Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2025/January 2026 i Money Magazine

AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES ALFA Access a cutting-edge, high conviction actively managed Australian equities strategy that seeks to outperform the S&P/ ASX 200. MVW/GMVW Avoid the concentration of the S&P/ASX 200 via an equal weighted Australian equities portfolio. Geared option also available. GOLD NUGG Invest in gold bullion without the hassle of storage. NUGG invests in physical gold bullion sourced from Australian mines with the gold held at The Perth Mint. Investors can also convert their ETF holdings to physical gold bullion. GDX A portfolio of global large to mid-sized global gold mining companies with one trade on ASX. Gold mining companies’ fortunes are inextricably linked to the price of gold bullion. EMERGING MARKETS EMKT A diversified portfolio of emerging markets companies included on the basis of value, low size, momentum, and…

TOM WATSON Senior journalist I love a good puzzle. I start almost every day by taking a crack at the crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee (my favourite). A few years ago, I would have laughed at the idea of paying for unrestricted access to these puzzles. But given that my NYT Games subscription has already given me hours of entertainment, the $14.99 annual fee I paid feels like great value. Especially as it was half price. Sadly, I’ve still not solved the Wordle in one. Tom’s story about retiring overseas in on page 38. NICOLA FIELD Contributor As a diehard bargain lover who refuses to pay full price for just about anything, I scored some great deals in a2025. The adrenalin rush of the bed linen reduced to $8, down…

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Thursday, December 4 Balance of trade Tuesday, December 9 RBA interest rate decision Friday, December 12 Westpac consumer confidence Thursday, December 18 Unemployment rate Friday, December 26 Cotality dwelling prices We live in an age where we’re asked to divulge a small mountain of personal information every time we sign up for a new account online or order breakfast via a QR code menu at a café. Yet it’s still commonplace for companies to keep salaries under lock and key. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been substantial movement on disclosure and the salary transparency front in recent years. In 2023, pay secrecy clauses were banned in new employment contracts, giving Australians the right to discuss salaries with their colleagues – something that 43% of workers…

BOOK OF THE MONTH NO OTHER SUCCESS by Jim Penman (jimpenman.com.au) Money means nothing without family, purpose and values is the takeaway from author Jim Penman, founder of Jim’s Group, in his brutally honest memoir. In this book, he redefines success, challenging the widespread belief that money and status are the ultimate goals in life. Penman built his empire starting with a $25 lawnmower and turning a simple business idea into a $600 million-plus franchise and the largest and most successful franchise chain in the Southern Hemisphere. His book offers invaluable insights into achieving success in all areas of life. Five readers can win a copy. In 25 words or less, tell us why you’d like to read this book. Enter online at moneymag.com.au/win or send entries to Money, Success,…

MORE MONEY STORIES ON P30-45 Parents are forking out thousands of dollars each year in participation and equipment costs to ensure that their children can play sport and other recreational activities, a new report from e-commerce firm Net World Sports has revealed. The report, which analysed data from the Australian Sports Commission’s 2024 AusPlay Survey, noted that dancing was by far and away the most expensive activity for kids, with an average annual participation cost (not including equipment) of $1439. Dancing was followed by tennis ($813) and cricket ($803), while other popular team sports like soccer ($543), netball ($353) and AFL ($256) were significantly cheaper. While some parents are able to shoulder the expense, that’s not always the case. Behind not liking physical activity (19.3%), the report notes that not…

Australia’s property market is heating up again, with home values rising at their fastest pace in more than two years. New figures from Cotality report that national dwelling values jumped 1.1% in October, the strongest monthly lift since mid-2023, pushing the annual growth rate to 6.1%. That translates to an extra $10,000 on the typical capital city home in just one month, and almost $54,000 added since February. “Before the February rate cut, housing conditions were losing momentum,” says Cotality research director Tim Lawless. “But that move marked a clear turning point, and since then, values have been gathering steam across most regions.” The rebound has been broadbased. Perth led the charge with a 1.9% rise, followed by regional Western Australia and Queensland. Demand has also been fuelled by the…

