Saving
FINANCIAL LITERACY
Banking battle of the sexes
Rebecca Glenn Pioneering Australian study finds women tend to see their earnings as the "family money' and see a man's money as his own.
SAVING
Lockin' out their generation
Mark Bouris Since I realised Gen Y existed, I've been reading how educated, fickle, lazy and entitled they are.
SHARE HOUSES
Rites of passage in your joint home of contention
Sylvia Pennington Disputes over money are one of the most common sources of conflict in share houses - but can they be prevented?
SAVING
Super success achieved in stages
Mark Bouris People confused about superannuation often ask me how they can make the right decisions.
BARGAIN HUNTING
It's only plonk if you look at the price tag
David Wilson Our grasp of wine's class and worth is shaky. Several scathing studies suggest we are suckers for mystique, marketing and the price tag-driven power of suggestion.
WHITE ELEPHANTS
Five spending cuts that will boost your savings
David Wilson How frugal are you? Presumably, you are not about to buy a yacht. Here are five more specific expenses to cut.
THE RULES
Pension criteria set to change
NOEL WHITTAKER Centrelink uses the deeming rules when assessing eligibility for the age pension under the income test. This means assets such as cash in the bank, shares and managed funds are deemed to be earning a certain income.
The freedom to crunch it out
Christine Long Ashlea Wallington, 28, might not think of herself as a gym junkie.
JUST DO IT
Littlest decisions can move mountains
Melissa Browne Saving money, like getting fit, is something many people seem to believe they'll never do.
WORK IT OUT
The power of flexibility
Christine Long Understanding the terms of a gym membership means you can avoid the traps if you opt to walk away.
BUDGETING
Grow a surplus of your own
Nina Hendy The only way to get off the treadmill of living from one pay packet to the next is to commit to a household budget.
INSIGHT
Rising debt weighs heavily on any future boom
Clancy Yeates When confidence is building in the property market, as it has been lately, it can be easy to get swept up in the hype.
SAVING
Savers notice option beside term deposits
John Kavanagh A new type of savings account starting to appear in the banking market will give people more options when it comes to organising their savings.
Creative ways to reach your first million
David Wilson The average savings accounts now only offer moderate to measly interest. The going rate hovers at about 3 per cent – unimpressive bang for buck.
Credit Ratings
Clock is ticking on new background checks
Penny Pryor Changes to privacy laws to be introduced in March 2014 mean paying your bills late could seriously damage your credit rating. And because the changes will allow institutions to look at two years of your payment history, your tardiness now could affect any loan applications after March.
Keeping out of the red
Penny Pryor Five key additional data fields will be collected from March 2014:
Insight
Publicised savings rates can be deceptive
CLANCY YEATES Which type of savings accounts pay the best returns? Until recently, term deposits tended to offer the best deal for savers. Banks were scrambling to lock in this secure source of funds and were paying over the odds in doing so.
Mobile Phones
Make the call to save cash
Christine Long If you are free of a contract and happy with your handset, there are plenty of SIM-only options to help keep a lid on your mobile phone outlay.
Insight
The cards that are running out of pals
CLANCY YEATES Until recently, Australians seemed determined to spend more on credit cards, despite the well-known disadvantages of doing so.
Soar on the upsurge of a windfall
Mark Bouris I'm used to hearing ''I don't have enough money'', but what about the people who do?
PLANNING
Get the most out of the age pension
MAX NEWNHAM Understanding how the tests applied by Centrelink work can result in the age pension received being maximised.
Pocket Money
Balancing home, work and homework
Sylvia Pennington Teens need their own money but how can they earn it, and how can parents help them make the right decision?
PLANNING
Dear Tony and Julia, please sort out our super
Richard Livingston A letter from the average saver to our likely next prime minister and the current one, just in case.
SAVING
Prince Charming won't help you
Nina Hendy Women need to rid themselves of the 'Cinderella complex' and take control of their financial future.
Mice-chewed cash must be reassembled, Chinese saver told
A bank in Shanghai has told a migrant worker he must "reassemble" hundreds of dollars worth of savings after mice chewed his cash "into thousands of tiny pieces".
