Articles by Janet Xuccoa

Good Intentions

Friday, February 24, 2012

GOOD INTENTIONS

For many of us, each New Year starts off with good intentions. We make New Year Resolutions and expand great energy in the first couple of weeks achieving our goals. Around February or March, our motivational levels dwindle and our every day lives take over. Needless to say, those New Year Resolutions get put on the back burner.

With the above in mind, I decided New Years Eve not to make any Resolutions for 2012. Yep, I’m having a year off. Well … sort off. What I thought I’d do instead is make some subtle changes to my every day life. And because those changes are slight in nature and easily able to be incorporated into my daily routine, I reckon this year I’ve got a chance of pulling them off. Just to give me extra focus, I thought I’d share them with you.

stopping the leakage

Isn’t it amazing how our money is spent almost before we earn it? Pay packets get drained just as soon as they get filled. Bills spring up from nowhere. In a bid to stop unnecessary spending, I’m going to concentrate on a monthly and then a weekly budget. I’m putting in goals with respect to spending and saving. I’m intending to plan my travel so I save on petrol, take brown paper lunches so I conserve my lunch money and whilst the good weather lasts, have friends over for bbqs to halt the drain via the entertainment fund. And to help me do my planning and analysing of where my well earned gold coins go, I’m going to use the Gilligan Rowe & Associates Life OnLine programme. An amazing programme which is easy to use and understand. It tells you where you are right now with your money and shows you where you will go. It enables you to set goals and plot your progress toward retirement. Free to all GRA clients just a one off setup fee.

organising the bankers

I’ve advocated this for a long while and with my budget in place, I’m going to revisit it. It’s the 3 Banks 3 Bank Account Rule. The first account is held at say National Bank. It receives your salary and pays your bills by automatic payment. The second account is held at another Bank. Maybe ASB. It receives by automatic payment a percentage of your salary. This account has no eftpos on it. It is a pure savings account. Never to be touched. Most importantly, for obvious reasons, this account shouldn’t be held with a Bank that you have any debt facilities operating at. The third account is held at yet another bank. This account will also receive by automatic payment a percentage of your pay. Unlike account 2 however, on this account you will have eftpos loaded because this is where you will do your discretionary spending. Again, you should have this account at a Bank where you do not hold any debt.

The beauty of running Account 2 as above is besides from paying everyone else, you pay yourself each and every time you receive your salary. This is only right because who on earth works 40 to 100 hours a week, without paying themselves? Not only that but if you try to save funds after you’ve paid everyone else, you very rarely achieve your savings goals. Why? Because we all live to what we are paid – well at least most of us do.

To increase efficiency, rather than using your eftpos card fin Account 3, try taking a set amount of cash out each and every week. Keep that in your wallet and you will be conscious of your spending when you start to see it dwindling down.

dealing with the insurances

Ever notices how we put lots of energy into getting our insurance policies all set up but then never review them. I intend to take a real look at the type of insurances I’ve got in March and look at alternative products. If I can get the same or better benefits at reduced rates, then maybe I will. This is especially so with medical insurance where there is just so much competition. If my broker is reading this article, expect a call and a directive to do some research for me.

looking at the mortgages – interest rates

Much has happened in the interest rate market. Right now I’ve got a mortgage on floating and I’m going to have to decide whether to fix or float. This isn’t an easy decision given the goings on in Asia, America and Europe. Then again, the Reserve Bank left our OCR at 2.5% this week and the word on the street is it isn’t moving until September 2012 or later. This of course will depend on where inflation is sitting, how the rebuilding of Christchurch affects the market and where our dollar is sitting. Maybe I will float a portion of the loan and also fix a bit. I need to run the numbers and talk to my broker. If I can save interest costs over the next couple of years, I’m intending to do so. That would certainly help towards my saving goals. If you are already using Life Online put in different interest rates to reflect the changes, this way you can determine if you can afford the increase in fixing rather than floating.

wills and trusts

We’ve had a bit of a change in our family in the last couple of months. This is going to necessitate a change to my Will. Not a difficult exercise but one most people put off or at least put to the end of their lists. But I really want to sort it out because I don’t want to take a chance of the people I love not benefiting should I depart planet terra firma earlier than I expect. Note to self – call lawyer.

