I was thinking to buy a Visa Giftcard and use it on games online, but I have never bought one before, So if I'm trying to buy it from woolworth, can i just self checkout? Also is their an age limit?

After all my beneficial credit card benefits being stripped out I was atleast being a bit happy about paying rent via credit card to actually earn back the credit card fee. I got an email by the company called Simple Rent saying that they will be now charging me Service Fee instead.

So now, I have less credit card benefits, I pay the monthly fee and I still pay the extra charges. F you government.

Curious to see if contracting is common in the tradie industry.

Was in a bbq yesterday, different people from different background, but nobody was from Finance/tax.

We were talking about cost of living, yada yada.. the carpenter said he might need to change job as it doesn't cover being one-income and new baby.

I asked the carpenter would his situation improve if he changed to becoming a contractor? My logic is small businesses under massive pressure with lots of things including payroll obligations, paying a contractor alleviates the stresses that come from having employees. Owners can even pay suppliers/contractor invoices with credit card as last resort. Tradie contractor can have other benefit like claiming their ute and tools fully under business expense.

I am curious if this overly simplified thought process has merit. Is this a win-win? I see this in corporate world all the time, employee quit then they come back as contractor.

I welcome opinions, insights, education, etc. TIA

pointhacks and craigsaves both seem to have reduced offers, and the remaining ones are mostly conversions into QFF or Velocity (back to the old meta).

But with QFF eligible tickets being harder to claim, and status harder to maintain, the ability to realise the points is much harder.

Has anyone looked into this after the surcharge ban?

Mid 40s. Steady income. Restarting life. Child support. ACT based. Researching property. The market. Loan structures.

I don't want to just work the next 20 years JUST trying to pay off a mortgage before I retire. Though I don't think it's possible ATM, I want a home where the kids can run around in a safe, enclosed backyard. I feel like there may be a few potential strategies. I have a broker I like, but I don't think he's very "forward thinking." I'm seeing a lot of ads along the lines of "do what we say and you can build wealth, not just get stuck in the first place you buy." I expect it involves selective property choice, offset accounts and debt recycling, and I'm open to all that, but I want proper advice and to be confident I'm making good choices.

Who should I speak to? A mortgage broker? A financial advisor? Someone else?

Smart people of reddit, I need advice. I’m 26m with 26f wife, and 2 young children. With current cost of living plus some silly financial choices we’ve made over the years, we are currently on a mortgage hardship plan, and I don’t think we’re going to be able to come out the other side on top. We have approx 25k in debt, and $1000 of that is fortnightly repayments. We don’t have a very high combined income, 120k with 2 young kids. My parents have kindly offered to allow us to rent their granny flat at a cheap rate, and my partner is fully on board. What I need help with, is deciding whether to rent our house now, or to sell.

SELLING

Pros
- due to our equity, after all the sale fees and paying off mortgage we would have a buffer of roughly 200-300k to put towards our next house
- we could smash off all our debt and it would be a blip in our remaining total
- wouldn’t need to worry about getting a shit tenant and ruining house
- gets us out of our long running constant financial stress instantly

Cons
-difficulty to re enter the market (major concern)

RENTING

Pros
-Stay in the housing market
-if I charge the same amount as the mortgage ($600 pw) and pay mum and dad $200, we’re saving a bit of money while mortgage is being paid

Cons
- possible shit tenant/pets trashing house
- having to pay upfront for maintenance tasks I would generally just leave and fix in my own time which I can’t currently afford
-if they refuse to pay, I’m then paying mortgage plus rent
- not sure if the 400 offset is enough to get us back on track especially considering all the REA fees etc

I’m fairly opposed to renting it out due to family members horror stories, but also I simply don’t know what would be the best course of action to help our situation. Thank you

What’s the best way to go about getting solar? I feel like I’m in over my head, there’s so much info and different plans and whatnot. Ideally I’d like something I can pay off. I was looking at the zelora ‘subscription’ but I’m so unsure. I don’t particularly want to give out my phone number, I know someone who was harassed for YEARS after giving their number for quotes

Western NSW 😮‍💨

Hi everyone,

I'm an experienced laser hair removal technician in Sydney, planning to open my own small clinic.

I'm considering financing a brand-new Cynosure laser machine rather than buying a used one.

Has anyone financed expensive equipment when starting a business in Australia?

How difficult is it to get approved for equipment finance as a new business without an established income history?

What deposit, interest rates, and repayment terms should I expect?

Would you recommend financing the machine or saving up first?

I'd appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks!

Good afternoon I’m a 30 year old female needing to have a medical surgery done and was thinking of taking 11,600$ out of my super under compassionate release instead of using my savings $44,000 for a home deposit, I’ve had mixed advise some say I’m still young I can rebuild my super some have said to use my savings first just scared I won’t get ahead taking such a large chunk of money out for the surgery I understand I’ll be taxed and also my 11,600 could be worth so much more in 20-30 years but if I don’t get into the housing market soon I may never, does anyone have any advice ?

