Become Wealth's Blog

Real financial guidance for New Zealanders, from professionals advising on over $1 billion in client funds. Independently ranked a top 50 worldwide finance and investing blog.

Are You Over-Insured? How to Cut Insurance Costs Without Losing Cover

Are You Over-Insured? How to Cut Insurance Costs Without Losing Cover

Spot the signs you are over-insured and learn practical ways to reduce premiums without losing meaningful cover.
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When Adult Children Move Home: A Financial Plan for Both Generations

When Adult Children Move Home: A Financial Plan for Both Generations

How NZ families can set boundaries, structure finances, and use adult children living at home as a wealth-building period for both generations.
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Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI) in New Zealand: How It Works and How to Improve Yours

Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI) in New Zealand: How It Works and How to Improve Yours

Learn how NZ's DTI ratio works, what debts and income count, the RBNZ rules, key exemptions, and practical ways to lower your ratio before applying.
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Fixed or Floating Mortgage NZ: How to Choose When Your Term Ends

Fixed or Floating Mortgage NZ: How to Choose When Your Term Ends

How to choose between fixed and floating mortgage rates in NZ, with cost comparisons, term guidance, and the split approach.
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Sold a Property? How to Put the Proceeds to Work

Sold a Property? How to Put the Proceeds to Work

Sold a property in New Zealand? The common mistakes, tax considerations, wholesale investment traps, and how to put the proceeds to work.
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The 31 March Deadline: An EOFY Checklist for NZ Business Owners

The 31 March Deadline: An EOFY Checklist for NZ Business Owners

The tax timing decisions, balance sheet checks and wealth moves every small business owner should make before financial year end.
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Seven Financial Secrets Your Spouse May Be Keeping From You

Seven Financial Secrets Your Spouse May Be Keeping From You

Common financial secrets in relationships, plus practical steps couples can take to build financial trust and what NZ law says about hiding assets.
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Hayden Mulholland

Hayden Mulholland

Adviser spotlight: Psychology meets portfolio planning.
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Jonny McNamee

Jonny McNamee

Adviser spotlight: Jonny McNamee, the adviser who loves a good puzzle, a clean fairway, and the feeling when clients finally exhale.
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Making Retirement Drawdown Work for You

Making Retirement Drawdown Work for You

Learn how to draw down your retirement savings with purpose, so your money lasts and supports your lifestyle throughout retirement.
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The Best Ways to Unlock BOMAD (the 'Bank of Mum and Dad')

The Best Ways to Unlock BOMAD (the 'Bank of Mum and Dad')

Understand the pros and cons of the Bank of Mum and Dad in NZ, from deposits to protecting retirement and relationships.
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Joseph Darby: CEO of Become Wealth

Joseph Darby: CEO of Become Wealth

Meet the CEO of Become Wealth, Joseph Darby, a financial adviser with experience helping clients across New Zealand.
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What Happens to Your KiwiSaver When You Separate?

What Happens to Your KiwiSaver When You Separate?

How KiwiSaver is treated in a NZ divorce or separation, the three settlement options, and rebuilding your retirement savings after you split.
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Total Money Makeover: How to Reset Your Finances in New Zealand

Total Money Makeover: How to Reset Your Finances in New Zealand

A practical, NZ-specific guide to overhauling your finances, from cash flow audit through debt clearance to long-term wealth building.
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Essential Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Major Purchase

Essential Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Major Purchase

Do you want it now, or would you rather have three times as much later? The questions and simple arithmetic worth running before any major purchase.
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What Is Deflation and Why Should New Zealanders Care?

What Is Deflation and Why Should New Zealanders Care?

Deflation means falling prices across an economy. It sounds harmless until it crushes wages, inflates the real burden of debt, and stalls growth.
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Self-Insurance: When It Makes Sense and When It Doesn’t

Self-Insurance: When It Makes Sense and When It Doesn’t

When does self-insurance work, and when is it a costly gamble? A guide for New Zealanders.
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Stock Market Crashes Can Change Your Life for the Better

Stock Market Crashes Can Change Your Life for the Better

Stock market crashes feel awful but create opportunity. Why the evidence overwhelmingly favours staying invested and treating lower prices as an opportunity.
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Separation and Divorce in NZ: Your Financial Roadmap

Separation and Divorce in NZ: Your Financial Roadmap

A step-by-step financial roadmap for separation and divorce in NZ, from immediate triage to long-term rebuild.
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Mortgage Cash Back in New Zealand: How Much and Is It Worth It?

Mortgage Cash Back in New Zealand: How Much and Is It Worth It?

