4 posts tagged “nz”

This morning, Brent, the morning DJ on Wairarapa More FM said, "do you see the beautiful sunrise?"

I was still lying in bed, debating whether I needed to get up yet, but upon hearing that, I thought, "no, I don't see it..."  So I got up, grabbed my camera, headed out onto the deck and saw this:

NZ Money

If you live in New Zealand and haven't heard of Kiwisaver, you must not have been paying attention the last few weeks. :)

Here's my question and totally unscientific poll.  How many of you are signing up for Kiwisaver?  If you are, what attracts you to it?  If you aren't, why not?

My husband Gary and I have been poring over the Kiwisaver website trying to figure out all the ramifications of it.  He is eligible to join now because of his job, and I can join as a "stay at home mum" and still receive the $20/week government subsidy. 

Gary's employer is really encouraging his employees to save for retirement... so much so that he is essentially making it "free" for everyone, by giving everyone a pay rise to cover their 4% contribution and also doing the 4% employer contribution from the get-go (rather than by 2012 as legislated).  It would be foolish for us not to take advantage of that offer, eh?

Haven't decided yet if I should open an account as well.  The $20/week government topup pretty much means $1000 a year for nothing, so it is probably worthwhile for me as well.

So, anyone else care to share their thoughts?

Masterton - 150 years 2004

I was 'cleaning' my hard drive on my old PC the other day and came across this movie slideshow that I'd put together a couple of years ago. 

My town, Masterton, celebrated 150 years of existence back in 2004, and as part of that celebration, the town put on a Sesquicentennial Parade.  I put together this video using Microsoft Movie Maker (I think) with a selection of photos I took at the parade.  Figured it was just wasting away on my hard drive, so I'd post it here.

It's Spring here in New Zealand.  I love this time of year, with all the flowers and trees coming into bloom, and the lambs frollicking in the hills, and green everywhere.  I took a few photos this past weekend and put them together into a Tabblo. 

A New Zealand Spring in Squares