Planning
FINANCIAL ADVICE
Financial advisers say new standards could push thousands out
Clancy Yeates Thousands of financial advisers might quit the industry if the government pushes ahead with plans to make advisers hold degree-equivalent qualifications in three years, an industry group says.
AGED CARE
Residential aged care: how can I afford it?
![People must decide whether to keep their home or sell it when they move into residential aged care.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/v/o/1/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gma4n6.png/1453321026177.jpg)
Bina Brown 12:15 AM A guide to the different options of residential aged care and what you can expect to pay.
MIND OVER MONEY
What The Big Short movie can teach ordinary people
![<p>](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/z/o/m/3/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gm7ufu.png/1453265672427.jpg)
Caitlin Fitzsimmons It's exciting watching the traders short the US mortgage market before the global financial crisis, but it's not something the rest of us can emulate.
ASK NOEL
Should you keep your investment property or reduce debt?
![Illustration: Michael Mucci](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/5/w/d/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gm4s1o.png/1453190488313.jpg)
Noel Whittaker Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
How to have a conversation with loved ones about aged care
![Alison Ridge with her 87-year-old father Barry Ridge in aged care.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/5/w/f/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gm4qbm.png/1452746524859.jpg)
Bina Brown January is when many families confront the need for aged care, after spending time together over Christmas.
Kickstart 2016 with a financial health check
![The new year is a good time to review your money goals.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/1/5/y/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gm15ke.png/1452650129997.jpg)
Kate Jones The new year is an opportunity to reset your money management and build prosperity - like electrician Paul Buhagiar who paid down $26,000 of his home loan last year.
How to retire overseas
![James and Evelyn "Copper" Booth have retired to Penang in Malaysia.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/0/6/g/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glt5up.png/1452604827718.jpg)
Kate Cowling Leaving the beach gets harder every year. But if you're over 60, maybe you don't have to.
SUPER & FUNDS
Retirement calculators mislead super fund members
![The online calculators on some super funds' websites are shoddy.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/0/h/l/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllluk.png/1452814746729.jpg)
John Collett Some of the retirement calculators on the websites of the largest super funds are misleading fund members.
INTELLIGENT INVESTOR
Top 10 money mistakes of the middle-aged
![In your 40s and 50s you are more likely to have extra mouths to feed.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/6/j/9/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glyr5j.png/1452204262560.jpg)
Graham Witcomb You're at the height of your career and you probably have a couple of extra mouths to feed. Here are the 10 biggest money mistakes to avoid in your 40s and 50s.
WELL HEELED
Surviving the Christmas crunch
![Business cash flow can be tricky from December to March.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/m/3/z/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glodbd.png/1450178399831.jpg)
Melissa Browne If you're a business owner, Christmas can be a stressful time where you feel like you are simply holding your breath until you reach the end of the year.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Capital gains tax may apply when you split units
![Property in St Kilda has made significant capital gains since the 1980s.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/z/u/l/3/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glig2x.png/1443789996370.jpg)
George Cochrane We live in combined flats as our permanent place of residence and neither one has ever been rented. We wondered if upon sale of either flat we will have to pay any capital gains tax? A.D.
BOURIS ON MONEY
'Transition to Retirement' the best-kept secret in super
![''Transition to retirement'' lets mature-age workers scale back their hours of work.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/g/w/m/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glednw.png/1449549883383.jpg)
Mark Bouris There's an under-used government policy that allows the benefits of both working and using your super, without totally losing the advantages of either.
What you can learn from the Packers
![Kerry Packer is greeted at Sydney Airport by his children James and Gretel in 1977.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/f/d/j/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gleok9.png/1449571366249.jpg)
John Collett How James Packer and his sister Gretel carved up the family fortune and why it's relevant to the rest of us.
INTELLIGENT INVESTOR
The eight big money mistakes of the young
![Schoolies on the Gold Coast: Many money decisions await.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/b/s/e/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gle9wg.png/1449615487446.jpg)
Graham Witcomb The decisions you make in your 20s and 30s can be the difference between financial success or living hand to mouth down the road.
