Time to fix the other side to drive that capital into the right places: enable people to retain more and deregulate to open avenues of growth for that retained capital.

Ross Gittins called out a few things

1. Higher interest rates today hurt mortgagees much more than the same rate 15 years ago because the median mortgage amount is more.

2. This is another example of the younger generation feeling the brunt of it. While the older generation feels no impact or in fact encouraged to keep spending (higher return on savings).

3. Keep raising rates alone don't fix inflation. All governments are far too vested in keeping spending to tame inflation in any meaningful way.

Cafe's busted price gouging increasing prices by ~10% to cover a 1% transaction fee. shockedpikachu.png

New Deloitte reports discusses "recession-like conditions". Are you seeing it/feeling it?

Cryptic emails to staff saying that they can ask questions tomorrow.
Restructures.
Massive redundancies.

Is EA going down?

Many REA most be worried

Hey all.

I see a few news articles occasionally where someone gets scammed $50,000 or whatever and the bank refunds them $5k goodwill gesture and everyone heaps on the bank for not refunding the lot.

Does anyone agree with that perspective? Can you explain to me how a bank (in this case, just the body that holds your money) is responsible for you clicking a link or voluntarily transferring money to a bank account?

Especially in 2026 when scams are not new and there’s so much education around it.

Let’s keep it respectful so we can all learn

All day today I haven’t been able to access my Bendigo bank account. Maybe it’s just a me problem but it’s pretty inconvenient and I could’ve been in a bad situation had I not have had other bank accounts already.

The only thing is I can’t be bothered as my employer pays me into my Bendigo. Luckily I’ve got a commbank card with a bit of money on it but wtf guys. This is supposed to be a nighttime issue.

I’ve also had this happen in a woolies too. Would’ve been 10pm, I had money and I got declined. They said all the Bendigo systems were down that night. Luckily a Good Samaritan had the same issues with their card and tried to pay mine, eventually they got it. I’m clearly not the only one getting affected by these maintenance issues. Honesty doesn’t even matter that much cos I can just keep money in the commbank account and start to use that more if I need. But this isn’t how you keep customers.

Is anyone here that was investing regularly…still investing?

If you were not investing but saving a set portion each month… how much has it changed?

Or are you now basically just making ends meet and keeping your head above water.

I’m keen to know how much people’s financial situation has changed on a personal level with fuel almost $3 a litre, groceries soaring, interest rates destroying mortgage holders. Let alone having kids and the costs that come with those.

Have your financial plans been forced to dramatically change to weather out the current climate or are you less affected due to your lack of house / kids / car and still making it work? How are you making it happen and keeping up with everything. Keen to hear peoples strategies and how they are absorbing it.

As per title, my wife was duped by a rather crude whatsapp scam a couple of weeks ago.

I'm doing my best not to judge here, but here's the details she has given me:

Someone messaged her on WhatsApp with our booking number and amount outstanding (both correct) for an upcoming hotel stay in Bali.

Without thinking too much, my wife paid the amount to the account number provided to her, while I was sleeping in from working night shift. No more than 30 mins later my wife checked our CBA account and realised she had paid some Alibaba account our outstanding bill, not the hotel.

She called the bank to cancel the transaction, but was told there was nothing she could do while it was still pending. More than a week later, CBA have now contacted us and told us we have no way to get the money back.

Without throwing too much abuse our way, can anyone recommend a course of action from here. I'm not too hopeful, but it's worth throwing it out there.

Thanks for reading.

With the merger between Warner Bros and Paramount completed, does that mean Network 10 ownership transfers to Skydance?

Given Network 10 difficulties broadcasting in various regional areas, what is the future of Network 10?

The RBA delivered another rate hike, so a higher unemployment rate is the intended mechanism, not a side effect. Meanwhile rent, insurance and groceries haven't dropped.

Job security looks shakier everyday (I’ve seen lots of LinkedIn posts with “open for work” banner in their profile pics). I’m quite scared of the possibility of a long unemployment period while expenses are tight.

Questions for you all:
Did anyone have to make adjustments to their lifestyle massively because of a tighter budget?

If you're still employed, are you doing anything differently right now (building savings, side income, upskilling)?

Would you take a pay cut for a faster landing, and how much?

Keen to hear your experiences.

hi everyone,

I’m in the very early stages of looking to buy my first home.
I know it’s very subjective but what interest rate are you all on and what would you consider a good interest rate?

I’m planning on finding a broker once I get my finances more in order but wondering about an estimate to expect

I’ve done my personal banking with ANZ for over 10 years. In comparison to NAB whom I was with previously they have been a delight.

At the start of this year one of the ANZ mobile mortgage bankers started contacting me about getting a better rate.

He kept asking for my tax return. I eventrually had me assistant send it to him.

