No Stupid Questions with Susan Edmunds

You might own a lot, you might own a little, but you probably still need to write a will. But do you have to use a lawyer to do it? There are changes coming to KiwiSaver contribution rates. Who will miss out? And how do donation credits actually work?

Conflict has broken out in the Middle East – again – and New Zealanders are being warned to watch out for it hitting everything from petrol prices to the cost of food. This week, our special episode of No Stupid Questions is all about how it might affect your household and what you can do to ease the impact.

Quite a few Aussie banks operate here in New Zealand as well as over the ditch. Are Kiwis being offered the same deals as their Australian cousins? If we can peg property rates to inflation, then why not electricity prices? Parents have a legal duty to look after their children, obviously, but at what age does that responsibility end? Susan answers all these questions as well as what's included in tax refunds on donations (and what isn't), how benefit sanctions are managed and which parts of the country pay the highest power bills.

It can happen. And does. Your dad dies. Your stepmother sells their home and then leaves all the money to her kids. You get nothing. This doesn't seem right. Is there anything you can do? We investigate your options on this as well asking whether it is worth having a savings account anymore, what the unemployment rate tells us and what it doesn't, and are KiwiSaver providers making their returns sound better than they are?

Your kids are all grown up now, having families, buying homes of their own and working hard to make ends meet. Wouldn't this be the best time for them to inherit your money? Have we got the wrong approach to inheritances? Susan has answers for this, as well as what the tax situation is when buying a house overseas, whether financial advisers who are paid on commission can really be objective and what to look out for when insuring your car.

Family stuff can be pretty tricky, especially after a bereavement. What can you do if you're partner has passed on and their kids want you to sell your house so they can get a payout? Speaking of kids, why isn't the cost of childcare tax deductible? Does the NZ Super Fund super proof my pension? And would you have been better off buying a house in 1981 - or Lego?

Plenty of us rent the homes we live in. How do we know if we're paying more for it than we should? Susan finds out and asks if anyone is making money from your rental bond, as well as how to avoid being scammed when you're investing, and whether your LEGO collection is a good investment or not.

More than 600,000 New Zealanders have a student loan. If you’re one of them, you might have questions - like what happens if you die? Does your partner have to take on half if you split? We're looking at this as well as pension questions, tax questions, investing for your kids, and ensuring your KiwiSaver is invested in a way you're comfortable with.

Can I invest in gold through my KiwiSaver? Will I still get my pension if I live on my boat? And what is a disappointment gap?

No Stupid Questions with Susan Edmunds will be back online, on-air and in your feed from late-January 2026. If you have a money question you'd like Susan to answer, put it in an email or send us a voice recording to questions@rnz.co.nz.