Read how Sean uses PocketSmith to bring 30 years of money history together, so he can plan investing, retirement and family life with more clarity.
I’ve always thought I was good with money, but really, I was just a good saver and budgeter. Over the past year, I’ve realised that’s not enough, so I’ve been on a mission to level up my finances.
I’ve worked in IT for 32 years, been married for 28, and we’re raising two teenagers in Auckland. They’re at the stage where I want to pass on some financial smarts, so they start out better than I did. Now that I’m in my 50s, retirement feels a lot closer, so my focus has shifted to making sure my wife and I can retire the way we want, without living on two-minute noodles!
I’m also a bit of an analyser. I love crunching numbers and gathering data, but sometimes I overdo it and end up stuck in analysis paralysis. Growing up, I was very risk-averse, which made me cautious, but it also led to procrastination. PocketSmith is now helping me to make decisions faster and break that procrastination cycle, at least for the financial decisions — choosing the right drill is a very different story.
Over the years, my wife and I have settled into what works for us. I naturally gravitated towards the finances, probably the mathematician in me, and I love a good DIY project (mostly because I hate paying someone else to do something I can do myself). The only catch? Not everything gets done quickly!
When it comes to financial decisions, we’ve always made them together, but I tended to do the day-to-day stuff myself. Since stepping up my financial game, I’ve started using PocketSmith to get both of us more involved, as it brings everything together in one place and makes discussing things easier.
When I searched for a Microsoft Money replacement, PocketSmith stood out straight away as it’s Kiwi-made! Supporting local was a big plus, and when I saw how simple yet powerful it was, it became a frontrunner. I did look at other options as well, but I kept going back to PocketSmith.
I started on the free tier and fired off a question to Support. They replied that afternoon, even though I wasn’t paying yet, and they put in the mahi to help me out. That experience sealed the deal — I signed up for what is now the Foundation plan the next day.
I jumped on board in mid-2019 as Microsoft Money was past its use-by date. I imported everything back to 1997, and the support crew helped me with the tricky bits. I’ve been using it every week ever since.
To see what we’ve got, where it comes from, and where it goes. I track our net worth and spending trends so we can tweak things when needed. I’ve set budgets as guides, but have to admit we’re not hardcore about sticking to them.
It also helps me check how we’re tracking towards retirement. It’s coming faster than I’d like, so knowing where we stand helps me make course corrections when needed.
PocketSmith gives me knowledge, and with knowledge, I can make better decisions.
I’ve always been cautious about online services — IT work makes you cautious of all sorts of risks. For years I manually downloaded transactions, and thanks to PocketSmith, I didn’t have to do much work categorising everything, so the downloads were usually the longest part. But recently, with the announcements that New Zealand banks won’t be able to charge for API calls (thanks to co-founders James and Jason, and others at PocketSmith’s efforts), I decided to finally make the change to using feeds for more than just Sharesight. It wasn’t an easy choice, but now I wouldn’t go back as it saves me heaps of time doing downloads.
It may not be a feature, but the support team is hands-down my favourite part of PocketSmith. They’re friendly, based in New Zealand, and always go the extra distance. The new AI assistant is handy for quick answers, but nothing beats the personal touch the support team provides. I’d do a shout-out out but there are so many who have helped me over the years.
I also love using the advanced search to create filters for complex categorisation and the ability to create multiple dashboards. One shows income, spending, and budgets, another focuses on long-term trends since I started tracking in 1997. I can set them up for short-term or long-term and just change between them when I need a different view of things.
Throw everything into PocketSmith, including assets, liabilities, and investments, and utilise feeds like Sharesight and Sharesies to keep investments up to date with minimal effort. Once it is all in there, the Net Worth report is brilliant for seeing how it all fits together and how you’re doing overall.
PocketSmith handles my 34,000+ transactions with ease. A graph or report for 30 years of transactions takes a little longer, though!
Oh, and turn on the Beta features; there are a few that are really useful.
Finally realising that saving and investing aren’t the same thing. One of the best things I ever did was click on a link provided by PocketSmith to The Happy Saver. Reading Ruth’s blog was a game-changer. I wish I’d started sooner, but I’m happy to be on the journey now, and I’ve realised that it is never too late to start.