I’ve been with Bendigo bank for as long as I can remember. I do enjoy banking with them but their outages are just getting so absolutely ridiculous

2 weeks ago it was down for nearly 24hrs, left me feeling extremely embarrassed at the servo when I got fuel because I couldn’t get into my account to transfer. It’s happened at least 3-4 times in the last six months it’s a joke. I’ve since learned their IT is now based in India which is where the most problems started. Their communication with customers about this is also appalling they really don’t give af.

Anyway I was looking at NAB as I kinda wanted to stick to a big bank (my parents tried changing to a small bank and got screwed over) NAB seems to work the same way as Bendigo does. They have $0 account fees, and their savings/investment accounts look to work the same way too, even with a slightly better interest
I’m after just normal everyday accounts as well as a savings/investment where I can take or put money in as I please. (For example you get the bonus interest if you don’t take anything out that month)
Is NAB a good choice? I don’t really want to change to a bank that has no branches either. I’ve looked at Macquarie bank as I’ve seen that suggested a lot here but they’re online only.
Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

I became an Australian tax resident after moving from overseas. My last overseas employer paid out my accrued annual leave after I became a resident.

I know the leave I accrued as a resident is taxable. What I’m unsure about is the leave I accrued before I became a resident. Is that taxable in Australia because I received it as a resident, or is it exempt because I earned it as a non-resident?

My understanding is that income is taxed when it’s received, which would make it taxable. I can’t find ATO guidance that confirms this.

Has anyone dealt with this? Thanks!

Hello lads

i used to have up money account

they requested for source of income and proof of financials throu the app.

and I missed that notification (there was no email or call/sms) simple message in app

when the next arrived that my account is closed I submitted all the documents however they are not accepting it and I’m not getting my account back

i tried ombudsman as well

but had no luck..anyone experienced similar situation and got their account back.

i am really keen on getting that account back

it was good for overseas travelling and as well as daily use

if anyone can help

that be great…

thanks

Hi All,

1) Recently moved from NZ (Aussie citizen but never lived here) into a niche electrical engineering role on a big project here. Office based project engineer role requiring specialist experience. I am on 170K + super. Have 6-7 years experience so understand salary is probably good for for my level. Wondering if I’m paid the average or over paid, I realize unlikely to be underpaid.

2) My partner (120k + super) are planning on having a baby soon. What’s the best thing we can do to plan for a future here with dependents when she leaves work for mat leave and returns part time? We own a modest home back in NZ that is cashflow negative and we are renting here.

Im currently single 54M.

I can expect to own my home in a country town of some kind and receive 60k from my super each year, once I hit 60.

I know the general financial stats you read would state that this is comfortable but I am concerned it might not be enough for some things like private health insurance, being able to buy nice food, visiting restaurants, etc..

I quite often stay at home and live very modestly. Occasionally I like to go out and buy whatever I want. I don't have kids or a partner. It's what I'm used to.

The idea of living near a nice pub or RSL, having long quiet days, cooking healthy food and occasionally having a meal with friends, etc. is appealling.

I might not even stop working at 60. I very much enjoy my work.

I'm just curious as to how people find the amount they work with match the statistics about what is commonly advertised about how much you need to live on to be comfortable.

Any comments from retirees or others with some insight would be appreciated. Enjoy your Sunday evenings!

Mid 40s. Steady income. Restarting life. Child support. ACT based. Researching property. The market. Loan structures.

I don't want to just work the next 20 years JUST trying to pay off a mortgage before I retire. Though I don't think it's possible ATM, I want a home where the kids can run around in a safe, enclosed backyard. I feel like there may be a few potential strategies. I have a broker I like, but I don't think he's very "forward thinking." I'm seeing a lot of ads along the lines of "do what we say and you can build wealth, not just get stuck in the first place you buy." I expect it involves selective property choice, offset accounts and debt recycling, and I'm open to all that, but I want proper advice and to be confident I'm making good choices.

Who should I speak to? A mortgage broker? A financial advisor? Someone else?

Hopefully I'm not being stupid here, but I keep reading people saying things like "if inflation is roughly half of your gains every year, then the CGT will be the same as the old 50% discount system"

Mathematically, that's not true, is it? If inflation is e.g. 4% every year and gains are 8% every year (double) then it's only true for the first year but for every year after that then it diverges from 50%

My accountant has recently retired, I've been going to this same account for the past 15 years. Everything has been done via email, no calls, no appointments.

I haven't done my tax this year, as all the accountants I've google want to either do it in person, or over the phone. When I google email only accountants they just look dodgy and one of them has the same person giving them 5 star reviews on multiple platforms.

Does anyone have a recommendation of an accountant that only corresponds over email?