At the time of dealing with my Will, I’m going to look over my Trust and Memorandum of Wishes. Lots of changes have come into play this year, especially in the gifting regime and I want to ensure I have truly crossed all T’s and dotted all I’s as this is going to be imperative to ensure my assets are protected when the Trust is looked at in the future.

Summary

The above list doesn’t look that onerous. It involves a little work for me via Gilligan Rowe & Associates products and services. My insurance broker, loan specialist and lawyer will also have to do their bit but taken over the next two months, they are small jobs which once completed, could make a large difference to where I end up at the end of the year. That of course is where we come in. We are all things money. We are able to help you take control and plan your finances. We are able to help you get ahead. If you need any assistance, just call us. Remember there’s only one name in the money game. That’s GRA. Until I meet you, I wish you short spendings and long earnings as the Russian Money Barons say.

Ciao. Janet

Professional Trustee Services
Gilligan Rowe + Associates LP
Chartered Accountants

Learn more about Janet
Email: jx@gra.co.nz
Ph: +64 9 522 7955

P.S. Did you like this article? Go ahead and sign up to our free newsletter and receive tips, updates and useful information to help you protect your assets and grow your net worth. GRA are accountants who provide expert accountant advice both in NZ and offshore.

P.P.S. Check out our sister website, www.familytrusts.co.nz for more family trust information.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide only a summary of the issues associated with the topics covered. It does not purport to be comprehensive nor to provide specific advice. No person should act in reliance on any statement contained within this article without first obtaining specific professional advice. If you require any further information or advice on any matter covered within this article, please contact the author.

Trackbacks (0) | Permalink
____________________________________________

The Low Down on New Gifting Rules

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Low Down on New Gifting Rules

Christmas Grinch versus Santa Claws

When it comes to giving, they say it’s the thought that counts. Unfortunately, not many people apply this truism when it comes to gifting to the Family Trust. I expect lots of New Zealanders will, in the next little while, rush in where angels fear to tread and make gifts to their Trusts. They will forgive all debt owing to them and will feel happy that the new law permits them to bring their protracted gifting programmes to an end. Very little thought will be spared on what the implications of this move are or the enormous loss of wealth it could cause. In a bid to help you, I thought I’d share what I’ve been thinking lately …

a new landscape for trusts

On 1 October 2011 the Government introduced law which abolished Gift Duty. This legislative move was made after a review had been conducted which showed adequate mechanisms existed to protect creditor rights. The review also brought to light that little Gift Duty was ever collected thus the tax was ineffective and furthermore, the actual completing and filing of gifting documentation placed significant costs on the Government and the persons making gifts.

The result of the new legislation is that the Gift Duty regime as we have known it is now an historic beast. The practice of selling your assets, at market value to a Trust and getting a Deed of Acknowledgment of Debt (IOU) back from your Trustees and annually forgiving $27,000 of that IOU debt is now a thing of the past. Individuals are free to make one or more gifts (including debt forgiveness) of any value, without incurring and paying Gift Duty, from 1 October 2011. Wonderful I hear people say. Finally, I can wrap up my affairs and conclude this long drawn out affair I’ve had with gifting. But before you do just that, read on.

Implications

1.         potential creditor claims

Many people, especially those in business, borrow funds from an arms length party such as a Bank. At the time of borrowing they sign loan documents which state they must remain solvent at all times. Often once an individual has the funds from the Bank, they on lend them to a Trust they have created. In turn, the Trustees of the Trust give them a Deed of Acknowledgment of Debt evidencing they owe them the money they have just received. In effect this means the individual remains solvent as the IOU balance noted in the Deed constitutes a personal asset to them. Accordingly the person’s asset and liability position is balanced.

Forgiving the debt owed by the Trustees of the Trust however may mean the individual becomes technically insolvent. This is because all assets will be owned by the Trust and the individual will merely owe a liability back to the Bank without having any corresponding asset owed to them.

Being technically insolvent could amount to a breach of the covenants in the Bank loan documents and that could give rise to the Bank demanding repayment of the debt the individual owes them.

For this reason, an individual should always consider what their personal asset and liability position will be in relation to any covenants they have given to a lender before they complete gifting. This matter is particularly important if an individual is intending to complete any lump sum gifting.

2.         relationship property issues

When individuals in marriage or de-facto relationships transfer their joint assets to a Trust, they are in effect transferring relationship property. When they obtain Deeds of Acknowledgment of Debt back from the Trustees of the Trust for the relationship property they have transferred, the debts noted in those Deeds are also relationship property. The actual assets that have been transferred however become Trust assets. In other words, the transferred assets change their legal classification.   Ordinarily this is not an issue if the relationship between the individuals continues and if both individuals are Appointors, Trustees and Beneficiaries of the Trust.

