A fully loaded list

Have you ever written a grocery list and left the shops feeling chuffed because you’ve crossed off all the items as you had planned? That’s what it felt like after we assembled the articles in this edition. Kicking off with the list of winners in the annual Consumer Finance Awards, we hope to prepare you for the new financial year with a roll call of the top institutions you can choose from when you’re reviewing your home loans, investment loans and more.

Our cover story, “Good debt, bad debt” (page 32), guides you through the ways you can make debt work for you. With interest rates so low, it’s a great time to be a borrower, especially if you’ve been a strong saver. Once you’ve read it, check out our story on housing affordability and how to make inflation work for you when interest rates start to turn (page 78).

Superannuation is a key pillar of a good retirement plan and we want to make sure you take advantage of the changes that have kicked in since the federal budget (page 88).

As well as property, we always keep a tab on the latest in the sharemarket. If you’re looking to invest, our “7 ETFs for a changed world” is a good place to start, or consider Max Riaz’s stance that while gold may be a classic investment choice, there’s a case to be made for silver (page 87).

But not everything is hunky-dory when it comes to money. We put fund managers to the test in David Thornton’s special feature on the poor performance of actively managed funds (page 84), while Susan Hely tackles overspending (page 76) and Marcus Padley explains how an SMSF could ruin your life (page 98).

Above all, Money is a big fan of capital preservation, and of the importance of investing slowly but surely rather than taking unnecessary risks. Paul Clitheroe writes about this in his must-read “If it looks too good to be true …” (page 68).

All these and more – the shopping list is done and dusted. We hope we’ve got you well stocked up and ready to get closer to your personal money goals.