![Young adults can do things now that will improve their financial future](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/v/e/o/y/image.related.wideLandscape.940x529.gv4rbj.12uqus.png/1491318509394.jpg)
Money features
![If a household has any spare cash, should it go into the mortgage or super?](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/d/s/7/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gveubv.png/1491442741863.jpg)
Nicole helps… decide between the mortgage and super
Financial expert Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon helps readers with their personal finance queries and consumer issues.
![Illustration: John Shakespeare](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/a/c/f/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvcada.png/1491314733705.jpg)
Property education, without the spruikers
Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
![Most people have little idea of how much money they will need in retirement.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/b/k/v/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvb2vc.png/1491184394544.jpg)
Better-off need to save more super
How much will you need to save for a comfortable retirement? If you're clueless you're not alone.
![For all the talk of averages and long-term returns, most investors and traders would love to find that life-changing ...](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/h/m/k/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvc6wz.png/1491182034182.jpg)
How I cheated myself out of $17m
The best money-making opportunities require you to sit back and do absolutely nothing.
![Paying off debt is great, but use an offset account if you think you might buy a new home and keep the old one as an ...](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/9/b/3/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvaez0.png/1491314769228.jpg)
Why paying off your home could be a mistake
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon helps a couple keep property tax deductions.
![The industry funds say the $2 trillion superannuation system is under attack.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/b/c/t/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvaw8y.png/1490965345026.jpg)
What you need to know about the war for super
There are vested interests misrepresenting the facts on both sides. Don't be fooled.
![To save money, Simone Plaza and her family are having a camping holiday this Easter.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/9/q/2/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9m3b.png/1490932222275.jpg)
How to save on Easter spending
Don't let the Easter bunny eat all your savings.
![Bega is diversifying beyond cheese, buying Vegemite from Kraft.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/w/b/5/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvalzn.png/1491053074642.jpg)
Money reader leads in year-long share tipping game
Nine weeks into the year-long Shares Race and Money reader Rod Leonarder has a clear lead thanks to strong returns from his picks - private health insurer NIB Holdings, NAB and jobs website Seek.
![Treasury Secretary John Fraser says foreign investors are concerned with the rule of law, access to energy and the ...](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/n/q/5/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvb1w1.png/1491110137585.jpg)
How the Senate saved the government from itself
Why do companies invest here? We mightn't have needed to cut that company tax much anyway.
![The Sydney Royal Easter Show is fun, but the costs can be scary.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/r/k/t/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvarko.png/1491116733469.jpg)
11 ways to save on the Sydney Royal Easter Show
It's almost Sydney Royal Easter Show time again. The show, which runs from Thursday, April 6 to Wednesday April 19, is fun for the whole family, but the costs can burn a hole in the pocket.
![Many mature-age workers want to cut back but not leave the workforce entirely.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/1/p/v/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9odn.png/1490940717563.jpg)
'Money for nothing': why transition to retirement pensions still work
Despite the continuing tightening of superannuation concessions there are still some great strategies available for those who take good advice.
![A reader wants to know if their mother can send cash gifts from India.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/z/7/a/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9lho.png/1491047362938.jpg)
Receiving gifts and bequests from abroad
Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.
![Select assets likely to increase in value and generate long-term capital gains.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/g/b/o/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9lrq.png/1491051225372.jpg)
Reducing the risks of borrowing to buy an investment property
The emphasis should be on the merits of the assets purchased and not the tax savings from the transaction.
![In 2006, billionaire Warren Buffett famously pledged to gradually give all his Berkshire Hathaway stock to philanthropic ...](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/e/i/h/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9l48.png/1490920755893.jpg)
How to give for maximum happiness
Whether you are giving away $2.86 billion or $3.50 the effect is similar – a hit of happiness.
![Now Sabatier runs multiple businesses. But his savings give him the leeway to be selective about the projects he takes on.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/9/w/8/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9iu6.png/1490844513171.jpg)
Six money tips from someone who saved $1m by age 30
After college, Grant Sabatier was unemployed, broke and living with his parents. Here's how he reached his goal of saving $US1 million ($1.3 million) by age 30.
![Girl Guides learning financial literacy through the Guide Your Money program.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/8/2/7/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv7wif.png/1490901809038.jpg)
How the Girl Guides are tackling financial inequality
The Girl Guides are launching a new set of financial literacy programs for girls and young women.
![Banks have a new type of default super option, but it may not be any good.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/f/z/r/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv8wwc.png/1490840523960.jpg)
Banks' weapon against industry funds may be dud
The Turnbull government wants to remove the monopoly that industry funds have as the default fund provider in industrial awards.
![Financial services minister Kelly O'Dwyer has welcomed the draft report from the Productivity Commission on default super.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/a/g/3/h/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv8tu7.png/1490801470303.jpg)
A fierce fight is brewing over your super
Consumer groups and independent policy analysts have broadly backed the Productivity Commission proposals to change the default superannuation system.
![Looking for patterns in stock price charts is the investment version of astrology.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/1/v/i/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv7a1v.png/1490585517587.jpg)
The only way to read a stock price chart
Scores of investors analyse charts, hoping to find a pattern telling them when to buy or sell a stock.
![<p>](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/7/5/9/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv756l.png/1490705752054.jpg)
Families squeezed by aged care changes
Financial expert Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
![Evelyn Cronk is facing a big aged care bill for her husband Graham Jones.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/7/3/e/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv73ak.png/1490920672175.jpg)
Daunting cost of funding aged care for a spouse
​At 69 years of age Evelyn Cronk should be looking forward to an active retirement in reasonable comfort.
![You don't want to be under-insured when travelling as you can get caught with new expenses when things go wrong.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/7/4/0/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv73y0.png/1490681682379.jpg)
How to lose thousands by trying to save tens
Don't trust third-rate foreign online travel agencies masquerading as Australian operations.
![Retiree renters are unlikely to be able to afford a comfortable retirement.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/s/w/z/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv5r5u.png/1490662004926.jpg)
Renters need $1 million for comfortable retirement
Housing affordability has wider implications than just for those trying to get a foot on the property ladder.
![You have three months to maximise your tax position for this financial year.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/h/l/f/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv79ol.png/1490751008739.jpg)
Tax hacks for the last quarter of the financial year
If you're smart, you'll use this quarter to ensure you're making the most of your tax situation.
![Optimism about US president Donald Trump's economic policies has been driving Wall Street.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/f/t/y/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv5he2.png/1490318087430.jpg)
Should pension fund investors take profits now?
Is this as good as it gets for investors?
![Superannuation is designed to provide an income stream in retirement, not an equity fund.](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/x/d/2/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv3vim.png/1490782795742.jpg)
Don't bet the house on solving the affordability crisis
We're seeing a lot of calls for solutions to the housing affordability crisis. But are the solutions as useful as they claim?
![Could inheritance tax – and a gift tax – go back on the national agenda?](/web/20170406055839im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/9/k/9/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv4fxd.png/1490443353356.jpg)
Thorny questions as federal budget looms
It's just six weeks to budget night and, as usual, a lot of ideas are being floated.