Many Leave Saving Too Late
And Bay financial experts say more people are leaving it too late.
Free Doctor Visits for Under-13s
Up to 96 per cent of GP clinics nationwide will offer free check-ups to under-13 year-olds under a Government policy which kicks off today.
Grants Help First-Home Buyers
Rob Emmett hopes to use his KiwiSaver to buy his first house.
Twenty million dollars worth of support is being offered to the Bay of Plenty in a new housing scheme.
Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith visited the Bay region last night to talk to locals about HomeStart, a scheme which gives young adults more opportunities to buy their own homes. Read More
Changes to the Credit Contracts And Consumer Finance Act
Council Pursuing Living Wage Policy
Tauranga City Council has agreed to look into implementing a living wage policy for its staff.
The council decided to get more information on a living wage policy during Long Term Plan deliberations last week.
Budget 2015: Varied Views on the Families Package
NO HUGE ENHANCEMENTS: Tauranga Community Foodbank Chairman Alan Plunkett said the package gave people a little bit here and there.
The Government’s lauded $790 million families package has failed to wow Tauranga’s foodbank chief but the city’s head of budget advice says the $25 a week for families is “definitely needed”.
The package, which allocates funding for the next four years, includes:
David Chaplin: KiwiSaver kick-start is History
There are no more $1000 kickstarters for new KiwiSavers
From 2pm yesterday, people enrolling in KiwiSaver no longer receive a $1000 kickstart payment. That will save the Government $500 million over four years. To put it another way, the Government picks 500,000 Kiwis will each be poorer by $1000 over the next four years.
HomeStart proving popular with locals
PROPERTY LADDER: Inquiries about the scheme, which was introduced on April 1 to help first-home buyers on to the property ladded, is on the rise says Rothbury mortgage adviser Keith Arden.
More than 40 Tauranga first home buyers have applied for the Government’s new housing subsidies and a quarter have been approved.
Editorial: Budget Advice Needed
Anything can be bought on credit these days.
Most people have a credit card, few students survive university without an overdraft and a student loan and stores encourage you to use hire purchase to buy everything from a gaming console to a washing machine or a car.
It’s no wonder then that people struggle to save the deposit for a house.
New Hope for First-Home Buyers
OPEN TO ADVICE: Kelly Mead said she would consider using the new scheme when the time came to buy a home for her and her daughter, Ashleigh Ford.
A ground-breaking scheme to help renters save a deposit for their first home has been launched in Tauranga.
The Government-backed pilot scheme, believed to be a New Zealand first, has been launched by Tauranga Budget Advisory Service and will involve budget advisers managing all or some of their clients’ income so they can save a deposit.