Using drier lint instead of cotton swabs, home dentistry and free range guinea pigs. When does extreme budgeting go too far?

New Zealand's challenge is to boost exports to this rapidly urbanising nation, writes Brian Gaynor.

Japan, Canada and the US are united in pushing NZ to ditch its demands for better dairy export access to their protected markets, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Air New Zealand says its experience with Warner Bros and The Hobbit helped it secure rights to the Sony Pictures movie Men In Black for the airline's latest safety video.

So-called independent teeth-gnashing, hair-shirt inquiries into dysfunctional court sentencing and offender monitoring are a waste of time and money, writes Jock Anderson.

In light of the stress the dairy industry is under right now, they really do need to take the longer-term view that they say they are taking, writes Brian Fallow.

The Financial Markets Authority is hammering home the message that it means business on issues such as market manipulation and insider trading.

Robyn Pearce offers some proactive time management tips for working parents.

A company's share price doesn't tell us anything about whether it's expensive or cheap and, if anything, it should be taken as a sign of a strong track record of performance, writes Mark Lister.

The Australian government launched a parliamentary inquiry into home ownership in May, hoping to get to the bottom of its alleged housing affordability problem, writes David Chaplin.

When it comes to choosing how much risk to take while investing, I can't help but think of relationships. Call me a romantic if you like.

Research shows that talking only about features has absolutely no impact on making a sale. Here are tips that do make an impact.

Nathan Tinkler was Australia's youngest billionaire - now he faces bankruptcy as his coal empire collapses.

The 'global savings glut theory' has been around since 2005 when US central banker Ben Bernanke started talking about it, writes Bernard Hickey.

The rules around KiwiSaver withdrawals are there to ensure the money chipped in by taxpayers is put to good use and ensures Kiwis benefit in retirement.

Much of the available loans it will offer will likely pass straight to banks to meet debt-servicing costs, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Winners pay off their debt in full each month, so they never pay any interest. If you're not in a position to do that, please - stop using your card.

It is not only Southlanders who can breathe a sigh of relief that the Tiwai Pt smelter received a stay of execution this week, writes Brian Fallow.

Radio New Zealand has taken Mary Wilson off air to make room for a new show "with a visual element" featuring John Campbell, writes John Drinnan.

Weird things are said when lawyers gather. Jock Anderson looks behind the scenes of the legal profession.

Personal finance columnist David Chaplin takes you through a day in life on.... Pluto.

There are many downsides to open plan offices. Time and productivity columnist Robyn Pearce explains.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson's verbal sharp-shooting skills were put to good effect at the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministerial negotiations in Maui.

Tech blogger Juha Saarinen reviews Microsoft's new software, Windows 10, after attending a launch event in Sydney.

In the PC world I generally knew the answer. Here I knew nothing. I was a fish out of water and up a creek without a paddle, writes Chris Barton.

Benchmarks are relatively important to investors: without them the performance figures churned out by fund managers dissolve into random floating numbers, writes David Chaplin.

It could be a better way of making a sales presentation, creating repeat sales, generating referral business or resolving customer concerns.

Tom Hartmann takes a moment to look at a fundamental of investing: how soon you need your money back.

Two autopilot tricks you can set up so business opportunities come to your inbox daily, writes Debbie Mayo Smith.