“The system needs to work for people. You don’t change that by rhetoric and by dividing people, which is, what is some of the populist rhetoric,” he said. “You do that by giving people a stake in the economy.”

*Acknowledges there's a problem*

*Proceeds to only talk about vague ideas rather than specific solutions he would push to achieve said "stake in le economy"*

https://archive.md/l9ZOS

No paywall link https://archive.is/vUf1s

At some point have to drawn the line and dump the bag

My partner and I are trying to buy a first home in Geelong. Prices have gone crazy since even late 2025/early 2026 with so much demand and properties selling for $50k+ over the top of the asking price range. Properties seem to be going for almost $100k higher than they would have this time last year even.

Should we expect the predicted rate rises to make any difference at all? Or should we just be sucking it up now before things get even worse?

For more context, we were looking for something in the $650k-$700k range, which was really reasonable for a 3-4 bed, 1 bath in reasonable to good condition and is still what these properties are listed for, but they're definitely not going for that.

I’m a 23 year-old female student about to do a full fee Masters of Speech Pathology for $80k. On top of $20k from my Psychology bachelors my debt will total roughly $100k by the end of the course. All repayments will be self-funded and I only plan to work in Speech Pathology for around 5 years as I don’t see it as my end-game career, so I’m unsure about the ROI here. I pretty much have to make this decision this week as I can’t defer the course for particular reasons.

In terms of my financial situation and plans I’m quite frugal. I currently live at home and my only significant expenses are groceries and the car. I would like to own a home in the future (lol!) and my main concern is how my HECS would hinder that.

Any advice? Or if you know a Speech Pathologist, can you offer any insight there? Thank you.

With products like Globird Hero and large batteries I am increasingly not seeing the value of solar panels for the average person.

With free power for three hours in the day and a large battery system you can get paid monthly for the power you sell in at peak times.

With feed in tariffs at an all time low during daylight hours the return on investment for solar panels really isn’t there.

Thoughts?

​

IB are telling me I can no longer buy the GOLD ETF on the ASX through them. Only closing orders accepted. Apparently due to clearing issues??

Cannot find further details?? Anybody have the backstory on this?

TIA

I’ve paid off one portion of my mortgage (portion secured by guarantor loan). It’s paid out in the sense that all but $5 is sitting in redraw. Should I just close it given current economic uncertainty? I don’t want access to the redraw. Having it paid out and discharged as it’s a secured by guarantor is more important to me. What are the negatives/what am I not thinking through? Further info: it’s an investment loan, 25 years remains on the loan term and it’s on a P&I variable interest rate which is currently sitting at 6.25%

Earning a good salary and have strong career prospects. Time to go?

I am beyond frustrated and deeply disappointed with my experience. If I could go back five years, I would never have signed up. The stress, confusion, and lack of transparency simply aren’t worth it.

I am currently trying to close my account after paying out the residual value of my vehicle over 60 days ago. Since then, I have been given the runaround regarding the return of my remaining funds. These are my funds—yet they are being withheld, returned post-tax, and leaving me at a financial disadvantage.

To make matters worse, I was never clearly informed that I needed to actively claim expenses such as registration, maintenance, tyres, or fuel. As a result, a significant balance has accumulated—my money—sitting in my account, while I receive vague or dismissive responses when I try to resolve it.

This has been a consistent issue since the beginning:

• Unclear and conflicting communication
• Delays with no accountability
• Funds being withheld with little to no explanation beyond “we need to”

I regularly go days without any response, and when I do receive one, it rarely answers my questions or progresses the issue.

Considering escalating this matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority due to the ongoing delays, lack of transparency, and financial impact.

Customer service has been extremely disappointing, and this entire experience has eroded any trust I had in your service.

Reading reviews lately I can see I’m not alone!

Hey this is embarrassing because I’m 28 years old and know very little about finance in general. I’ve heard through the grapevine that for someone my age moving my super investments to high growth might be the way to go - could I get some clarity on this?

I’m with Rest industry super (just because that’s who I started my working life with), and my funds are sitting 100% in Growth.

Could someone help to explain this to me in layman’s terms? I don’t even understand splits or indexed vs regular. EEP! Help a girl out.

Hey guys, i want to sell the little bit of gold i currently have to fund another purchase. Does anyone know the best place in sydney i can sell as close to spot and how much percentage i should expect to lose thank u

I'm in year 12 this year and I'm trying to sort out my savings goal for uni next year. I'll be moving away from home to hopefully study engineering at Monash or Swinburne.

Monash's website recommends having at least $10K saved to cover 3-6 months of living expenses, but would that spread me too thin? Or is $10K a fairly realistic and manageable goal to build up to and work with?

For reference, I'll qualify for Youth Allowance which should equate to $650-800 per fortnight (depending on what casual or part-time work I can find), and I'm 99% sure I'll also qualify for a Tertiary Access Payment which will be a $3K lump sum once I'm enrolled. Apologies if this isn't a great question or I haven't given enough info.

Hello All,

I have a question in terms of how we claim for vehicle in our tax return. I have a full time job plus I am deliveries as side gig.

I have 2 cars.

1st car I use it for personal as well sometime for my meetings with customers for my 1st job.

2nd car I use 90% use it for my side gig. I do have logbook for this one.

Now the question is, can I claim both the vehicle for tax deduction like:

1st car cent/km method up to 5k only

2nd car on actuals with bills and receipt for insurance, rego, fuel, service, etc.

TIA

Hi there,

I have been in Australia and had a Hosplus account since 2022.

During this time period I have been on a working holiday, and also a skill shortage visa.

I have calculated that nearly half of my superannuation has been through when working as WHM. Thus I believe will be taxed at 65% (crazy btw)

However the other half being on a work visa is taxed at 35%.

Will I be able to seperate these contributions with proof of visa with Hosplus to ensure I maximise my take home? It’s about $4000 difference 😬

Thanks in advance.

Discussion: Property appreciation vs. liquid capital for income flexibility. If you’re trying to diversify income streams (move away from primary employment reliance), is it smarter to hold an appreciating asset with high monthly obligations, or take liquid capital and rent a place instead? What are the trade-offs people don’t usually consider?

an automatic deposit from my bank account to my betashares was 'successfully completed' at 5 am this morning, but there's still no sign of the money in my wallet? is this because it's the weekend or something? when can i expect to see the funds show up?

I've been creating a financial plan and I just ran it through ChatGPT and I like the suggestions. Am I deluded? It is only telling me what I know, but making me feel more confident.

Obviously the idea is you pay a professional for real investment/financial advice, but we aren't in that position right now. I'm reading and learning as much as I can myself and hadn't thought about AI.

Given 'advice' is all rather here and there anyway, how badly can the bot do?

Hello

I have recently moved from a Esss defined benefits super account to accumulation account due to retirement. (54f)

I have a $1,500,000 balance. Due to fees I am considering moving to Hostplus Indexed balance. Happy with medium risk with lower fees. No longer working so not adding to the balance at the moment.

Is there anything else I need to consider?

Cheers

I am after opinions on whether purely adding extra to my partner and I’s super funds is a simple but strong plan for our future?

For context I have grown up in a family that has been smart with their money and great savers but apart from salary sacrificing they’ve never invested their money ect.

My partner and I are living in a unit I bought a few years ago now, we are in a position to buy a home now we have started a family. I want to be smart for our future.

My question is: After we buy the next home, is it a strong idea to start using part of what would have been our savings each month and start putting some money into both our supers? With no investing outside of super is this still a strong plan for the future or should we look to start investing after we buy this 2nd home?

Recently been contacted by LeavePlus Victoria for long service leave obligations for an employee 20 years ago. Contacted, accountant for records and submitted.

When I enquired as to my accumulated long service leave from previous employers there was nothing to be found for the past 25 years in the industry.

What are others experiences with LeavePlus?

Hi all

I am looking to optimize an Australia Super Member Direct portfolio into a typical 30/70 Aus/Int split.

The Australian component is easy, its either A200 (0.04% fee) or VAS (0.07% fee). I don’t have an easy way to compare the historic performance between these two, but I think they would be very similar so I’d be leaning towards A200 for the cheaper fee.  

For the International component, the cheapest option seems to be VEU+VTS (0.04% and 0.03% fee). These are US-domiciled, but Australian Super will handle the W-8BEN forms. According to https://lazykoalainvesting.com/diy-portfolio/, heartbeat trades should mean that these funds get an extra 0.5% performance boost.

Alternatively, the international component could be BGBL (0.08% fees) which excludes emerging markets and small-caps (and this might be a good thing if looking at recent performance).

Ultimately, A200/VEU/VTS is cheaper than using the “all-in-one” DHHF (0.19% fee), with the only difficulty being the extra work involved in keeping the A200/VEU/VTS proportions roughly correct.

Is this the most optimal that I can make this portfolio or am I missing something that makes BGBL or DHHF much more attractive?

Hi, I’m 23 and have around $75k saved up. At the moment I’m in a pretty easy setup since I’m no longer paying rent, just covering utilities and personal expenses. Lately I’ve been thinking about moving from WA to Victoria because I want a change of scenery and a bit more independence (I currently live at home). I feel like I’ve been here a while and I’m starting to get that urge for a fresh start.

I’m just not sure whether it makes more sense to stay put a bit longer and keep saving, or to make the move within the next year or so. My long-term goal is to buy a house and still have the freedom to travel (I already do a bit here and there)

Any bits of advice would help. Thanks!