Laine Gordon

Young drivers paying less to insure

Despite a long-held belief that young drivers make more claims on car insurance and pay the highest premiums, new research has revealed that the cost for young people to insure a vehicle is falling.

First retire, and then have kids

Forget retirement at age 65; a frugal group of thirty-somethings are retiring, relatively wealthy, to the envy of their peers.

Rental gone sour

Pet tarantulas, freeloading friends, amateur band practice in the living room; many of us have experienced living with a housemate from hell. Nevertheless a rental squeeze is pushing more Australians towards sharing leased accommodation to better afford a home in a convenient location, with more appeal and better amenities.

"Hacktivism" is on the rise

Two-thirds of Australians think it's unlikely they will be victims of a cyber-attack, an Australian SCAN social trend survey has revealed. So much so, that fewer than half of us ever bother to change our passwords or update anti-virus software.

ATM fees hit indigenous communities hardest

A financial counselling organisation is calling for ATM fees to be scrapped in remote Indigenous communities after it was reported that some Aboriginal people were spending up to 20 percent of their incomes on ATM fees.

Why wait? Buy now with little deposit

Despite reports that Australians are living in some of the largest homes in the world, new research shows the average Aussie can no longer afford to buy the average house.

Rate cut could mean $55m boost for retail

Over $50 million per month of additional retail spending could be freed up if the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut the official cash rate by just 25 basis points, new figures from RateCity show.

Dirty, filthy money

If there was ever an argument for a 'cashless society' this may be it; germs on money could be making us sick. New research has revealed that some bank notes contain more than six times the contamination levels of a public toilet.

Could you go a year without shopping?

Many Australians are very good at buying and accumulating stuff and, unlike generations before us, not so good at re-using and repairing old stuff. But if it meant giving your bank balance – and the planet – a boost, could you go without shopping for one year?

Soggy heist: car buyers beware

Australians shopping on the used-car market are being warned against potential rip-offs as thousands of water-damaged vehicles flood the market.