Personal Finance

EducationHundreds of schools smashed by disasters

The one-two punch of bushfires and COVID-19 took an immense toll on NSW schools, a new report has found.

Anton Nilsson

New launchInterest grows in WA money matters app

WA-based fintech WeMoney is one of the sector’s newest players but is already making strides to separate itself from the industry giants.

Kate Purnell

Cost pressuresYoung consumers worse off during COVID-19

A growing number of young people are failing to service their debt and missing other payments as the pandemic downturn drags on.

Hannah Ryan

Study tipsHow to choose the right university degree

Many school leavers choose the wrong qualification to study at uni, often pressured into preferences by other people. Here’s what you should do instead.

Cara Jenkin

Instant rewardThird of shoppers forego flight points for vouchers

Australians are opting to cash in credit card points for grocery vouchers and gift cards instead of retaining rewards to spend on flights.

Gerard Cockburn

opinion
opinion
Two halves
opinion
Super system inequities not fit for the future

Paul Keating’s system has done a brilliant job of building healthy nest eggs and is a glorious structure for high income earners and keen savers. But for all that is good, not everyone is equal.

Neale Prior

Warning signsWhiplashed $7tr housing market faces big stress test

While the housing strength is good news for the economy’s recovery further gains risk fuelling the bubble that is destined to pop one day, leaving a trail of bad debts.

Michael Heath

Hip pocket painCredit card customers hit by excessive interest rates

Credit card interest rates have remained extremely high despite the Reserve Bank of Australia slashing the cash rate. Find out the best credit card deals.

Sophie Elsworth

How low to go?Banks in race to bottom to find floor for home loans

It started as a trickle in July, and there’s now a flood of lenders offering home-loan interest rates below 2 per cent.

Anthony Keane

Check it outEasy solution to costly problem of US dividend cheques

Like thousands of other former Alinta Gas investors, Gwelup retiree Mark See gets dividend cheques from US-based Brookfield Infrastructure Partners raging from just a few cents to $US50.

Nick Bruining

OpinionWhat you must do even when not job hunting

Making yourself look employable isn’t something you should do only when you’re looking for work, writes Amanda Rose. Here’s what to do each week.

Amanda Rose

Career tipsWhat job-seekers must do as competition spikes

Competition for work is set to swell as welfare assistance is wound back, but there are ways job-seekers can give themselves a competitive edge.

Melanie Burgess

TOP SELLING ITEMSPerth to splurge but parents spend less on Black Friday

WA parents penny-pinch when compared with the rest of the nation in terms of buying for children on Black Friday — but WA is tipped to record its biggest splurge during the shopping event this year.

Caitlyn Rintoul

Retirement savingsSuper rise a deterrent for hiring: Carnell

Making a decision now on whether to hike compulsory super contributions would be a ‘mistake’, says the small business ombudsman.

Danielle Le Messurier

New safe haven?Bitcoin ‘whales’ take gloss off gold

Bitcoin is seizing the spotlight from gold as a hedge against risks such as further dollar weakness or a pick-up in inflation, after widening its performance lead over the yellow metal.

Joanna Ossinger

‘Catastrophic losses’Sterling First key player cops $100,000 fine and ban

The Federal Court has rubbed out and fined the boss of a failed financial services company that played a key role in the collapsed Sterling First rent-for-life schemes.

Neale Prior

Down againANZ savings cut a ‘hard pill to swallow’

The bank’s savers have been dealt a major blow after savings rates were slashed more than what was handed down by the RBA in a move described as a ‘hard pill to swallow’.

Gerard Cockburn

Doors shutBomb threats close all NAB branches

National Australia Bank branches across the country have been forced into a shutdown over what the big four bank described as a “physical security threat”.

Daniel Newell

Cash lessonsSeven best board games to teach your kids about money

Put that screen away and pull out a board game, and you might just learn some new money skills. Here are the games that count.

Anthony Keane

‘Encouraging sign’Aussies ‘bouncing back’ with surge in loan repayments

Australia’s economy recovery is gathering pace, with two-thirds of all loans deferred now being paid back in full.

Lanai Scarr

Booming marketOne in five missing buy now, pay later repayments

Despite the rising in the number of people using the schemes and a near doubling of the amount of credit extended to consumers, ASIC has not recommended any new consumer protections.

Daniel Newell

Parting waysBudget changes good time to say so long to ATO

For some seniors, some basic planning could mean you never need to interact with the tax office again but you’ll still get your tax refunds.

Nick Bruining

Dining outEasy way to split the bill revealed

Eating out with your mates can cause massive headaches when it comes time to pay. This is how you can do it without overpaying.

Sophie Elsworth

Strong fundamentalsVirus stocks short-sighted: market experts

WA brokers and fund managers are urging caution on the back of excitement around a COVID-19 vaccine, advising people to stick to long-term strategies after travel and transport stocks surged.

Danielle Le Messurier