Money lending firms are offering lavish gifts and prizes to entice people into taking out high-interest loans for Christmas.

Young, first-time house buyers are cashing in their inheritances early as tough new lending rules make home ownership harder.

Homeowners who have stretched their budgets to get into the housing market in the past two years are likely to feel the squeeze as interest rates rise.

A financial adviser who spent some of the $4.7million he stole from investors on flash cars and a lavish lifestyle was not entirely motivated by personal gain, his lawyer has told the Court of Appeal.

This week, the Govt made a decision that will cost voters in their 20s and 30s billions of dollars in lost savings says Bernard Hickey.

US crowdfunding platform Kickstarter - which has helped raise more than $US800 million for creative projects - will be opening its doors to Kiwis in just over four weeks.

Most Kiwi kids don't get pocket money - but for those who do, boys get $3 more a week on average than girls and chores to earn it are based on gender.

Facial recognition software used to identify how people feel about money is being described as an overwhelming success by the bank that launched it.

Former Rockforte Finance director John Patrick Gardner has plead guilty to five Crimes Act charges in the High Court at Gisborne today.

Low-deposit mortgages will not only be harder to get from the end of this month, but they will be a lot more expensive.

Despite advances in technology, there are no perfect personal finance smartphone apps, says Diana Clement.

The number of people who unwittingly launder money for international scammers has doubled in three months, and police deal with new "money mule" reports every day.

Papakura couple Junior and Kim Sipeli have missed out on a $10,000 gift from the Government because they bought their first house two months too soon.

Two KiwiSaver providers are merging to become one of New Zealand's largest locally-owned operations in the retirement savings scheme.

More than 21,000 retirees have withdrawn their KiwiSaver funds since the first batch became eligible a year ago.

Five Star founder Neill Williams - the so-called "puppeteer" at the failed finance group - has changed his plea to guilty, just four days into his trial.

"How does one generation get to sell their houses to the next generation at the toppest of top dollars when that new generation can't leverage up?" asks Bernard Hickey.

Former Dominion Finance chief executive Paul William Cropp has been sentenced to two years and seven months in prison.

Nearly half of New Zealanders are living pay day to pay day without a nest egg to fall back on in case of emergencies.

An Auckland banker faces a jail term after stealing nearly $1 million from his clients.

Five Star group founder Neill Williams has been jailed for 3 years seven months for misleading investors.