I got sent an email from a property valuers informing me that the average property value in my area now sells for over nz$260,000,- so if I'm thinking of buying or selling, please contact them.

Mmmm, on my local body taxes demand I'm still valued at nz$128,000 from 2 years ago. I'm happy with that, as I don't want my taxes going up any higher, but I'm thinking I ought to check the replacement value on my insurance.

I don't think my place will be worth anything like nz$260,000 tho - it's just a comfy little 2 bedroom with a nice view. There are a lot of apartment buildings and renovated big villas around which are going like hotcakes, so I think that's what's driving the average up. In any case, I don't really count my house value as part of my net worth or retirement savings. Yes it's nice to know I can tap into some equity if needed, but I still have to pay the loan back - so no plans for borrowing apart from necessary repairs.

Let's see if I've done this right



I chose to use my frugal grandmother's name and hope she would be proud of me. I am 3rd in my income group, 8th in occupation group, but only 62nd for age. Since granny lived to be a fit and healthy 90 yo, I have time to save ahead of me!

Today I got my end of month bank statements, so I decided to make a statement of net worth. I made up a little Excel sheet and listed everthing.

Result
House $130,000
Retirement savings $15,000
All other savings $4,666

Liabilities None

I wanted to see how much of an emergency nest egg I could count on, so I divided the $4,666 by my weekly benefit payment (173.29) and found out it would last over 26 weeks. I am thrilled. Of course some of the current savings is slated for spending on house repairs, holidays, etc, but I would postpone those if I were to suddenly lose my income. My goal is to beef up the amount specifically earmarked for emergencies: I want to have $5,000 in an online account. I also want $5,000 in my "freedom fund" for house repairs etc.