Australia has historically avoided technical recessions better than most advanced, first-world economies. We famously missed the 08 GFC but some people here act like we were in the trenches cause house prices dipped maybe 10% lol. COVID did cause a 7% GDP contraction but government intervention and the 0.1% cash rate caused things to rebound very fast, GDP returning to pre-pandemic levels by early 2021 which surpassed most of our global peers.

I think just we have a very sheltered view of what a recession/financial crisis is. My mum is from Ireland which got hit HARD in the GFC, I've heard horror stories from her and her family. Insane levels of unemployment, wage decreases, increased levies/taxes, owing millions more on the mortgage than what homes were worth as prices plummeted etc. Pretty much everyone was forced to leave the country to continue making a living. This wasn't limited to Ireland obviously, it happened throughout Europe and the US etc.

I'm not saying things need to get as bad here for us to worry about a recession and there have been things worth worrying about like rising commodity prices, house prices, cost of living are all valid concerns. But, I just can't help but think of how good we have it here, especially when hearing what happened in other countries. If shit actually does hit the fan here, we're in for a very rude awakening.

I make 160k a year but if I take a local job , I’ll make 100k.

The problem is that the travel hours are brutal and I miss out on so much family time.

I wake up at 5:30, to get ready so that I can be at the office by 8:30. I get home back around 7pm.

Then if there’s any work related dinners or client dinners whatever, that makes it home at 8:30pm.

Also basically I leave home when it’s dark and get back home when it’s dark in winter.

If I take the local job, I’ll take a 60k pay cut before tax, but I can leave home at 8 in the morning and also be home at 6:30pm. Also no client dinners.

Free nice dinners are a luxury, but it gets old.

If I take a 60k pay cut… my borrowing power also goes down heaps.

I’m a tradesman. I did a LOT of work for this weasel of a man. He’s a realtor. Stereotypical, drives a convertible, thinks he’s gods gift.

The guy became SO UNREASONABLE to work for. I politely said “Thanks, but no thanks” and provided full handover for the next person. I made sure I was professional about it, but I couldn’t work for this condescending prick anymore.

He refused to pay my last invoice. He owes me 3.5k. I took it to debt collectors, but it didn’t work. Now we’re looking at small claims court.

This is exhausting. I have a young family and I just want to be paid for the work I already completed. Speaking with other contractors - this guy has a history of doing this and knows exactly what he’s doing.

Please give me your most unhinged, wild methods of trying to get paid without going down the legal route. It’s more the principal of it, than the money. I hate bullies and rich people taking advantage.

Previous generations, housing, business, shares, defined benefit supers.

What's for the next generation? New builds, dividend shares?

With all the interest in the cc surcharge recently and how it may make certain things more expensive, I was wondering if and what out there has gotten cheaper over time?

Rents drive home prices, not the other way around. Expecting falling house prices to bring rents down misunderstands how capitalisation rates work.

Housing is priced like a relatively passive investment. An investor might want a 5% annual return, so they'll pay a price at which the yearly rent equals 5% of the property's value.

For example, a property that rents for $50,000 a year, valued at a 5% yield, is worth $1 million ($50,000 ÷ 0.05). The exact yield investors demand shifts with taxes, holding costs, and bond yields, since property competes with bonds for the same investment dollars.

That investment value acts as a floor: if prices drop below it, investors step in and buy. Any price movement above that floor is speculation (which is currently falling).

https://www.inspectorfind.com.au/news/falling-house-prices-rent

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-01/australian-house-prices-fall-for-sixth-straight-month/107206782

https://www.mpamag.com/au/news/general/house-prices-fall-but-rents-refuse-to-follow/589895

Looking for some advice about my current situation. I'm saving to buy a unit hopefully by the end of next year. Approx $80k of what will make up my deposit is in Vanguard EFTs (VAS, VGS, VAE). If I sell now my CG will be approx $25k and qualify for the 50% CGT discount. My nominal tax rate is 37%.

Given the current market instability and the fact that I need the funds within a 12-24 month timeline, should I cash out now and get the money into a HYSA? I know no one has a crystal ball but talks on here about recessions and AI bubbles has me worried that my share value could tank just when I need the money for a house.

Good people, what do you think the smart thing to do here is?

There are buildings every 2nd apartment is Airbnb. Most strata insurance won't cover business activities, not to mention probably against the bylaws. Aren't owners taking a huge risk if there is fire ?

Hello!

