I am thinking of getting a BYD Sealion 6 which is priced around $36k-38k (essential model, dynamic is dearer)(3000 -20,000kms driven).
However my concern right now is that whether it is 2024/2025 or 2026 model, BYDs seem to have a HUGE depreciation costs associated to them. People selling them on marketplace/car sales bought those for 45k-50k not so long ago and I am just worried that having 13-15k depreciation cost within just 12 -15 months is absolutely ridiculous.
I really like the cars and how they look and they are fuel efficient as well but it is just confusing me a lot. Any comments or a different angle for me to look at this?

I think only Toyotas retain their value or arent depreciated as badly as other brands.

If someone debt recycles 100% of their 80% LVR mortgage, I'm trying to understand what the "cost" is of living in that house.

Let's say a $625k house with $500k mortgage at 6%. If you debt recycle the entire $500k in to shares, then what is the cost of housing? It sounds like it would be very similar mechanics of someone who had $125k cash that they locked away, then got a $500k margin loan?

eg. if someone didn't own a house and decided to lock $125k of their own cash in to a special bank account that paid no interest, then went out and got a $500k margin loan at 6%, then was exposed to the upside and downside value of that house (plus maintenance costs), is that the same?

[the only discrepancy being that technically getting a $500k margin loan could be done without actually having $500k, but I'm just trying to mentally understand this].

tl;dr my goal is to understand how much housing "costs" when someone has fully debt recycled their property and has no problem with borrowing to invest in shares.

Assuming you have $100k where would you put that

A) Offset - risk free ~6.5% post tax saving

B) Buy a $500-600k property at 12% deposit for long term capital gains- not expected to be positively geared at current rates

C) US ETFs - expect 10-12 % returns with right choice but adjust for tax

D) Invest in a business / PE fund?

E) Anything else? Please provide detail

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.

Hi all,

First time poster, long time lurker. I’m keen to hear how others in a similar position have approached things, as our finances have been on my mind a lot lately.

Our situation (35F and 36M):
• Partner earns $207K. I’ll earn ~$60k next year returning part time (2–3 days) after parental leave, and have earned about $45k this year doing bits here and there.
• Three mortgages:
1. PPOR: estimated value $850–900k, mortgage $546k
2. Block of land: mortgage $300k, bought for $416k. Unsure of its current value. We planned to build but I’m less keen now given the cost.
3. 50% share in a Mornington Peninsula property with my sister and her partner. Mortgage $300k, our share of rent is $16k p.a. Probably worth ~$750k, but we plan to keep it as a future holiday house.
• Super: $108k (me), ~$225k (partner)
• ~$200k in shares

We have an 18-month-old and plan on one more child in the next year or so. We’ll likely outgrow our 3-bedroom PPOR in the coming years, as one room is a home office (partner is 100% WFH). My partner’s salary covers our expenses, so my income can go to savings, and I’ll likely be part time for several years.
For those who’ve been in a similar spot (one higher income, a second part-time income going to savings, and a future upgrade on the horizon), how did you weigh up options like paying down debt, an offset account, adding to shares, or super contributions? And for anyone who’s held land through a soft market, how did you approach the decision to hold or sell?

Thanks in advance!

How to lodge a case of unfair workplace practices against an employer?

Mid 20s, I'm currently working in consulting and have about 4 years in the industry now, across two big firms. I've done it long enough to know it's not what I want for the long term. I've done a lot of soul searching, and I've decided VC is the optimal path for me, and the only role within my qualifications and realm of expertise that I'm genuinely excited by. I've always loved the idea of entrepreneurship, and find myself always reading, following up and learning about the hottest new startups. unfortunately, this industry is very difficult to break into, and most of these firms hire through word of mouth, and when they don't competition is gruesome. I'm curious, what are some extracurricular I can start doing now to improve my chances of standing out. I understand the VC space relies heavily on network effects, often its who you know and not what you know. Is there a clever strategy I can deploy to start building my network of LPs that you'd would recommend? maybe that'd speak genuine interest for recruiters and GPs

Hi all, first home buyer here. Just want to know what documents or information I should seek before deciding to purchase an apartment for my own use. All I can think of are the strata fees and annual council rates at the moment. I have heard of many horror stories of apartment purchase so just want to ask the group for advice. Thanks so much!

Hi all,

We are first home owners in Melbourne and are looking for building and contents insurance for our newly built home.

House details:

- Newly built, single storey, 4 bedrooms

- Approx 33 squares (about 306 m²)

- 600 m² block

- Double garage

- No flood, bushfire or heritage overlay

We are looking for general advice from people who have been through this:

1. Which insurers have you had good experiences with, especially when making a claim?

2. What type of cover would you recommend (sum insured vs total replacement), and how did you work out the right rebuild amount?

3. What should we keep in mind or look out for in the policy wording?

4. Are there any insurers or policy conditions you would stay away from?

Thanks in advance.

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?

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?

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

So it looks like ato have upgraded the tax Lodge form and now it's pretty confusing. I have hopefully a simple question and mods please remove if not allowed.

I'm married and live in permanently in the U.K. as such I'm classed a non resident for aussie tax. But I still have a hecs debt so need to lodge a return every year.

