Planning

Consumers have embraced payment technology - but small business operators are lagging.

NOEL WHITTAKER

Local shops should embrace payment technology

Noel Whittaker   Technology has revolutionised payment for goods and services but some retailers are still in the dark ages.

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INSURANCE

Muzzle the bite of vet bills with pet insurance

Amanda Campbell has pet insurance for Henry, her 6-year-old Pug

John Collett   Dogs may be our best friends, but they can also be expensive.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Managing aged care, retirement and granny flats

It's financially advantageous to rent out rather than sell your home when you go into aged care.

George Cochrane   Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.

Making sense of solar costs and savings

Don't get a system that is too large for your needs.

Kate Cowling   For many who made the switch to solar, the financial incentives were as much of a hook as the environmental feel-good factor. Now that they're ending, is solar still worthwhile?

NOEL WHITTAKER

Why it pays to read the fine print of insurance forms

Young women in traditional dress in Seville. Spain is notorious for theft.

Noel Whittaker   Knowing your policy inclusions can save a lot of time and angst.

YOUR QUESTIONS

What parents owe their children

Your children may not even want the investment property you buy for them.

George Cochrane   Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.

EXTREME BUDGETING

The Aussie family that saves $60,000 a year

Jasmine and Aaron Boothey of Adelaide and their children, daughter Blair (5) and son Hamish (2).

Kate Jones   Consumerism is the norm for many Australians but not for Jasmine and Aaron Boothey who save two-thirds of their take-home pay.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Your questions: how much can we spend in retirement?

A reader worries about whether they will be comfortable in retirement – or have to ration their Vegemite.

George Cochrane   Financial expert George Cochrane answers questions from readers.

BOURIS ON MONEY

It's what you do with super that counts

Many people don't start planning for retirement until they reach their 50s.

Mark Bouris   Don't leave it too late to build a retirement plan.

RETIRE RIGHT

How to make sure your heirs get theirs

There are strategies to preserve your superannuation for the purposes of leaving a legacy.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon   You can control, through a valid will, where all the money you amass in your lifetime ultimately goes. But many people don't appreciate that this does not necessarily apply to superannuation.

INSIGHT

Where will 'new economy' jobs come from?

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Clancy Yeates   There's probably more anxiety than usual about where future jobs will come from.

MONEY BRAIN

What Mount Everest's Sherpas can teach us about money

Phurba Tashi in Jennifer Peedom's documentary about the 2014 Everest disaster, Sherpa.

Catherine Robson   How many of us take time to consider how much money is enough?

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RETIRE RIGHT

Is retirement all it's cracked up to be?

Happiness in retirement is about making time for whatever your floats your boat.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon   A happy retirement is not just about your finances, it's also about how you spend your time.

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YOUR QUESTIONS

Can I claim my Australian pension overseas?

A reader wants to know what would happen to their Australian pension if they moved home to the UK.

George Cochrane   Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.

What to do if you win the lottery

If you win the lottery, give it time to sink in before you make big decisions.

Sylvia Pennington   Many people dream of a life-changing windfall, but stories are legion of lottery winners or inheritors who have squandered fortunes.

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TRAVEL INSURANCE

Full coverage for the slippery slope

Ski trips have a lot of upfront cost, and the price of medical treatment can be high.

Leo D'Angelo Fisher   Chances are travel insurance for domestic ski holidays is not on most to-do lists.

MIND OVER MONEY

Millennials 'shell out' for their Baby Boomer parents

Thousands of baby boomers and Gen Ys are engaged in loving, reciprocal relationships in the private sphere.

Caitlin Fitzsimmons   The real divide is not between Generation Y and their Baby Boomer parents, but between haves and have-nots.

RETIRE RIGHT

The three-bucket approach to lasting super

Asset allocation is important in retirement if you're going to make your savings last.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon   Once you get to retirement, how do you ensure your money lasts?

YOUR QUESTIONS

2017 deadline for age pensioners looms

The tightening of eligibility for the age pension occurs on January 1, 2017, but the thresholds are not yet known.

George Cochrane   Financial expert George Cochrane answers questions from readers.

RETIRE RIGHT

How much super you'll really need

The difference between a comfortable and a modest retirement is vast.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon   There's a lot of discussion – and disagreement – about the size of the lump sum you will need at retirement.

How to fund a creative career

Circus Oz unicyclist and trapeze artists Kyle Raftery and April Dawson are taking care of their personal finances.

Christine Long   Living the creative life is one filled with riches but rarely of the financial kind.

BOURIS ON MONEY

The six basic money personalities

Understanding your money personality can help you achieve financial security.

Mark Bouris   One way to approach your financial life is to first understand yourself: what drives you? Take our quiz to find out.

MONEY BRAIN

Mums – fit your own oxygen masks first

Mothers often put their children's needs ahead of their own.

Catherine Robson   This Mother's Day, I would encourage all mums to reframe the way they think about helping their kids and others that they love.

BUDGET 2016

Retirement transition scheme hobbled in budget

The transition-to-retirement scheme helps older workers build their retirement nest eggs at the time they need it most.

Mark Bouris   Financial expert Mark Bouris gives his verdict on whether the transition-to-retirement (TTR) scheme is still worthwhile.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Why doesn't Centrelink reduce paperwork?

Too much mess can lower your productivity - but so can not enough clutter.

George Cochrane   Money expert George Cochrane answers personal finance questions from readers.

MIND OVER MONEY

The trifecta of health, wealth and happiness

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Caitlin Fitzsimmons   Can money make you happy? It's not about how much you have, but what you do with it.

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BUDGET 2016

Budget 2016: 10 changes for families

The government's childcare package has been postponed until 2018.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon   There wasn't much explicitly for working families, but there were a whole bunch of measures that will directly affect them.

RETIRE RIGHT

How to start planning for retirement

There are calculators to help you determine how much you need to save for retirement.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon   The upside of headlines screaming "too poor to retire" and persistent talk about more changes to superannuation is that they make you think about the future. And if your kids have left home, you are perfectly positioned to make it a bright one.

ASK NOEL

How can I use equity in my home?

Illustration: Michael Mucci

Noel Whittaker   Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers personal finance questions from readers.

Budget, election and possible rate cut mean months of uncertainty

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison will have some surprises in Tuesday's budget.

John Collett   Tuesday's budget is unlikely to resolve uncertainty and lift consumer confidence.