Rates are going to need to go close to 6% to bring trimmed mean down to below 3% from 3.6%.

CBA said rates hikes were on pause before rate cuts in 2027……then the CPI dropped and actually no, it’s almost certain we are getting a hike at the next meeting.

How many shit predictions by banks and pseudo economists like David Koch and Nerida Consibee before we realise the cash rate needs to go much higher. Yes we have leveraged our economy and enjoyed the dopamine hit of the last 5 years, however the bill is now due and it’s a whopper. The entire economy is a buy now pay later joke.

We deserve this recession that’s coming. I can’t wait for it.

I've been completing some small side hustles such as research studies and I'm not sure whether it is considered providing service, but I'll report it in my tax return just in-case. I was wondering whether if I wasn't meant to report it, would they let me know and give me my money back? Thanks!

It appears that indexation creates an ongoing feedback loop. That is, CPI inflation increases excise; the higher excise contributes to higher consumer prices and CPI; and that higher CPI feeds into subsequent excise indexation.

Petrol (excluding diesel) and alcohol excise is approx $15.5 billion, and there are around 21 million Australian over 18 years of age. That equates to on average each Australian over the age of 18 pays $738 in petrol and alcohol excise each year.

Has anyone else had an awful experience dealing with Hostplus?

My DASP application has turned into a complete circus. Repeated document requests, conflicting instructions, unanswered emails and enquiry forms, and a formal complaint that went nowhere. After multiple calls from overseas, I’m still chasing basic answers.

Honestly, this is starting to look like seriously poor customer service and questionable administrative practices. Is this how Hostplus normally operates, or has anyone else experienced the same?

Like many, I’m with Suncorp and will be leaving due to the lack of offset & higher rates.
Has anyone had any luck getting the discharge fee waived when refinancing?

Having the decision made for us and then offering an inferior product at a higher cost surely gives us the right to that at least?

We’ll be going to Macquarie, whilst not the cheapest, we have some changes coming up and need their ease of quick approval.

Hi gang, my wife is leaving her job after being bullied out with a touch of racism on top. She's feeling really dejected with her current line of work. We have three children. We are one year into our home loan. We can't survive on my income so the question is what work could she do that fits in with children that is relatively easy to get into?

Finance wise we are already on a very tight budget. Considering going interest only for a while.

I recently acquired income protection through my super (Aware Super) and I am a little confused as to why the premium is so low.. $98 a year?? 60 day waiting period, benefits paid for up to 2 years, matches my current monthly wage.

When I went for quotes through external providers, it was much much more. Is this accurate?

How are people affording this phone? Apparently, it's sold out everywhere somehow. I am not hating on anyone because i like all brands but 4 grand for a phone seems alot.

Edit: I am starting to think I am broke :/

There seems to be a tidal wave of mainstream PE access on the way, from big and established Vanguard and American Century to smaller Equity Zen, Forge Global, Hiive, Clarity and more recently Revolut.

Given that PE is beginning to go mainstream, what would you think about the idea of a broad market index fund for Private Equity?

Do such funds already exist, and if so, where and how can we access them?

Would you allocate a small % of your net worth to such a fund, just for the sake of diversification? For example, say 99% in a regular public index tracker ETF and 1% in a private equity index tracker?

-----

Note: I'm not interested in influencers' critiques of PE or semantic debates over the meaning of "private". I know this probably won't work out, hence why I'm only considering putting a tiny % in. I just want to know how to get exposure. That's all. Thank you. 🙂

Hi folks!

Our contents insurance is up for renewal in a few days. We have an apartment south Sydney 3-2-2. Our premium is $710 with Budget Direct and our stuff is estimated at around $60k worth of belongings which is quite low and I’ll be upping this… any recommendations and or suggestions? First time living out of home and this is the second year cover. Thank you very much.

Hi, I have a bunch of shares on different trading platforms, I am especially keen to move some of my shares on CMC over to Commsec. It looks pretty straightforward as far as doing so but I am wondering as far as tracking profit and loss if it will have the purchase price as the price when the transfer is completed or the original purchase price whilst on CMC?

Thanks

My sister is planning on going bankrupt. She hasn’t talked about it much so in my concern for her I’ve been looking it up and I can’t find consistent info about what will happen to her super. Most Aus legal sites say super is protected - but AFSA says it’s claimable.

What’s the actual situation?

Hi All, does anyone have a good recommendation for someone that teaches trading, where you have actually made substantial money from their teaching, Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

We are a business looking to start putting suppliers that accept card payment through a qantas point earning credit card.

The points earned would total a significant amount if most suppliers accept card.

I’d ideally like to transfer the points to the directors personal qantas frequent flyer account for them to redeem personally on flights etc

Can anyone advise if there are any tax/FBT obligations regarding this or issues that need to be considered ?

Thank you!

Just wondering if anyone has had any luck haggling with their bank or a credit union for a better rate on an existing personal loan. Mine is coming up for renewal soon and the initial rate quoted isn't as good as I was hoping for. Feeling like I should at least try and see if there's any wiggle room. Any tips or strategies that worked for you would be much appreciated.

