Rotary Club of Plimmerton
Liz Koh is a well-known financial advisor, Assistant Governor for our Rotary district, and now a member of the Kapiti District Council. Last evening she was a guest of the club.
Luckily, she had in her handbag the notes for a talk she had given to Tawa Rotary on the subject of retirement planning, and she was able to deliver the same talk to us at short notice. Very good it was, too.
Liz ran her own financial advice business in Paraparaumu for many years and was a regular newspaper columnist and broadcaster. She sold the business in 2020 and is now semi-retired, but still offers advice online through enrichretirement.com.
Everyone looks forward to a comfortable retirement, and Liz stressed that this is nearly always possible with proper planning. She also noted that too much wealth may undermine one’s happiness and detract from the enjoyment of life’s small pleasures.
There are two factors at work which determine one’s ‘money personality’. These are the desire to create wealth, and appetite for risk. People may be hoarders, achievers, thrill seekers or entrepreneurs, depending on the relative power of these factors in their makeup. Their spending and investment patterns will vary accordingly.
Liz also urged us to think about ‘financial resilience’ – our ability to withstand major events or crises which affect our financial wellbeing. Proper budgeting and debt management are useful tools, and we should treasure our relationships and our health.
Liz concluded by noting that more could be done in workplaces to prepare people for retirement and to make their lives easier in other ways.
Liz is a seasoned presenter and her expertise was much appreciated by the audience.