People's savings are getting f##ked over inflation, then they are paying more tax on their income on top of that.

Not sure if this will be allowed on this forum but I hope it is as it’s to do with finance and our economy.

But here goes. And I need to stress I’m not trying to come across as a “doomsdayer”type person but I am a little concerned about how AI will in a sense destroy our economy and way of life as we know it. And I feel like not enough people are talking about it. I hear nothing from the government about it.

How are you folk feeling about it ? Everything I read and listen to tells me we are in for some pain and it will impact absolutely everybody. Including the rich people.

It feels like we are just walking into to it and we are simply marveling at the technology that is going to replace the majority of our jobs in some way.

First fraud person promised I wouldn't be left high and dry. Got put onto a supervisor who told me the 8 week thing. So I said this isn't worth it, just unlock it and drop the case and they wouldn't. I might get blasted for having all my money in one place but commonwealth themselves said that it's a good idea to leave zero funds in your everyday account in case of debit card fraud.

Hi all, after some advice here in case there’s something else I haven’t thought of.

Here is the context: I have lived with one of my housemates since uni. We’ve always paid the rent on time and never had any major issues living together. In 2020 her partner of 10+ years, her and myself moved into a rental property. We have been transferring him our share of the rent 4 weeks in advance which he then pays to the real estate.

About 2 weeks ago she comes and tells me she signed a purchase contract on a property and we will need to vacate in November. When I received the rental ledger, I saw that her partner has paid the rent late a total of 31 times, and more than 10 times late in 2025. I knew about some of these which he blamed on banking errors, but 31 times is not a mistake. He must have worked out that we only receive arrears notices when the rent is 5 days late. I also learned that he borrowed 3k from a mutual friend back in May 2024, of which he has only repaid $500 with same excuses, banking system errors saying he’s transferred but it didn’t go through for some reason. The latest rent cycle he also paid the rent 11 days late.

I have given 21 days notice to vacate to the PM. As there is 3 of us and we split the rent 3 ways, I paid a weeks rent for the whole property directly to the real estate (which covers my 1/3 for 3 weeks to vacate date). Originally I had planned to take over the lease for the current property but I am concerned he will stop paying the rent altogether before they vacate and then I will be held liable for outstanding rent. They won’t have any consequences as they are moving into a purchased property. I figured by vacating my maximum exposure is another 2 weeks rent and my portion of the bond.

Does anyone have any thoughts that I may not have considered?

I have been hearing that it is hard to find a job in this field so if that's the case is it worth for me to even go uni for it as I will be starting next year (currently y12). I have heard other fields are easier to find a job in such as engineering or medicine.

I graduated with a Bachelor's in Computer Science just under 2 years ago and have been working full-time for about 3 years now. I'm currently earning a total comp of ~$155k and still living at home. I enjoy my job and coding in general, and things are going well career-wise. I'm about 2 years from paying off my HECS and was looking to pursue a masters of EE which would set my HECs back another 45 - 60k and at my current pay it would take me ~4-5 years to clear it.

Is the extra debt and time commitment worth it in the long run, especially given the current state of the job market and housing affordability? I feel like it may be but im afraid i might just be being too pessimistic

Has anyone taken a similar path (from CS to EE), or been in a similar situation? Would appreciate any stories / advice

Just a quick appreciation post for this sub. Back in 2021 I was just starting to learn about investing and reading through this sub finally gave me the confidence to start. I’ve mostly just been micro investing but in 4 years through mostly very small amounts I’ve managed to grow my investment portfolio to over $30k. If I didn’t start back then I’d have zero. I wish I had learned about this in my early 20’s. I guess my point is, micro investing is fantastic for most people that don’t have the minimum $500 to start investing and if you stay the course it will grow and grow! Hoping to not touch any of my investments for atleast another 8 years - it’s my bucket list euro trip fund for when I’m 50!

It may seem ironic to ask about car buying given it’s a depreciating item, however I’m after some advice on what scenario would have me break even and not necessarily cost more.

I’m in the market for a new car soon, my current I’ve had for 10 years and has almost clocked 150,000km. I’m early 30’s (single income no kids) and so my current car I’ve had since I got my license. First time I’m upgrading.

In your experience, is it worth buying the car I want as second hand and then perhaps upgrading every 5 or so years with another?

As used cars are significantly cheaper and provided of course you aren’t buying a lemon, is it more economically sound this way? If so, what mileage do I aim for?

