Latest from Personal Finance

Chinese interests gain consent to buy two Auckland islands
Chinese interests snap up two islands linked to the mainland for $41.5m. They plan to use them for a $130.6m six-star luxury resort and native reserve.

Carmel Fisher: Modern take on inflation and deflation has its ups and downs
I remember inflation and deflation as among the easiest topics to comprehend in my economics class.

Cost of buying in top zones
Parents could save hundreds of thousands of dollars by skipping houses in elite school zones and paying to privately educate their kids elsewhere instead.

Getting your finances sorted
Hoping for an overseas holiday this year? A new car or an emergency fund? Growing the balance in your savings account is harder than it sounds.

Youths overconfident about money
Many young people are overconfident about their money management nous and believe their financial skills don't need improvement, a finance expert says.

A building block for your future
A rare big block of Bay of Plenty development land in Ohauti, about 10 minutes' drive south of the Tauranga CBD, is to be auctioned next month.

Super Fund happy with oil holdings
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund says it remains comfortable with its investment in the US oil and gas industry.

Carmel Fisher: 2015 predictions
As economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said: "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable."

Money and me: Kirk Hope
Careful investment means you and your family can have a wider range of choices in the way that you live your life.

Mary Holm: Beware first-home subsidy traps
A Q&A on buying a first home using KiwiSaver funds prompted me to share our daughter's experience.

Diana Clement: Your trash can be treasure on auction site
The attack of the new clutter - otherwise known as Christmas - is on its way....

Soaring Eagle set to draw in visitors
Multimillionaire property investor Peter Cooper helped build the country's most important new heritage structure which opens tomorrow in the Bay of Islands.

Inside Money: Socks and Roses - The gifts of Christmas past
Inside Money blogger David Chaplin engages in a spot of Christmas satire for the silly season.

Inside Money: Why the financial sales model should be in better shape
One of the FMA's key areas of interest next year will be the world of KiwiSaver.

At the landlord's mercy, for life
A life-time of renting is becoming a reality for many New Zealanders, a survey shows, as the need for large deposits and big mortgages block their way to home ownership.

Inside Money: Super smart deal aims to activate NZ passive investors
The NZX-owned KiwiSaver scheme, Smartkiwi, will be closed early next year following the stock exchange's purchase of Superlife.

Biz Leader of the year: Chris Gudgeon
Property developers and investors have enjoyed an outstanding year but Kiwi Income Property Trust chief executive Chris Gudgeon could be the star of the bunch.

Wynyard complex gets ready for sale
Pre-sales of the first of 500 to 600 new Wynyard Quarter apartments start in February and the first show-home is being built.

PM says Chinese real estate investment minor
A surge in Chinese investment in New Zealand residential real estate is something the Government needs to consider, but at the moment is not a significant issue says John Key.

Get Sorted: This. Is. Not. Your. Money.
Borrowing against your equity is some of the cheapest money out there (as opposed to credit cards), writes Tom Hartmann. But here are the pitfalls.

Mary Holm: Invest or save - it's a question of risk
I am a widow turning 65 shortly, own my own home mortgage-free (worth about $460,000), working 12 hours a week, semi-supporting my son who is at uni.

Oceania Healthcare IPO on track
Oceania Healthcare is on track for an initial public offering in early 2015, aged-care operator's chief executive, Earl Gasparich, says he's also in talks with private investors and funds.

Brent Sheather: Oh dear! Forecasting long term returns
A central component in the reform of the financial planning industry is education but this notion comes with problems.

Get Sorted: Consider yourself monetised
In the online world a new adage that applies - If you pay for something, it’s the product. But if it’s free, you are the product.