How much capital do I need to retire comfortably on ?

[Raz]

not sure how much "courses" cost Aaron but I have seen people via the budget service with student loans up to $ 65,000 ..... Most student loans that I see would be in the 30-40 K range .

That is the lower end I suspect as those that go to a budget service usually have no other professional advisors individually or with family links... in addition they have usually relatively low income, those with higher income are at a threshold to handle the increased margin deduction.


So what rate of return do you consider fair as an assumption on your retirement savings??

[Vaygor1]

Its always been hard to buy a house Raz, always been hard to get a degree, always been hard to get ahead...honestly cry me a river I'm over the younger generation telling me their lot in life is so much harder than in my day. Now they want to bleat like lambs lost from their mother that they have to support those in retirement who have paid into the tax system for half a century...do me a favor...enough already !!!!!!!! Let's get back to the thread question.

I couldn't agree with you more Roger. People have been bleating and whinging how hard it is to buy a house since time immemorial.

Purely by chance I was sifting through my old high school box of goodies yesterday and came across this 1982 article in the Wanganui Herald in which they quote the Taranaki Herald (before it became the Daily News I suppose).

In 1982 I was 15 back in the good old carless days oil shock era.... yes I'm 48 now, yes I had to pay my way through uni when I put myself through in the early nineties (including course costs), yes my student loan attracted interest, and that's right, double digit interest rates on my mortgage at the time, and no mobile phones.. not even cordless phones.... I don't even think remote garage door openers existed.

Good grief, listening to the news one would think Labours 'epiphany' about a housing crisis was today's big new issue.

Attachment 8592

[Raz]

I couldn't agree with you more Roger. People have been bleating and whinging how hard it is to buy a house since time immemorial.

Purely by chance I was sifting through my old high school box of goodies yesterday and came across this 1982 article in the Wanganui Herald in which they quote the Taranaki Herald (before it became the Daily News I suppose).

In 1982 I was 16 back in the good old carless days oil shock era.... yes I'm 48 now, yes I had to pay my way through uni when I put myself through in the early nineties (including course costs), yes my student loan attracted interest, and that's right, double digit interest rates on my mortgage at the time, and no mobile phones.. not even cordless phones.... I don't even think remote garage door openers existed.

Good grief, listening to the news one would think Labours 'epiphany' about a housing crisis was today's big new issue.

Attachment 8592

Here come the "living in the bubble merchants", I'm 47 so you must have had a gap before you studied as I complete it in 1991 the year prior to the change in education policy..initially course cost were low and then accelerated. Also the time of high mortgage rates argument tends to not reflect the relatively low actual size of mortgages. Income to house multiples compared show no logic will agree with you on that one.

I don't think most will consider mobile phones or garage door openers have been pivotal to options in life....

[fungus pudding]

not sure how much "courses" cost Aaron but I have seen people via the budget service with student loans up to $ 65,000 ..... Most student loans that I see would be in the 30-40 K range .

That degree is most likely a better investment that someone who does a trade and sets himself up with tools That can cost an absolute fortune, doesn't gain any assistance, and generally will not bring an income comparable to a university education - and certainly doesn't wait for any income level to be reached before repayments kick in. Be realistic - 65,000 won't buy a coffee bar, which at that price will earn peanuts.

[Vaygor1]

Here come the "living in the bubble merchants", I'm 47 so you must have had a gap before you studied as I complete it in 1991 the year prior to the change in education policy..initially course cost were low and then accelerated. Also the time of high mortgage rates argument tends to not reflect the relatively low actual size of mortgages. Income to house multiples compared show no logic will agree with you on that one.

I don't think most will consider mobile phones or garage door openers have been pivotal to options in life....

Correct Raz. I was an older student, went to uni about 93 or 94.
Life's small comforts are indicative on what things were like in the past. ie Electric lights, inside toilets, means of transportation, means of communication.

But the point is that whether the reason for life's difficulties are housing shortages, high interest rate, low wages, high cost of living etc etc etc , when it comes to getting a house people compete to buy and in doing so will stretch the means to acquire a house to the limit to get in. Doesn't matter if times are tough or times are good, the price paid will be far greater than desired and it will hurt.

[Aaron]

You do realise that uni fees are still heavily subsidised by the govt don't you?

Yes and I sometimes wonder what spending restraints are put on university management. I recall telling my kid to ask for the Otago University's Vice-Chancellors head a few years back when I heard the university was sponsoring the Highlanders. Why the f**k would taxpayer dollars and struggling students fee money go towards paying professional sportsmen. The amount of sponsorship is a secret. That is just b****hit. Universities are a place of learning and should attract students based on the Uni being a centre for thought and learning. Not rugby and p**s drinking.

[Raz]

That degree is most likely a better investment that someone who does a trade and sets himself up with tools That can cost an absolute fortune, doesn't gain any assistance, and generally will not bring an income comparable to a university education - and certainly doesn't wait for any income level to be reached before repayments kick in. Be realistic - 65,000 won't buy a coffee bar, which at that price will earn peanuts.

The reality is that an university education does not guarantee you a job let alone a well paying one today. That is a distinct change from earlier generations. Even in 1991 only a small number of my my peers secured employment in the professional qualification they studied. Even then only a third completed a degree that even started.

A trade will give you a better chance to stay in NZ and can step up earlier in pay until you body gives out...that is the catch with the trades.

[fungus pudding]

Yes and I sometimes wonder what spending restraints are put on university management. I recall telling my kid to ask for the Otago University's Vice-Chancellors head a few years back when I heard the university was sponsoring the Highlanders. Why the f**k would taxpayer dollars and struggling students fee money go towards paying professional sportsmen. The amount of sponsorship is a secret. That is just b****hit. Universities are a place of learning and should attract students based on the Uni being a centre for thought and learning. Not rugby and p**s drinking.

Don't overlook that universities compete for students, as do the polytechs. Sponsoring rugby might be an excellent means of getting through to a younger group. I'm no expert in this, but I suspect they've done their homework - they are not known for throwing money around.

[Raz]

Don't overlook that universities compete for students, as do the polytechs. Sponsoring rugby might be an excellent means of getting through to a younger group. I'm no expert in this, but I suspect they've done their homework - they are not known for throwing money around.

It is actually however who ends up paying for the marketing budget..the students.

[macduffy]

....... and we still don't know how much capital one needs to retire comfortably on! Just a little more, perhaps?