CASE STUDY Hi Paul, my partner and I, both 24 years old, have just purchased our first property together – a unit in Sydney – with the help of the government’s first-home buyer scheme. We were often told that now was the right time to buy, and after a seven-month search, we decided to take the plunge. We both work full-time and are already thinking ahead – our goal is to build a property portfolio and purchase a second property within the next two years. We have a dog – Amora, a three-year-old Border Collie, so upsizing to a home with a backyard – and more bedrooms – is a priority for us. We understand we’ll need to stay in our current property for at least a year before considering…

Planning ahead is the key to a successful long-distance family relationship while keeping costs down. 1 Book flights in advance Booking in advance can help you lock in a good deal. If you want to visit at peak season times for holidays such as Christmas or Easter or other festivities, book as early as you can to snare special fares. 2 Research accommodation Look for ways to save during your stay. Opting for accommodation with cooking facilities, rather than a hotel, means you can save on eating out by shopping and cooking your own meals whenever possible. Airbnb is a great place to start. If a hotel is your stay of choice, look at different booking sites, such as Booking.com, to find one offering discounts or including breakfast in the…

Before you start earning, make sure you’ve covered the fine print. James Hayes says this includes: Tax All rental or side income must be declared. Keep records for deductions. Capital gains tax (CGT) Using part of your home for income may affect your CGT exemption. Insurance Standard home insurance often excludes commercial use. Notify your insurer and consider extra cover. Regulations Check council zoning and local by-laws before you start. Advice Speak to a financial adviser or accountant to understand your tax and insurance obligations.…

Dividends have a certain magic about them. They arrive quietly, without fanfare, yet they’re one of the most tangible rewards of investing – a little ‘thank you’ note from the companies you own, deposited into your account a couple of times each year. For many Australians, especially retirees, those dividends aren’t just a nice bonus. They’re the point. It’s easy to see why. Our dividend imputation, ‘franking’ system, remains one of the most generous in the world, meaning we’re not taxed twice – and potentially providing a refund if the company has paid more tax than we’re obliged to, personally. Add to that the Australian market’s long tradition of steady, fully franked payouts, and it’s no wonder we’re a nation of dividend devotees. There’s the option of term deposits, but…

Examining a marketplace that offers consumers a range of financial products is an important role for any independent organisation, including Rainmaker, publisher of Money. Rainmaker has again applied its quantitative expertise to analyse market data and examine hundreds of product providers and thousands of products, choices and options over a period of up to 10 years. Reviewing each market segment requires a different approach and the sections below describe how it was done. Superannuation Superannuation assets now exceed $4.3 trillion, and member balances represent a sizable component of aggregate household wealth. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data at June 2025 shows more than half of superannuation industry assets are invested by industry super funds (36%) (‘profit to members’ funds) and retail super funds (20%) (‘for profit’ or ‘commercial super…

BEST PENSION FUND GOLD WINNER UNISUPER DANI MURRIE Chief marketing and growth officer Australians’ super savings are on track to become the second largest globally (behind the US), surpassing the British and Canadian systems by the early 2030s. It goes to show the sheer scale of our national super system, and when it comes to managing that money in retirement, UniSuper takes out our top award. In the competitive pension fund market, UniSuper is no stranger to success. The fund also took out this award each year from 2023 to 2025. It’s an impressive track record – one that shows UniSuper is ticking a lot of boxes for helping members make the most of their money in retirement. UniSuper chief marketing and growth officer, Dani Murrie describes UniSuper’s point of…

Getting the best possible wines for the most reasonable prices is a constant concern for most of us and one that Money is determined to address in our guide to the best reds, whites and rosés under $30. We review top quality wines that meet this criteria. As well as three wines for special occasions. While some of us consider good wine a necessity with our evening meal and others just something we look forward to after a hard’s days work, we are united in our view that we want to drink the best quality at the fairest possible price. In life, balance is important and so Money offers three outstanding wines (a bubbly, white and a red) for those searching for an expensive present or a top wine for…