Choose 80% International Shares - Indexed and 20% Australian Shares - Indexed.

Super value has dropped $1,800 and I only recently joined... Is this normal? 🤷‍♀️

I spent some time researching and it seemed like an 80/20 Indexed Split was the way to go, as I want High Growth over the next few decades + Low Admin Fees.

Now I'm second guessing my decision... Oft 😅

Do I need to put in names of individual items in the TRS app, or just group them together like "$500 perfumes, $300 chocolates"? As there is no option to name individual items if I don't select the "others" category. Anyone who has used this app, please help.

Hi all, in the process of forming a new company with 6 individuals who are all based and live in Australia. We've had some initial discussions and generally agree that incorporating the business overseas may be a better option than setting it up in Australia

The problem is, none of us have any experience in setting up a company overseas - looking for anyone that can guide us in the right direction, provide info, steps, etc.

Another question is if all directors/shareholders are Australian residents, how does tax work if the company is registered overseas?

Is this a scam?

“Direct Credit 404389 Marketplace Pty Fdecfecb-9d54-4141”

“+$398.00”

At first I thought it might’ve been a double up on my insurance payment from my novate lease but it definitely isn’t because the amounts are incorrect and it doesn’t have the correct description.

Is this one of those “hey I accidentally transferred you can you pay me back?” Cases and then they also lodge a claim?

Hey guys, info: 29 years old. $20k in savings. $6k in ETFs. $73k in super. No debt other than $12k of HECS. I have a partner, currently renting together.

I got gifted/inherited $100k unexpectedly to help for a house deposit. I am grateful and surprised but the more I look at housing and repayments etc the more I am unsure. However, I just don’t know what to do. I’d like to not rent but homes in sunny coast are insane for what you get. I’d like to not move too far due to family and work. I’m not that mad about renting, like it sucks but it has its perks. I think my goal is to utilise this opportunity to build wealth. I just don’t know if that’s through buying a house or unit or using it in another way?

Hello,

Could someone kind, please explain to me (I'm dumb) about some PAYG thing that's auto set up without warning or notification and that I can't delete after doing my first tax return as a sole trader. I can't delete this payment thing, probably due to having a few outstanding years that I can't afford to complete let alone be ok enough to pay off this years 1.5k (online artist/content maker). AI helped me file my first return, but it's useless at explaining or helping me for this new thing that's popped up on my account and it's just put major stress on me about what'll happen as I've been forced to select annual for now from quarterly. It doesn't even say a date due etc.

Please note I'm completely useless with maths/numbers, long mentally not there, extreme social anxiety, stressed out from living week to week since covid, have no-one nor family, and mentally don't want to exist for the longest time (but I'm not at immediate risk regardless of how I feel, I just focus on the next problem to solve and get through life).

But this is one thing I don't understand. Is PAYG a thing to force someone to start paying in advance for next years return? What happens if I leave it at annual, then do next years 2026 return, will it still bill me in one big lump sum even if I set up a payment plan for next 2026 tax return?

It's been hard enough filing this years one for the first time and stressing how I could even pay it. Why the absolute F can they just chuck it on people with no way to pay it let alone cancel it? Despite previous few years undone tax, I can't pay those off and had been trying to handle things by doing this years as my first one and try to survive that. I can't do previous years because I really can't handle the stress it will cause by having a lot of money owing on it known in my mind, I had been hoping the tax year just done would let me work things out a little and then try save for previous years if possible but this shit's thrown it out the door.

Thank you for any help so I can understand it and what I can do or need to avoid. Sorry for the depressing read.

Currently trying for a slight career pivot after finishing a master's degree in a slightly niche field. Seems like a terrible time to be doing this, as the jobs market feels incredibly dry at the moment.

Jobs I've applied for seem to yield no response.

I've even applied for jobs in my current field and haven't heard back about these either!

Going back 2-3 years ago, it felt like I could work basically anywhere I wanted in Australia.

I wonder if perhaps employers (public and private) are kinda frozen at the moment whilst trying to figure out how bad this recession is going to get.

A bit disappointing when I just finished my studies :(

Anyone else noticing this?

I’ve been interested in finding a better way to keep track of my investments, particularly ASX shares, ETFs, portfolio performance and CGT records.
Spreadsheets can work well, but they can also become a bit of a pain to maintain as your portfolio grows, especially when you’re dealing with multiple holdings and transactions.

I’m curious how others here manage this:
- Do you use a spreadsheet, a dedicated portfolio tracker, or something else?
- What’s the most frustrating part of tracking your investments?
- Are there any features you wish existing tools handled better?

Full disclosure: I’ve been building a portfolio-tracking website for Australian investors, so I’m particularly interested in hearing what people actually want from a tool like this. I’m not here to spam links or pitch the product. I’d genuinely appreciate the feedback.
Interested to hear how everyone approaches it.