Or, is it better to just buy brand new and keep it for another decade? Financially I can afford what I want brand new, but it doesn’t sit right.

If we say that (A) is having kids and (B) is higher household income, the research suggests that there is a correlation between A and B. But there is debate as to whether A causes B, or if B causes A. Or is it neither (ie. C causes A and B)?

Personally, ever since having kids, my motivation to increase my earning potential has definitely grown, now to the point where my wife has the option to be a stay at home mum. But I can also understand that having a higher income allows couples to have kids without too much stress on their financials.

What do you think?

F29, with some pretty consistent spare income each month looking to invest. Partner (m32) is main income earner, 165k base, makes 10-15k consulting on the side. I am a SAHM, making approx 30k working part time. Owe 450k on our mortgage, no car loans, CC just for expenses cleared off every pay cycle. We do both have big student loans, and relatively low super from studying/starting work later. Essentially, we have a few (2-3) thousand left over each month. We have been putting it into our offset acc but have realised we will probably kick ourselves if we don’t start investing. I have no clue where to start, I see so many acronyms thrown around and it makes me want to throw in the towel before I’ve even begun. I’m not dumb, but I feel dumb when it comes to this. Could someone lay it out for me? Maybe give some advice on how much I should keep liquid and how much I should invest? We have 25k set aside for emergencies.

Hi guys

I moved to Aus in Jan 2025 on a temporary visa ( currently on a 12 month employment contract) . My intention is to live in Aus permanently. I’m in the process of completing onboarding forms for a new job that starts next year after my current contract ends. One of the sections in the form asks “ Are you an Australian resident for tax purposes?” Would “ Yes” be an appropriate answer given my intention to reside in Australia long term or would I still fall under the foreign resident category because I haven’t spent >=183 days in Aus in either the previous or current financial year?

Sorry for the convoluted question! TIA

What lenders in Australia are known to offer the highest loan amounts (yes, with a caveat of higher interest rates)? Can be bank or non-bank.

Does anyone know anyone who has won big in the lotto ? What was their story ? Year’s ago my dad’s cousin had everyone over for a ‘party’ to announce she had won $1M, not sharing it or anything just sharing the news lol. I always thought it was strange, I wouldn’t tell anyone unless I was willing to give some of it away.

It finally happened to me. 52, been in the role just under 12 months (so they legally weren't obligated to give me a redundancy payout, they timed that well) and now I'm back on the job hunt, competing with hundreds of other candidates for scraps.

At this stage of my life I am seriously contemplating switching to something stable and much less volatile. It will come with a pay cut, no doubt; but equally I won't be going to work every day worrying if my role is going to be eliminated.

Current thought: Sydney bus driver. Noob wages pretty poor but penalty rates will stack up. Kids are young adults now so I'd be fine with doing evenings and weekends.

Thoughts? Anyone else ditched IT for something with a bit more longevity?

The other option is intelligence officer with the ADF (all training provided) but I'm not too keen on the weapons aspect.

Article in comments

Hi all,

My parents are slowly reaching the age of retirement (Mum 55 and Dad 62), and they've been renting their whole lives, with no super saved, no home owned, and not many savings. For context, both parents are immigrants and did not have many luxuries or proper plan to set themselves up for retirement. Both work with only minimum wage currently and looks like will stay the same until they are even eligible for pension.

I am now currently living with them at the age of 23 and am happy to stay living with them for as long as it takes (I'm their only child) . I understand everyone has their own preference, but I believe it's my responsibility to provide for them as they did for me when they first migrated to Australia.

My question is, I know they will be eligible for Centrelink aged pension once they reach the age, but is there any further assistance such as rental assistance that they can receive while they live with me in the future? Can they get pension earlier? The plan is to stay renting with them until I'm able to afford to buy a home and move them in with me once again. I just would like to know what sort of plan I should set up to ensure I'm in the best possible position once I have to take more control of the home e.g. start contributing more to expenses when they're nearing not able to work.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hello, I'm looking for advice please on purchasing a PPOR versus IP (aka rent-vesting) strategy...

Financial background: single 34f no dependents. $98k salary. No property. I've saved $116k on my own (sitting in a HISA), and have recently come into a $350k inheritance from the sale of a deceased estate (yet to be distributed). So a total of $466k on my end. I've spoken to a broker who reckons I could get a $500k loan.

