All in Personal Finance

Should you combine finances with your spouse?

I have the privilege to speak to so many people about “money stuff” and a very common scenario is that of a couple who have been together for a long time yet they still keep their money completely separate from each other. If you are committed to him or her being “the one”, you trust each other and have combined everything else in your life (your wardrobe, the bathroom cabinet, your home, your children, your pets), then why not your money?

What is a Sinking Fund?

I realised recently that I rattle off financial terms, assuming that people know what they are. And that annoyed me a bit, because the reason I started blogging was to demystify financial jargon and yet, here I was, rattling off a bit of jargon! One of these terms is ‘sinking fund’. Today I thought I would quickly explain what a sinking fund is and why I use them myself.

Why save, plot and plan for my financial future?

There has been quite an increase in questions over the last couple of weeks, which is not at all surprising given how much uncertainty is out there. And this week, having answered so many emails, plus I was finishing writing and recording my final podcast episode of this series, I’ve not quite gotten around to a new blog post. So this week I’ve decided to republish a post I wrote back in 2017 because I feel that it’s still very relevant today.

The COVID-19 Emergency Budget Meeting

If there was ever any doubt about what an emergency might look like, well this is it, folks! I hope that each and every one of you is coping well and today I wanted to let you know what Jonny and I are doing, in the hope that you might gain a few pointers about what to do with whatever situation you may find yourselves in.

PocketSmith Q+A

In February 2020 I went to Dunedin to spend the day with the PocketSmith team. I asked my audience if there were any specific questions they had about using the PocketSmith budgeting software and I put those questions directly to the support team in the office. PocketSmith has answered all of your questions and I’m the first to admit that I’ve learned a thing or two by reading them.

The share market is doing what it does, so JUST CHILL!

I’ve had a “conscious uncoupling” from worldwide events and am instead reflecting back on the basics of how Jonny and I operate to make sure we are steering our waka in roughly the right direction during these rough waters. This is the first more serious market dip I’ve been through but I’ve read enough and learned enough from those who have gone before to know that the right thing to do is just hold my course and hold my nerve.