I dont earn enough to go over the threshold to pay anything, nor do I make any aussie income or have any assets. My wife is also uk born and has never lived anywhere else.

My question is do I still need to include her income on my return? Cheers

Hey all, as the title suggests I’m curious what others would do in my situation.

I have quickly assessed what my tax bill would be this year after putting in work-related deductions and I’m estimated to owe ~10.7k (multiple jobs, salary sacrifice, not contributing more to HECs etc) and kind of expected this.

I have 30k in savings and ~11k in ETFs. Would the best choice be a combination of using part/full savings with remainder on a payment plan, or sell my ETFs? I also have a mortgage and am recently engaged so would like to start saving for wedding. I’m thinking to just use the savings to rip the bandaid and not worry about it?

Thanks

Hi all, I am trying to locate all of my share holdings. I have lost HIN and SRN numbers, original purchase prices and quantity. 😩Please don’t judge but provide advice on how I can get this information if I know what companies I have bought shares in. Not sure why but they don’t automatically pop up in the E-tax portal. 🧐🙄Thanks in advance 🥴

This is a long shot ... but I'm wondering if anyone has successfully managed to transfer a Dutch pension to an Australian super fund?

The process is complicated to say the least (seems like my super fund would need to demonstrate that they can comply with Dutch pension requirements) - so I would be interested to know if there are any super funds that have been willing/able to facilitate.

Just bought my first townhouse in Melbourne (M29) and did the numbers I could actually borrow less than what I was preapproved for surprisingly. My parents suggest that I but the extra cash directly towards my loan so I borrow less but I told them maybe it’s better to put it in my offset account??

I’m working with my broker and he’s given me some ideas on what we should do but just curious what do you think is best? Given the rate increases and a couple more on the way would you put it directly into your loan so you borrow less or would you put it in the offset account incase of emergency ?

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 ?

I had the CommBank black QFF card and it was great. Top tier rewards card for free because monthly fee was waived.

But now I don't qualify for Yellow because I dont have a transaction account with them and thus won't be making 5 debit purchases (nor do I want to).

So looking for a new card but wondering whether it is even worth it to have a rewards card given I've got a kid and won't be travelling nearly as much.

What have others done post RBA-decision?

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?

i know DHHF has probably been discussed a million times here, sorry! I’m in my late 20s and looking to invest around $300 a fortnight(long-term).
My super is roughly 80% international / 20% Australian, and I was thinking of doing something similar outside super. DHHF seems great and simple but the Australian allocation feels quite high to me. I know VAS/VGS is a popular combination here but I’d also love to hear from people who invest mostly/all internationally outside super. What do you use ?Vanguard, Betashares or something else? And which etfs? I’m fine riding out crashes and not touching the money for a long time, it’s really just the home bias in DHHF that’s making me second-guess it. still very much learning, so keen to hear your thoughts/experiences ! Thanks everyone

I see small/mid sized businesses going under often & their customer depositors (unsecured creditors) losing their $. What are the best ways for this to never happen to me especially in house Reno & Solar?

Things I know already :

make sure the “business owner” is listed online as the director of the same ABN (& not their wife)

Make sure he’s registered & insured.

My wife (26F British) and I (29M Australian) are moving back to Australia and are hoping to eventually buy our first home. Ideally we’d like to have a decent deposit together over the next ~3 years, but there’s a bit of uncertainty around whether Australia will ultimately be where we settle permanently.

The main thing I’m trying to work out is what to do with our house deposit savings in the meantime.

I’ve been looking into the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme, and on paper it seems pretty attractive because of the tax advantages. I’m 29, have a reasonable amount of super already, and we’ll both be earning around $90k+ once we’re working in Australia, so salary sacrificing some money towards a future deposit could potentially make sense.

However, my wife is currently not 100% certain that she wants to stay in Australia long-term. We’re moving back and giving it a proper go, but we may ultimately decide to return overseas in a year or two.

Because of that, I’m hesitant to aggressively put our potential house deposit into super when we might not actually buy a property in Australia.

So I’m trying to work out what people would do in this situation:

1. Would you use FHSS anyway?
If we decide to stay, we could potentially build the deposit faster through FHSS. My understanding is that FHSS is assessed individually, so I may be able to use my own eligible contributions even if my wife isn’t ready to commit to buying in Australia yet. Is that correct?

2. Or would you keep the money outside super?
For example, putting our house deposit savings into a high-interest savings account for the next 2–3 years so the money remains completely accessible if we decide to leave Australia.

3. Is there a middle ground?
For example, continuing to build a liquid cash deposit while only salary sacrificing a smaller amount into FHSS each year, rather than going all-in.

4. What would you prioritise?
We’d also have a car loan to pay off, and we’d want to build an emergency fund before putting too much towards a house deposit.

Our rough goal would be a 20% deposit, and we’re probably looking at a ~$600–700k property eventually, although that’s obviously subject to change.

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have been in a similar position — where they wanted to buy in Australia but weren’t completely certain they’d stay here long-term.

Would you prioritise FHSS + super, high-interest savings, or a combination of the two?

And are there any other Australian first-home-buyer strategies I should be looking at that would work better given the uncertainty?

I’m not looking for personalised financial advice, just trying to understand the options and how other people would approach it.

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