Accelerating paying off your home mortgage

A reader asked for information about reducing their mortgage faster than the original 30-year term, and wondered whether some-type of a mortgage-payment assistance programmes is helpful.

My caveat, as always, is that this is general...

Build yourself a cash cushion

Creating a cash cushion for yourself and your family is a good plan to start the new year.

This is a continuation of last week’s article, “Forget new year’s resolutions — just set one goal”.

A cashflow liquidity crunch, or a credit...

Forget resolutions, just set one clear goal

Hmmmm. It is now day five of brand new year 2019. You’ve just experienced another hectic year-end deadline at your job; you may have children and you’ve shopped and spent to meet the holiday expectations; you’ve laid out the red carpet for all...

Managing the urge to splurge

Readers, this week, we feature some light-hearted ideas for the holidays.

Seriously, readers, you need a break from the never-ending stream of serious, distressing topics of late invading your consciousness.

We holiday gift givers...

There is nothing ‘zero tax’ about Bermuda

Readers, take a look at the table accompanying this article. Have I missed or duplicated anything?

Reviewing the Tax Reform Commission report, all 76 pages, requires more study time than publishing deadlines permitted. I encourage you all...

Tax complexities of relocating abroad

This is the latest in the “Pondstraddler” series of articles. Disclosure: this is a composite illustrative situation intended for general information purposes only. It does not reference any specific person, living or deceased, nor is it...

Be thankful and be an agent for change

November is traditionally the month for giving thanks. Each year, the Money page provides some thoughts on living today and taking the time to reflect on the positive values within ourselves and our community.

Imagine...

Borrowing money to pay for borrowing money

A small newspaper notice on November 8 noted that the Bermuda Government was “rolling the government debt” in a repurchase and a new bond tender offering set for November 15.

As this article went to press last Thursday, the results are...

Fight for survival continued after Great War

Armistice Day, tomorrow, November 11, 2018, marks the 100th year anniversary of the end of the Great War, the First World War. I write to honour and remember Bermuda’s men and women who served in Great War and thoughts on the lives of...

Combining costs when running a business

In our Moneywise article “Calculating and Managing Overhead” on October 20, we featured the hypothetical business narrative of the Smith family matriarch’s dream of the whole family owning a successful pizza operation. Understand, readers, that...

Know your US tax liability or pay the price

This article is part of the Pondstraddler Life continuing series on the last Saturday of each month.

We are using a hypothetical person to maintain reader confidentiality.

“I’m a Bermudian, an older student,...

Calculating and managing overhead

The business of being in business in Bermuda using a hypothetical Bermuda family launching a pizza business.

“If you can’t control your overhead costs in a business, it will kill you!” That was our father, the...

Business ownership a round-the-clock job

This week’s column is a continuation of the hypothetical MamaZina Pizzarina operations planning on doing business in Bermuda.

Running a business is an all-encompassing occupation. Any owner, particularly those...

What it means to own a company’s shares

This is the sixth and final article in a series published between October 1 and 6 in support of the Bermuda Stock Exchange World Investor Week Quiz Challenge. Each article has a question embedded. Find the question and send your answer...

Important reading: this is your money

This is part three of the review of the Report of the Auditor-General on the Audits of the Financial Statements of the Consolidated Fund of the Government of Bermuda for the years ended March 31, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. This article...

Auditor-General demands full picture

This is part two of the article on matters of special importance in the Auditor-General’s report on the financial statements of the Consolidated Fund of the Government of Bermuda for the years ended March 31, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Lump sum or monthly payment: which is best?

This is the latest in the Bermuda Realistic Retirement Review series, published on the third Saturday of each month.

Is a bird in the hand worth two birds in a bush?

Another reader FAQ, with a hypothetical...

Bermuda’s audit reports and why they matter

I have been reviewing the latest Auditor-General report on the Audits of the Financial Statements of the Consolidated Fund of the Government of Bermuda for period between April 2012 and the end of March 2016, as tabled in February.

Readers,...

Fintech banks: disrupting an industry

In the second article in a series on the arrival of the fintech industries in Bermuda, we will look at rise of fintech banks and their potential impact on the legacy banking industry.

What is fintech?

Fintech, or...

Making a cross-border financial decision

This week we return to the Pondstraddler monthly series to review a reader’s questions. The following case is a combination of real life situations and hypothetical facts in order to protect the reader’s identity.

A reader...

Evaluating retirement annuity choices

This week’s article is part of the Bermuda Realistic Retirement Reviewer series, which is featured on the third Saturday of each month.

A reader from Bermuda writes: “Gettin’ ready to retire from my job. Have some money saved — hope...

Fintech’s risks and opportunities

Fintech, or financial technology, is in the spotlight in Bermuda right now. This week, I take a look at its many implementations and ramifications.

• The impatient among us (aren’t almost all of us ADD these days) hate waiting in line at de...

Reading is your lifeline to the world

One of the greatest individuals in the investment world, Warren Buffett, reads 500 pages a day of newspapers, reports and books. He has stated it is one of the overarching keys to his success. Mr Buffet is not alone, a number of the most...

Bermuda a victim of ‘economic discrimination’

In numerous publications in the last few weeks, various headlines arose noting that “the state of Delaware (Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock) supports HR 6403, a current US congressional Bill titled Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance Act as...

Challenges of healthcare costs in retirement

As part of our monthly series, The Bermuda Realistic Retirement Reviewer we continue our discussion of healthcare costs with a focus on retirees and those soon to retire.

