![Dressing up for the Melbourne Cup is an Australian tradition.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/9/0/v/r/image.related.wideLandscape.940x529.gs90ck.12uqus.png/1477431553730.jpg)
Money features
![Life insurance bought through an adviser has a greater chance of success at claims time.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/m/c/9/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs4m8s.png/1477270929532.jpg)
Life insurance advice reforms will help better protect consumers
Commissions are still with us when it comes to life insurance.
![<P>](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/9/3/1/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs93ak.png/1477274060732.jpg)
Will we get a health care card if we lose our part pension?
Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
![NAB is switching its credit card customers to Visa.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/9/y/l/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs94lq.png/1477367122705.jpg)
NAB credit card customers risk bad credit record
NAB credit card customers who do not update their direct debit arrangements when they are issued their new Visa credit card risk damaging their credit records.
![People who are prone to be bulls or bears are displaying cognitive bias.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/a/m/w/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs94x6.png/1477277297294.jpg)
The reason traders lose money
If you read some of the books on trading, the suggestion is that 60-90 per cent of traders lose money.
![Avocado or housing? You choose.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/8/5/u/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs7ti7.png/1477255633277.jpg)
Avocado economics for first-home buyers
We seemed to spend the week obsessed with avocado brunches and property prices. This was Peak Australia.
![It helps to cut up old credit cards when trying to climb out of debt.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/l/c/5/i/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs6q3i.png/1476933730195.jpg)
Nicole helps… beat a $20,000 credit card debt
How to avoid bankruptcy with smart credit repair and a good 0 per cent balance transfer credit card.
![SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 13: Steven Golbach looks at flight Centre window on George St, on October 13, 2016 in ...](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/1/e/t/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs6cf0.png/1477013581954.jpg)
Planning travel money and insurance early pays off
Travel money and travel insurance should be organised well in advance of the upcoming holiday season, experts warn.
![Centrelink expects pensioners to report varying income and also an inheritance within 14 days.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/4/x/l/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs4vwu.png/1476921447966.jpg)
How to report variable income and inheritances to Centrelink
Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.
![Catherine Robson with her nine-year-old daughter Elizabeth. Catherine gave a financial talk to her daughter's Grade 3 ...](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/6/n/q/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs6nl1.png/1476931914525.jpg)
Are you smarter than a third grader when it comes to money?
There are really only three things you need to do to become financially independent.
![You don't have to be pulled into full-scale financial planning.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/c/r/q/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs7ewc.png/1477006320312.jpg)
The trick to seeing a financial adviser
You don't have to be pulled into full-scale financial planning, where the adviser starts with a $3000-plus statement and then has you on an annual retainer.
![Several employees of Crown Resorts are being held by Chinese authorities.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/f/p/s/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs7diy.png/1477012069653.jpg)
Mining services companies ahead while Crown falls on China arrests
Richard Hemming continues to build his lead in week two of the six-week Shares Race.
![Super makes most sense when you're working because of the tax advantages.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/4/g/q/a/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs5u5f.png/1477376636398.jpg)
Why some retirees are better off cashing in their super
Superannuation is a tool, which when used properly is highly effective. But like all investment strategies it has a cost.
![More than a million retirees may have to change their superannuation strategies.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/y/s/g/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs6uan.png/1477460744097.jpg)
Treasurer must keep promise to introduce super legislation this year
Superannuation fund investors will be hoping that the Treasurer delivers on this week's promise to present the super change legislation in parliament by the end of 2016.
![Selection of antique fob seals on sale through Anne Schofield's antique jewellery shop in Woollahra, from her personal ...](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/5/i/d/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gruuay.png/1476918716410.jpg)
Anne Schofield sells collection of antique fob seals
This personal collection, currently for sale, is one that has amazed even veteran jewellery experts.
![The goal of super should still be to ensure people have enough stashed away for retirement.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.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.
![Alfred Dunhill - Aquarium Table Lighter, London c.1930. Estimate $2000-3000.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/5/h/g/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs5hbw.png/1476854086338.jpg)
Vintage cigarette lighters on trend for collectors
Smoking may be unfashionable these days, but there was a time when a stylish cigarette lighter was a social necessity.
![Rental yields are tiny right now.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/u/g/9/d/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs5qzu.png/1476942031359.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.
![Raj Patel was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy when he saw a financial counsellor.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/3/s/8/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs3sf9.png/1476748390267.jpg)
The three things low-income earners can do to get ahead
Raj never thought he'd need a financial counsellor. Then he nearly lost it all through a run of bad luck.
![Michael Douglas in the 1987 film Wall Street. Women make better fund managers than men but most women don't take enough ...](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/e/7/7/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs2gjh.png/1476769298620.jpg)
Women not taking enough risks with their super
Women's lack of appetite for investment risk is one of the factors that is leaving them worse off than men in retirement.
![Illustration: Joe Benke](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/0/i/o/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.grzuat.png/1476797093220.jpg)
How can I protect my nest egg in the face of the super changes?
Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
![There is a reason why airlines do the safety demonstration while the plane is still on the ground.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/z/t/e/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.grztc8.png/1476776088760.jpg)
Exits and oxygen masks: create your emergency financial plan
We need to start thinking about our own financial emergency plans while everything is clear sailing.
![Consumers have been growing more cautious on the housing market, despite high auction clearance rates in Melbourne and ...](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/t/m/5/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs0lmy.png/1476751708472.jpg)
Consumer caution may dampen property party
Are we seeing a return of the great Australian housing bonanza?
![Retirees with modest savings are barely better off than those on the age pension.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.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/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.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/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.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/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.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.
![Robo-advisers are pitching their services at self-directed investors.](/web/20161026140705im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/9/m/y/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gs18f4.png/1476776057751.jpg)
Can robots beat humans as financial advisers?
Jason Lim wants to save enough for a deposit on an apartment but a traditional adviser is not for him.