blog header image_investing_the opportunity cost of savings

In the past year, the real return on a savings account has gone negative. So what's the opportunity cost of leaving your money in savings?

The Opportunity Cost of Savings

Putting your savings in the right place could change your future for the better. To help you make a good decision, we’ve created a guide on how to choose a KiwiSaver fund. 

How to choose a KiwiSaver fund

We never know what life can throw at us financially, so we need to be prepared when big expenses hit. Here's the 101 on emergency funds.

How to Set Up an Emergency Fund

In this blog, we will dive into the key differences between these three options, providing you with the insights you need to make an informed decision.

Choosing Between Bonds, Cash and Term Deposits

Where is the best place to put money you’ll need in the next few months or couple of years? Let’s take a look | Kernel Wealth 

Where is the best place to put money you’ll need in the next few months or couple of years? Let’s take a look. 

Cash Fund, Term Deposit or Saving Account: Which Do I Choose? 

Discover how KiwiSaver can be your financial lifeline. Learn the steps to help maximize your savings and secure a comfortable retirement in our blog.

How To Make The Most Of KiwiSaver

The US announcement of sweeping global tariffs sent markets into a correction last week, as economic uncertainty and questions about whether these tariffs are merely a negotiating tactic caused market fear to spike dramatically.

The US announcement of sweeping global tariffs sent markets into a correction. So what can you do? Find out in our latest blog.

Navigating Market Turbulence: Tariffs, Volatility, and Staying the Course

Discover how setting clear financial goals can help you invest successfully. Learn practical tips, backed by research, to build habits, stay accountable, and grow your wealth with purpose.

Learn how clear financial goals can boost your investment success. Get practical tips, backed by research, to build habits, stay accountable, and grow your wealth with purpose.

How to Set Clear Money Goals for a Successful 2025

Getting started with your financial journey often begins with adopting the right mindset. In our recent Money Moment’s episode we sat down with Ravi Chand, Operations Manager at Lighthouse Financial to dive into his experiences with Money.

Starting your money journey often starts with the right mindset. Learn new perspectives in our latest blog.

3 Ways to Approach Your Money Mindset

In August 2024, we experienced a $6.4 trillion USD decrease in the share markets leaving even seasoned investors unsettled. What lessons can we learn from this?

In August 2024, we experienced a $6.4 trillion USD decrease in the share markets leaving even seasoned investors unsettled. Learn more in our blog.

Lessons from August 2024: How Markets Rebounded and What We Learned 

Discover practical tips to save money and manage your finances better during tough financial times. Learn how to cut expenses, optimize your mortgage, shop smarter, and more.

Practical tips to save money and manage your finances during tough financial times. Cut expenses, optimize your mortgage, shop smart, and reassess brand loyalty.

6 Practical Money Saving Tips for Tough Financial Times

To make sure you’re getting value for your money we’ve put together a general guide covering tips and considerations about investment fees.

Investment fees are often the biggest cost when investing in index or managed funds. To make sure you’re getting value for money we’ve put together a beginner’s guide to fees. 

Understanding Investment Fees: A Beginner's Guide

blog header image_ investor reading_top 10 personal finance books for kiwis

There is a range of personal finance books to help improve your financial knowledge and long-term wealth creation. Find out our favourites.

There is a range of personal finance books to help improve your financial knowledge and long-term wealth creation. Check out our favourites.

Top 10 Personal Finance Books for Kiwis

Reducing your wedding costs and maximising your big day | Kernel Wealth

Getting married soon? Find out how to plan a wedding on a budget, reduce your wedding costs and save smarter for the big day. 

How to Reduce Your Wedding Budget and Maximise your Big Day

Want to improve your financial situation but not sure where to start? Check out the Kernel guide to prioritising your financial goals.

Want to improve your financial situation but not sure how where to start? Check out the Kernel guide to prioritising your financial goals.

How to Prioritise Your Financial Goals

2 people walking on a bridge taking photos

Being a freelancer has heaps of perks, but it can also be difficult financially. To make your life easier our freelance writer Ben Tutty shares his insights on freelancer finances. 

