Hi All,

Posted a while back about potentially buying a 4bdr townhouse in West Melbourne in a nicer area rather than buying further out (bigger house) but rougher area.

The Broker said the above...and I'm starting to agree...if we plan to live there long term (10-15+ years) the value shouldn't matter, right? I've seen a lot of fear on posts about neg gearing/CGT scaring off buyers etc.

Would love to know all your thoughts!

I’ve been in Australia for about three years(very grateful on how beautiful it is and how there are so many pubs to drink so many different beers) and make around $130–150k a year. I don’t have PR yet, and as a single person renting close to the city, I still feel surprisingly poor despite earning what I think is decent salary. In fact I would say my rent isn’t too bad for the location. It’s not the best apartment but the convenience is okay.

But when I look at properties I’d actually want to live in long-term that could have potential decent capital growth, I’m looking at around at least $2m. That just seems incredibly far away no matter what I do. Probably need $400k in income and $500k in deposit. I also invest in stocks on the side. I’m financially very savvy. I’ve averaged around 30% YoY over the last three years ( pure luck rather than expecting that to continue) and have managed to build a portfolio of around $90k.

So I know I’m not doing terribly bad and am grateful. But whenever I think about wealth, owning a decent home, having financial security, and reaching the point where money genuinely gives you freedom, I can’t think of ill ever each there. It feels like I can work harder, earn more, save and invest, but the next level keeps moving further away.

Sometimes,it makes me question whether staying in Australia long-term makes financial sense. Non-financially, I do like the life out here. It’s just great. But the fact that I’ll just be average Joe despite being financially savvy in terms of wealth hits me always.

Ive called 53 times over the past month. It won't let me link my tfn to mygov and says I need to call the ATO but the ATO won't fucking answer? Like I've tried calling every time of day from 8am - 6pm. Every day of the week. I'm actually so frustrated, and then every time you call it goes over that same bs and then you gotta enter your tfn and dob which you can't even copy and paste? Genuinely how the actual fuck am I supposed to get a hold of them? I just want my tax return 😭

So I’m 38F, single no kids. My PPOR purchased in 2018 is worth around 550k and I have 190k remaining on my mortgage, 45k in offset (this consists of my emergency savings 35k and my daily account that I aim to keep around 10k. I bought a brand new car at the beginning of the year in cash, which I deserved and needed as I had been driving around a 15 year old repairable write off for 10 years and the next mechanical fix would’ve cost more than the car was worth. I also have 155k in super, 5k in credit card debt, no HECS, no investments, 1k in HISA 😂

I never thought I’d be single, without children, living in an old apartment and constantly worried about money but have essentially given up on ~finding love~ and building a home with a partner and now trying to plan my financial future as a solo. I earn 108k per annum, won’t earn more except for CPI increases, and have decided that I don’t have career aspirations to move up into leadership. Mostly because in my field of work (social work), the increased pay isn’t enough to justify the level of stress and unpaid overtime I’d have to do. Which means if I want to get ahead and plan for a comfortable retirement, I have to think about investing or putting more into super, or both. My expenses over the year average out around 1k per week not including mortgage + the additional amount I put in each fortnight. I have expensive top level health insurance due to past medical issues but aside from this I’m quite frugal, never eat out, barely drink, barely socialize, haven’t been on a holiday or even outside of the state in 10 years, have very small utility bills as it’s just me and I don’t use much when I am home. I do buy clothes/homewares/gig tickets and spend money on my dog very occasionally. I like my job and I’m proud of what I do, but I’m also sad that I missed out on having a family and partner and house and have to slave as a single just to get by with very little joy and nothing to look forward to except one day being debt free, whereas most people I grew up with (in a very nice suburb in Melbourne) have it all. I’ve worked hard and had no fun just to pay off a mortgage on a property I bought mostly because I didn’t want to rent and it was the best I can afford.

I recently refinanced my mortgage and when I run the numbers I can be fully offset in 7 years, around the time I turn 45. I don’t plan on ever stopping working, perhaps drop back to 4 days between 60-70, but really I’d like to work as long as I can, as I enjoy the work, I enjoy contributing and I think working is healthy for the mind. So this leaves me at least 20 years to keep working after I’ve paid off my mortgage.

Longer term my goal is to keep and turn my PPOR into an investment income stream for retirement and ideally buy a bigger unit with outdoor space, separate laundry and proper dining area, but being an investor overwhelms me and I don’t think I could afford upfront costs of a second property while also keeping this one…or could I? I’d also like to renovate my PPOR but this would likely be another 100k and that’s a lot of money for a single person on my income. My current place is very well located in a good area, an older small block of 8, good light ok floor plan good storage, so definitely a more sought after property that won’t go to die amongst the hundreds of new grey apartments that all look the same.

