![The funeral industry uses bundle deals, which makes it hard to compare pricing.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/j/a/e/s/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gwj9c1.png/1496467268674.jpg)
Planning
![The funeral industry uses bundle deals, which makes it hard to compare pricing.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/j/a/e/s/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gwj9c1.png/1496467268674.jpg)
Being rich makes you smarter
![Harvard researchers found the "cognitive deficit" caused by money worries can translate into a drop of as many as 10 IQ ...](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/5/o/s/a/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwi1q5.png/1496368351977.jpg)
Here are some ideas to relieve money worries and increase the quality of your financial decisions, and as a result, your general intelligence.
Downsizing provisions are a mixed bag
![The downsizing provisions will help some retirees, but the impact on the age pension is an issue.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/g/e/8/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwdpu2.png/1495765180205.jpg)
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.
'My ex-boyfriend left me broke'
![A psychologist helped the writer understand that her partner's behaviour was financial abuse.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/a/o/3/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7t65.png/1496136548150.jpg)
By the time I left him, my boyfriend had taken nearly all my money.
What Aussies get wrong about money (and schools don't help)
![Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon presenting to high school students.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/6/d/u/b/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwa4hm.png/1495552538095.jpg)
More than 27,000 readers jumped online and completed the basic money smarts test shared last week.
'What having my laptop stolen in Paris taught me about the housing crisis'
![Paris is full of delights, but it's hard to enjoy when your laptop is stolen.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/a/4/j/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gwa41e.png/1495421676294.jpg)
Ultimately all my swearing and carrying on isn't going to change anything.
Troy Carter overcame 'financial PTSD' to launch Lady Gaga
![Troy Carter was instrumental in the early days of Lady Gaga's success.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/6/l/4/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw7k39.png/1495161492484.jpg)
What could you achieve if your negative financial experiences from the past were not holding you back?
Budget incentives for downsizers only benefit the well-off, experts say
![SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 15: Portrait of Tom and Irene Han at their North West Sydney home. The retired couple intend to ...](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/5/l/b/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw4d2h.png/1495012727402.jpg)
Before selling, you need to consider how the age pension thresholds under the assets test work.
'My dad rewrote his will just before he died of cancer'
![Writer Nina Hendy wishes she had discussed her father's estate planning while he was fit and healthy.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/5/1/k/i/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw51sq.png/1495006150911.jpg)
My father updated his will, I have absolutely no idea what he was trying to document.
You can't outsource motherhood, but you can share the load
![Let's celebrate actual mothers and grandmothers this Mother's Day.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/3/y/z/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw3yml.png/1494948394061.jpg)
Mother's Day is a time to reflect on the unpaid contribution of mothers and grandmothers to families and communities.
When seniors own $1m home, but have no money
![It's important to get financial advice before selling the family home to fund retirement.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/2/8/h/5/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw284m.png/1494948323955.jpg)
Baby Boomers' parents are living much longer than expected, providing fertile ground for family conflict over how to care for them.
Will the federal budget help young job seekers?
![Bianca Barnard, 17, is battling to find work in a tough job market.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/x/0/0/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvwzf3.png/1494454381455.jpg)
Drug testing, benefit cuts and a drastic shortage of jobs don't add up.
Super and home downsizing plans welcomed for older Australians
![The federal president of the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers' Association Dr Annette Barbetti.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/x/y/e/f/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw099g.png/1494388537346.jpg)
Older Australians downsizing from large family homes have received a generous push in the federal budget.
Meet the 'effective altruists' who earn to give
![Adelaide-based wealth adviser Louise Pfeiffer, 39, has chosen a career and business that will maximise her ability to ...](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/w/a/2/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvw5z9.png/1493735256178.jpg)
It's easy to assume a meaningful career involves working directly with the people you are helping, but there are people pursuing high-paying positions in order to donate more.
How money changes your brain, behaviour and beliefs
![Cyndi Lauper sang Money Changes Everything. It turns out she was right.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/v/1/h/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvv13t.png/1493687542566.jpg)
Cyndi Lauper sang Money Changes Everything. It turns out she was right.