Problems can however arise if lump sum gifting has occurred, the relationship breaks and one of the individuals does not hold the positions of Appointor and Trustee. This happens because if assets have been fully gifted to a Trust there is no debt owed back to the parties. Therefore there is no relationship property which can be shared. Additionally if only one party in the demised relationship holds the powerful positions of Appointor and Trustee, the individual not in these power seats may find they have to apply for a Court Order in order to gain access to the Trust’s assets on the basis that the Trust has deprived them of their relationship property rights. This can be an expensive and stressful experience.

Clearly full consideration of this issue needs to be given and canvassed with Professional Advisors before debt is forgiven in its entirety.

3.         ability to call for funds from the trust

When a person transfers assets to a Trust and obtains a Deed of Acknowledgment of Debt from the Trustees of the Trust, this gives them the ability to demand from the Trustees partial or full repayment of the IOU balance stated in that Deed. If however the IOU balance has been forgiven in full, it means an individual loses this right of repayment.

An important consequence of this is that when an individual no longer has an ability to call up repayment of their outstanding loan balance, they become reliant on the Trustees. One would hope the Trustees would exercise their discretion and provide funds back to the individual.

To avoid the above scenario and retain some control over Trustees, it may be wise to leave a portion of debt owing back by Trustees to an individual. This point should be given some thought before all debt is forgiven.

4.         inadequate trust attention – sham trusts

The law is quite clear when it comes to Trusts - in return for asset protection that Trusts bestow, Trustees must satisfy their duties and run the Trust properly. Failure to do this can result in a myriad of unwanted consequences including Sham Trust allegations.

Completing of annual gifting has in the past given Trustees an ability to come together and review how the Trust has been run. Frequently annual Trustee Reviews and Financial Statement Reviews were completed at the time annual gifting was undertaken. Outstanding Trust administration was consequently identified and caught up on.

Because may people will choose to forgive debt balances owing to them in one lump sum, the opportunity that annual gifting historically afforded to review the affairs of the Trust and catch up with Trust administration work will no longer exist. Thus there is a real fear that regular and proper Trust administration will no longer occur and opportunities to bring allegations of Sham will arise.

Additionally, now that Gift Duty has been abolished, it’s thought the transferring of assets to Trusts will become even more popular. Correspondingly so will the scrutiny from creditors and other potential claims such as the Ministry of Social Development.

What one should take from the above is that at all times the need for regular and correct Trust administration is present. In point of fact, this need is likely to increase over time. Simply adopting a ‘gift and forget’ attitude about the Trust will put the Trust and its assets in jeopardy. Therefore, if debts in their entirety are to be forgiven, Trustees must be mindful to still take the time to annually (at least) satisfy their legal duties and responsibilities.

5.         loss of wealth

Many people will be under the misapprehension that because legislation has repealed Gift Duty, they should immediately transfer all assets into a Trust and complete the forgiveness of all debts owing to them, thereby immediately qualifying for eligibility for the Residential Care subsidy. This view is however incorrect.

It is the Inland Revenue Department which was charged with the collection of Gift Duty. So the new legislation abolishing Gift Duty has an effect on this particular Government Department. It does not however affect the Regulations and policies the Ministry of Social Development applies and which WINZ implement, when an individual applies for a rest home care subsidy.

Before I tell you about the current rules the Ministry has, I should advise you that these Regulations and policies will undoubtedly change in the years to come.

At the time of writing however the process is that once an application for a Residential Care subsidy is received, WINZ conducts an asset assessment on the applicant.

As at July 2011, an individual is permitted to have $210,000 in personal wealth plus their personal effects plus a $10,000 pre paid funeral expense account in order to be eligible for a rest home subsidy. This applies where the applicant is single or where the applicant has a spouse/partner that is living in residential full time care.

Alternatively, where an applicant has a partner but that partner/spouse is not in residential care, the applicant is allowed to have the same $210,000 in personal wealth plus their personal effects plus a $10,000 pre paid funeral expense account.

If the applicant does not wish to apply this test, they are able to use another test. This is often referred to as the Alternative Test.

