Amid other debates, this year’s General Election has provided fertile ground for economic speculation. Who will commit to what for tax or fiscal policy, essential services, education, social support structures… all lined up against the backdrop of what any of this might mean for New Zealand’s economic outlook.

Holding wealth in cash makes people comfortable. We like to feel we control things, so having cash in the bank helps us feel in control of our finances. Keeping cash is accessible and carries little perceived risk to investors. After all, cash is king…

Have you ever wondered the cost of happiness? There’s a report on that. Or, more accurately – the S Money report details the point of income satiation from countries around the world, using data from a Purdue University study (among other sources).

No one likes to feel like they are missing out on a good thing.

Our brains are constantly comparing our reality to our expectations or goals, and when that doesn’t line up, it can get uncomfortable.

Time is a scarce and precious resource that we all have. It is finite, irreversible, and uncertain. We cannot create more time, undo what we have done with our time, or know for sure how much time we have left.

It’s that time again; Election 2023 is here. We the people have the chance to vote for who we want to lead our country – namely, who will steer the ship while we navigate out of the current stormy waters.

The world market cap essentially shows the ‘split’ of world markets, using the market price per a company’s common share multiplied by the number of common shares outstanding.

Many sayings have a second part which goes unsaid. For example, “curiosity killed the cat” is followed by “and satisfaction brought it back.”

The paradox of hedonism refers to the practical difficulties one might have while pursuing happiness and pleasure; the concept that if you are consciously chasing happiness, it becomes harder to find and maintain as other things get in the way.

Opposition leader Christopher Luxon has ruffled some feathers recently with comments regarding New Zealand being a “negative, wet, whiny, inward-looking country.”[i]

Lifestyle creep is insidious. It refers to the increase in discretionary spending when one’s standard of living improves – and it’s not all luxury goods.

Stewart Group has been providing advice for over 36 years. This month we are celebrating 20 of those years spent in partnership with Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA).

If you wanted to build a home to shelter you and your family in future, you would consult experts and skilled, certified professionals to get the job done.

If there is one thing we know from history, it is that people are vulnerable to hype – be it positively or negatively geared.

I think everyone has some kind of “if I won Lotto” wishlist, regardless of if they are regular players or not. The car they would buy, the whānau they would pay off debt for, the house they would live in, the legacy they would leave.

Anyone who has ever had to get together four weeks’ rent for a bond will surely be able to spare a sympathetic wince for young renters in today’s market.

The debate around AI is ongoing. Some hail it as the hero of all tools; others as the fall of creativity and individualism as AI scrapes existing works to take its inspiration.

They say charity begins at home. For those of us who call Hawke’s Bay home, nothing could be truer when thinking over the past months.

Countdown is changing back to Woolworths. An interesting move, considering the change from Woolworths and Foodtown was only completed in 2011.

As the election approaches and attention inevitably moves towards tax (and who is promising what), I have noticed an uptick in questions about bracket creep.