HERE'S HOW TO WIN Money and Dymocks are giving one lucky reader the complete set of 10 books, valued at approximately $300, featured here. To enter, simply tell us your top money tip for 2026. Enter online at moneymag.com.au/win or send entries to Summer Reads, Money, Level 7, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Entries open November 24, 2025, and close January 28, 2026. FICTION THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTUNE Richard Osman It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club, but now there’s a wedding to plan. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favourite criminal. But when Elizabeth meets a wedding guest who’s in trouble, a kidnapping and death are…

Welcome to the Best of the Best edition for 2026. This doublestrength issue does the financial hard yards for you, identifying the best performing, and best-value, financial services from superannuation to banking, ETFs and managed funds right through to common household expenses such as internet and mobile, insurance, new cars, even treats such as good books and fine wines. You may see Money as a monthly print and daily online publication, but I want to reveal our super power. The fact is that Money is owned by a far greater global financial-intelligence company called ISS STOXX. It’s a governance, proxy adviser and financial intelligence business. Part of the secret to our success is that we can call on the deep expertise of a number of departments within the group. For…

Are you an AI sceptic or AI shy? Read on because the recent South x Southwest Sydney (SXSW) program, a five-day annual think fest of innovators, creators, and tech movers and shakers, had some salient points that may change your thinking. Tickets to SXSW cost around $1000; so I’m going to short-circuit that cost and share some top-line information from people in the know. One of the headline speakers was Mo Gawdat, a software engineer and the former chief business officer at Google X; he helped create early AI tools. He wrote the first of four bestselling books, Solve for Happiness, Engineer Your Path to Joy, after the sudden death of his son in 2014. He is considered to be one of tech’s nice guys. He said to think about…

You may not realise it, but the operating system for modern work was invented in 1760 by a group of men in curly wigs who needed humans to tend machines in new buildings called ‘factories’. They taught us to think in pipes; materials in, goods out. It was all about control, consistency and predictability. Perfect for keeping machines efficient, less so for keeping humans inspired. Because if you build a system that requires conformity, creativity becomes an enemy that must be exterminated, root and branch. And because humans love passing on ideas, that same operating system still runs quietly in the minds of you and your teams while you work. But today’s workplace isn’t a pipe. It’s a tangle of feedback loops, shared intelligence and global teams solving problems together.…

Mobile and internet customers lodged 57,592 complaints against telecommunications companies in the 2024-25 financial year – up 1.6% on the previous year. That’s according to the latest data released by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). Mobile services accounted for 44.7% of the total complaints received, followed by internet services (40.2%) and multiple services (7.2%). Unsurprisingly given their market share, Telstra and Optus accounted for nearly two-thirds of complaints – both recorded drops compared to the previous year. TIO Cynthia Gebert says that while the relatively stable complaint numbers are encouraging, there are areas of concern. One major pain point for customers is the reliability of mobile services, with the TIO noting that reports from Australians without a working mobile service increased by roughly 70% in 2024-25. “We’re seeing more people…

You know James, my family and friends often ask why, after more than 40 years of answering people’s questions on TV, radio and in Money magazine, at the age of 70 I still enjoy doing this. The answer is that I love hearing people’s stories and having a crack at answering their questions. Sure, I don’t get a lot of information in a hundred or so words, but I feel that I get the essence of what is happening in people’s lives. We all have different challenges with our personal finances. There are many ups and downs in life and one way or another, money plays a part. This is normal life. I try to answer based on the practicalities of money, but I also try to bring my own…

In National Seniors Australia chief executive Chris Grice’s experience, the profile of an Australian retiring abroad tends to be someone who’s younger, wealthier and in relatively good health. But that’s not always the case. “Somewhat of an emerging trend, if I can call it that, is that we’re seeing people who are looking at aged care options in other countries. Especially people trying to maximise their retirement savings. “These days for a residential aged care place in Australia you’re looking at around $750,000 for the RAD [refundable accommodation deposit], which might mean that you’ve got to sell your home. “Whereas you may be able to get care in a country like Thailand and just pay a monthly fee.” Grice is aware of a number of Australians setting up aged care…

