How to declutter your financial life – Diana Clement
Now’s the perfect time to check phone plans and utility bills. Are you still paying for services you don’t use, or have discounts for your plans expired? Chances are you can phone the supplier and ask for new discounts. Think long and hard about whether you have any long-forgotten financial obligations. Are you still named […]
NZ’s Best Beach 2026: Top 50 finalists revealed – here’s how to vote for the winners
For the next fortnight, we’ll criss-cross the country, north and south, coast to coast, to whittle down the 50 candidates you’ve chosen in five categories: family, camping, surfing, city and hidden gems. We’ve been rolling down state highways and negotiating coastal byways for almost a decade now, since we first asked readers to vote for […]
Divorce coach Fran Young: How to spot a cheating husband and enjoy life after marriage
Where did you grow up? In Pukekohe, my dad was a market gardener, and mum owned a takeaway. As a kid, I used to thin lettuce, grade and wash carrots. When I was 10, I helped in the takeaway – it was slave labour. After I graduated at Waikato Uni I went to Japan and […]
Gaslighting can mar holiday gatherings. Here’s how to identify, avoid it
Gaslighting in your family can be disguised with loving and caring messages that seem to demonstrate warmth and interest. Your aunt may ask: “Did you find that special someone yet? You know, you could talk to a professional about how to date,” leaving you feeling insecure and second-guessing yourself. Gaslighting can also be overtly aggressive […]
Christmas Dinner Recipes: How To Make A Non-Traditional Meal This Festive Season
Make your Christmas one to remember with some alternatives to your usual favourites. Salmon Fillets Wrapped in Bacon with Hollandaise These salmon fillets are elegant and prepared in a flash. The key to quick hollandaise is having the butter bubbling hot when you add it to the egg yolks. Once you have mastered this, there’s […]
How to spend a Dunedin weekend with your university-aged kid
Not wanting to interfere with study, we still found time on Friday to visit picturesque St Clair. A short drive from the centre of town, in storm or sun, this beachside suburb is a delight. Theo told me of his regular surf trips along this coast, although it was dumpy that day so we lunched […]
Feeling betrayed by a family member? Here’s how to cope
From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense: As social animals, we benefit from avoiding rejection. “To the extent that social rejection or exclusion is a threat to survival, feeling ‘hurt’ by these experiences may be an adaptive way to prevent them,” Eisenberger wrote. Perhaps your father-in-law had a reason that made sense to him, but […]
How to have your dream wedding without blowing the bank – The Prosperity Project
She says couples often do things in the wrong order by starting with the styling first. “You should start with your budget, then you should create your guest wish list, and then you should decide on the style of the day – and very much in that order. So, it’s your guest list that fundamentally […]
Tax bills & IRD: How to legally reduce your tax burden before year’s end – Diana Clement
For most wage and salary earners, tax deductions will be correct and the Inland Revenue Department’s (IRD) annual automatic tax assessments will ensure that any refunds find their way into taxpayers’ bank accounts automatically. It’s worth checking that you’re on the right tax code. If you selected the wrong tax code when starting a job, […]
Ex Files with Jeremy Sutton: How to protect your inheritance during relationship troubles
The best thing you can do to protect your inheritance is to open a new bank account and have the inheritance paid into that account. No other transfers should be made into the account to ensure there is no intermingling with any relationship property funds, and it is important to be aware that any money […]