Planning

In your 40s and 50s you are more likely to have extra mouths to feed.

INTELLIGENT INVESTOR

Top 10 money mistakes of the middle-aged

Graham Witcomb   You're at the height of your career and you probably have a couple of extra mouths to feed. Here are the 10 biggest money mistakes to avoid in your 40s and 50s.

WELL HEELED

Surviving the Christmas crunch

Business cash flow can be tricky from December to March.

Melissa Browne   If you're a business owner, Christmas can be a stressful time where you feel like you are simply holding your breath until you reach the end of the year.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Capital gains tax may apply when you split units

Property in St Kilda has made significant capital gains since the 1980s.

George Cochrane   We live in combined flats as our permanent place of residence and neither one has ever been rented. We wondered if upon sale of either flat we will have to pay any capital gains tax? A.D.

BOURIS ON MONEY

'Transition to Retirement' the best-kept secret in super

''Transition to retirement'' lets mature-age workers scale back their hours of work.

Mark Bouris   There's an under-used government policy that allows the benefits of both working and using your super, without totally losing the advantages of either.

What you can learn from the Packers

Kerry Packer is greeted at Sydney Airport by his children James and Gretel in 1977.

John Collett   How James Packer and his sister Gretel carved up the family fortune and why it's relevant to the rest of us.

INTELLIGENT INVESTOR

The eight big money mistakes of the young

Schoolies on the Gold Coast: Many money decisions await.

Graham Witcomb    The decisions you make in your 20s and 30s can be the difference between financial success or living hand to mouth down the road.

HOME CARE

Part-time care helps older Australians stay at home

Lisa Slater helps Jack Moulos get ready for an outing.

Bina Brown   Better Caring matches care workers and community members according to their skills and needs.

MONEY BRAIN

How a financial planner changed Jennifer Byrne's life

Jennifer Byrne on ABC's The Book Club.

Catherine Robson   What drives wealth creation?

ASK NOEL

Plan for age pension changes in 2017

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Noel Whittaker   The age pension is not intended to support those with higher levels of wealth to maintain their capital base.

How women can overcome the retirement savings gap

Johanna de Ruyter says she used to be a 'Teflon woman' when it came to money.

Christine Long   Johanna de Ruyter admits her journey with money is still a work-in-progress.

YOUR QUESTIONS

How to know when a family trust has outlived its purpose

Family trusts outlive their purpose when there are no beneficiaries.

George Cochrane   A reader asks George Cochrane if she should wind up her family trust now there are no beneficiaries.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Planning for longer life expectancy

A baby boy born in Australia today can expect to live past 80. Women live an average of four years longer.

Nerida Cole   Discussing your wishes with loved ones is just one important factor when planning your finances after age 65.

ASK NOEL

How to make super last a (longer) lifetime

Watch it grow.

Noel Whittaker   Our resident personal finance expert answers reader questions.

How to make a granny flat arrangement work for you

Illustration: Michael Mucci

Kate Cowling   Retirees keen to help their children into the property market and keep the age pension are increasingly looking at granny flat arrangements.

Billionaire's big mistake: dying without a will

Robert Holmes a Court was surrounded by legal advisers and he still died without a will.

Catherine Robson   When billionaire Robert Holmes a Court died aged 53, he did not have a valid will. The result for his family was devastating.

BOURIS ON MONEY

When a double income becomes one

Families with a new baby often live on one income after the paid parental leave runs out.

Mark Bouris   What happens when your household goes from two incomes to one?

ASK NOEL

Tax deductible renovations

The cost of renovations for an investment property are deducted off capital gains tax, not income tax.

Noel Whittaker   Readers ask Noel Whittaker their financial dilemmas, from the tax deductibility of renovating an investment property to whether to buy their late mother's house.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Your questions

Now is a good time to sell an apartment in Sydney or Melbourne.

A reader wants to know whether their New Zealand Post Office Bonus Bonds and UK Premium Savings Bonds might be worth something.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Seven steps to prepare for retirement

Your nest egg needs to last into your 90s or beyond.

Olivia Maragna   While retirement can be exciting, for others it's a time of anxiety with the fear of living beyond the nest egg a reality for many.

BASIC TRAINING

The financial side of shacking up together

Shacking up together for the first time is exciting, but you need to talk about money first.

Larissa Ham   There are a few hard talks you need to have before you move in with your lover. One involves money.

Positively stupid: Why chirpy Aussies are easily duped

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David Wilson   Positivity can breed gullibility, so is getting grumpy the secret to not being scammed?

HER MONEY

Will power is looking after loved ones on your terms

Melbourne dentist Vivian Lee is yet to get around to making a will.

Sally Patten   The subject is not a cheery one, but it has to be brought up at some stage.

Young Aussies out of financial control

Commerce graduate Daniel Wroby didn't hear the term "financial literacy" until he was 23.

Emily Chantiri   ​Twenty-three-year-old Daniel Wroby had never heard the term "financial literacy" until this year. He is not alone.

TIP OF THE WEEK

The insurance we all need but most don't have

Your ability to produce an income is your most important financial asset.

Thabojan Rasiah   We all know insurance is something we have "just in case", yet most of us don't insure our biggest asset.

BASIC TRAINING

An intern's guide to self-protection

Like Lena Dunham's character in hit TV show Girls, many young people start their careers with internships.

Larissa Ham   How to make sure the main beneficiary of an internship is the person doing the work.

YOUR QUESTIONS

Family finance beyond the wedding

Save for short-term goals like a wedding.

George Cochrane   Readers ask how they can plan for their own retirement and to invest for their children's futures.

BOURIS ON MONEY

How to pay for your kids' education

The cost of a child's education includes music and sporting activities, not just school fees.

Mark Bouris   Between private or public school fees and extras such as sport, music and camps, the cost of your children's education can be significant.

Government to open super fund default provision to competition

The government agrees that industry super funds should lose their default monopoly. Illustration: Rod Clement

John Collett   The chairman of the financial system inquiry, David Murray, is "very pleased" with the government's decision to immediately start work on a plan to dismantle the Fair Work Commission's role in overseeing how employers and unions negotiate employees' default superannuation fund.

SUPER & FUNDS

Australians pay too much in super fees

Many retail super funds are grabbing too much money in fees.

John Collett   The $2 trillion superannuation industry is a gravy train for the financial services industry.

TIP OF THE WEEK

SMSF benefits after you die

A self-managed super fund can have benefits even after you die.

Michael Hutton   A self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) can provide you with excellent estate-planning benefits.