Get rich by focusing on process not outcome
![By now, your New Year's financial resolutions are probably a distant memory along with the festive fireworks.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/0/g/m/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvtgzh.png/1493340705210.jpg)
Succeeding in the long-term takes belief and perseverance.
Lessons from the rise and fall of Leyland Brothers
![Mal (left) and Mike Leyland in 1981.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/t/5/s/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvt5cp.png/1493719741550.jpg)
Mike and Mal Leyland built fame and fortune on the back of their television show, but lost it all on an ill-fated theme park development.
How to put a financial windfall to good use
![Receiving a windfall can leave us confused about how to make best use of the money.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/w/c/y/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvob5v.png/1493016962204.jpg)
Receiving a financial windfall can leave most of us in a pickle on what to do with the money.
Why fixing the pay gap is easy if you try
![Equal pay](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/p/h/4/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvog5x.png/1492656539865.jpg)
How can something as seemingly intractable, stubborn, complex and multifaceted as the pay gap be fixed?
A universal age pension is a win for younger generations too
![Illustration: Simon Bosch](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/n/2/h/k/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvn0sq.png/1492834275483.jpg)
Millennials and Baby Boomers are often cast as natural foes fighting in some kind of economic Hunger Games. But what if I told you that economic and social policy doesn't have to be zero-sum?
The reason for the focus on home care for the elderly
![More than 1 million Australians received aged care in their home.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/b/d/f/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvk4nr.png/1492124186694.jpg)
Have you noticed that all the talk about aged care at the moment is focused on home care?
How to become exceptional
![In money management, as in rugby league, practising basic moves can leave you free to think about what makes you exceptional.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/a/3/b/u/image.related.landscape.120x80.gvhe2m.png/1491773480781.jpg)
I see many people who tell me how unlucky they are when it comes to their finances.
15 things to do by 30 to create a better life after 60
![Young adults can do things now that will improve their financial future](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/v/e/o/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv4rbj.png/1491318509394.jpg)
Your 20s are the time to set in place some basics that will help set you up for a brighter financial future.
How to give for maximum happiness
![In 2006, billionaire Warren Buffett famously pledged to gradually give all his Berkshire Hathaway stock to philanthropic ...](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/e/i/h/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv9l48.png/1493528337517.jpg)
Whether you are giving away $2.86 billion or $3.50 the effect is similar – a hit of happiness.
How the Girl Guides are tackling financial inequality
![Girl Guides learning financial literacy through the Guide Your Money program.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/8/2/7/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv7wif.png/1490901809038.jpg)
The Girl Guides are launching a new set of financial literacy programs for girls and young women.
Daunting cost of funding aged care for a spouse
![Evelyn Cronk is facing a big aged care bill for her husband Graham Jones.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/7/3/e/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv73ak.png/1490920672175.jpg)
At 69 years of age Evelyn Cronk should be looking forward to an active retirement in reasonable comfort.
Why women and men need to negotiate pay rises differently
![Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg's sophomore book has the makings of a mega hit.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/8/6/x/e/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv3vs7.png/1490312993021.jpg)
The trick to closing the gender pay gap is not for women to simply ask for more.
The truth about measuring the gender pay gap
![Mining is Australia's highest paid sector, and heavily dominated by men.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/9/d/o/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gv1ymi.png/1490061326487.jpg)
Australia seems to lack consistency when it comes to reporting the difference between what men and women are paid.
'We're spending our life savings on a family trip of a lifetime'
![Saman Shad and family are going overseas and spending tens of thousands of dollars in savings that they could have used ...](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/u/6/n/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.guz1c4.png/1491690271582.jpg)
In less than a week's time our family of five is setting off on a big adventure.
Readers ask when they should retire. This is my answer
![Twin Falls in Kakadu, Northern Territory. The big trip is often an aim for retirement.](/web/20170606074149im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/v/k/m/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.guvjbk.png/1490958631307.jpg)
The boring choice isn't always the best choice.