"Do I need to declare that I smoke?"
Whether you smoke cigarettes, cigars, pipes, vape, or use nicotine replacement patches (or chew nicotine gum), you need to declare this to the insurance company.
If you don't have insurance, you'll need a full risk review to understand your current situation.
If you currently have cover, then doing a full review should be done every 2-3 years, or whenever there are major 'life changes'.
One of the things that savings, loan payments, mortgages, KiwiSaver and the Consumer Price Index have in common is Compound Interest yet most people don't know what it is and how it works. In fact, most people would say what has it got to do with me and why should I even care about compound interest at all?
Key Ideas:
· What is compound interest and why care?
· The formula for compound interest
· How compound interest grows over time
· The good and bad
Read the full article here
Personal insurance: The policyholder versus the beneficiary.
The policyholder can make decisions about the policy, and need to authorise any changes.
The beneficiary receives the benefit (for example, the life insurance amount)
Recently we had International Women’s Day and the Financial Services Council of New Zealand (FSC) encouraged businesses to promote and discuss women and money in the finance sector. This is important and relevant but is difficult for me to write about as a man without mansplaining (wow the autocorrect saw that as a real word!) and to really get to the heart of the issues.
There is no denying that there are clear discriminations when it comes to women and money and I will discuss these. I actively want to encourage women to have agency over their financial affairs. Read on, let’s see how I do.
Key ideas
Read the article here
#DominicBish
I was going to call this article “IP for Dummies”, but figured there might be some trademark issues. It is not something we often think about, but what would you do if you became sick and were unable to work? You may have heard about Income Protection (or ‘IP’) already. You may know that if you are sick and cannot work, this insurance will pay you out each month. This sounds great, but you may have also heard that it is too expensive, not worth it, or is just too boring and hard to understand. As a result, you do nothing.
Key Ideas:
· What is IP (and what it is not)?
· When would you need it?
· How is the cost figured out?
· What is Agreed Value, Indemnity and LOE all about anyway..?
· Pricing examples
Read the full article here
#DominicBish
We often hear the words ‘rising inflation’ and ‘rising interest rates’ but do we really understand these terms and the impacts they can have on us financially? What is inflation anyway and what does it have to do with the price of fish or the price of tomatoes which has received a lot of media attention lately?
More importantly, what impact does inflation have on your savings and in turn your retirement nest egg? Surely, it will not impact on your life insurance or does it?
Key ideas:
Listen to Dominic Bish discuss this further or you can read the supporting article here.
We have all heard about KiwiSaver and despite having over 3 million members it would appear that confusion and lack of understanding of how it works is the most common talking point.
By the end of the March 2021 financial year, New Zealanders had invested $81.6 billion dollars into KiwiSaver, with $26,410 being the average amount invested. Not bad going for a scheme which started in 2007. However, given such a large amount of money has been invested into KiwiSaver it is hard to believe that there is still widespread confusion.
Key Ideas:
bolsterriskmanagement.com/blog/
#Dom_Bish
Are you using tomorrow’s money today? What happens when tomorrow comes along? Are you spending more than you earn? What if your income stops? If you are spending money today that was meant for tomorrow, then you have a problem. You will at some stage need to catch up. Are you getting the right information?
1. Basic money management concepts
2. Cover against Risk
3. Build your retirement nest egg
4. Build Wealth
5. Get advice
Read the article here
If you need help - try this
<My Disclosure statement can be found here>
Mortgage protection: What is it? Why should you have it?
You have a mortgage; finances are tight because you have stretched yourself so much just to get a foot on the housing ladder. Then you get sick and cannot work for the next 2 years. What happens to your mortgage? Is your new home now at risk of being taken away?
You are renting; You’ve tried the property ladder, but right now it is out of reach. Your family relies on your income to keep paying the rent. Then you have an accident and cannot work for the next 5 years while you rehabilitate. What happens to your family’s home? Is it now at risk of being taken away?
These two examples are basic, but they help to illustrate the majority of reasons why people get this type of personal insurance. Below is a list of nine things you should know before you talk with your financial adviser.
The article that goes with this podcast is here
or go to
“What does it mean to have life insurance? What is the value in it? What is it for anyway? I’m sure it costs too much, right?”
This article has nothing to do with Covid-19.
Key Ideas:
Last week was Money Week in New Zealand. It is a good time to talk about financial wellness, resilience and financial mental health. It has a huge impact on individuals, families and communities. It also impacts on business. Productivity, absenteeism and revenue are all directly and indirectly affected by the financial wellness of your team. If your team are busy thinking about how to pay the bills, they are not thinking effectively about their job performance.
Key points:
· The state of our nation (in terms of personal finance)
· Presenteeism is even worse than absenteeism
· Is the ROI of Employee Assistance Programmes worth it? (Spoiler – yes, up to 12x)
https://www.bolsterriskmanagement.com/blog/
#FinancialWellness
#Financial-Wellness-Is-Important
#EmployeeWellness
#MoneyWorkshops
#YourMoneyMatters
#SortYourDosh
#FinancialWellness
#MoneyWorries
#FinancialWellbeing
#GetAdvice
#EmployeeBenefits
#GroupCover
It is easy to think that good money management is all about numbers and spreadsheets. Honestly, that is only about 10% of the whole gig. The rest, yes all the rest, is made up with our behaviours and attitudes around money. How do I know? I’ve been there in the worst of times.
If you have been following me for a while, you’ll know that I really believe everyone can change their financial position. It may take a while and it may be hard work at times. But there are some key concepts that could change your life.
I talk about a few books that might just change your life...
The myth is that you don’t need health insurance because of ACC, or because of the NZ public health system. Other myths are that health insurance is a waste of money or that all insurance companies are the same.
This episode will challenge those myths and will help you learn how to protect yourself from poor health treatment choices.
Key ideas:
Personal insurance can be a minefield. 84% of people don’t have monthly-paying disability cover in New Zealand. 81% don’t have critical illness cover. If you were unable to work due to an accident or illness, how would your household survive financially?
Do you understand why you should have disability insurance?
In my experience, most people know they should have this cover. But most people do not want to think about worst-case scenarios. Most people will actively avoid thinking about worst-case situations.
I get it. I understand. But…
Sticking your head in the sand won’t help you when the proverbial smacks your butt.
If you want a topic covered or a question asked, let us know...
Do you struggle to save money? At the end of each month, do you wonder where all your money went? Perhaps you spend beyond your means?
If so, then this podacst is for you! Discover how saving money is as much a product of the mind as well as your financial habits. And speaking of habits, you’ll see how small positive changes, turned into habits, can automatically add up to big savings!
Unexpected losses can put the best-laid financial plans in turmoil. Insurance coverage is necessary to protect against unexpected costs, property loss, and disability. There are no universal answers to the question of how much insurance is enough. Situations vary. Today we are talking about personal insurance buying mistakes.
BMI; that tool that nobody likes but everyone uses. “What is a Body Mass Index anyway and why should I care?”. And more importantly for us in this forum, what does it have to do with personal insurance?
Key Points:
Use these calculators to check your own BMI (or other cool stuff).
What is your biggest asset? Unless you’re Kim Kardashian or earn a royalty income, your biggest and most enduring asset is probably your ability to earn an income. Most of us have insured our house, possessions, cars and our lives (even our phones!). But if you don’t have disability insurance, the most important asset you have is still unprotected.
Key Points: