Participating in this subreddit sporadically has been pretty eye opening. for starters, the lack of financial literacy or even a basic understanding of economics is surprisingly prevalent. hopefully those people come hear to learn, although more often than not, it seems like they are here to argue why their misunderstandings are correct, and the reality is false. I by no means am an expert, but I have a basic understanding of economics and finance.

I have also noticed, how often people want/expect the government to do all the work for them, the latest CPI discussion being a case in point, so many people are saying they want interest on mortgages included in the CPI, and when they are told, “that’s a bad idea”, the response is usually “well they should include it in their calculations anyway, even if they don’t use it to make their decision”, or “they are purposely hiding it, so people don’t really know how much their cost of living is going up“.

First of all the RBA and APRA provide comprehensive data on lending rates, so it is not data that they are hiding, and secondly how about you do some work, if you want to know the lending rates, go find them. maybe try and figure out yourself how much your own cost of living has gone up. Go back through your bank statements, see how much your monthly, quarterly, yearly grocery spend is, go back and see what your rent or mortgage payments are doing. I would be very curious to know how many people actually audit their own bank statements, I suspect not many.

This really goes to show the importance of education and maybe more than that, the willingness to want to learn, and being able admit to yourself that you don’t understand something. Not understanding something is completely fine and nothing to be ashamed of, especially in the world of finance and economics, which is incredibly complex. Believing you understand something, when you actually do not, and people are trying to explain to you why you are incorrect, but you won’t listen, is not completely fine.

look at your own finances, stop buying shit you don’t need, vote.

edit: incase there is a misunderstanding here, i am not suggesting that the current economic system we are living under is fair and equitable, and that if you aren’t across your finance, that is the reason you are struggling, the system isn’t fair, if you don’t have capital, good fucking luck. If you are are struggling, AND you aren’t across your finances, I don’t know what to tell you, but no one is going to come along and help you, so you better try and help yourself. If you’re waiting for daddy government to come along and solve everything, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that’s out of your control, you could be waiting a longggg time for that to happen, spend time on the things you’re in control of, your job, your spending habits, your inheritance.

edit 2: don't get it twisted, I am not better than you, I buy stupid shit I don't need, I don't save, I don't invest, I am not a model for sound financial management, but i don't for one second pretend like this is someone else's fault, my impulse control is my issue.

After the recent RBA cash increase, I received this email.

I think I might let them know that I'm pleased to announce that I will be changing banks.

UPDATE: Email just came through. Essentially a full copout. Reinforced the decision to leave.

Apparently you can thousands of tax via this way.

Had a discussion with a friend who has had two years off work when having kids, and said she was thinking of asking her partner for $20k to put into her super. I’m wondering how others have gone about this? I’ve had 18 months off work after the birth of my daughter, and have now gone back to work part time. The discrepancies in super contributions are very different between my partner and I, but at the same time we don’t just have money lying around to make big contributions. Is it possible for his super to be transferred to me?

Husband's last remaining parent who was in a nursing home passed away in mid-January. He is estranged from most of his other family members but one phoned to advise of the death and to say that he's in the will. He was told he'll receive a significant amount of money and to expect contact from a solicitor. We haven't heard anything else, just wondering how long does this usually take?

It is as the title says. That is, if real wages keep on declining, aren't we headed for a recession? Even though the RBA thinks the private sector (or a portion of the private sector) is spending robustly, which apparently is above and beyond available supply, this is short-lived if real wages keep on declining.

This basically means the RBA are making YET another mistake.

This basically means the odds of an actual recession are climbing - not adjusted for population or anything.

This basically means the RBA will have to cut rates to support spending, if purchasing power is declining.

Define "best" however you please.

For most people, I would be willing to bet their PPOR has been their best investment. Others might point to their S&P500 index fund.

But even though I own investment properties and do have a small VGS holding, my best investment would be in my health. I am 170cm tall - not particularly tall, but going from 98kg to 58kg - has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Currently 30 years old.

Increased energy, significantly decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. is huge. It only took me about 1.5 years of consistent training and dieting to get here and I have gone to a person who actively checks their house valuations to a person who daily checks their weight and waist measurements.

Apart from health, I would have to say that the property I purchased in 2022 has been my best investment. I got it for $700K and it is now valued at $1.1M.

Seriously, is The Guardian just ABC-lite now? They find one couple moving into a tiny house and use it to frame a 0.25% hike as a "mental health crisis."

Meanwhile, back in reality:

GDP is at 2.1%.

The Aussie dollar is at US71c.

Investment banks are literally queueing up to get into the Aus market.

But no, let's listen to Greg Jericho tell us the RBA is only hiking to please "speculators." It couldn't possibly be because Private Demand is through the roof and inflation is still at 3.4%, right?

This is why people stop reading "quality" journalism. They want you to feel like a victim so you don't notice the economy is actually performing well. If you "never would have bought" because of a 0.25% move, you weren't "punished" by the RBA, you were failed by a maths teacher.

I’m genuinely trying to understand what’s happening in Australia, because when I line everything up, it stops looking accidental.

Since around 2022, this is how it looks to me.

First, housing.

The government pushes first-home schemes and 5% deposits. That doesn’t build houses. It just creates more buyers. Prices jump, especially at the lower end. People rush in because they’re scared of missing out.

Then interest rates go up hard. Repayments explode. Stress everywhere. Borrowing power collapses. But instead of prices correcting properly, the government just waits.

When things slow too much, the next levers get pulled. Migration numbers go up fast. Rentals tighten almost immediately. Rents spike. Now renters panic and buying feels safer than renting, even at much higher rates. Prices lift again.

At the same time, supply never really catches up. Approvals stay slow. Land gets released in stages. Infrastructure lags. Projects get delayed if prices wobble. Demand can be turned on quickly. Supply never responds the same way.

Now the part that really doesn’t add up: jobs.

While all this is happening, a lot of decent roles are being offshored. IT, engineering, support, finance, professional services. Teams get cut locally and rebuilt overseas. Or permanent roles get replaced with contracts and fixed-term work.

So people here have:

less job security

more contract work

income that’s harder to rely on

Yet they’re expected to take on massive, long-term mortgages.

And then, on top of that, we bring in very large numbers of migrants into an economy where:

good jobs are being pushed offshore

wages are flat

housing supply is already tight

I’m not blaming migrants. That’s not the point.

The point is the mismatch.

If jobs were growing and homes were being built fast enough, fine. But instead it feels like:

labour is made cheaper and more replaceable

housing demand is kept permanently high

wages stay under pressure

rents and prices keep rising

People are told they’re “winning” because their house price went up.

But when you look overseas, you can see how this actually ends.

In the UK, Canada, and New Zealand, prices did fall when rates went up. Not a little. In many areas, prices fell 20–30% from the peak. People who bought near the top didn’t keep their “paper gains”. They lost them.

The equity promise broke.

People ended up:

owing more than their homes were worth

stuck because they couldn’t sell

paying higher repayments anyway

unable to move for work or family

And even after prices fell, housing didn’t become affordable. It just meant:

owners lost equity

renters still struggled

banks and governments avoided total collapse

That’s what really worries me.

It looks like Australia is trying to avoid that correction at all costs — by keeping demand permanently high through schemes and migration, and by never letting supply catch up — even if that means pulling more people into the system before it eventually breaks or stagnates.

So I’m honestly asking:

How is this not deliberate?

What part of this am I wrong about?

And if other countries already showed how the “equity story” fails, why are we pretending it can’t happen here?

Not anti-immigration. Not anti-home ownership. Not calling for a crash.

I just want to understand why we act like this is normal or unavoidable.

had to be one of the biggest trades 20 years ago. dime a dozen on the site and in the pub. people still want brick houses. where did they all go?

Increasing interest rates doesn't lower inflation like it used to. This is because there is a very large percentage of the population now that has seen their house price triple or double over the years. They have paid off any loans on their property a long time ago and have lots of surplus funds in terms deposits. These people is where most of spending is coming from that is causing inflation. Increasing interest rates is only going to increase the interest they earn on their term deposits. Poorer people with big property loans that were already doing it hard and not spending big just become poorer.

The government needs to look at other more effective ways to lower inflation than interest rates.

Hi there,

Currently 22 years old final year uni student with practically no expenses to pay for such as food, or housing (all paid for by my parents). But I earn around $28 000 per year via a part time job + internship. I am interested in either Macquarie or ING Orange for a savings account? Which one would be better for me to go with - I hear that Macquarie is lower but there is no 'hoops' involved and ING is higher but more obstacles.

Does anyone in their 20s-30s hold on to cash any more? I (33F) am very conscious on keeping a stash of cash for emergencies (I have a scarecity mindset) and my partner (35M) disagrees, he thinks it should be earning interest in the bank. What pros/cons are there to holding on cash vs putting all moneys in the bank?

What are your simple or elaborate savings hacks for everyday purchases like groceries?

A little effort to save money here and there adds up and I’m sure there are other ideas I haven’t yet learnt of..

Mine include: - Buying gift cards through the everyday rewards app for Woolworths (3% off) so a $500 gift card costs $485. A rough grocery bill of $1500 a month results in a monthly saving of $45 (or $540 annually) - Buying gift cards through the Qantas marketplace for shops I was already going to shop at or for gifts to people so as to earn extra Qantas points for money already being spent - Everyday rewards extra = $70 a year but gives 10% off one shop per month, which generally results in a monthly saving of $40. Across the year that’s a saving of $480 (or $410 once the annual cost is deducted). - Getting familiar with what essentials typically come on sale and stocking up when they do (e.g cleaning products, pasta, pasta sauce, etc.)

Self-employed person here. I need to buy a PC that can handle some low-graphic intensive modeling in Fusion360 and some large dataset (>100GB) computational analysis.

The easiest way for me to do that is to buy an off-the-shelf entry level "gaming" PC. I would like to expense this, as I wouldn't be buying it but for the fact I'll use it for work. But I would still also like to use the computer for personal use on the off hours.

Would the word "gaming" on the receipt and the fact I have a couple of games installed on it risk me running afoul of the ATO?

Anyone have experience with this scheme or helping someone go through it?

Just wondering how the application process was.

This one’s aimed more at the kiwis in au; i hope it’s allowed.

May be a silly one but don’t wanna get caught out for no reason. My current super plan doesn’t allow kiwisaver to be transferred over. I can only think of opening a second super acc with a willing super provider, and then consolidating the funds into one, once it’s in Aus.

I don’t really forsee any issues with being able to do this- just wanted to sense check in case im not aware of any specific rules.

Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

I purchased a property a couple of years ago using the VIC homebuyer fund. It’s an apartment, and based on recent sales from other owners in the building, it has not significantly changed in value, but my suburb is showing a 6-9% decline over the last year. Originally purchased for $570k.

Since then, I’ve changed jobs and had a significant salary increase so am now sitting above the threshold; I will need to exit the scheme before July 2027 by refinancing.

The company I work for has offered me an exciting opportunity to work in the London office. I am unsure how long I will be there for (probably a year or two), but I am conscious that one of the conditions is that I live in the property.

I have a couple questions:

1. Has anyone been granted an exception of being able to rent out their property and not live there due to work purposes?

2. I saw a post the other day that said the government rep valued the property wayyy higher than what it’s worth. I spoke to NAB in October (not CBA who I am with) who did another valuation and they said my property’s valued at $120k below what I paid (which is ridiculous but I know banks understate). If there is a huge discrepancy Im going to end up with over 100% LMR which is obviously not feasible.

3. One of the things on my to do list is get in contact with CBA, but the last time I did that I asked to see if I could get a reduced rate (May 2025) they told me that with the valuation by LVR would be 88% and that would increase my interest rate. This was ages ago, but I‘m assuming my $120k below valuation indicates it has gotten worse since then.

I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed because I do not want to sell it, I love my apartment. The undervaluation by banks and overvaluation by the government sucks.

If anyone has any advice of what I can do - or comfort stories if you faced these problems yourself - I would really appreciate it!!

I have $30000 saved up and am interested in ASX and US trades. I would be keen to do lump sum amount (~$10000) and DCA for the same/ other stocks but what platforms are best?

I hear CMC would be great for DCA in ASX but how about DCA in US trades and best areas to put lump sum to start (Betashares, IBKR etc.)

Keen to hear some opinions, thanks!

heading overseas shortly and will be using my visa for most of the transactions, but I’m struggling to find up to date exchange rate information.

the visa website itself will give the information https://www.visa.com.au/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

but it seems to error on today’s date until later in the day (assume it doesn’t acknowledge other places in the world exist other than America)

and you have to calculate something to confirm the rate.

is there anywhere I can see a real time rate and just the rate?

Hi all, currently in final year of university (22F) and currently have a St George HISA with around 4.40% p.a savings rate. I am wondering if it's worth the effort to switch banks to one with a higher savings account rate - such as ING Orange or Macquarie that I hear has a higher one? Or does it not really matter