![Jane and Morgan Cook, with sons Jonathan (left) and Benjaman, save about $1000 a year by pooling data.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/m/q/z/r/image.related.wideLandscape.940x529.grmm1n.12uqus.png/1474936475620.jpg)
Money features
![Illustration: Simon Letch](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/o/e/8/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.grods6.png/1474988586203.jpg)
Ask Noel: can I increase my pension by buying a jetty?
Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
![From January 2017, at least 30 percent of petrol sold in QLD will have to be E10](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/o/y/u/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.grp5ln.png/1474952935169.jpg)
The Sydney suburb with the most expensive petrol revealed
How Melbourne beat Sydney in the past three months.
![Most small businesses would appreciate government assistance but not necessarily in the form of tax cuts.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/f/k/u/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.grok4h.png/1474869280946.jpg)
Cutting company tax for small business is 'stupid': Noel Whittaker
A crazy idea that looks like getting up was based on the notion that government could give small business a much-needed boost by cutting their company tax.
![Sarah Hopkins from Galston has helped her son, Michael, buy a unit by going guarantor for his mortgage.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/m/q/w/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.grlrgz.png/1474761833668.jpg)
More parents helping children onto property ladder
Sarah Hopkins and her husband did not have to think too long before agreeing to go guarantor for their son’s mortgage.
![Caitlin Fitzsimmons wore a Cymbeline gown she bought on sale for her wedding in 2009.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/c/x/f/image.related.landscape.120x80.grnczx.png/1474758273393.jpg)
How to save money on a beautiful wedding in the social media age
The key to saving money on your wedding is creative thinking and a lot of research.
![St George is now owned by Westpac, making it part of the big four banking groups.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/u/s/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.grlut5.png/1474510224456.jpg)
Nicole helps ... with a mortgage masterclass
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon has a new column tackling consumer finance issues.
![A friend paying board will reduce your pension, but it would be worth it if the company is good.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/m/0/3/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.grm07c.png/1474515490051.jpg)
Are my self-managed super fund investments safe?
Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.
![BHP Billiton shares boosted chartist Richard Pritchard and columnist Phil Baker's portfolio this week.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/d/y/k/3/image.related.landscape.120x80.grmlm2.png/1474592403171.jpg)
Mendy's Midas touch
One Money reader has taken a seemingly unassailable lead in week two.
![Teenagers' phone bills can soar in the school holidays if you're not careful.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/w/z/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.grlx3o.png/1474510313684.jpg)
Keep your teen's mobile data under control in the school holidays
More free time may mean more mobile usage and bigger phone bills.
![Lachlan Macquarie modified Spanish coins to create Holey Dollars, Australia's first coins.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/n/2/e/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.grn1fe.png/1474607277703.jpg)
'A fascinating coin': Macquarie's Holey Dollars showcased online
When Lachlan Macquarie faced a cash crisis, he created the Holey Dollars.
![<P>](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/f/8/h/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.grmtpu.png/1474675911349.jpg)
Super compromise fair and logical
Top marks to the government for dumping the deeply flawed proposal to introduce a backdated lifetime $500,000 non-concessional contributions cap.
![There are enough incentives that super makes sense.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/x/v/0/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.grlt63.png/1474504865815.jpg)
Super makes sense
The superannuation system is a tax system, and as annoyed as we are about changes, governments do change tax policy.
![In 10 years the average low-rate card charge has gone from 10.8 per cent to 12.7 per cent.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/4/i/v/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.grmpix.png/1474711849371.jpg)
Why credit card interest rates are so high
If the Reserve Bank's official cash rate is 1.5 per cent and you can borrow for a home at 4.4 per cent, why are credit rates as high as 21 per cent?
![There may be different income levels, but the piggy banks are often equally empty.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/k/x/f/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.grkwd7.png/1474420324926.jpg)
Making six figures? Chances are you've saved nothing
It's hard to feel sorry for someone making six figures, but a new survey attempts to drum up some sympathy for the deflated bank accounts of these high rollers. See, the more you earn, the more you spend.
![Trying to time the market is foolish.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/j/7/y/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.grj80z.png/1474383403168.jpg)
The perils of timing the market for investors
Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers readers' emails.
![Howard and Gillian Tuxworth, with their children Harry and Molly, at the Collingwood home the Victorian government ...](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/j/7/l/c/image.related.landscape.120x80.grj7al.png/1474245010947.jpg)
What you can do if you're facing compulsory acquisition
Advice for people who lose their homes at the hands of their own government.
![Treasurer Scott Morrison expects an explanation.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/j/d/o/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.grkej9.png/1474458683622.jpg)
Government mulls national default super scheme to save $1.5b
The Turnbull government is considering a radical shakeup of Australia's superannuation system that would pit banks and industry funds against each other for the right to manage the deposits of every new entrant for at least two years.
![Women's career breaks make it harder to accumulate a healthy superannuation balance. Illustration: Karl Hilzinger](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/k/3/1/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.grk32g.png/1474364116319.jpg)
The $25,000 hit to women in the super backdown
The compromise over superannuation includes a delay in the plans to let people roll over their concessional contributions, which will hurt carers, particularly women.
![Having half your money spread across each of the big four banks doesn't count as a well-diversified portfolio.](/web/20160927151954im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/j/8/n/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.grj8d1.png/1474344115797.jpg)
Five ways to know you're a good investor
We all get lucky investing from time to time. Here's how to know whether your results are from skill or luck.