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.

How to De-Risk Your Investments Before Retirement

How to De-Risk Your Investments Before Retirement

Insulate near-term spending, not your whole portfolio. How to de-risk for a 25 to 35 year NZ retirement.
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NZ Superannuation: How Much You Get, Who Qualifies, and Why It Probably Won't Be Enough

NZ Superannuation: How Much You Get, Who Qualifies, and Why It Probably Won't Be Enough

NZ Super pays up to $28,870/yr. How it works, who qualifies, and why most retirees need more.
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PIE Funds in NZ: How They Work and Who They Suit

PIE Funds in NZ: How They Work and Who They Suit

PIE funds are popular, but the tax saving over a well-managed direct portfolio is smaller than most people think. What PIE funds actually offer and where they fall short.
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Should You Borrow Against Your Home to Invest?

Should You Borrow Against Your Home to Invest?

Debt recycling turns your non-deductible mortgage into a tax-deductible investment loan. How it works, the risks and when it makes sense for Kiwis.
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Financial Mistakes Even High-Income Earners Make

Financial Mistakes Even High-Income Earners Make

The 9 biggest financial mistakes high income earners make, and how to avoid them.
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Why Retiring Early Beats Retiring Wealthy

Why Retiring Early Beats Retiring Wealthy

A NZ worked example shows why retiring early usually beats retiring wealthy, with guidance on bridge funding, NZ Super, and KiwiSaver.
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Peer-to-Peer Lending in NZ: What Happened and What to Do Instead

Peer-to-Peer Lending in NZ: What Happened and What to Do Instead

NZ's P2P lending experiment is over. What went wrong, what investors learned, and the alternatives worth considering now.
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Early Retirement Risks in New Zealand, and How to Avoid Them

Early Retirement Risks in New Zealand, and How to Avoid Them

Retiring early in NZ? The financial, social, and emotional risks, and practical steps to plan around each one.
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Trading vs Investing: What New Zealand Investors Need to Know

Trading vs Investing: What New Zealand Investors Need to Know

Why long-term investing outperforms trading for most NZ investors, backed by research on outcomes, tax, costs and risk.
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When to Sell a Share: Know the Right Time to Exit

When to Sell a Share: Know the Right Time to Exit

A disciplined framework for knowing when to hold, when to exit, and how to avoid the traps most investors fall into.
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How To Invest in Gold in New Zealand: A Beginner's Guide

How To Invest in Gold in New Zealand: A Beginner's Guide

A practical guide to buying gold in NZ, covering ETFs, bullion, digital platforms, tax, currency risk, and how much to hold.
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How to Start Investing in Shares

How to Start Investing in Shares

Seven steps to start investing in shares in NZ, from financial readiness and risk profiles to tax, diversification, and common mistakes.
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How to Increase Your Net Worth in New Zealand

How to Increase Your Net Worth in New Zealand

Practical NZ guide to growing net worth: reduce debt, build assets, use KiwiSaver and PIE funds, be tax-efficient, and track progress yearly.
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How to Diversify Your Investments in New Zealand

How to Diversify Your Investments in New Zealand

A practical guide to diversification for NZ investors, covering asset classes, geographic spread, rebalancing, and the limits of spreading too thin.
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Why People Lose Money in the Share Market

Why People Lose Money in the Share Market

Most retail investors trail the market. The structural reasons go beyond behaviour, from hidden costs to information asymmetry.
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How Much Should You Invest? A Guide for New Zealand Earners

How Much Should You Invest? A Guide for New Zealand Earners

Three practical frameworks for working out how much you should invest.
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How Does KiwiSaver Work? Contributions, Tax, Funds, and Withdrawals Explained (2026)

How Does KiwiSaver Work? Contributions, Tax, Funds, and Withdrawals Explained (2026)

How KiwiSaver works in plain English: contributions, employer match, government top-up, fund types, tax, fees, and when you can withdraw.
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Do New Zealand Financial Advisers Owe You a Fiduciary Duty?

Do New Zealand Financial Advisers Owe You a Fiduciary Duty?

NZ has no regulated fiduciary standard for financial advisers. Here is what protections exist, what to look for, and why the label is not enough.
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Marcus Mannering

Marcus Mannering

Adviser spotlight: meet Marcus Mannering, a guiding hand at Become Wealth.
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How to Choose the Right Financial Adviser in New Zealand

How to Choose the Right Financial Adviser in New Zealand

How to choose the right financial adviser in NZ: credentials, fees, ownership, DIMS, and the questions worth asking.
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Do You Really Need a Financial Adviser?

