Well-diversified portfolios have a split of 70 per cent in "growth" investments and 30 per cent in income-producing "defensive" investments.

You don't have to be a mathematician to use the Rule of 72. It's simple, but once you understand how to use it, you'll wonder how you got by without it.

• COMMENT

Many people misunderstand key concepts in banking, but few recognise the limits of their knowledge, a new survey suggests.

It's possible your retirement fantasies involve beaches, drinks with tiny umbrellas and – ahh – spare time.

How would you spend $20 for the biggest payoff in happiness? What did you actually spend your last $20 on?

We talk to the downsizers, the sea-changers and the retirees who moved overseas.

• EXCLUSIVE

Former pensioners lose thousands because they earned hundreds.

The side hustle has exploded among Australian millennials and thanks to the internet there's more opportunity than ever to turn a skill or passion into a tidy income outside your nine-to-five.

• COMMENT

There's a lot of the talk at the moment about the idea of a housing bubble that's set to burst.

Death may be one of the great certainties of life, but there's nothing compulsory about a funeral.

• COMMENT

Here are some ideas to relieve money worries and increase the quality of your financial decisions, and as a result, your general intelligence.

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.

• FIRST PERSON

By the time I left him, my boyfriend had taken nearly all my money.

More than 27,000 readers jumped online and completed the basic money smarts test shared last week.

Ultimately all my swearing and carrying on isn't going to change anything.

What could you achieve if your negative financial experiences from the past were not holding you back?

Before selling, you need to consider how the age pension thresholds under the assets test work.

• COMMENT

​My father updated his will, I have absolutely no idea what he was trying to document.

Mother's Day is a time to reflect on the unpaid contribution of mothers and grandmothers to families and communities.

Baby Boomers' parents are living much longer than expected, providing fertile ground for family conflict over how to care for them.

Drug testing, benefit cuts and a drastic shortage of jobs don't add up.

Older Australians downsizing from large family homes have received a generous push in the federal budget.

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.

Cyndi Lauper sang Money Changes Everything. It turns out she was right.

Succeeding in the long-term takes belief and perseverance.

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.

Receiving a financial windfall can leave most of us in a pickle on what to do with the money.

How can something as seemingly intractable, stubborn, complex and multifaceted as the pay gap be fixed?

• COMMENT

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?