Insights on planning before product
Notes on financial planning, independence, and making decisions before the product finds you.
Request a free discovery sessionWhere Can I Get One-Off Investment Advice in New Zealand?
17 October 2026
You do not need an ongoing adviser or a full plan to get a second opinion. Here are your options in New Zealand, and what to ask before you book.
Read →Fee-Only vs Commission Financial Advisers in NZ: What Is the Difference?
16 October 2026
A fee-only adviser is paid only by you, so the cost is visible and no product pays them more than another. A commission-based adviser is paid by the provider of the product you take up, so advice may cost you nothing upfront but the adviser is paid only if you buy. Both must disclose how they are paid and put your interests first.
Read →How Much Does a Financial Adviser Cost in NZ?
16 October 2026
In New Zealand a one-off comprehensive financial plan usually costs about $2,000 to $4,000, hourly advice about $250 to $300, and ongoing investment advice 0.25% to 1.5% of your money each year. 'Free' advice is paid for by commissions. MoneyPlan charges flat fees: $437 for a one-hour session, $1,997 or $2,997 for a full plan, plus GST.
Read →How to Choose a Financial Adviser in New Zealand: A Checklist
16 October 2026
Check the adviser on the Financial Service Providers Register, ask exactly how they are paid, get the scope and fee in writing, ask to see an example of their written advice, and confirm which dispute resolution scheme they belong to. Then choose the person who explains things clearly and asks about your whole situation before recommending anything.
Read →I've Rebuilt MoneyPlan Around One Idea
7 October 2026
An expert set of eyes on your finances, a clear and prescriptive plan, and the confidence that your next decisions are the right ones for you.
Read →You Don't Need a Budget. You Need a System That Runs Without You.
15 September 2026
Budgets fail because they rely on daily willpower, a well-built system succeeds because you only have to make the decision once.
Read →AI Is Changing Who Produces Wealth. The Important Question Is: Who Gets to Keep It.
14 August 2026
As AI reshapes how wealth is produced in the economy, owning a stake in that production matters more than ever, and simply earning a good income is no longer enough on its own.
Read →When Should a Health Professional Start Working With a Financial Adviser?
12 August 2026
Most people wait until things feel settled before getting financial advice, but the earlier years are usually where a plan compounds the most.
Read →Financial Anxiety Isn't About How Much You Earn
23 June 2026
Income and financial security are not the same thing, and understanding the difference is often the first step toward actually feeling secure.
Read →AI Can Talk About Your Money. But Can It Advise on It?
28 May 2026
AI chatbots are genuinely useful for financial education, but there is an important difference between being informed and being advised, and that difference is where a real adviser earns their place.
Read →Five Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Financial Advice
28 May 2026
Before you act on any financial advice, five straightforward questions will tell you a lot about who you're actually talking to.
Read →Personal Story: Financial Independence Case Study
13 May 2026
Reaching financial independence before 50 taught me less about specific decisions than about the handful of principles that make those decisions easier.
Read →You Earned It. Now Make It Work.
5 May 2026
The gap between earning well and having a real financial plan is rarely about discipline, it's usually that no one has ever sat down and built the blueprint.
Read →The Financial Cost of Waiting: What One More Year Actually Costs You
22 April 2026
Delay has a real, compounding cost, and a simple hypothetical example makes it visible instead of abstract.
Read →Insurance for Doctors and Health Professionals in NZ: What You Actually Need and What You Don't
13 April 2026
A general guide to the categories of personal insurance worth assessing, and why that assessment should happen before any policy is chosen.
Read →You Earn Well. So Why Does It Feel Like It's Never Quite Enough?
8 April 2026
As income rises, the definition of enough tends to quietly rise with it, and the fix is naming a number in writing before your lifestyle does it for you.
Read →What the Middle East Crisis Means for Your Finances Right Now
25 March 2026
When a geopolitical crisis dominates the headlines, the biggest risk to your finances is usually reacting to the news, not the event itself.
Read →AI Is Making Me Rethink How to Invest
18 March 2026
A handful of huge AI-linked companies now drive an outsized share of index returns, and that concentration is making me think harder about what real diversification means.
Read →What Does a Financial Plan for a Health Professional Actually Look Like?
27 February 2026
A walk through the real sections of a financial plan, using a clearly hypothetical example, so you know what you're actually paying for.
Read →Modern Investing, Made Simple
17 February 2026
A simple, low-cost 3-fund portfolio is often a better starting point than a complicated one, and the fees you pay along the way matter more than most people realise.
Read →Financial Diagnostic for Health Professionals
4 February 2026
For people in demanding, high-responsibility careers, the problem with money usually isn't a lack of knowledge, it's a lack of bandwidth.
Read →The Best That Money Can Buy Is Freedom: Rich vs Free for Health Professionals
27 January 2026
Rich and free are not the same thing, and building genuine freedom takes a different set of decisions than building the appearance of wealth.
Read →Crafting a Successful Financial Plan for Financial Plan Success
20 January 2026
What actually makes a financial plan work is the order you do things in, not the tools you use once it's built.
Read →Streamline Your Finances with Online Financial Tools
14 January 2026
The right categories of tools, set up once and largely automated, do more for your finances than any amount of manual tracking.
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