Your Money Magazine Australia - Investing, Banking, Insurance, Saving Money

Why put up with a dinosaur bank account?

If you’re still paying bank fees, you’ve got the wrong account. More bank accounts are claiming to be totally fee-free and some of them are excellent, low-cost alternatives for day-to-day banking. So why not switch?

Store credit cards: Is a $100 gift card worth a $20,000 debt?

Look at the ads and you’ll think that by having a store credit card – the Woolworths Everyday Money MasterCard, for example – you get lots of free stuff. The truth, though, is that they’re very poor value for most customers.

Shrink your power bills by $5,000 each year

Battle the bills and help the environment by following six simple steps to reduce your carbon footprint.

Don’t switch loans without crunching the numbers

Forget about refinancing your home loan unless the new lender can offer a loan with a rate that’s at least 0.75-0.8% lower than your existing deal. Here’s why.

Small box, big returns: investing in a granny flat

With the property market slowing down, a granny flat can be a great way to yield 24% in rental income with minimum investment.

Got kids with investment income? Beware the tax man!

If you have a son or daughter under 18, you need to check the amount of interest and income they earn in any one financial year. Otherwise, they could get into trouble if they don’t fill out a tax return and pay tax.

Hey girl, you need more super

If you’re a woman you’ll need to work harder and longer to avoid poverty in old age because, on average, you have a super balance that’s $78,000 lower than the average male’s.