Individuals who are retired or approaching retirement...

Financial impact of rising healthcare costs

The lament is familiar, the same every year.

“Healthcare is unaffordable.”

“Healthcare is at an unsustainable level.”

The Bermuda Health Council’s 2017 report states “the Bermuda health system is at a breaking...

Tax compliance can be a taxing process

It is a scenario that will be familiar to thousands of Bermuda residents — a letter arrives regarding your accounts at local institutions. It contains requests to complete a new set of forms to verify who you are, where you live, where your tax...

Three-country transaction creates tax issues

This week, Martha features the Pondstraddler Monthly Series, featuring letters from Royal Gazette readers.

This month’s inquiry: “I’m a Bermudian living with my family in Australia for the past decade. We still have...

Retirement and compound interest ‘magic’

Starting when you are young and saving consistently can lead to a comfortable retirement. Our monthly Bermuda Realistic Retirement Reviewer Series continues today with this great retirement success story from a Royal Gazette...

Celebrating fathers who are truly dads

This week, Martha Myron takes a break from her regular personal finance beat to reflect on fatherhood.

On this Sunday, it is customary to bring tributes on the men in our lives. The media, retailer businesses,...

A financial compatibility quiz for couples

June is the biggest month of the year for weddings, and with that in mind we take a look at the many ways couples can assess their compatibility, including their approach to finances and especially shared finances.

This week’s article...

Career planning before and after graduation

Do you remember being little? All the doting relatives asking what you were going to be when you grow up. Young children are always so truthful, so sincere, and breathtakingly honest.

Some children say they want to be a diver, while others...

Financial planning when moving country

This is a continuation of the Pondstraddler monthly series featuring questions from readers. A reader asked the following questions:

I’m a Bermudian with UK citizenship, while my spouse is an American. We retired to France and just...

We can learn from retirees’ financial lives

This week, we feature the comment of retirees and those soon-to-be about their retirement experiences.

This is the first in the realistic retirement review series, once a month on the third Saturday of the month.

Today, we get into...

Getting to grips with cryptocurrencies

What is cryptocurrency? According to the Bermuda Virtual Currency Business Act 2018, virtual currency means a digital representation of value that:

• is used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value;

• is not fiat...

Optimism for our crypto future

The Bermuda Government’s initiative in formalising relationships within the digital currency world culminated last week with the tabling of the Companies and Limited Liability Company (Initial Coin Offering) Amendment Act 2018, along with the new...

Border crossings can have consequences

Today’s Moneywise explores a reader’s question about UK relocation concerns, and suggests possible actions. To protect the reader’s identity certain information has been revised or removed.

Question: My spouse and I are...

Retirement: what are your concerns?

This new monthly series on retirement, will be featured in the third week of every month.

Retirement is a big deal everywhere. Longevity in so many countries has produced long-tailed retiree populations of epic...

What’s an investor to do in volatile times?

A number of United States investment market index milestones were reached in the last few months.

According to TD Ameritrade — MarketWatch in early January, 2018 “retail investor exposure to stock markets is at an all-time high”. This...

Did you ace the test?

How well did you do? Twenty-five test questions were provided in this column on March 3 and 10.

I’m expecting to hear from readers that they aced the test, because you should know that I went easy on you all. No fractions, statistics, or...

Getting to grips with Pondstraddler status

This is the first in the series of monthly Pondstraddler Life™ Financial Perspectives Reader FAQ.

Last week’s article, entitled “Are you a Pondstraddler”, invited interested readers with international connection concerns to take the...

Are you a Pondstraddler?

One of the most frequent lines of questioning I receive from readers is to do with islanders’ increasing interconnection with the outside world — and all of its rules and regulations.

In response to that, the Moneywise column, on the last...

Living beyond our means

Martha Myron, Moneywise

Now that all the pomp and circumstance, experienced pundit reviews, and scrutiny by the public (in the papers, of course) is long gone, it is now the turn of a lowly Bermudian financial planner — who writes for the...

Time to wrap up your financial literacy test

Last week we posted the first part of the annual Bermuda financial literacy test. Here is the second and final section for those brave souls who want to stress their brains this weekend.

The total test of 25 questions is relatively easy...

It’s time to test your financial literacy

Dear readers, we discussed the all encompassing role of mathematics in our economy, our lifestyles, and our very existence, last week.

We alone determine where we end up in our financial life. We can’t rely upon anyone but ourselves. We can...

Why maths are key to our prosperity

Maths are everything. Maths are absolute. Maths are everywhere in our world in virtually every decision we make in our daily lives. Behind the scenes, maths calculations have become so mundane that we have become practically oblivious.

Stay aware of US tax resident boundaries

This is the final article of a three-part series discussing when a foreign national, such as a Bermudian or Bermuda resident, can be classified as a US tax resident under US tax regulations. This week is focused on what happens when a Bermudian...

When does a Bermudian become a US taxpayer?

This is the second article of a three-part series discussing when a foreign national, such as a Bermudian or Bermuda resident, can be classified as a US tax resident under US tax regulations.

One of readers’ frequently...

When a US tax return becomes an obligation

The following question has been a familiar recurring topic over the 18 years of Moneywise.

A reader wrote: “Many Bermudians have — or are considering buying — homes in the United States even though they are not US...

Free financial advice sources – start learning

To be financially literate is to be financially successful. Financial literacy is the buzz phrase of the day. Everyone is concerned, well, almost everyone — from global leaders to governments to teachers to unions to non-profit organisations due...