The Alternative Test will apply where an applicant has a partner but that partner/spouse is not in residential care. In such a case, the applicant is allowed to have $115,000 in personal wealth, plus a home plus a car. In other words, the individual applying for the subsidy is able to have cash of up to $115,000 and their home and car is exempt from the asset assessment, irrespective of the value of that home and motor vehicle. The home and car must however be owned by them and not held in a Trust.

All gifting that is completed by the applicant within a 5 year period immediately before an application for a rest home subsidy is made, will be taken into account when calculating an applicant’s personal wealth.

Additionally, any gift an applicant’s spouse/partner has made within the 5 year period year immediately before the application is made, will be taken into account when assessing how much an applicant has in personal assets.

The news is not all bad. Under current Regulations and policy regime, WINZ permits an applicant to claim a ‘rebate’ of $6,000 per annum during the 5 year period, providing excess gifting exists.

WINZ also has the ability to go further back than 5 years and as at October 2011 under current policy, can factor in gifts made by the applicant and their spouse/partner by looking back indefinitely and clawing back the gifting that both the applicant and their spouse/partner have completed.

An allowance for any gifting completed by an applicant and his spouse/partner totalling $27,000 in any one year will be given by WINZ when they complete their calculation.

If you think the above rules sound complicated you are not alone. Trust and Tax experts have all stretched their grey cells considering a variety of potential positions that could befall an applicant.

In an attempt to make a difficult subject somewhat clear, I am gong to give you the following example of how WINZ might calculate an applicant’s personal wealth.

         example

In 2003 Mr and Mrs Cavell transferred their family home to a Trust. The market value of the home at the time was $750,000. They each received from the Trustees of the Trust a Deed of Acknowledgment of Debt for $375,000. In the following years, they progressively forgave $27,000 each of this debt per annum. Once their annual gifting was completed in August 2010, the Trust owed each of them $159,000. In 2011, Mr and Mrs Cavell forgave the remaining loan balances owed to them of $159,000 each.

In 2015 Mr Cavell applied for a Residential Care subsidy. Mrs Cavell would however remain living in the home owed by the Trust.

Under the prevailing legislation at the time, Mr Cavell was permitted to have $250,000 in personal wealth plus personal effects plus a $10,000 pre paid funeral expense account.

Mr Cavell actually had very few personal assets. He did however have $20,000 in a savings account.

WINZ conducted an assessment and determined Mr Cavell to have $551,000 of personal wealth. This amount was ascertained as follows:

Gifting completed by Mr and Mrs Cavell in the 5 years prior to Mr Cavell’s application being made was automatically reversed.

Mr Cavell was granted an annual allowance of $6,000 in respect of the gifts he made in the 5 years prior to his application being submitted, totalling $30,000.

Gifting completed by Mr and Mrs Cavell in the years prior to the 2010 year was added back. Remember, WINZ has an ability to claw back indefinitely. In Mr and Cavell’s case, they annually completed gifting of $54,000 in the 2003 year through to the 2009 year, being 7 years worth of gifting. However in this example, only gifting of more than $27,000 is included in the asset test so $189,000 is in effect added back.

The funds Mr Cavell held in his personal savings bank account of $20,000 was also taken into consideration.

Because WINZ assessed Mr Cavell’s personal wealth above the $250,000 permitted legislative threshold, his application for the Residential Care subsidy was declined.

Way Forward

You should take from the above example a few points. First, despite the law change that has now occurred, you should really think through the issues that I’ve mentioned above. Simply divesting yourself of assets to a Trust will not necessarily make you an eligible recipient for a Residential Care subsidy. Secondly, the forgiving of debt in one lump sum may not serve your best interests nor for that matter will completing annual gifting of $27,000. Possibly a better way is plodding through a gifting programme at an annual combined rate of forgiveness of the usual $27,000 amount. Finally, WINZ rules are complex and likely to change. Because of these points it is vital you obtain advice from your Professional Advisors before transferring assets to a Trust and gifting, whether it be partial forgiveness of debt or gifting balances in their entirety.

That of course is where we come in. We are all things money. We are able to help you evaluate your choices and make your decisions. With respect to evaluating your gifting choices, we have developed a system helps you decide what’s best for you. If you need any assistance, just call us. Remember there’s only one name in the money game. That’s GRA.

Finally my Christmas wish for you is short spendings and long earnings as the Russian Money Barons say.

Ciao.    Janet

Professional Trustee Services
Gilligan Rowe + Associates LP
Chartered Accountants

Learn more about Janet
Email: jx@gra.co.nz
Ph: +64 9 522 7955

P.S. Did you like this article? Go ahead and sign up to our free newsletter and receive tips, updates and useful information to help you protect your assets and grow your net worth. GRA are accountants who provide expert accountant advice both in NZ and offshore.

P.P.S. Check out our sister website, www.familytrusts.co.nz for more family trust information.

© Gilligan Rowe & Associates LP

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide only a summary of the issues associated with the topics covered. It does not purport to be comprehensive nor to provide specific advice. No person should act in reliance on any statement contained within this article without first obtaining specific professional advice. If you require any further information or advice on any matter covered within this article, please contact the author.

Trackbacks (0) | Permalink
____________________________________________

Media say "Yes" to Family Trusts

Monday, February 07, 2011

Hello Everyone

I’m feeling pretty pleased that the Media is picking up the idea that having a Family Trust isn’t just a nice “extra’ in life but is going to become an “essential”. Have a look at this link and you will see the interview I recently gave.

Here is the link: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/4613958/How-to-set-up-a-family-trust.

Remember the motto, if you don’t own something it can’t be taken from you. In other words, if you don’t own the house, it can’t be taken into account for means testing purposes which I think is very likely when looking at future superannuation payouts. The latest Budget and the tax changes being implements all lead me to this view. The solution of course is to get smart and come to our next GRA seminar on 23 February (click here) where I’ll canvass some of the views I have. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Professional Trustee Services
Gilligan Rowe + Associates LP
Chartered Accountants

Learn more about Janet
Email: jx@gra.co.nz
Ph: +64 9 522 7955P.S. Did you like this article? Go ahead and sign up to our free newsletter and receive tips, updates and useful information to help you protect your assets and grow your net worth. GRA are accountants who provide expert accountant advice both in NZ and offshore.

P.P.S. Check out our sister website, www.familytrusts.co.nz for more family trust information.

Trackbacks (0) | Permalink
____________________________________________

Does Your Money Personality Cost You?

Friday, January 28, 2011

Does your money personality cost you ?

One of the most popular subjects we talk and write about has to be Money. How to make it is definitely a topic that would come up at most social gatherings. I guess this is appropriate seeing money is the currency we all use to live with. Most of us want more of it in our bank accounts so we can live a financially stress free live. Let’s face it - none of us actually enjoy scrabbling to find the moo la each month to pay the mortgage and most of us dread those expensive times of the year such as birthdays and Christmases.

Whilst we all do a lot of talking about how to make money, we hardly ever canvassed the topic of money personalities. We know that we have different ways of handling money and we even know that this can cause arguments between friends and loved ones but not many of us understand how our own money personality can sabotage our getting ahead.

Recently I’ve looked into this subject and I can now see how having a particular money personality can really hinder a person from getting out of debt, staying out of the red, saving, making money and generally moving up the wealth ladder.

Once I’d done this research I called a couple of my girlfriends and we all agreed this information is fairly valuable because it arms us against hurting ourselves financially. I’ve found this subject so interesting I though I’d share with you what I’ve found out. Check out below what your money personality is and how you can turn things around despite your money profile.

Personality Types

money savers

People who have a money saving personality actually like to put money away for a rainy day. They take care of the small details to ensure they save the pennies so they amass the pounds. Our grandparents were good money savers as they frequently had encountered a depression and hard times during their lives and so they focused on storing money away.

Money savers will often have very little debt and are indifferent about keeping up with the latest trends in clothing, motor vehicles, etc. They get more pleasure seeing their gold coins mount up than they do driving the latest BMW.

By nature, money savers can be worriers. They can get anxious about their bank balances. They are also conservative people. This can lead them to miss out on investment opportunities which of course can be detrimental to them as it hinders them in growing their wealth.

money avoiders

I have a very good friend who fits into this category. She hates thinking about and dealing with money. Her cheque account is often overdrawn and her bills often remain unpaid until the final demand arrives. This is not because she doesn’t care. She simply finds dealing with money too complicated.

On the flip side, a Money Avoider will be in total control of other areas of their lives. They will even beat all of us to the post on a subject they feel passionate about.