I work a full time corporate job so say 8-6 on week days. Does anyone know any second jobs I could pick up that wouldn’t mind that I could only work weekends and nights ?

For context, I moved inter-state at the beginning of the year for uni and finding a job was hard. Its a smaller city and with an influx of students coming in so the job market I'd say was a bit competitive. I have had 4 years of experience in a mix of hospitality, retail and office jobs, had a good high school education, a car, etc and still couldn't land a job until recently.

Basically I got offered two jobs around the same time about 5 weeks ago and I ended up accepting both, however I realised I couldn't balance them with my uni load as I'm doing a double degree, so I have decided to quit one of them. I'm just wondering if I'm making the right choice? and would people with more life experience or a better understanding of the job market agree with my choice?

Job A - the job I'm quitting; bartender at a nightclub. Pros: good hourly pay (~$35/hour) and therefore a decent contribution to my super. Was a lovely workspace with good people, plus a few mates However its horrible hours, anywhere from 8pm-4am and I have to cram it in by usually doing 2-3 nights in a row due to my timetable, which I find exhausting. Plus since its a local hospitality group, when I go back to my home city, I basically have no work and as a casual it would be harder for me to become part-time later on because of this. Once I finish uni I'd basically quit.

Job B - sales assistant at a department store. This was honestly my dream job as I've always liked their brand and the hiring process was pretty rough but I'm super happy to have landed a role here. Pros: good working hours which are flexible with my schedule, nice staff discounts, access to a credit card with no fees and other benefits on-top of that. Only downside is my pay is easily $10 less per hour compared to Job A (however over time it will increase as my rates change in-line with work laws). This job I'm wanting to keep because I think its benefits outweigh the lower pay in the short-term, plus since it has stores nation wide, I'm thinking of transferring to work at the stores in my local city when I am back home during uni breaks. The possibility of a long-term job security really appeals to me, especially since I'll be living in my uni city for another 4 years until my degree is done. Also after a certain time period I can apply to be considered for a part-time role. If I really enjoy the culture and working here, I would consider applying to work in their corporate space as well since I'm doing a business/commerce degree, and I'm pretty sure they offer a lot of pipelines for retail staff to go into office roles, so the chance of securing or having the opportunity to secure a job with a business I like post-uni really appeals to me (although I know this is quite far away).

Again, I'm just curious with what those with more experience in the job market would prioritise, especially since I'm still young and as a uni student want to travel. However I feel like I'm making the right choice? What do you think?

Hi Team,

I've been sponsoring/donating money for a number of years to a high profile charity organisation for both the tax deduction and also to give back.

For context, I grew up poor and I did OK for myself so I wanted to help out where I could.

Recently there's been a change in my employment situation so while I'm not unemployed, I've had to seriously adjust my outgoings just to re-balance things. I have 3 primary aged children so they are prioritised aside from the mortgage etc.

Anyway, I've received a letter today from the organisation saying they are increasing the cost of sponsorship by 5% due to cost of living increases with the entire increase directly benefitting the sponsored person. There was also a 5% increase last year - so 10% over 2 years. I'm a believer in the charity however of course like all organisations they have increased costs so I'm sure some of the increase will go to covering cost increases (inc. salaries).

I'm sure you all can see my question/dilemma. Do I continue to give or do stop until I get resettled with things? The tax deduction is handy at tax time however the cashflow will be equally welcome as I rebalance.

Or is it more nuanced that this?!

TIA Team.

We purchased a house in NW Sydney 3 years ago for $1.5m - a basic 3BR terraced house in a Strata complex.

We had a minimal deposit and thus had to pay LMI and had a high interest rate as a result.

I saw the economy was not going to stabilize quickly so I locked in fixed rate at 5.79% until January 2028.

Even still, repayments are $8250 per month and god knows what they will be when we come off fixed rate. With the cost of everything else increasing I am considering selling the house and renting for a few years or forever.....Seeing the majority of our income leave our account to go on interest is soul destroying.

Another issue we have is that the home is currently valued for the exact same price we paid.

Any advice on what we could do would be great

Hey all looking for help ,22 years old have come to realise I have a spending addiction going out to clubs , online shopping etc etc spending way to much don’t even want to go into detail on how much money has been spent on stupid shit just looking for advice on what to do

Shops have just changed the name of the fee to service or platform charge instead

Hi all,

I am searching for a finance company that does line of credit for trade/consumer customers. We are a supplier. I have heard of Capricorn before, however they don’t qualify. So if any similar company exists that anyone knows of please feel free to let me know. ☺️

We have a large customer base and would love to have the option of a monthly credit that isn’t our own. This way customers can earn points or benefits.

