![Adjusting for inflation, wages have shrunk in real terms. Illustration: Michael Mucci](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/g/3/l/a/image.related.wideLandscape.940x529.gwfy7k.12uqus.png/1496234371886.jpg)
Money features
![Check out the Indonesian pension system, just make sure you can get your money out again.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/e/3/n/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwidwe.png/1496354170758.jpg)
How to stop the job-of-a-lifetime costing you super
Financial expert Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon answers your questions.
![A reader is hoping to invest in a property with potential for renovation.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/i/a/j/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwia8s.png/1496354787978.jpg)
'My investment strategy for a property downturn'
Financial expert George Cochrane answers your questions.
![Dr Andrew Leung, a former finance lecturer and actuary, argues that banks do nothing for their ATM service fee.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/1/0/m/k/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwgwog.png/1496245217213.jpg)
Furious finance lecturer charges $1000 for eaten card
What do you get for the $2 fee for using another bank's ATM? A finance lecturer believes the answer is nothing.
![When directors buy or sell shares in their companies, they must disclose this to the ASX and it's public information.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/f/b/n/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwfa84.png/1496216136435.jpg)
The only insider info on ASX companies that's legal
You can't read company directors' minds, but you can track when they buy and sell shares.
![Will we have enough to get through to the end?](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/o/k/s/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwexb2.png/1496000252728.jpg)
Australians paying $31 billion in super fees every year
Australians are paying $31 billion in superannuation fees every year, with half that money going to funds that manage just 30 per cent of all accounts.
![Illustration: Simon Letch](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/9/b/2/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwdav1.png/1496327717302.jpg)
The one thing wealthy super fund members need to do before June 30
June 30 is rapidly approaching and there is still much confusion among the wealthier members of our society regarding the $1.6 million limit for superannuation.
![Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell says women business owners are particularly at risk of ending up without adequate ...](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/e/a/9/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwd9qa.png/1496151714401.jpg)
The big problem of super for small-business owners
How would you rate the chances of 2 million small-business owners having adequate superannuation?
![The Perth-based real estate and financial services group Ausnet Financial Services is the best-performer of the Shares ...](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/z/2/r/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwdmk4.png/1495780937355.jpg)
Tipsters struggle to make headway in lacklustre sharemarket
Another lacklustre week for the sharemarket has left our tipsters largely treading water in week three of the four-week Shares Race.
![Ruchik Modi and his wife, who live in Truganina in Melbourne, moved to a smaller lender for a better rate on their home loan.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/d/a/a/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwd116.png/1496151749370.jpg)
Borrowers warned to brace for across-the-board mortgage rate increases
Despite official interest rates being on hold at an historic low of 1.5 per cent since August 2016, mortgage rates have been rising over that time.
![The downsizing provisions will help some retirees, but the impact on the age pension is an issue.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/g/e/8/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwdpu2.png/1495765180205.jpg)
Downsizing provisions are a mixed bag
While far from ideal, the budget initiative to allow older Australians to deposit up to $300,000 each in superannuation when they downsize their home is welcome.
![The big banks' funding advantage has halved because of new regulation, according to Macquarie University researchers.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/s/9/8/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwdprq.png/1496195884222.jpg)
Why the banks should absorb the cost of the levy
I know of no other industry where the taxpayer underwrites borrowings – it's a unique arrangement and one that the banks can't characterise as "just another cost", writes Mark Bouris.
![Brad Pitt as Billy Beane and Jonah Hill as Peter Brand in 2011 movie <i>Moneyball</i>. Brand is the fictionalised ...](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/d/6/e/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwd6cw.png/1495788620701.jpg)
What the Moneyball story teaches us about investment
Does share market investment require a technology-driven approach, or is it not that simple?
![Green alternative: Investors are being matched with borrowers to install solar panels.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/w/d/n/c/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwcp4x.png/1495788422082.jpg)
RateSetter matches investors with borrowers for clean energy
Investors will be able to lend to borrowers to install clean energy in their homes, such as solar panels, after a tie-up between peer-to-peer lender RateSetter and the government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
![Avoiding more "Schuld": The reluctance of Angela Merkel's government to invest if it means taking on more debt aces off ...](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/y/u/s/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwclm1.png/1495674281342.jpg)
Why German speakers are prone to be penny pinchers
Once again, it's the German speakers who pinch their pennies.
![Analysis of 10 years' worth of performance data confirms many industry funds outperform their 'retail' rivals.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/4/a/z/i/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwc4uu.png/1495677879591.jpg)
Super funds for bank employees among the best performers
The banks have some of the best-performing super funds of all, at least for their employees.
![Illustration: Matt Davidson](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/c/c/z/w/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwbt6t.png/1496202762182.jpg)
Meet the real high taxpayers. They're not high earners
The budget pushed low-income earners' marginal tax rate up towards 100 per cent.
![Paris is full of delights, but it's hard to enjoy when your laptop is stolen.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/a/4/j/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwa41e.png/1495421676294.jpg)
'What having my laptop stolen in Paris taught me about the housing crisis'
Ultimately all my swearing and carrying on isn't going to change anything.
![Super funds are on track to deliver a bumper return.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/1/6/k/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw8q50.png/1495634241838.jpg)
A good financial year for super fund members is almost a certainty
Double-digit returns for super funds remain on the cards this financial year despite global sharemarkets likely to be negative over May.
![The Greens are pushing for full bank account portability, saying it will boost competition.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/3/x/r/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7fdm.png/1495634288762.jpg)
Why can't switching banks be like changing mobile providers?
You could be forgiven for getting a sense of deja vu when watching the stoush between the government and the banks.
![Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon presenting to high school students.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/6/d/u/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwa4hm.png/1495552538095.jpg)
What Aussies get wrong about money (and schools don't help)
More than 27,000 readers jumped online and completed the basic money smarts test shared last week.
![Ten-year-old Grace Gregson from year 5 at Seaforth Public School, <i>Crinkling News</i> founder and editor Saffron ...](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/6/n/5/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw951a.png/1495596256017.jpg)
Crowdfunding is a force for good, but it's not like going shopping
Crowdfunding platforms democratise the funding of good ideas, but supporters need to go in with their eyes open.
![Fairfax Media's share price surged on the back of interest from two US private equity firms.](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/l/4/j/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw8h3d.png/1495157643876.jpg)
Fairfax Media best pick of the week as bidding war hots up
Our tipsters are left in the red in week two of the four-week Shares Race, following the midweek sell-off on Australian and global sharemarkets.
![Peter Costello, chairman of the Australian Future Fund, speaking at the Australian Shareholders' Association National ...](/web/20170602001223im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/6/7/g/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7mfy.png/1495076033957.jpg)
Public servants gain from Future Fund decision
​The federal government's recent decision to postpone drawing from the Future Fund is welcome news for members of its defined benefit funds.