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 :/

Inflation only goes up

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?

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.

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?

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.

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?

Just a PSA in case you have forgotten (like me!) - I purchased some income protection through a financial broker a few years ago as the product was only able to be purchased through a broker. I'm not really using the services of the broker much anymore as they only are providing me with a renewal and confirming if my circumstances have/have not changed. I realised I am actually paying hundreds on ongoing commissions and aside from the odd question here and there I realised I don't really need their services and am fine to manage my policies on my own. My insurance advised I need to ask the broker to remove the commission which they have now done. I had completely forgotten about the commission so I thought I'd let anyone know in case they they were in the same boat. The laws changed in 2025 to require increased transparency and disclosure about commissions so of course this was something that had totally slipped my mind.

I'm 18, earn ~$1100 per week after tax and have been kicked out of home. I don't know how much I should be spending on rent food utilities whatever and how much I can save. I work 12-13 hour days so I need to eat a fair bit more every week and should probably spend more on groceries. Any and all tips will be appreciated

Does anyone have any recommendations about establishing a bank account for kids under 5 where family can put money to for gifts etc.?

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.

Hi everyone, we were confused by the Medicare surcharge ($202,000 family income + $1500 for each child) and wanted to ask if anyone was in the same circumstance.

We are a household with two kids. We earned just above the medicare levy threshold in the last financial year.

I am a NZ citizen as is both our children. All three of us are on private insurance.

My wife is a subclass 461 temporary resident. She is not eligible for Medicare, nor private insurance except OVHC. She is on an OVHC insurance.

Am I correct in understanding we still need to pay the levy on the entire family income despite everyone being on private insurance as OVHC is not considered as private insurance?

Would be keen to hear anyone who might be in the same circumstances. Thanks so much!

Update: Someone correctly pointed out that I mistakenly wrote 2% in the header, I was meaning the Medicare surcharge (0-1.5%) which applies above a certain family income threshold, not the 2% normal medicare levy.

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?

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. 🙂

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?

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

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!

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 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.

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.

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!