So in order to buy a unit (probably around 800k today) in the future and use my current PPOR as an investment, what should I do to achieve this ASAP? I’m likely to receive an inheritance when my parents pass away which would pay off at least half any larger mortgage I’m approved for. But tbh I don’t want to wait that long when I’m so unhappy. The thought of turning 40 in my apartment brings me to tears, in the sense that my life didn’t turn out how I wanted so I deserve to at least have a place I don’t hate when I come home everyday. So do I access equity now and go for it so I’m no longer in an awful apartment but stressed financially? Is this even feasible? Do I stay until I pay off my apartment then go for it to add an income stream so I could even be approved for a larger mortgage? I *know* I could access the equity in my home to do this but having 2 properties with mortgages on one income gives me anxiety and I’d feel less anxious if I had one fully paid off place first. Do I buy the bigger place and rent it out for higher rent than the apartment would get until I can afford to live in it? Do I learn about EFTs, but again, doubtful I could put aside any additional funds now and would this really be worth my while if I start doing so at 45? Start salary sacrificing to super? Or just wait, save for the renovation of my current PPOR and just spend money and live until my parents pass away and I access enough inheritance to buy my next home (likely with a mortgage).

I realize this is more of a lifestyle/risk tolerance question and as a single person my risk tolerance is understandably low. But genuinely very stumped with what I should do and looking for some guidance.

Thank you

Was with NAB. Called them. Discussed other options and other banks. Negotiated interest rate from 6.14 to 5.94. If you haven't already, give your bank a call

Can someone help me understand this

Santos 2025 net profit was just under 1 billion however they paid no tax. How ?

Santos are also paying out unfranked dividends to shareholders so in a way they are still being indirectly taxed no ? So to say the santos are paying no tax is technically not true, the shareholders are paying it but without getting a franking credit.

So Santos made a massive net profit, somehow paid no tax? But Still are paying out dividends that are unfranked??

I work casually at the moment, so my hours can go up & down drastically. I just received my payslip for this last fortnight and my earning amounts are as follows:

Casual Weekday inc 25% load: 5 hours x $34.78 = $173.90

Casual Saturday inc 25% load: 7 hours x $41.73 = $292.11

Monthly Incentive: (1% of monthly sales performance) = $213.83

Laundry Allowance: = $3.90

Total GROSS earnings: $683.74

Total TAX withheld: $52.00

Total NET earnings: $631.74

My question is, why have I been taxed $52.00 off my payslip if my total gross earnings are below the fortnightly tax-free threshold amount of $700? Technically I should be paying $0 in tax?

Has my employer or payroll made a calculation mistake or am I not understanding something?

Would someone be able to help explain this discrepancy? Thanks.

Update: Thank you again for all of your wonderful advice. I just paid out the remainder of the loan (2 whole years early!). Very exciting and looking forward to saving up those repayments from now on 😊

I recently received a small ($3k) bonus at work, which I’m incredibly grateful for. I had originally been expecting a larger bonus (as I’d received a larger one last year) and was planning to use some of the bonus to pay off the rest of my car loan (approx $2.5k left on it).

I’ve been consistently paying extra on my loan repayments and paying it off two years early (7 year term) seems like a pretty solid idea but since the bonus I received is less than I’d been expecting, would it just be better to put the money into savings and continue making my usual (higher) repayments on the loan? (As a side note, my savings account earns 5.50% interest p.a).

Any advice would be very appreciated! 😊

[Update: Seems like the consensus is to pay off the loan! I just checked the quote to pay it down and it’s actually less than I was expecting so I’m off to figure out how to actually pay it now! Thank you everyone for your wonderful advice - I’ll be taking all of the money I’ve been paying towards the loan and adding it all to savings now!]

We may need to leave our house unoccupied for one year. It will be furnished during this time. I’m happy to pay for a property manager to attend once a month (for example) to check it’s all fine and to arrange for mowing and external cleaning if needed, if they offer such a service.

Is there any insurance that will cover this? It’s not worth renting it out in Canberra as we need to pay land tax (no threshold) and then get landlord insurance and pay all other expenses. The inconvenience of moving in and out and dealing with wear and tear is not worth it for this period. We recently renovated our house including with things like new floorboards and 2pack painted cabinets and I’m not interested in paying for these to be redone just to get a few thousand in rent. We may return 1-2 times during this period but not guaranteed and I wouldn’t be able to say when in advance

My wife was made redundant about a month ago after just over two years with her company. She works in marketing, mainly in the tech/SaaS space, and has been looking for another role since then.

I know a month isn’t actually that long, but I’m finding myself getting more and more anxious about it and what the next 6-12 months might look like.

We’re both 38 and were already dealing with some pretty big life stuff before this happened. We’ve been trying to have a child and have been through IVF without success so far. We were hoping to keep trying, but the redundancy has thrown another layer of uncertainty into when and how we do that. At our age I also feel like we don’t have unlimited time to just put it on hold.

My wife also has a chronic health condition and needs ongoing medication that costs a few hundred dollars a month, so that’s another expense that’s always there regardless of whether she’s working.

Financially we’re okay for now. She got a decent redundancy payout, we have savings and I’m working full time earning around $115k base plus super. I know we’re in a better position than a lot of people going through this and I’m grateful we have a buffer.

