Managing a salary cut

Donna Willan Latest, Money cents

Help! My take home salary has just been cut by 10% - we have less money! This is not a completely terrible thing. Some of you may recall my dilemma a few columns back where I was pondering whether I should join our company pension scheme or purchase monthly EFTs. Well the discussion became moot ...

How much home maintenance?

Donna Willan Latest, Money cents

Our house is the biggest investment we will ever own, so shouldn’t we look after it really well? I think so, but then you get the naysayers telling you not to over invest in your home. So how much home maintenance is the right amount? I want to get the right balance between caring for ...

Retirement blues again

Donna Willan Latest, Money cents

By coincidence, it’s been one year since I wrote my last blog on retirement  after having written my third Money Cents column on retirement as well. It seems that I panic around this time of year. Could it be that my birthday is soon and it reminds me that I am getting old? So yes, I ...
children and money

Teaching children the value of money

Donna Willan Latest, Money cents

All of us with children (our own or nieces, nephews, godchildren) will know the feeling of anxiety about our children and money. How can we raise them to be sensible and generous with their money, and not to be misers? I discussed this earlier in the year when I talked about my children and money ...

Cost of home security

Donna Willan Latest, Money cents

I’m feeling a little vulnerable right now, as two weeks back we had five incidents in our street in four days! Fortunately, we also had some arrests. So I have been thinking a lot about our home security – are we secure enough? Do we need to do more? Can I afford more? Can I ...

What does on holiday mean?

Donna Willan Latest, Money cents

Wow here we are on holiday again, three long weekends over March and April, and two weeks of school holidays if you have children. Many of us are just paying off our credit cards from Christmas and back-to-school and there’s more holidays to break the bank! I’ve already shared my top tips on ‘inexpensive ways ...