All in Smart

I have stopped buying the US 500. Well, sort of.

Managing our money is never ‘done’. I am constantly tweaking and adjusting. Whether for the little things like an increase in our weekly rates bill, or preparing for a bigger expense. Our income and costs are constantly in flux, and we need to keep monitoring and evolving with those changes. The time has come to tweak our investments. Which is why, once I was up and running with our new KiwiSaver provider, I turned my attention to our US 500 ETF and began researching whether we should also slightly adjust our direction with this investment.

Hedged vs. Unhedged Investments: Which One Should You Choose?

Question: Ruth, could you help me understand how to choose hedged or unhedged when investing? This is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive. Investing can be confusing. Not only do you have to consider fund provider, fund choice, and fees, but I often hear from people who come unstuck when they also have the option to choose between selecting “hedged” or “unhedged” for some investment types. Warning: This blog will be boring, brief, but essential.

Your emails keep me busy, and I’ve picked a few to share with you.

My inbox is cluttered with hundreds of different threads of conversations, which in turn means I struggled to find a true focus for a blog post this week. But I often think I’m receiving and sending out some real wisdom, and it's a shame it never reaches a broader audience. So, today, I’ve scrolled back through my inbox from the last week or two and pulled out a few threads from some emails I’ve received.

I quit my job!

In a recent blog post, I rebalanced our investment portfolio; this time, I’m rebalancing my life. I resigned from my PAYE job. I’m another step closer to early retirement, and I’m VERY excited about it! I always looked forward to working on Wednesday and Thursday each week, and deciding to leave a job I enjoy, plus giving up $20,000 a year, has been challenging.