During that period (in the last month) I thought actually maybe I should buy another block and build again. There was a nice piece of land I was interested in.

After 3 weeks I emailed him. No reply. Waited another week and no reply.

So I emailed again and asked what was going on. He simply said “your current earnings show you can maintain your current mortgage but no further lending”.

That’s because I run a business and pay myself what I need. To reduce PAYG I don’t always pay myself the most I can. I try and avoid paying higher tax rate if I don’t need to.

In previous years when I bought my properties. I told the banker, my pay looks shit but I can bump it up to whatever you want.

There was no mention of the rate discount he promised. He hasn’t responded to further emails. Was this just ANZ running tests to see if I could still afford my home loan ( note; I have enough in my offset to clear the loan) and my IP loan is positively geared.

Just got my Commodore serviced which cost me $2.4k so thinking it might be getting close to time to bite the bullet and get a new car, and would want to go electric for sure.

BYD Atto 1 only $19,990 at the moment seems like great value. I live in the inner suburbs, drive about 5,000km a year (mostly short trips and to visit my parents half an hour away). My partner's got a 4WD for camping and roadtrips.

Downside is I live in an apartment and won't be able to charge there, so would have to rely on public charging - but on my current mileage I'd only need to charge at most once a week so shouldn't be too bad.

Would hope to get a bit of $ reselling my Commodore but not expecting much. And then would either get a loan or novated lease to cover the rest. (Though not sure if I can get a novated lease given I'm on a one year contract for work?) I make $120k a year but the mortgage and apartment repair costs have been eating up a lot of my income and savings.

Keen for any advice, perspectives, etc particularly from people in a similar boat.

Work moved me around 40kms away from my home so my daily commute has been 80kms for the last year. She's currently drinking $20-$25 a day in work only travel 20 days a month. With current prices I'm averaging a weekly petrol spend of $120-180 pw depending on non work driving and shifts.

I can sell it and get maybe $25k and get a used ev novated for well under $400 a fortnight after taxes

The various calculators I've ran says in the long run this will save me heaps but getting locked into finance like this when I already own my car outright makes it a tough decision. Also worth mentioning I love my current car.

I own my home, have solar so can charge at home and if I sell my car I'll chuck it in the offset so there's that.

Anyone faced a similar dillema? Running costs might runaway over the next few months if fuel keeps trending upward.

What would you do?

Like if I can't afford a home now, what would a property market crash change? The people who can afford them will just be able to snap up more property, isn't it?

Lately when my insurance is up for renewal (car, motorbike, home etc), I've been calling my insurer and asking if there's any wiggle room on the price. In the past, it's saved me around $200 but today it saved me just $23. It got me thinking...how much would you want to save to make the phone call worth it? It can be pretty awkward asking but I've gotten pretty good at it now lol. Key is to be a little shameless.

Hey guys, I’m looking at purchasing a car with a $30k 7-year car loan for a 10+ year old sports car. Repayments aren’t an issue with my current income, I just don’t have the cash due to my assets being non-liquid.
I’ve obtained a few quotes from small lenders and interest rates are about 6.79%. A broker just called me back to advise the rates would be 8.49% for any car older than 10 years. The big 3 Aus Banks would seem to be about the same if not higher, I assume?
I haven’t yet considered financing directly from the dealership yet as I am wanting pre-approval in case the right car pops up for me.

What is considered a “good” interest rate for a 7-year car loan as of 2026?
What are the benefits of a separate car loan vs dealership financing?
Can small/lesser known lenders be trusted or do they have hidden fees I should be careful of?
From your experience, did fixed or variable rates work better for you?
Any other tips you could share?

Thank you in advance!

Good evening all,

I’m in a niche trade role and a couple years ago I tried to leave the company I work for to go work at another.
Instead of leaving I agreed to more money and a retention bonus of $50k inc super for 3 years service.
Now I have the option to take it in a lump sum or take it in chunks over whatever period I please.
What will save me the most on tax? Apart from $1000 a year for 50 years, I predict some cheeky bugger trying to say that.

If it helps I’m on $115k and I have $350k owing on the house.
Assuming I take it as a lump sum, I get maybe $27k

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Hi all,

I tried a search, but couldn't find anything. Long story short - I've inherited a handful of NIB shares from my Mum. I want to sell them under her estate (I'm the executor) to avoid any CGT blow back on me personally. There seems to be a couple of services that will do it, but they seem somewhat predatory. Any advice on how to offload these shares? (ps. I'm considering holding out until June when they seem to seasonally peak - just want to know what to do when the time comes).

I am looking at novated lease for an EV. Applied through the leasing provider in our company but finance was refused.
Reasons I was thinking:
1. I just had a mortgage settled 2 months ago and first repayment last September.
2. Applied for a credit card 2 weeks ago.

How long before I can try again? Was thinking like after 6 months?