Thank you, please let me know if I’m in the wrong place!!

Hi

My premiums have gone way up this year and I am looking at paying 4.2K for life + TPD + Trauma insurance. This feels a lot. I have also been made redundant this year and searching for a job for many months with no luck. Should I cancel and just stick to the super one which is pretty little but very cheap or continue paying for this one outside? I am with NobleOak.

I have always used Commsec and Superhero all my life.

Have recently learnt about Schwab and IBKR.

Just wondering if anyone use them, and what do you use them for? Ie what to invest with them?

What is the main reason you use the international brokerage over the Aussie brokers?

Any input is appreciated.

The details...

• Who: ages 15 to 35. On a joint account, the primary holder has to be in that range.
• Rate: 5.40% now, 5.65% from 16 Oct, on balances up to $249,999. The portion above that earns 4.25% today.
• Conditions: none. Withdraw whenever you like.
• Fees: no account-keeping or transaction fees.

In summary: 5.65% from 16 Oct, nothing to do each month on up to $250k.

That makes it the highest no-monthly-conditions rate on the market right now, as long as you're 15–35.

The next closest are AMP GO Save and Australian Mutual Bank's Starter Saver at 5.50% (top rate only on the first $50k), then Macquarie and Bankwest Easy Saver at 5.25%.

Hi all

Relocating to Sydney soon with my spouse and toddler. I’ll be the sole earner (~$200k AUD package) temporarily. Our plan is for my spouse to stay home to look after our toddler until she starts school.

Coming from a lower-tax environment, the jump to Australia’s ~47% marginal tax bracket on a single income is a big shift.

Our Current Baseline Plan:

Private Health Insurance: Getting family cover immediately to avoid the 1.5% Medicare Levy Surcharge.

Superannuation: Maximizing the $32.5k annual concessional cap via salary sacrifice, plus exploring carry-forward unused caps since my AU super balance starts at $0.

Spouse Super: Making spouse contributions for tax offset.

Key Questions:

1. Is there any other tax reduction strategy that we missed?

2. We have around AUD$1m cash when we move to Sydney. Given we will be on single income after we move, what is the best approach to investment? Is it better to focus our investment on high interest savings accounts, shares, ETFs instead of buying an investment property?

3. Asset Structuring: In a few years, my spouse may become the primary earner while I take time off. Should we buy investments directly in my non-working spouse's name now? When my spouse starts working, he is likely to be in the highest tax bracket and it seems we are stuck with high CGT for any sale of our investments after he starts working.

4. First-Year Traps: For anyone who moved to AU from overseas, any timing traps around residency start dates or tax treatment of overseas accounts/pensions I should watch out for?

Thanks for any insights!

The RBA delivered another rate hike this year, and there's plenty of "the government spends too much" talk. But I rarely see anyone say what to cut, and every dollar is someone's service or income:

Public service jobs or wages (teachers, nurses, police): fewer people employed, or real pay cuts

Health and aged care: longer waits, worse care

NDIS: I know there’s some controversies on how some people exploit the system - but it supports some of the most vulnerable Australians

Cost-of-living subsidies: households feel it directly (eg. power prices jumped when subsidies rolled off)

Also, the RBA says spending is only one factor alongside energy prices and the Iran war.

So where would you make the trade-off? Is slowing growth (like the NDIS plan) better than absolute cuts? Would you rather cut transfers or public sector jobs? Or is the alternative, higher rates for mortgage holders, a worse cost?

Keen to hear specific programs rather than “cut wastes” - because everyone agrees on wastes and nobody agrees on what it is.

Just did updated quotes for car insurance with RAC WA and noticed something that seems pretty ridiculous.

My premium was $1,556, but when I added my 71-year-old dad as an additional driver, it dropped to $1,336. So adding him can save me $220.

I’ve actually been adding him for years because I’ve noticed it usually reduces the premium by around $50 to $100, which I always thought was a bit strange. But this year the difference is $220. It is across other insurers too, not just RAC.

I’m 40 and have been driving since I was 18, so I don’t really understand how having my 70 year old dad listed as a driver has any relevance to my own driving risk.

Does anyone know why adding an older driver can make the premium cheaper?