![Severe mortgage stress is only a few interest rate rises away.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/w/w/d/o/image.related.wideLandscape.940x529.gxm2ql.12uqus.png/1501722046832.jpg)
Money features
![If you need to tighten your belt, look to the older generations for inspiration.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/p/8/r/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxp8me.png/1501815019818.jpg)
Households are doing it tough. Here's how to tighten your belt
Many Australian families are struggling because the price of education, healthcare and power continue to rise, and pay packets aren't keeping up.
![It's a good idea to check your credit rating once a year.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/n/s/4/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxnqcx.png/1501649032277.jpg)
How 'shopping around' affects your credit score
Financial expert George Cochrane answers your questions.
![Downsizing apartment buyers Steve and Sharon Cook in Melbourne.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/r/7/v/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxnq40.png/1501646205992.jpg)
Downsizing proposals for retirees simple and sensible
Treasury draft consultation papers on super legislation changes rarely provide pleasant reading for those affected by the changes. However, the clarity and sensible provisions of the proposal to allow downsizing home owners to deposit up to $300,000 each in their superannuation account can only be welcomed by older Australians.
![Market Forces' Daniel Gocher says "trustees and super funds must be considering climate risk and disclosing their ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/o/2/n/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxnpj9.png/1501672945378.jpg)
Most super funds failing to disclose climate risk
The $2.3 trillion superannuation industry is so woeful in its disclosure of climate risk that trustees could be in breach of their legal duties.
![Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe. The RBA should focus solely on its regulatory responsibilities.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/m/l/g/c/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxmlfp.png/1501688745917.jpg)
What the RBA needs to do (no really)
Central banks understand that the markets want certainty. The problem is that such certainty leads to perverse outcomes.
![Childcare starts to look less expensive when you consider all the financial factors.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/m/4/3/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxm3l6.png/1501598079625.jpg)
The two things most parents get wrong about childcare costs
Does it really make more financial sense for one partner to stay home?
![Spaceship is backed by Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/v/j/6/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxlli3.png/1501475107682.jpg)
The secret war in Millennial super
A dispute between two of the most ambitious new entrants to Australia's $2 trillion superannuation industry is on the radar of regulators and has enthralled the fintech community.
![Singer-songwriter Harry Chapin who wrote Cat's in the Cradle in 1979.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/l/m/7/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxlflo.png/1501588096991.jpg)
What you'll regret most at the end of your life
They say no one on their deathbed ever regrets not spending more time at the office. Which is not to say we don't have other regrets.
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said tackling inequality will be Labor's defining mission going into the next election.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/l/m/h/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxltqu.png/1501625346927.jpg)
Shorten channels Howard, Costello and Hockey
Every living Liberal treasurer but the latest has wanted to tighten the tax treatment of trusts.
![Research suggests women retire with half the superannuation of men, and are also less engaged with their super.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/d/y/r/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxjv3w.png/1501513317931.jpg)
Claims super is 'biased' against women are nonsense
Superannuation is nothing more than a structure that lets people build assets in a low-tax environment.
![The medical technology company, OBJ, has helped Richard Pritchard move into second spot in the Shares Race.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/p/d/l/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxkh24.png/1501203498514.jpg)
Ellis increases her lead in fantasy shares game
Angie Ellis, of 80 20 Investments, has increased her already commanding lead in week two of the four-week Shares Race.
![Owning a house places retirees in a much more favourable situation than having a large super balance.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/w/2/z/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxjuxs.png/1501194837116.jpg)
Why super has lost its lustre
Having money in super provides cold comfort when there are pressing bills to pay or in the event of redundancy or marriage breakdown.
![Gift cards can be beautifully presented in a box, but they're more likely to be lost or forgotten than digital versions ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/l/9/l/f/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxl9hi.png/1501575820469.jpg)
Australians waste $70m a year on unused gift cards
When I was a teenager, I used my gift vouchers avidly, but in 2017 not everyone is as diligent with their gift cards.
![Most single parents are women.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/k/n/z/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxjybr.png/1501738476907.jpg)
Flying solo: how single parents can improve their finances
Single parenting is tough - there's no glossing over the fact. Even years on from separation both men and especially women suffer financially.
![Research suggests economic empowerment for women improves outcomes for the whole society.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/g/p/t/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxjnn7.png/1501598208436.jpg)
What The Handmaid's Tale teaches us about money
The importance of female economic power extends beyond the lives of each individual woman.
![Former prime minister and treasurer Paul Keating was the architect of superannuation and the dividend imputation system.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/1/m/5/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxju0z.png/1501590316738.jpg)
Get ready for dividend season
Is there any sweeter (virtual) sound than the digital tinkling of dividends as they fall into your bank account?
![Most of us may as well hang up the landline for good.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/n/g/r/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxjt5r.png/1501454352213.jpg)
Why keeping your landline is a waste of money
Australians remain surprisingly keen on landline phones, but if you're paying for one then you're probably spending money unnecessarily.
![More than 40 per cent of assets under management is invested through some form of responsible investment strategy](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/8/r/t/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxfze8.png/1501079092713.jpg)
Ethical investing moves further into the mainstream
Ethical investing is no longer of fringe interest, but is mainstream.
![The Australian dollar is riding high against the US dollar.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/e/u/6/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxh7n6.png/1501570580997.jpg)
Windfall for travellers to US who lock-in their money now
The upbeat Australian dollar is a bonus for those intending to travel overseas, especially for those heading to the United States.
![APRA deputy Helen Rowell at the earlier FSC Leaders Summit in Melbourne last week.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/h/s/q/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxif4b.png/1501033492984.jpg)
Super trustees need to do more to put members interests first: regulator
The newly beefed-up superannuation regulator has accused the sector of being too reactive and wants funds to get on the front foot and prove their readiness for risks they might face in the coming years.
![We are becoming savvier with how we manage debt.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/7/z/u/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxh9sx.png/1501170170624.jpg)
We're becoming smarter with credit cards
There are signs that we're collectively smarter users of credit than we tend to give ourselves credit for.
![Many people buy lunch to eat at their desk.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/i/0/8/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxhzrz.png/1501216904561.jpg)
Why you eat like your colleagues
They say your friends can make you fat, but your colleagues could be the real culprits.
![Winning a game show like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is one way to earn a million dollars.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170804033849im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/h/d/0/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gxhbqb.png/1500864516689.jpg)
How to turn $10,000 into a million dollars
It sounds like a stupid question but it's actually a really good one.