Hanging onto your hard-earned cash can be a matter of spotting – and sidestepping – the most common pitfalls.

The shopping centre crowds are thronging, your present ideas are thinning – you're hungry too – and you start panic purchasing.

Hoarders face many personal problems, not least of them financial.

Go big with giving, but not with big gifts.

Many of us think in terms of how much data we're using now without thinking about the fact that many mobile plans cover two year terms.

Perhaps you're considering buying yourself a gift to reward yourself for seeing through a tough year.

Join our club. We can call it the Leftovers Lovers League.

Aussies are great at paying their bills but hopeless at saving voluntarily.

There's plenty of choice on the market.

Shopping addiction is the female equivalent to gambling, a psychologist says.

House hunters seeking to avoid nasty surprises should know that not all building inspections are equal.

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon reveals the best bank accounts for kids.

Some shoppers can't be bothered haggling, others want to but don't have the time. Here's a study that shows how likely you are to get a discount and save a lot of money.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ... happiness in a real tree.

Financial expert Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon has a new column tackling consumer finance problems.

It may pay to think before you buy.

We seemed to spend the week obsessed with avocado brunches and property prices. This was Peak Australia.

There are really only three things you need to do to become financially independent.

Don't be lured into buying stuff that's stupidly expensive and well, just stupid.

It's the time of year when I start daydreaming about my summer holiday.

George Ray reckons the banks could easily afford to increase the interest they pay on their cash deposits given the amount of money they are making.

A little pain now in terms of planning can mean you avoid a whole lot of pain later on.

A company offers people the chance to be active players in the energy market.

The Commonwealth Bank numbed the sting of its decision to partially hold back the RBA's cash rate cut by increasing term deposit rates. Now it has unwound them.

During holidays, watch that your phone costs don't grow exponentially.

The key to saving money on your wedding is creative thinking and a lot of research.

More free time may mean more mobile usage and bigger phone bills.

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.

Hannah Richardson is one of the more than one in two Australians who regularly sell secondhand items.