When it comes down to money though, these personalities tend to feel out of their depth. As a result, they pay very little details to what is coming in and what is going out. This leads to overspending and debt accumulation. On a severe scale, it can lead to very bad credit ratings and even loss of assets through creditor petitions such as repossessions and mortgagee sales.

money spenders

This title says it all. Money spenders are those citizens who like to spend like there’s no tomorrow. Budgeting is not a word that features in their vocabulary. They are chic people who like to buy all the latest gadgets. They don’t keep up with the Jones, they set the benchmark the Jones need to step up to.

They are often outgoing, generous, big picture people. This of course has its downsides. They have no fear when it comes to getting into debt and because they don’t have a handle on all the little details, their debt levels can spiral out of control. Additionally because they have a reasonably large appetite for debt they will frequently take risks and step where angels would fear to tread.

money amassers

Of all the money personalities, these people are most in touch with themselves and how they view money. They are diligent, enquiring and tenacious in personality. They know where there money goes. They like to save and invest. They enjoy learning about money and how they should put their money to work.

A downside to Money Amassers is that they can spend a lot of time analysising a situation. This is due to their risk profile. Commonly they are intolerant of risk and thus fail to reap the rewards that investment can bring along.

Of course the above is general information. There are many different ways to classify money personalities and there are various money personalities to be found. I’ve merely identified the 4 types of money personalities that I commonly see individuals possess.

understandng the effect your money personality has

If you can understand your own money personality, you will be able to see how your personal characteristics impact on your financial well being.

For example, Money Avoiders don’t like to look at their financial situation which means their financial position gets worse each and every year. Money Spenders don’t fare much better as they spend all they get and then some. They hate to budget and so never get ahead. Money Savers can be fearful of spending money and so accumulate their money in the bank rather than putting their gold to work to create wealth. Lastly, Money Amassers suffer from paralysis caused by so much analysis which in turn limits their wealth growth.

Tool to help you help yourself

A way of dealing with your money personality is to get some help. Sitting down with an impartial, trained person can often shed a whole new light on your financial affairs. They can help you modify your behave, set budgets and goals, put in debt repayment plans, look at wealth creating opportunities for you and generally help you achieve your desired financial goals.

Gilligan Rowe & Associates currently help clients with their money personalities and money goals via Life On Line. This product gives you a detailed snapshot of where you are now, which in turn gives you valuable information enabling you to set realistic money objectives. It could be as simply as getting out of debt or putting money away for your kids education or it might be a tad more ambitious such as purchasing one or two rental properties or adding to your current property portfolio. One of the keys to creating wealth is making sure you know where your money is going and is your money working for you, Life Online will show and track this for you, click here for a demonstration.

We are at the beginning of a brand new year and I think this is an ideal opportunity to review where we are financially and where we’d like to travel to. If you think you could benefit from some impartial advice on how you could handle your money personality and affairs, request a meeting.

GRA are offering a special New Year Financial review Offer of $50 + GST (normally $300+GST). To request a meeting click here and fill in the form, make sure you quote financial review.

Happy reading everyone.

Professional Trustee Services
Gilligan Rowe + Associates LP
Chartered Accountants

Trackbacks (0) | Permalink
____________________________________________

Show Me The Money Honey

Thursday, October 28, 2010

SHOW ME THE MONEY HONEY

women and money

I reckon all women are in the protection business. Just look around. They are born Protectors. They look out for their friends and family and are constantly trying to protect those they love. They even look out for friends of friends. Experience has shown me that women are frequently much better than their counterparts in dealing with wealth building and protection issues. Let me give you a couple of examples.

protecting the family by putting a roof over their heads

For those old enough to remember, you will recall the time when you could capitalise the family benefit the government handed out. At that time in history I was involved in completing the legal work for a property building and selling company. Couples would cash up 5 years worth of family benefits, save a weekly deposit themselves and purchase a home. Many a kiwi family got their foot on the property home ownership ladder in this manner. The main driving force behind most of these home purchases was a women. In fact the salesmen use to say that if the female in the equation wasn’t interested, the sale wasn’t going to go through. I guess there must be some truth in this sentiment because Real Estate Agents tell me that this is still the position today – if the women doesn’t like the home there isn’t going to be a sale no matter how much her husband likes the place.

keeping the roof over the family’s heads

When I worked for a firm of solicitors that acted for a Bank, I found out that women are very good at stepping up to the plate when trouble is on the horizon. In this role, my job was to ensure the Bank’s legal documentation was in order so the Bank could sell up a Borrower’s home when they defaulted on their mortgage payments. It was a pretty sole destroying role but I learnt a lot about the law and about human behaviour. When the money problems came about, they often occurred in those days due to a business failure. Nine times out of ten, it was the husband’s business that had failed and ninety-nine percent of the time, it was the wife that called me to discuss the issue. The husband could frequently be found engaging in one of two activities; playing ostrich and ignoring all attempts by the Bank to deal with the matter or playing chicken and taking flight, leaving the wife to deal with the mess

tell me why

Because women are generally pretty good at getting and protecting wealth it surprises me that a perception exists that the female sex have trouble looking after and protecting their own affairs.