NZ banks offer cash back on new or refinanced mortgages. How the payments work, what clawback rules apply, and whether the lump sum is worth it.
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How to Kick Your Grown-up Child Out of the Home

How to Kick Your Grown-up Child Out of the Home

Adult children still at home? The financial cost to parents, the NZ Super trap, and practical steps to help them move out without breaking the family.
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Credit Card Benefits: How to Actually Come Out Ahead

Credit Card Benefits: How to Actually Come Out Ahead

Credit card rewards, travel insurance and purchase protection can work for or against you. Here is how to extract real value in New Zealand.
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Poor Habits Keeping You Broke (And How to Fix Them)

Poor Habits Keeping You Broke (And How to Fix Them)

Ten common money habits quietly draining NZ wealth, and practical fixes grounded in what we see across our client base.
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New Zealand Income Tax Codes and Rates Explained

New Zealand Income Tax Codes and Rates Explained

A plain-language guide to NZ income tax codes, brackets, and take-home pay. Covers primary, secondary, and student loan codes for the 2026/27 year.
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Why You Need More Debt in Your Life

Why You Need More Debt in Your Life

A fresh look at good versus bad debt, and why productive borrowing can grow your net worth faster than avoiding debt altogether.
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Financial Red Flags to Watch Out For in Your Partner

Financial Red Flags to Watch Out For in Your Partner

Eight financial warning signs in a partner. Covers hidden debt, money control, NZ relationship property rules, KiwiSaver exposure, and what to do.
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Pay Off Your Student Loan ASAP

Pay Off Your Student Loan ASAP

Four reasons to consider repaying your student loan early, when to take your time instead and how your loan affects borrowing power in New Zealand.
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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand: What It Does, Why It Matters, and Its Track Record

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand: What It Does, Why It Matters, and Its Track Record

What the RBNZ does, how its decisions affect your mortgage, savings and KiwiSaver, and its 90-year track record including bailouts, money printing, and governance crises.
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Prenuptial Agreements in New Zealand: What Your Finances Are Really at Stake

Prenuptial Agreements in New Zealand: What Your Finances Are Really at Stake

A financial adviser's guide to prenups, the PRA, and what's at stake in NZ.
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ESG Investing in New Zealand: What You Actually Need to Know

ESG Investing in New Zealand: What You Actually Need to Know

ESG labels, KiwiSaver Scheme claims, and FMA scrutiny: what NZ investors need to know about fund performance and the gap between marketing and reality.
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Financial Mistakes to Avoid in Your 40s, 50s, and 60s

Financial Mistakes to Avoid in Your 40s, 50s, and 60s

The most consequential financial mistakes people make in their 40s, 50s, and 60s in New Zealand, and how to avoid each one.
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Why Financial Literacy Is Declining in New Zealand

Why Financial Literacy Is Declining in New Zealand

What financial literacy really means, why it's declining, and five common mistakes to fix. Practical steps to protect your wealth by literacy.
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Why New Zealanders Are Tuning Out and Why Your Portfolio Should Too

Why New Zealanders Are Tuning Out and Why Your Portfolio Should Too

NZ media trust has fallen from 53% to 32% in five years. Here's how the media's incentive model works against long-term investors and what to do.
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Should You Get a Government Job?

Should You Get a Government Job?

Government jobs in New Zealand offer decent pay, good conditions, and meaningful work. But they are not as safe as the headlines suggest.
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What Is Assetocracy? Building an Asset-First Life

What Is Assetocracy? Building an Asset-First Life

How the NZ housing boom created a new class of millionaires, and what rising asset values mean for wealth inequality and financial planning.
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Why You Should Never Cancel Health Insurance

Why You Should Never Cancel Health Insurance

Cash is tight for many Kiwi families, but health insurance is one expense you should think twice before cutting. Six reasons to keep your cover.
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Never Pay Full Price Again: Smart Buying Hacks

Never Pay Full Price Again: Smart Buying Hacks

A guide to New Zealand's best coupon and discount websites, from GrabOne to First Table, plus tips on timing sales and avoiding impulse buys.
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Tax Bracket Creep: The Hidden Tax on Your Pay Rise

Tax Bracket Creep: The Hidden Tax on Your Pay Rise

NZ tax brackets were adjusted in 2024, but only a quarter of the inflation gap since 2010 was closed. Bracket creep still erodes your take-home pay.
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Why Predicting the Stock Market Is Foolish and What to Do Instead

Why Predicting the Stock Market Is Foolish and What to Do Instead

Nobody can reliably predict short-term market movements. Why patience, diversification and tax efficiency matter more than forecasts.
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Should You Move to Australia for a Better Life?

Should You Move to Australia for a Better Life?

Higher wages and warmer weather. A financial and lifestyle comparison for Kiwis weighing up a move to Australia.
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