March 2024 - Newsletter

Wow it's March already!! We hope you enjoyed a great summer and had some time to relax and recharge after another busy year.

The team at Cura enjoyed a 'staycation' in Wanganui this summer with our families, attending local events and having 1-2 night trips away.  Taking the time to reset and re evaluate goals for 2024.

We thought we would start off the year with a holistic update on what’s happening across mortgages, insurance and KiwiSaver – these are things most of us have, and it’s good to stay in the loop on the latest.

Mortgage update – Are we in for some good news?

Most of us with mortgage debt have felt the pinch with interest rates quickly rising. We’ve all been patiently and eagerly waiting for them to start dropping, and we have begun to see a little bit of movement in the right direction over the past few months.

Inflation looks to have peaked and started coming back down towards the tail end of 2023. Along with peaked inflation, most experts were saying that interest rates too have now peaked. However, the long and short of it is, no one has a crystal ball and can tell us with 100% confidence what will happen, so we must be prepared for all scenarios. The next OCR (Official Cash Rate) decision was announced February 28th, and this is an indication of how things will track over the months ahead.

If you are a bit worried about your mortgage and managing repayments, it may be best to speak to an expert (e.g. a mortgage adviser) to get some guidance. If you would like for us to connect you with someone, please let us know.

Insurance update

With rising costs across the board, it’s natural for people to analyse outgoings and ‘trim the fat’. We have noticed increased enquiries about managing premium costs in the last few months.

If you haven’t looked at your insurance covers in a while, it might be time to sit down and have a refresher. The cover you took out five years ago may no longer be suitable, and while you may have too much cover in one area, you could be missing something else in another.

There are plenty of ways we can help you manage premiums before simply cancelling the entire policy. It pays not to make rash decisions as you will leave yourself unprotected, and it could be difficult to get insurance down the track if there have been any health issues.

Have a quick chat to us so we can come up with an action plan to help.

KiwiSaver update – Good news for investors

KiwiSaver continues to be a great savings and retirement plan for many New Zealanders. Recently celebrating its 16th birthday, there is now over $100BN under management across the different providers.

As more Kiwis become educated on how their money is invested and the importance of making regular contributions, growth funds are now the most popular investment choice, as people become more comfortable with the long-term nature of investing. However, there are still 21% of people sitting in default funds. Are you one of them? You don’t want to get to 65 and realise you’ve missed out on potentially thousands of dollars just because you didn’t take a few minutes and make a couple of clicks on the button.

The markets continued to correct in 2023 and overall it was a positive year for investors. That good fortune has continued into 2024 and things are off to a good start. It’s important to remind yourself that it is normal for markets (and therefore your KiwiSaver balance) to fluctuate. It’s best to stay the course and focus on your long-term goals. If you're planning on using your funds in the near future, e.g. to purchase a house, it may be a good idea to check you’re in the right fund.

If you need a hand with your KiwiSaver, please let us know and we can put you in touch with an expert who can help.  

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What have you got planned for 2024?

Have you taken a moment to think about what you would like to achieve financially this year?

It can be a daunting experience facing your financial situation head on, but just remember you are not alone on this journey - we are here to help and guide you towards success.

Would you like to catch up and have a chat about where things are at? Please give us a call or send us an email.