![Raj Patel was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy when he saw a financial counsellor.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/3/s/8/5/image.related.wideLandscape.940x529.gs3sf9.12uqus.png/1476748390267.jpg)
Money features
![The goal of super should still be to ensure people have enough stashed away for retirement.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/j/9/t/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs5qas.png/1476853484870.jpg)
When can you afford to retire?
Once you know what your retirement looks like, you can figure out how much money you will need to fund it each year and then how soon you can actually do it.
![Rental yields are tiny right now.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/u/g/9/d/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs5qzu.png/1476863113176.jpg)
Six reasons it's nuts to invest in property right now
Owning a house might be the great Australian dream. But investors should think twice.
![Retirees with modest savings are barely better off than those on the age pension.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/1/8/k/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs18et.png/1476322344090.jpg)
Retirees have little reason to save under the new pension rules
The changes in the asset test for the pension come at the same time as official interest rates and conservative investment returns are at historic low levels.
![Mining services company, Maca, does well for Richard Hemming.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/1/p/5/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs24za.png/1476406396554.jpg)
Tough start to the six-week Shares Race
Maca helps one tipster take an early lead.
![We derive more happiness from buying an experience than an object. How about BridgeClimb?](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/2/s/u/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs2sc4.png/1476566254866.jpg)
12 smart things to do with the average tax return of $2112
Eight of 10 Australians get a tax refund and the average last year was $2112
![Most families want the wellbeing of their loved one to be paramount when choosing an aged care facility.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/2/9/y/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs29nt.png/1476428799519.jpg)
How one family fought the government on aged care fees and won
There is a ludicrous situation caused by the government's inability to get Centrelink and the aged care authorities on the same page - but you may be able to force a different outcome.
![Many removal companies write into their contracts that payment is required before they hand over your things.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/1/7/u/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs17hx.png/1476419417508.jpg)
Nicole helps … get a reader's furniture back
What can you do if a removalist company is holding your belongings for ransom?
![Winding up a self-managed super fund is complicated.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/5/2/t/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs16vx.png/1476428872242.jpg)
The legal minefield of winding up a DIY super fund
Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.
![Keep your ear to the ground for financial advice.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/a/7/q/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs193t.png/1476428748723.jpg)
Motley Fool: What's a defensive investor to do?
China hasn't had a hard landing, property keeps rising, and cash returns are low ... it's been an expensive time to be a defensive investor.
![Telstra was one of the big public floats of the 1990s and 2000s.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/1/d/b/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs1dc2.png/1476421322311.jpg)
The best way to become a financial winner
The most likely way to become a financial winner is to make good quality growth investments and then get out of the way and let time do the work.
![Inspector-General of Taxation Ali Noroozi promises "the strictest confidence" for anyone raising complaints, issues or ...](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/q/w/v/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs0tx2.png/1476260063995.jpg)
I'm ready for complaints, says tax watchdog
"I've got my ear to the ground now," says Inspector-General of Taxation Ali Noroozi.
![Big banks have been accused of side-stepping financial planner laws.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/e/n/b/a/image.related.landscape.120x80.grx5ta.png/1476056805552.jpg)
Beware of bank staff spruiking their super funds
Industry Super Australia is alleging banks' front-line staff are spruiking the benefits of the banks' own super funds to their customers in a way that may be side-stepping financial advice laws.
![If history is any guide, the time is right for Telstra.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/o/k/3/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.grykkq.png/1476145874982.jpg)
It's a good time to buy Telstra shares
Telstra and the banks are major income stocks and they share the same pattern of seasonal peaks and troughs over the past 20 years.
![<P>](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/x/k/8/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.grzskf.png/1476222494179.jpg)
Are DIY super trustees up to the job?
Anyone can manage their own super fund and do a dismal job, safe in the knowledge that in a worst-case scenario they have the age pension as a backstop.
![Movie popcorn is overpriced.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/y/r/7/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gryqm4.png/1476355258736.jpg)
The 13 biggest rip-offs money can buy
Don't be lured into buying stuff that's stupidly expensive and well, just stupid.
![Jockey Michelle Payne after winning the Melbourne Cup.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/t/b/2/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.gryfu5.png/1476145954060.jpg)
Why Melbourne Cup day interest rate changes are an odds-on favourite
Seasoned Reserve Bank watchers have learned it pays to keep an eye out for an outside-chance interest rate change on Cup Day.
![Inappropriate incentives are at the heart of the banks' cultural problems. Illustration: Kerrie Leishman](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/w/4/2/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.grykqy.png/1476171025826.jpg)
Motley Fool: The elephant in the bank inquiry room
Bank staff's remuneration is not aligned with their customers' success – only the banks'.
![Illustration: Joe Benke](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/y/v/s/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gryvih.png/1476171143913.jpg)
Ask Noel: what should a 22-year-old do with her money?
Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
![Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/t/t/y/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.gry5px.png/1476074673626.jpg)
Women half as likely to benefit from tax cuts as men
Male mining engineers, school principals, surgeons and anaesthetists will be the biggest beneficiaries of the high-end tax cut currently before the Senate, with men more than twice as likely to benefit as women.
![Rather than negative gearing, why not earn a profit on your investments and pay income tax? You're still ahead.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/w/a/l/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.grwamr.png/1475726734852.jpg)
Negative gearing isn't all it's cracked up to be
Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.
![Only a registered credit provider can record a payment default on your credit file.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/w/r/g/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.grwrch.png/1476171081000.jpg)
Nicole helps ... a reader escape a dodgy debt collection demand
Why you don't need to pay for services delivered without "due care and skill".
![Home ownership is a good foundation for building wealth.](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/t/s/v/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.grwrke.png/1475760280738.jpg)
8 reasons home ownership is one of the best investments you can make
You may have to take on a large debt to buy it, but the family home also becomes your biggest asset.
![Dreaming of boating in the Whitsundays?](/web/20161019140645im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/x/n/s/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.grxnlm.png/1476159159547.jpg)
New ways to save on travel with summer just around the corner
It's the time of year when I start daydreaming about my summer holiday.