This came out a week before the election but proved to be rather “prophetic”

I realised yesterday just how complex our lives have become in modern society.  I was sitting in a church in mid service when the towns power went out.

Now if this had been in a typical NZ church basically everything would have ground to a halt.  You couldn’t hear the speaker without a PA system as our venues are both large and poorly designed acoustically.  You couldn’t sing because the band are all electrified and enhanced and nobody would be able to see the words without powerpoint and screens.

And then when the power did come back on it would be anything from 3 to 10 minutes checking that all the expensive equipment and computers had reset properly and everything could be “restored”.

But what happened yesterday was………….

We carried on regardless.  Everybody knew the songs and just sung “a cappella”.  The speaker spoke a bit louder to be heard and everybody could engage him no problem.  When the power came back on the fans started again, which was nice in 32 degree heat with 99% humidity, but other than that nothing changed.

It is hard to convey how powerful a lesson this was without you being there but I suddenly saw all the things we clamour for; all the toys, all the gadgets, all the latest things, as distractions that often keep us from what is really important.

Something to think about on a Monday!

Get Going and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

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I realised yesterday just how complex our lives have become in modern society.  I was sitting in a church in mid service when the towns power went out.

Now if this had been in a typical NZ church basically everything would have ground to a halt.  You couldn’t hear the speaker without a PA system as our venues are both large and poorly designed acoustically.  You couldn’t sing because the band are all electrified and enhanced and nobody would be able to see the words without powerpoint and screens.

And then when the power did come back on it would be anything from 3 to 10 minutes checking that all the expensive equipment and computers had reset properly and everything could be “restored”.

But what happened yesterday was………….

We carried on regardless.  Everybody knew the songs and just sung “a cappella”.  The speaker spoke a bit louder to be heard and everybody could engage him no problem.  When the power came back on the fans started again, which was nice in 32 degree heat with 99% humidity, but other than that nothing changed.

It is hard to convey how powerful a lesson this was without you being there but I suddenly saw all the things we clamour for; all the toys, all the gadgets, all the latest things, as distractions that often keep us from what is really important.

Something to think about on a Monday!

Get Going and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

Your email:

The Ant and the Grasshopper

I was sitting in a tiny town in Fiji yesterday talking ot a local food shop owner.  Surprisingly the conversation turned to business and my friend bewailed the unfair tax treatment of the current government and the fact that his feasability studies showed it was almost impossible to remain profitable.

This would be normal in New Zealand but if you could see where I was it was most unusual. My friend has probably never been to school and this “business” is just above a subsistence income.

Yet this man was smart enough to learn what he needed to to try and make his business successsful in his terms.  I was incredibly impressed that in such a hard place, uneducated, corrupt and crippled by class issues he was running a professional sophisticated business.  Just goes to show you can’t judge any book by it’s cover or classification.

BTW I had a cup of tea, 2 amazing samosa and 2 bhajia at his shop for the exorbitant cost of $140 NZD.  Would have paid twelve bucks in NZ without thinking about it .

So if an uneducated, disadvantaged, poor yet intelligent person can start and run a business in Fiji against all odds, what stops you from achieving your dreams??

Get Going and Stay safe ~ Dean

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I guess we are all biased about many things depending on our environment, what our parents did and our own conclusions.  I must admit I lean towards the right politically based on all three of the above, however when it comes to investment you would be mad to look anywhere else wouldn’t you?

Property and housing policies

National
* Sell shares in state-owned assets to give an alternative to housing investment.
* Streamline the Resource Management Act.
* Has increased the Welcome Home Loan cap, giving more first-home buyers access to affordable finance. Removed depreciation tax allowances from all properties.

Labour
* Introduce capital gains tax on investment property -already in force in nearly all developed countries, including Australia, Britain and United States.
* The capital gains tax will not apply to the family home.
* Real estate in the Canterbury earthquake zone will be exempt for at least five years.

Greens
* Introduce a comprehensive capital gains tax on inflation-adjusted capital gains at the time the gains are realised. (Like Labour, family home is exempt.)
* Over time, tighten the rules covering loss attributing qualifying companies and equivalent tax deductions.
* On monetary policy, introduce measures to limit future asset – especially house – price inflation.

Act
* Supports National’s sale of non-controlling stakes in state assets such as power generation companies.
* Reform the Resource Management Act to reduce constraints on how property owners can use and develop their land, and to protect private property rights.
* Push the next government to lock in lower taxes by passing Act’s Spending Cap Bill.

So as an investor only National and Act have any interest in making this country wealthy and helping investors provide needed housing to other kiwis.  We need to keep fixing what was broken through a decade of socialsim as I commented yesterday.

Get Going and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

Your email:

I guess we are all biased about many things depending on our environment, what our parents did and our own conclusions.  I must admit I lean towards the right politically based on all three of the above, however when it comes to investment you would be mad to look anywhere else wouldn’t you?

Property and housing policies

National
* Sell shares in state-owned assets to give an alternative to housing investment.
* Streamline the Resource Management Act.
* Has increased the Welcome Home Loan cap, giving more first-home buyers access to affordable finance. Removed depreciation tax allowances from all properties.

Labour
* Introduce capital gains tax on investment property -already in force in nearly all developed countries, including Australia, Britain and United States.
* The capital gains tax will not apply to the family home.
* Real estate in the Canterbury earthquake zone will be exempt for at least five years.

Greens
* Introduce a comprehensive capital gains tax on inflation-adjusted capital gains at the time the gains are realised. (Like Labour, family home is exempt.)
* Over time, tighten the rules covering loss attributing qualifying companies and equivalent tax deductions.
* On monetary policy, introduce measures to limit future asset – especially house – price inflation.

Act
* Supports National’s sale of non-controlling stakes in state assets such as power generation companies.
* Reform the Resource Management Act to reduce constraints on how property owners can use and develop their land, and to protect private property rights.
* Push the next government to lock in lower taxes by passing Act’s Spending Cap Bill.

So as an investor only National and Act have any interest in making this country wealthy and helping investors provide needed housing to other kiwis.  We need to keep fixing what was broken through a decade of socialsim as I commented yesterday.

Get Going and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

Your email: