Our experts

MARCUS PADLEY

Marcus is a stockbroker and author of sharemarket newsletter Marcus Today. Marcus says: “For a hopelessly busy person I am a sucker for anything that will improve my productivity and get me home a bit earlier. The Apple pencil and iPad Pro, for instance. Dictation software. Any clever technology that saves time and improves quality, I’ll pay for!”

ANNETTE SAMPSON

Annette has written extensively on personal finance. Annette says: “I seem to walk into shops and say, ‘I like that one’, only to find it costs twice as much as what I’d planned to spend and there are plenty of cheaper options. Of course, I then convince myself it’s worth the money as it’s a ‘long-term investment’!”

DAVID BASSANESE

David is chief economist at BetaShares. David says: “It would be buying more ebooks than I seem capable of reading. Amazon is very good at making suggestions and prices are enticingly low – and it’s just too easy to click-buy and add to the library of books you mean to read ‘one day’. Luckily I have Amazon stock within the managed funds I own!”

NICOLA FIELD

Nicola is a regular contributor. Nicola says: “All my life I’ve owned horses, and by following the maxim ‘Life is short, just buy the damn horse’ I now have not one but nine hungry mouths to feed. I’m forever trotting off to the saddlery for the latest horsey must-have but, heck, we certainly save on garden fertiliser.”

Money STEPH NASH

Steph is staff writer at Money. Steph says: “Glassware, tea cups and teapots. I have a slight obsession with this stuff, especially if it’s vintage. Unfortunately I live in a studio apartment, so I’ve sacrificed a lot of my space with stuff I can’t even use because my apartment’s so small.”

ANTHONY O’BRIEN

Anthony is a founding director of marketing strategy and content agency Corpwrite Australia. Anthony says: “When it comes to money weaknesses, I don’t have any. However, my wife Carren freely admits she is working hard to create a few chinks in the savings armour.”