Investors are often told to leave their emotions at the door, as if good decisions are made by people who feel nothing. Yet emotion is not a flaw in our financial wiring, it is the engine of it. Every trade, every risk, every hesitation is shaped by feelings, whether we notice them or not. The real danger is not emotion itself, but the hidden emotional bruises from our past that quietly distort judgement. If you want to be a smarter investor, you do not need to switch emotion off. You need to understand it well enough to stop it steering you off the road. I often hear people advise others to ‘take the emotion out of investing’. The intent is sound, but the statement is wrong and creates blind spots.…

The expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS), as of October 1, 2025, aims to support all Australian first-home buyers by removing place limits and income caps, and increasing property price limits. This means an unlimited number of eligible buyers could benefit, says Housing Australia. The former version of the scheme has significant runs on the board, supporting one in three first-home buyers in the 2023-24 financial year, with 230,000 property purchasers supported overall, according to Housing Australia. But it’s not all upside. While the HGS scheme may help you buy your first home sooner, you need to keep in mind that a smaller deposit means a bigger loan. And a bigger loan means bigger loan repayments, as well as higher total interest payments over the life of the loan. The changes…

Don’t know? No, you don’t know, because there wasn’t one specific reason for the 1987 crash. When the dam cracks, you don’t go looking at the first drop that came through the first crack and analyse it, it serves no purpose, because the reason the dam cracked was that before the 1987 crash, the All Ordinaries Index went up from 1094 to 2306 in 14 months. It went up 110%. That was an average annual return every month for more than a year. So what cracked the equity markets and caused the crash in October 1987 was not a specific event, it was a build-up of pressure over a long period of time. That’s what eventually broke the market, and in London it happened like this. In 1987 we were…

Australian investors can choose from almost 400 exchange traded funds (ETFs). While this is great for investors, it can be hard distinguishing the merits of different fund managers. Our Best ETF Manager award sorts through the crowd, and this year, the top accolade goes to US-based BlackRock Investment Management. BlackRock may not be a household name in Australia, but it is a global powerhouse of investing. The largest fund manager in the world, BlackRock manages $US11.6 trillion ($17.7 billion) across the globe. To put this in perspective, the market value of the entire listed Australian sharemarket is $3.3 trillion. In Australia, BlackRock’s suite of ETFs trade under the iShares brand. Steve Ead, head of global product solutions, BlackRock Australasia, says BlackRock brings global scale and deep investment expertise to Australian…

Marion Mays Marion is the founder of Money Strong, a coaching business that blends behavioural psychology, financial education and mentorship to help individuals and corporations. She is a certified money coach, a role that sits between a financial adviser and a financial counseller. Marion has more than 30 years in the finance world, banking, asset recovery, property and consumer lending. Q Tell us about your early years. What were your formative money experiences? I am the youngest of many children and I grew up in a working class family – not that I knew it really as we had everything we needed, including a stable home, organic homemade food and new clothes when we needed them. I grew up with two belief systems that my mum and dad modelled for…

With the growth of the sharing economy, many Australians are turning to platforms such as Airbnb to earn extra income. While it can be a lucrative venture, it’s important to understand the tax implications to avoid unwanted surprises at tax time. Any money you earn from Airbnb hosting is considered assessable income and must be declared on your tax return. This applies whether you’re renting out an entire property, a spare room, or even just occasionally listing your home. The ATO receives data directly from Airbnb, so leaving it out of your return isn’t an option. You can generally claim deductions for expenses that directly relate to the rental activity. These might include a portion of your mortgage interest, council rates, utilities, cleaning costs, repairs, depreciation on furniture and Airbnb…