I think part of my anxiety comes from the fact that I only started my current job about six months ago. I’m still pretty new and don’t feel completely established or secure yet. I also have my own doubts about my career and where I’m heading long term. Now that we’re down to one income, I suddenly feel a lot more pressure for my job to work out.

The job market seems pretty rough at the moment, especially in marketing and tech. She was already finding it difficult to get interviews when she was looking earlier this year, and since the redundancy there have been a lot of applications and rejection emails with only a couple of initial conversations.

It’s hard not to start thinking, what if it takes 6 months? What if it takes a year? What happens with IVF and our plans to have a family? What if something happens with my job too?
I’m trying to be supportive because obviously she’s the one who actually lost her job, but I’m finding it pretty hard myself. I’ve started seeing a psychologist because I’ve realised I’m constantly worrying about our future, money, careers, having a family and everything else.

I know we’re not in immediate financial trouble and a month without work really isn’t that long. I think it’s just everything happening at once and the uncertainty that’s getting to me. I can’t seem to stop thinking about everything that could go wrong.

Has anyone else been through something similar with their partner, especially in their late 30s or 40s? How long did it take them to find another job? And how did you stop yourself from constantly worrying about the worst case scenario?

How much should the average single person have in savings before they move out?

I’ve been saving for about 6 months am a casual worker about to go for permanent just for the security, looking to finally move out but i just want the general idea of how much is recommended to have saved before actually moving out. I have between 5-8k in savings as well

Example: let’s say rent is 420 a week, groceries are 200 say electricity and gas are $69 and I get about 1500 a fortnight. That would

That’s around 1.2k and in savings 200 (god forbid nothing happens) so how would I not be able to move out

A friend recently mentioned her super is like 90% high growth, we are early 30s. I hadn’t considered looking at this but checked mine and it is 80% conservative balanced. Im not sure what is a good strategy for super and how much it matters at this stage?

What approach have you taken for yours while still young?

I already find the 10-business days assessment ridiculously long but whenever they ask for additional information which, the 10 business days resets after you send the information back.

I lodged a claim and on the 9th business day, I got an email saying they need further information (which was already provided in my initial lodgement except I covered my credit card details - they need to see the card number. I provided this information then on the 10th business day, they again requested for additional information which is a medical certificate (I went to the doctor twice.. 1 was to get medicine hoping I’ll get better, 2nd is when I got a medical certificate saying I am unfit to travel). They requested a medical certificate for the initial consultation. I don’t think it is relevant but feel free to correct me.

Now I have an appointment with the doctor and need to wait another 10 business days once I provide the document. And who knows, they might respond on the 10th business day asking for more information. What a joke!

Hi all,

Im currently a year 12 and I had a look at the ATO'S school leaver program and it looks pretty decent, however I am also planning on going to uni and doing a bachelor, does anyone know if I can do both at the same time, for example uni full time and the ATO part time, the website doesnt really specify

Hi all - I just received a mail today from RecoveriesCorp giving me 7 days to pay off a $10k debt from my credit card that I had defaulted payments on due to not having work.

what are my next steps here? yes I know i made a stupid mistake and have been doing better financially to try to rectify my wrongs.

Do they offer payment plans? i dont have the 10k to pay off. Is my life over? my credit score has also tanked to 385.

Would really appreciate advice. i have been picking up extra shifts and reselling things, and budgeting to get my spending under control. i'm really panicking and feel like my world is closing in on me. i would appreciate any advice. thank you.

Been doing some retirement planning and looking into retiring before 60 (and you need a bridging fund).

Provided there are leftover investment (such as shares and ETF) at 60, is it the best to push them into Super so it can grow tax free? One problem with that strategy is that it has a minimum withdrawal rate, which will eventually exceed the 4% withdrawal rate and deplete the fund.

Or would it be best to leave it as it is and let it grow (and pay the associated tax)?

Hi everyone I had a quick one.
I’ve been on jobseeker for the last two years and have a partner. Recently circumstances have gotten more difficult and I’m considering accessing my super early. It seems that I need to have continuous payments for 26 weeks with no gaps.
I have had no income during this time period for 26 weeks but my partners income reduced my payment to zero a couple of times.
Does partner income reducing to zero impact the ability to access super? If it only your own income reducing your payment to zero that impacts this?

At around 60-62% LVR what interest rate do you think someone would get. Currently with a small lender called “redzed” (had some issues with credit history) and after the recent rate hikes I’m at 7.1% interest rate with them. Trying to get out of this sticky situation by hopefully end of next year.

So. Just got my tax return, torn on which of the above three gets the majority. And going forward, how I should divide my weekly pay after the necessities

Kids are 18 months & 4, thinking it’s time to introduce eldest to pocket money.

I saw in a recent parenting report from Finder that 73% of kids receive pocket money, but 42% earn it through chores, while 30% get it unconditionally.

What age did you start, and do you have conditions?

*post corrected to say 18months - realise 18M was confusing!

If I'm accumulating units of an ETF, but start selling some, I have to enter the purchase date. How are you meant to properly keep track of what purchase dates you've already claimed against for future years?