Traditionally, if you wanted to watch a TV show or movie you pretty much had three choices: you could watch it on free-to-air TV, watch it on cable TV, or rent or buy a DVD.

But there are now more ways than ever to watch TV shows and movies in Australia – at last count there were over 20.

With the advent of the internet, and now the convergence of television and online services, your choices are way beyond what you could have imagine even five years ago.

And you don’t even need to be stuck in front of the television any more. You can now watch television…

Identity theft affects many Australians each and every year, and if your identity is stolen it can have a significant emotional and financial impact on you and your family.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft is the fraudulent practice of someone using your name and other personal information in order to obtain credit, loans, or other financial gain.

Warning signs

There are a few warning signs that you have been a victim of identity theft:

• You get an email, SMS or phone call out of the blue asking to “validate” or…

Free public wifi is readily available and very popular these days, but there are some dangers involved in using it. We take a look at those dangers, the potential costs to you and your privacy, and what you can do to mitigate any potential threats.

The situation

More and more businesses are offering free wifi as a way to entice customers – McDonalds offers it in most of their restaurants, food courts are starting to offer it, even small corner cafes are making it available to their customers.

And in towns and cities throughout Australia, some councils are offering…

Have you ever wondered what inflation is and how it affects you?

Do you wonder why goods and services seem to be getting more expensive, and why prices increase over time?

If so, read on.

What is inflation?

Put simple, inflation is the rate of increase in prices for goods and services. The reverse, a decrease in prices, is called deflation.

Inflation is usually expressed as a percentage rate – example 3% – and represents the average increase of prices…

Christmas is all about family, friends and over-indulging, but this can lead to over-spending.

There are ways to make sure you don’t over-spend however, which are both simple and effective.

Set a (realistic) budget

The first thing you should do is to think about how much you want, or can afford, to spend over the Christmas period. And this should include everything from gifts, to the food you are planning on consuming.

Make a list of everything you need…