SHADY TALK Breville - Eye Q 870 Auto Could it be the greatest innovation since sliced bread? The Eye Q 870 Auto toaster cooks according to colour not time, with sensors scanning each piece of toast 10 times a second. The toast shade selector feature allows users to choose from seven shade options to pinpoint their desired toast colour. Breville suggests this feature gives toast a more consistent result, and there’s a specific mode for sourdough. The Eye Q 870 Auto comes in a choice of four colours. Cost From $469 GROUND RULES MiiCoffee - DF83V Variable Speed Single Dose Coffee Grinder Coffee lovers who are serious about making a quality cup at home understand the important of a top-tier grinder. This pricey coffee grinder offers a level of control…

Need Paul's help? Send your questions to: Ask Paul, Money magazine, Level 7, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 or money@moneymag.com.au. Paul can’t personally answer your questions other than in the Q&A column. By submitting your question to Money, you consent to having your question and the response you receive from Paul published in the print and digital edition of Money. Mark and his wife are considering a reverse mortgage. Do your research and understand how this debt will compound over time Q Hi Paul, my wife is 60 and I’m 57. We both work permanent jobs, me full-time and my wife permanent part-time. There are some companies saying we can access a reverse mortgage loan from age 55. Can you offer advice on this and recommend a suitable broker?…

Most of us encourage our grownup children to travel to broaden their world and encourage independence. Sometimes they meet a love interest or land a dream job on the other side of the world and end up not coming back home. It happened to me. I was backpacking in Scotland and met an American in a queue at the tourist information office, then we met again on the same train north. We kept in touch over the years and visited each other in our home countries. He proposed on one of his visits and I decided to move to the US, said goodbye to my family and friends, quit my great job, sold my car and gave away my washing machine. Making the move About 600,000 Australians born in Australia…

The festive season has arrived bringing with it its usual dilemmas: how to find the perfect gift for family members. Get it right and it will be joyfully received, get it wrong and it will go down like a lead balloon. Sometimes cash turns out to be the perfect gift. Eye-watering property prices and high rents have outstripped the younger generation’s ability to save enough for a home deposit. But rather than simply giving cash, consider helping a young person by contributing to their voluntary super contributions. First Home Super Saver scheme The First Home Super Saver scheme (FHSS) has the potential to give young fund members a meaningful leg up and see them owning their own home sooner. The scheme allows fund members to make personal voluntary contributions of…

Put all of that together and one company stands out. It owns some of Australia’s best known retail brands – Supercheap Auto, Rebel, BCF, and Macpac – and it has quietly built a reputation for operational excellence. Its debt levels are reasonable, its margins are healthy, and its customer base spans everything from essential car parts to outdoor adventures. The business throws off cash, rewards shareholders with fully franked dividends and occasionally sprinkles in a special payout when it can. In an era where term deposits tempt and inflation erodes, I reckon sustainable dividend growth matters more than ever. For investors seeking a blend of income reliability, sensible management and long-term resilience, Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL) is our Best in Breed for 2025.…

Twelve months is a long enough time to transform your finances. That’s the promise and the purpose of our annual Best of the Best issue, designed to be read over a series of sit-ins. We’ve been doing this for more than two decades so some of the names may already be familiar. That’s a good thing – consistency is one of the strengths of our winners. If this is your first time grabbing a copy, it may be a steep learning curve. However, a bite-size approach works. Start with the decisions that can fundamentally reshape your finances – your first home loan or your choice of super fund – and build from there. For those who are further along in their wealth-building journey, we highlight the managed funds and exchange…

When it comes to super funds, Australians are spoilt for choice with 21 industry funds, 57 retail funds and a variety of public service and corporate funds to pick from. This breadth of choice also highlights how difficult it is to take out our top award of Best Super Fund – a title that goes to Hostplus. David Elia, chief executive of Hostplus, says, “We’re incredibly honoured by this recognition – and we see it as a reflection of our commitment to doing the right thing by our members, day in and day out. “Rather than trying to be different for the sake of it, we focus on staying true to our purpose: helping our members retire with dignity and confidence. That means making thoughtful decisions, staying the course on…