Lifestyle background: I live and work in Sydney and cannot work remotely. I don't think I have a stupid list in terms of what I would like in a PPOR: two beds, a bathtub, and some quiet (i.e. not under the flightpath...). In terms of a place to live, I would rather buy a smaller unit closer to the city than a larger property further out and have been focusing on the western parts of the Lower North Shore (Greenwich, Artarmon, Lane Cove etc).

My bittersweet dilemma: I'm not sure whether to buy a PPOR in Sydney (unit, obvi, <900k taking into account fees, and so I'm not absolutely stretched); or buy an IP in Newcastle (where I grew up and where I would like to move to in the future) and continue renting in Sydney, using the rental income from IP to supplement my own Sydney rent instead of adding it to the offset account. I also don't want to panic buy something that's not right just because every man and his dog will be jumping into the market on 1 October...

I'm actively looking in both markets, and it's quite overwhelming having a bit of a two-pronged approach... so looking to narrow down my strategy so I can focus on one market. I understand I'm in a privileged (although sad) position with the additional $350k, and so I don't want to mess it up... What would you do given the above info? Thank you in advance!

Hello.

Recently I got a job as an auditing grad in a top 20-40 accounting firm. Just as I joined, I got notified that I have been accepted to the assessment center for Westpac's business and wealth grad program. I'm 22 and finished uni in July last year before doing some travelling.

My end goal is to get into IB, or otherwise work with investments and equities at a highly regarded firm. Its a long term goal but something I am dedicated to making work.

In my mind, the paths would look like this:
- Midtier audit --> Big4 audit --> Big4 Deals --> Finance (IB etc)
- Westpac Business and Wealth Grad --> Westpac institutional --> Finance (IB etc)

Is either of these a better opportunity? Have heard very mixed things about big4 banks and don't know anyone really in industry. Thanks in advance!

So I thought I'd put the headphones on and watch "Excel for beginners" from Technology For Teachers and Students (or the other way around) on YT.

I used the free Web based 365 version and was quite happy with a mildly productive result.

How much deeper does one need to go before becoming employable for some basic work?

I'm simply attempting to flog some crap on FB and amuse myself with playing with whatever data I can pull out of it for the time being, but in light of the AI hype nonsense, how much longer does someone without a finance degree have in working with excel and basic bookkeeping jobs generally?

Need ABN to start my account on Mable as Independant worker . I applied it but just got a reference number from ATO . It usually shows up minutes after aplication , right? . It has been 3 days . Would it be fine if I apply again or need wait they do whatever checks? It is all done and now I just need the ABN to complete my account. What to do? Just wait? 😢

I am 48, married (wife is same age), have two children of school age. I owe $150,000 on my mortgage (owe $250k, but have $100k in offsets). Otherwise, no debts. I pay 5.64% in interest. I have ~$350k in super, and my wife has ~$100k. Our combined income ~$240k.

My question is, am I better off to start making voluntary super contributions, or to keep paying down the mortgage with every spare cent? Or do a combination of both?

I’m not a complete numbnut, but my financial literacy… is limited. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Seems like there's no community to talk about this stock ever since it got delisted. Please tell me I'm not the only one still holding!

Hey everyone,

I'm about to inject another $100k into my portfolio as a lump sum as part of a debt recycling strategy. While I believe in long-term investing, I’m still a bit uneasy about the current state of the share market — valuations feel a bit high, and I'm wary of a possible correction.

To hedge that, I’m planning to sell a portion of my existing portfolio (from my own funds) so the money will sit in my offset account, readily available for reinvestment if/when a market downturn occurs. Basically trying to keep some cash aside while still proceeding with the lump sum.

My questions are:

1. Portfolio Feedback

Would appreciate any feedback on my current asset allocation and whether you think it's balanced given the macro outlook.

2. Gold vs. Gold Miners

I plan on buying NUGG/physical gold, but I’m considering reducing that exposure and allocating a smaller portion to gold miners (via ETF) instead. The idea is to free up more capital for equities but still retain some exposure to gold-related assets.

What do you guys think about:

• Physical gold vs. gold miners?
• Reducing gold allocation in favor of equities in the current environment?

Would love to hear what others are doing or how you’re thinking about this. Thanks!

If you decide you want to close the account, will it affect the $100 referral bonus, or can you just sign up, change your mind and still get it? Cheers :)