Being a freelancer has heaps of perks, but it can also be difficult financially. So we had our Freelance writer, Ben Tutty share his experience.

A Freelancer's Guide to Managing Money 

if you want something for tracking your spending and savings over time, a spreadsheet or a budgeting tool is the next step for managing your finances!

If you want something for tracking your spending and savings over time, a spreadsheet or a budgeting tool is the next step for managing your finances!

5 Budgeting Tools To Sort Your Finances

Do you have financial goals or life goals that you'd like to tackle in 2022? We share our tips to do just that in our blog.

How to Set and Follow Through With Your 2022 Financial Goals

Spoiler alert: You don’t need to sacrifice everything now in order to dramatically change your financial future. But you do need these budgeting tips!

Budgeting is Boring, But We’re Talking About it Anyway!

blog header image_paying yourself first_reverse engineer your goals

Reverse engineer your goals by starting with the bigger picture and breaking it down. Want to know more? Reverse engineering for finance goals explained!

Reverse Engineer Your Goals

Haven't heard of pay yourself first? Well you should have! We explain how and why this is the best budgeting concept you haven't heard of.

Pay Yourself First

blog header image_ savings_now soon later approach

If the concept of short, medium and long term needs are futile, how should you think about money, your goals and time? The now, soon and later approach.

Pay Yourself First: Now, Soon & Later

Are you deciding between paying off your debt or investing for the future? Our no-nonsense guide explains when to do what.

Should You Pay Off Debt?

blog header image_you need an emergency fund

You've heard you need an emergency fund - but why? And how much should you have in your emergency fund? Find out all you need to know!

You need an emergency fund!

Learn the fundamentals of managing your money and how the share markets work. We cover everything from how to create and stick to a budget, saving for your goals and demystify the world that is investing. 

Personal Finance Basics

Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal and there is no assurance that the investment will provide positive performance over any period of time.

The information provided should not be relied upon as investment advice or recommendations and should not be considered specific legal, investment or tax advice.

Any information we provide is general only and current at the time of writing.

Kernel Wealth Limited (Kernel) is the issuer and manager of the Kernel Scheme. 

 for the Product Disclosure Statement. Past performance is not an indicator of future returns.

All returns are exclusive of tax. As PIE tax and withholding tax on interest earnt depend on personal factors, it would be confusing to include and unlikely to change the outcome. We have used the NZX50 gross index daily price series, where all dividends were reinvested on ex-date, exclusive of fees. Fees would have a negligible impact on the relative outcome of the different strategies.

Savings were made every Thursday for weeks in a row with investments made at market close. The 90 day bank bill rate was used for illustrative purposes, in reality cash savings account rates vary periodically. Past performance is no indicator of future performance for any investment. This article does not constitute financial advice, as your personal circumstances have not been taken into account.

 There are alternatives available for individual investors, including comparable value and de minimis exceptions but the hassle and associated cost likely outweighs the benefit achieved for most investors. Any NZ fund manager only has the FDR option. 28% is the PIR rate for those earning over $48,000, but if individually investing in companies the rate is up to 39%. Please note this is not tax advice as we are not a tax accounting firm and we don’t know your situation.

Whether you’re just getting started or a seasoned investor, here you can find everything you need to know about investing in the share markets.

Investing

Keen to save smarter for what matters today and tomorrow? Here you can learn the ins and outs of budgeting, saving and money management.

Saving

KiwiSaver can be a great tool to use on your road to a financially secure retirement. So, here is everything that you need to know to be able to get the most of your KiwiSaver.

KiwiSaver

Wondering how to decipher between the Kernel funds, or which might be most suitable for your goals? We explain it all in our blogs below. 

Choosing investments

Set your kids up for a financially secure future. Teach them the foundations of money and investing all while learning more yourself. 

Kids

An easily complicated topic, we simply explain how tax impacts your investments.

Personal Finance Basics

The Opportunity Cost of Savings

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Time to give your money a new home?

Keep up to date with Kernel

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