HOME CARE
Part-time care helps older Australians stay at home
![Lisa Slater helps Jack Moulos get ready for an outing.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/7/3/i/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gle91s.png/1449535748933.jpg)
Bina Brown Better Caring matches care workers and community members according to their skills and needs.
MONEY BRAIN
How a financial planner changed Jennifer Byrne's life
![Jennifer Byrne on ABC's The Book Club.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/9/e/2/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl9e9b.png/1449200226704.jpg)
Catherine Robson What drives wealth creation?
ASK NOEL
Plan for age pension changes in 2017
![<p>](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/8/q/i/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl8hjb.png/1448509966029.jpg)
Noel Whittaker The age pension is not intended to support those with higher levels of wealth to maintain their capital base.
How women can overcome the retirement savings gap
![Johanna de Ruyter says she used to be a 'Teflon woman' when it came to money.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/7/s/a/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl7y1i.png/1449010120006.jpg)
Christine Long Johanna de Ruyter admits her journey with money is still a work-in-progress.
YOUR QUESTIONS
How to know when a family trust has outlived its purpose
![Family trusts outlive their purpose when there are no beneficiaries.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/7/o/2/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl7nlh.png/1448575966231.jpg)
George Cochrane A reader asks George Cochrane if she should wind up her family trust now there are no beneficiaries.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Planning for longer life expectancy
![A baby boy born in Australia today can expect to live past 80. Women live an average of four years longer.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/5/b/9/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl5b38.png/1448236779846.jpg)
Nerida Cole Discussing your wishes with loved ones is just one important factor when planning your finances after age 65.
ASK NOEL
How to make super last a (longer) lifetime
![Watch it grow.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/3/d/z/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl3e8l.png/1447968255066.jpg)
Noel Whittaker Our resident personal finance expert answers reader questions.
How to make a granny flat arrangement work for you
![Illustration: Michael Mucci](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/2/u/u/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl1ypg.png/1448419947187.jpg)
Kate Cowling Retirees keen to help their children into the property market and keep the age pension are increasingly looking at granny flat arrangements.
Billionaire's big mistake: dying without a will
![Robert Holmes a Court was surrounded by legal advisers and he still died without a will.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/1/c/v/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl1cxl.png/1448127746504.jpg)
Catherine Robson When billionaire Robert Holmes a Court died aged 53, he did not have a valid will. The result for his family was devastating.
BOURIS ON MONEY
When a double income becomes one
![Families with a new baby often live on one income after the paid parental leave runs out.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/1/a/j/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl19qb.png/1447891315841.jpg)
Mark Bouris What happens when your household goes from two incomes to one?
ASK NOEL
Tax deductible renovations
![The cost of renovations for an investment property are deducted off capital gains tax, not income tax.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/e/l/z/o/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkz691.png/1447496301495.jpg)
Noel Whittaker Readers ask Noel Whittaker their financial dilemmas, from the tax deductibility of renovating an investment property to whether to buy their late mother's house.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Your questions
![Now is a good time to sell an apartment in Sydney or Melbourne.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/x/n/z/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkwm9m.png/1447391651611.jpg)
A reader wants to know whether their New Zealand Post Office Bonus Bonds and UK Premium Savings Bonds might be worth something.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Seven steps to prepare for retirement
![Your nest egg needs to last into your 90s or beyond.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/z/f/h/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkr5w4.png/1450300195281.jpg)
Olivia Maragna While retirement can be exciting, for others it's a time of anxiety with the fear of living beyond the nest egg a reality for many.
BASIC TRAINING
The financial side of shacking up together
![Shacking up together for the first time is exciting, but you need to talk about money first.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/q/8/x/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkq961.png/1446669222394.jpg)
Larissa Ham There are a few hard talks you need to have before you move in with your lover. One involves money.
Positively stupid: Why chirpy Aussies are easily duped
![<i></i>](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/p/x/2/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gkljgl.png/1446609329227.jpg)
David Wilson Positivity can breed gullibility, so is getting grumpy the secret to not being scammed?
HER MONEY
Will power is looking after loved ones on your terms
![Melbourne dentist Vivian Lee is yet to get around to making a will.](/web/20160126051842im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/r/b/k/p/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gknbgj.png/1447131070307.jpg)
Sally Patten The subject is not a cheery one, but it has to be brought up at some stage.