O Captain! My Captain!

How much do you reckon Coles and Woolworths make from paper bags alone? They’re now 30 cents each, and if the average shopper buys 2–5 bags a week, that adds up pretty quickly across millions of transactions. Even after taking out the cost of making the bags, I wonder how much they’re actually pocketing from this. Has anyone got any figures or estimates?

I bring my own bags but the major supermarkets have released publicly available data that shows that the sales of these bags are equivalent to 2-5 sold per customer per week my guess would be this is something to do with home delivery that you cannot opt out

Hi folks,

In light of the recent immigration boom, i'd be curious to know what what people think or have experienced in Australia.

I'm a kiwi myself and travel often to australia for work + family. My interactions are low outside of a small bubble but in NZ everyone paints Australia as the go-to place for wealth, life and career.

Is it really the case? do all migrants that come to Australia ( from whatever country) have a good time/are more successful relative to being in there own home country.

Ok Tightwads I need some strategies, with the rise in costs of everything (I don't need to break it down because we are all feeling it). I need help.

What is everyone cutting and more importantly what are some hacks for saving ? The tighter the better.

EDIT: Bankwest worked. Thank you!

My Bank Australia and Zip Pay were both rejected. I have a feeling the answer is "You're screwed, sorry" but I still wanna get a zero fee credit card purely that I can use to buy R18+ games on Steam.

No intention of using it. Just want the cheapest, easiest credit card I can get that will let me prove to Steam I'm over 18.

Cheers.

hey guys,

im 21 F, and i’ve consistently had about 1.5k in zip debt since the age of 18.

i got basically kicked out of home at 17, and have barely made ends meet since then so have just constantly been in the cycle of paying some off, then being short on money because of payments, so then having to use it again.

does any one have similar experiences? do you have advice? i feel like such a failure because im so young and already have debt.

thank you

A newbie to investing here. Just wondering which platform is the best for investing. I'm considering between CMC Invest and Betashares.

Will be transferring money from a Turkish bank account to possibly purchase our first home, all our savings for a deposit and to keep for emergencies so around $100K AUD. Is Wise good for this? We are a bit scared because do not want to risk anything, any other safer way recommended?

Has anyone done this with Wise before?

Thank you

I am currently with Up for personal banking and I love it, recently set up a Westpac Business One account for my Sole Trader business and I'm not a fan so far.

I don't like that when I take transactions on Saturday's and Sunday's, the transaction shows as the settlement date on the following Monday (but I can get over this), what I am mainly looking for is a bank account that will show the transaction timestamp (for incoming PayIDs), in my nature of business at market stalls it's very handy for me to be able to cross check my transactions using their timestamps on the day.

This seems like such a simple thing and I have no idea why this would be left out of a banking app.

Can anyone who uses a NAB business account or any other business accounts confirm if they have this feature?

I currently hold a low income healthcare card as I'm a full-time student and am unemployed. I recently got a job at my uni's student life office, which is casual (most likely would be 3-4 hours a week on a regular basis) but pays around $43/h. I am intellectually and physically disabled so I rely heavily on this card to buy several types of medication regularly, and I am worried that I will not be able to apply again when it expires in February. I know there is information available on the Services NSW website but I am struggling to understand and hoping someone could put it in simple terms for me.

Thank you in advance!

Lenders have been quick to respond to the RBA lifting the cash rate to 4.60%.

According to Canstar, 338 home loan products were repriced in just seven days.

Following four cash rate rises this year, Canstar estimates monthly mortgage repayments have increased by:

• $364 on a $600,000 loan.
• $454 on a $750,000 loan.
• $606 on a $1 million loan.

That's an extra $4,368 to $7,272 a year, depending on the loan size.

For mortgage holders feeling the squeeze, there are a few things worth considering:

• Negotiate with your lender. You might be able to get a lower interest rate just by asking.
• Review your loan structure. Changes to your loan features or repayment arrangements could make a difference.
• Compare other lenders. Refinancing could save money, although it's important to factor in any switching costs.
• Use an offset account. If your loan has one, keeping money in it can reduce the interest you're charged.
• Review your household spending. Cutting back on some expenses could free up money for higher repayments.

If you're struggling to keep up, it's worth speaking to your lender about financial hardship assistance before you start missing repayments.

Free financial counselling is also available through the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.

For those with a mortgage, have you tried negotiating a lower rate with your bank recently? If so, did you have any success?

I am young and work full time, earning solid money.

Up until a few months ago, I was dealing with a severe gambling addiction, which led me to applying for several loans at random places like cash converters, for sums of around $3000-$4000.
I have taken the necessary steps and put boundaries in place, and have been sober from gambling for 3 months.

My car was recently written off.
Needing a new one, I called my bank seeking a used car loan.
My application got declined, and I am confident that its from my credit check, stating that I have had several loan applications.

This is detrimental for me, and i am extremely desperate, needing a car for work, school, etc.
My parents do well for themselves, would it be worth seeing if I could potentially have a guarantor in this kind of situation?

Open to any and all advice, please!

Does anyone know a website where you can calculate savings from an offset account but can update it as you put more money in? Found a couple of banks that have them on their websites but they aren’t exactly what I’m looking for. I’m sure there’s a way to do it in excel and I’ll resort to watching YouTube to figure it out but I’m not an excel kinda person. Just looking for a way to see week by week how much I’ll be shrinking my loan by buffing the offset account.

I'm a first year Bachelor of Commerce student right now, and I'm running into issues where I'm learning financial theory, but I'm missing a lot of real-world context when it comes to discussions. Part of this is that, because of the Adelaide Uni merger and some poor scheduling, I've been forced to take program electives for second-year students. I feel like I'm lacking baseline understanding of finance and investing, and am sort of playing catch-up. Especially when there are discussions about real-world companies and situations, and I feel I should know more than I do.