Do You Really Need a Financial Adviser?

When a financial adviser is worth the cost in NZ, when you can go it alone, and how to check credentials before engaging.
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How to Pass On Wealth and Protect Your Legacy

How to Pass On Wealth and Protect Your Legacy

How NZ families can transfer wealth across generations without the pitfalls most people never see coming.
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Josh Copeland

Josh Copeland

Adviser spotlight, meet Josh Copeland, a financial adviser who is passionate about helping people achieve their financial goals.
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How Much NZ Retirees Can Actually Spend (And Why Most Underspend)

How Much NZ Retirees Can Actually Spend (And Why Most Underspend)

Most NZ retirees underspend. What retirement costs, the sustainable withdrawal rate, and how to spend with confidence.
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The Election and Your Finances

The Election and Your Finances

New Zealand votes on 7 November 2026. With policy promises flying, here's what the evidence says about elections and your investments.
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Buying Land to Build a House in NZ: Costs, Process, and Financing

Buying Land to Build a House in NZ: Costs, Process, and Financing

Should you build a home on bare NZ land? This complete guide covers the costs, process, pitfalls, and financing.
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How to Increase Your Home Value in New Zealand

How to Increase Your Home Value in New Zealand

A $30,000 renovation budget can add $40,000 to $60,000 to a typical NZ home's sale price, but only if you spend where the return per dollar is highest.
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Is a Tiny House Right for You in New Zealand?

Is a Tiny House Right for You in New Zealand?

Tiny house costs, lending, regulation, and when they genuinely make sense in NZ. Includes a 10-year worked financial comparison.
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Where to Retire in New Zealand

Where to Retire in New Zealand

A practical financial guide to choosing where to retire in New Zealand, covering the trade-offs of staying put, downsizing, relocating, and retirement village costs.
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Nik Velkovski

Nik Velkovski

Meet Nik Velkovski, Private Wealth and Lending Manager at Become Wealth, named one of New Zealand's top 50 mortgage advisers in 2024.
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Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home in New Zealand

Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home in New Zealand

The costliest mistakes NZ home sellers make, from mispricing and hidden fees to bright-line tax and poor presentation, and how to avoid them.
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How to Help Your Children Buy a Home in New Zealand

How to Help Your Children Buy a Home in New Zealand

Five practical ways NZ parents can help their children buy a home, with the legal, tax, and relationship property risks of each.
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How to Save Money on Petrol and Fuel Costs

How to Save Money on Petrol and Fuel Costs

Where to buy, how to pay, and the driving habits that make the biggest difference to your fuel costs in NZ.
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New Builds Versus Existing Properties: What Actually Matters

New Builds Versus Existing Properties: What Actually Matters

New build or existing property? Land value, supply risk, lifecycle costs, and the factors most NZ commentary overlooks.
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Is The Middle Class Shrinking in NZ?

Is The Middle Class Shrinking in NZ?

The NZ middle class is being squeezed by housing costs, flat real wages, and a widening asset divide. What the data shows and what to do about it.
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When You Should Not Buy a Home in New Zealand

When You Should Not Buy a Home in New Zealand

Eight reasons buying a home may not suit you right now, with a rent-vs-buy comparison and what to do instead.
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The Worst Mistakes to Avoid in a Market Downturn

The Worst Mistakes to Avoid in a Market Downturn

Four mistakes investors make during market downturns, and the practical steps to avoid each one.
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Financial Planning for Parenthood in New Zealand: The Complete Checklist

Financial Planning for Parenthood in New Zealand: The Complete Checklist

The complete NZ financial checklist for new and expecting parents, from entitlements and protection to long-term wealth building.
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Rentvesting in New Zealand: Rent Where You Live, Invest Elsewhere

Rentvesting in New Zealand: Rent Where You Live, Invest Elsewhere

Rent where you want to live, buy where the numbers work. Rentvesting in New Zealand with worked examples, tax detail, and decision framework.
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Become Wealth Surpasses $1 Billion in Funds Under Advice

Become Wealth Surpasses $1 Billion in Funds Under Advice

Become Wealth reaches $1 billion in funds under advice. A milestone reflecting DIMS portfolio growth, the NZDF partnership and national expansion.
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