along and they are each now looking to the future feeling empowered and in control.

The Bitcoin experiment is over!

The Bitcoin experiment is over!

Ruth
Cryptocurrency, Investment, SmartShares, ETFs, Index Funds

If you have been following my blog for a while you might remember that back in 2017, three long years ago when the world was more normal, Jonny bought some Bitcoin. Actually, “some” Bitcoin is a bit misleading because to be more precise he bought “a bit” of a Bitcoin. He had been following its evolution for a couple of years and had been wanting to buy Bitcoin for a long time, in fact, he would have done as much, if I didn’t always scoff at the idea as being far too speculative. So three years on, how did his Bitcoin perform…

What should I do with my Bonus Bonds?

What should I do with my Bonus Bonds?

Ruth
Bonds, ETFs, Financial Advisors, Hatch, Index Funds, Investment, Kernel, KiwiSaver, Saving, Shares, Sharesies, Simplicity, SmartShares

This week I’ve received even more emails about Bonus Bonds with people asking what investment options are out there for the money that will be released from the scheme when it winds up shortly and also asking what they could do with the ongoing monthly payments that people had previously been making into the scheme. They don’t want to stop this regular savings habit, but they have no idea where to put it.

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