Was wondering how people here keep up-to-date with financial news, and how they keep it entertaining? If there are shows, podcasts, or books you'd recommend, or enjoy?

Resources for independently learning financial theory would be even moreso appreciated, but I don't think those are quite as popular, lol.

Hello. Im 52 F who loves her job so plans to work until 65. I have about 28K in various ETFs and want to buy a more Asia focused ETF. Which one(s) are good for a 10year plus investor. Ive looked at ASIA and AIA but I’m sure there are others.

Hi,

I’m looking at buying an ICE car and keep hearing people say to “put it through the business” or buy it under the ABN for the tax benefits.

I’m a sole trader with an ABN, but I’m trying to understand what the actual benefit is compared with simply buying/financing the car personally.

Realistic usage:
- Majority personal use, including driving from home to one main workplace
- Maybe once a month genuine work travel between different workplace

For people who have done this, what can you actually claim by having the vehicle associated with the business?

Is the benefit mainly:
- depreciation
- interest on finance
- fuel, rego, insurance, servicing etc.

And presumably all of those deductions still need to be apportioned based on the actual business use percentage anyway?

If 95% of the vehicle is effectively private use, is there actually much point putting it under the ABN/business at all, or is buying it personally and claiming the legitimate business kilometres/percentage generally safer?

I have recently met an Australian man that said he made his large fortune by investing in an Australian company ( open cast mining ) . When I asked the man the name of the company he invested in , he just said that I would not know the name. I have a feeling that what the man is telling me , may just be BS . I know the mans full name , but I'm not sure where I can search on line for information on a possible Australian company ( using the mans full name ) . Any suggestions as to where I could search Australian company records , that may show the investors names / shareholders .

Hi all,

I wanted opinions on how to split my money currently have 60k saved and 20k invested outside of super. I would like to invest more but also scared of an impending market crash and I would like the cash for a deposit on a house in the near future. Tax wise definitely makes sense to invest in super or salary sacrifice into super and use fhss but again I'm worried about subpar returns or even negative returns over a short timeframe.

TLDR: better to keep more money in cash or invest if I want to buy a house in the near future given the current market?

Thank you for your time

Looking for resources for a relative experiencing financial hardship and a mental health crisis. Posting about both as her finances feed into her mental health, and vice versa.

Appreciated recommendations would be:
1 - anything relating to financial hardship and debt remediation (personal and small business)
2 - mental health resources for someone who can’t afford individual therapy (but has a lot of unresolved grief and psychological issues that are likely perpetuating financial stress, among other things)
3 - resources that help older people (50’s, 60’s) with employment options

Ideal outcome for my relative would be that someone can sit with her and make sense of her financial situation as well as a plan in remediating (or resolving) any debt she might have. She runs a small business but her personal finances are likely very intertwined.

And unsure if she actually has debt, or just very low income.

I personally don’t want to get involved nor am I familiar with what her options could be, and what local support options are available for low income, small business individuals.

I’ve asked my therapist for mental health support recommendations but her suggestions don’t seem straight forward to access (eg, one of her recommendations was approaching therapists and asking if they have availability and a sliding scale for low income individuals).

I can add more context as needed.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Location: Sydney inner west

Recently signed up with Powershop and thought the Switch Saver plan would suit us best based the fact we have solar+batteries.

Did research via Energy Made Easy and based my choice on the time of use table provided. Also switched providers using the method provided.

The Powershop app has been a pile of shit since signing up but they seemed to have ironed out the issues this week so I thought I'd double check what is what and I found the time of use charges did not match to what I signed up against.

I checked the Switch Saver plan directly via the Powershop website and the link it takes you to on the Energy Made Easy site has completely different information vs just going to Energy Made Easy and doing the comparison.

What I thought I signed up to - Plan ID: PSH1147906MRE3.

Note the 13.01c/kWh shoulder rate.

https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/plan?id=PSH1147906MRE3&postcode=2165&pricingPeriod=yearly&withDiscounts=true&benchmarkUsage=medium

What we're actually on - Plan ID: PSH1147913MRE3

Note the flat rate of 35.52c/kWh.

https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/plan?id=PSH1147913MRE&utm_source=Powershop&utm_campaign=bpi-retailer&utm_medium=retailer&postcode=2165

Same plan, different IDs.

I looked over everything and I cant work out what happened.

I’m an Australian sole trader with an ABN running an online retail business in a restricted niche. It started about three months ago and has grown faster than I expected. I’m grossing $15k+ a month and on pace to pass the $75k GST threshold well inside my first year. I haven’t registered for GST yet, and I have no company, no trust and no real bookkeeping. I’d like to set it up properly now rather than find out at tax time that it’s a mess.

1. GST timing. My understanding is that the trigger is projected turnover, not what I’ve banked. If I’m on pace for roughly $180k, am I already required to register? What date does the ATO treat me as registered from: when the requirement arose, or when I apply?
2. Before registration. Do I owe GST on sales made before the registration date? Can I claim input tax credits on stock and costs I bought before registering?
3. Process. Does my accountant handle this with the ATO, or is there something I need to do first?
4. Structure. At this turnover, is there a real reason to move to a company or trust, or is that premature until I’m retaining profits?
5. Cash flow. If you went from unregistered to registered mid-growth, how did you handle GST on prices you’d already been charging? Did you raise prices or absorb it, and how much did it bite?

If you’ve built an online retail business from scratch, what do you wish you’d set up in the first three months?

About to open some ETFs for the kids and interested to know what most people do - use their own TFN and take the CGT implications down the road, or get a TFN for the child and open it as an informal trust structure.

I see the pros and cons in both approaches. The kids are 7 and 9 and it’s not a huge amount of money we are starting with (a few thousand each).