From what I have seen, it does appear that sometimes women don’t want to get too involved in the topic of money, or at least aren’t as interested in the green stuff as men are. That doesn’t mean however that women aren’t good with money.

This week I was giving a presentation about ‘all things money’ and I noticed that one women was having real trouble with the subject. I wondered why that was. Perhaps historically the subject had caused conflict within her own marriage. Perhaps she found the language of money too confusing. Perhaps she saw knowing about all things money as unfeminine. Perhaps it was even an historical family thing where money wasn’t openly discussed with her parents. I’m unsure of the reasons and there are probably plenty. What I do know however is that not knowing about money definitely puts women on the back foot and unnecessarily so in my view.

The way I look at it is if you are in a relationship and you understand about the green stuff, including what is going on in your Partner’s financial life, then as a couple you will be stronger. Alternatively, if you are on your own, then the buck stops with you so you may as well make each one count and get some understanding how moola is made, lost and protected.

Here’s a really interesting thing to consider. Women, when they do get an understanding of money, make it, handle it and protect it in far better ways and to much greater degrees than men. Women have uncanny capabilities and instincts when it comes to money. Ask any Money Trader. A women on a ‘Spot Team’ will often write far better deals, with greater consistency then her male team mates.

solution

In my view, if we are going to have to deal with the issue of protecting the family jewels we may as well get armed. A little knowledge goes a long way and the right person on your Money Team can make an incredible difference. Find a person who you feel comfortable with who has the education, skills and experience to help you.

Check out a couple of books as well. Start with the basics. Budgeting, insurance, risk, diversification, shares, superannuation and property. Get a working Money Language of terms and definitions behind you. Then move to understanding how to grow money.

Finally, have a bit of a look at how you go about protecting money and those assets you purchase with the gold you’ve made. My book ‘Family Trusts 101’ can help you on this score. I’m not Dan Brown and I haven’t written the Da Vinci Code but ‘Family Trusts 101’ is on the way to being a best seller. It was only released in July of this year and we’ve sold thousands of copies so far. It’s a small investment in your money future considering its cost is only $30. You can obtain a copy by emailing or calling me.

If along the way you have any questions about money or Trusts, let me know. I’d be happy to help answer them. If I’m not out and about presenting, you’re find me having fun with the team at Gilligan Rowe & Associates, Newmarket, Auckland. My email address there is jx@gra.co.nz and my telephone number is (09) 522 7955. Until I hear from you, happy travelling everyone with building your financial future and protecting what you grow. Ciao.

Professional Trustee Services
Gilligan Rowe + Associates Ltd
Chartered Accountants

Learn more about Janet
Email: jx@gra.co.nz
Ph: +64 9 522 7955

P.P.S. Check out our sister website, www.familytrusts.co.nz for more family trust information.

Trackbacks (0) | Permalink
____________________________________________

GRA Charity Trust

Find out more about GRA Charity Trust

Main Services

Other Services

Who Are You?

Who are you? A business owner, a property investor? If you are confused about how we can help click below to see our range of services organised to help you.

Video Blog

Watch video clips including news, information and tips all designed to help you reach your money goals.

Articles by Janet Xuccoa

Posts

Tags

Archive

TAX CALCULATOR

Request aN INTERVIEW

Got a question or need help? Send us your details and we'll contact you.

Newsletter Sign Up

Get free updates, specials and tips designed to help you reach your money goals faster.

Subscribe to: GRA Newsletter

GRA Events

We've got seminars and workshops for property investors, business owners and in fact anyone interested in protecting their wealth and reaching their money goals.

Principal & Interest VS. Interest only loans Calculator

GRA T.V

Free Resources

We've assembled a bunch of useful stuff including videos to free reports, tips, ideas, downloadable tools and much more.