Monday media round-up 23/08/10

This week's selection of recent personal finance stories:
 

• Deborah Hill Cone: Learning to fear the demon debt
  "Nana was right: It's never too late to put a little aside for a rainy day." (NZ Herald)
   
• Bernard Hickey: KiwiSaver debate will encourage local investment 
  "The issue of whether to make KiwiSaver compulsory is now firmly on the agenda after Prime Minister John Key gave the green light this week for a government-sanctioned pensions and saving working group to look at the issue." (NZ Herald)
   
• Diana Clement: Don't let your money vanish when you go
  Most people's paperwork is a dog's breakfast when they die. That's especially the case for someone who dies before his or her time or has suffered dementia in the years leading up to death. (NZ Herald)
   
• Herald Investment Guide
  The NZ Herald's personal investment series, looking at the promises and pitfalls of different investment choices. (NZ Herald)
   
• Mary Holm: Separated at 60, soldiering on
  Mary answers readers' questions about using KiwiSaver for a house deposit and emerging markets.
   
• Most don't read the company prospectus, but it's important
  One of the biggest criticisms made by the Capital Markets Development Taskforce of prospectuses is that people don't understand what they are investing in because they don't read them. (NZ Herald)
   
• How to avoid getting ripped off
  Two years after coming close to losing his life savings, Mat Carron says if there is one piece of advice he has for others it's that they should "play it safe unless you are prepared to take a risk with your money". (NZ Herald)
   
• NZ Super Fund posts rise in July
  The New Zealand Superannuation Fund recorded a gain in July after two months of negative returns, as equities markets improved. (Stuff)
   
• Home affordability improves
  Falling house prices and mortgage rates mean now is the best time to buy a house in nearly a year, and it will only improve for buyers, says the monthly Roost Home Loan Affordability report. (Stuff)