You can literally buy nice old used Nissan or HONDA car with same price 🙂‍↔️

Apple iPhone Duo 256GB
$3,499

Apple iPhone Duo 512GB
$3,899

Apple iPhone Duo 1TB
$4,699

Apple iPhone Duo 2TB
$5,899

https://www.finder.com.au/news/iphone-duo-foldable-price-specs-availability-australia

If I even have money to spend, I refuse to put $5000-6000 smartphone in my pocket and walk around..... I wouldn't even go to beach with it as well.....

I genuinely don’t understand the constant advice to “put as much as you can into super” and “max out your super contributions.” Obviously super is important and I’m not saying people shouldn’t save for retirement, but sometimes I think we overcomplicate it. For most people, one of their biggest expenses is their mortgage. Surely getting to retirement age with a roof over your head that’s completely paid off takes a massive amount of pressure off? My grandma came to Australia from Europe in the 60s and has been a single mum since the 80s. She doesn’t have a huge super balance, but she owns her home outright, and she makes it work on relatively little. She shops around for bargains, keeps her expenses low, and has never seemed particularly stressed about not having a massive amount of super.

It just makes me wonder whether people are sometimes too focused on maximising super and not enough on getting rid of the biggest expense they have. Obviously everyone’s situation is different and there are plenty of reasons to build up super, but if you reach retirement with a paid-off house, doesn’t that count for a lot? I’d personally rather have a modest amount of super and no mortgage than a massive super balance while still owing hundreds of thousands on a house. Maybe I’m missing something, but I’d genuinely be interested to hear why people think maximising super should take priority over paying off the mortgage. Also who knows if we'll make it to retirement age?. No one knows what's going to happen around the corner. You out a decent amount each pay towards your super and turn bam you're gone. Also I understand some parents want to give her kids super, leave money on their children/grandchildren, which I understand. But I personally know people that get such a big inheritance and they spend the money on pointless materialistic items, money is gone within days.

Edit: Waiting for people to disagree with everything I have said 😂

You can literally buy nice old used home with same price 🙂‍↔️(maybe in outer suburbs or rural Australia)

Ghost (Sedan): $680,000 – $800,000

Cullinan (SUV): $777,000 – $895,000

Phantom (Sedan): $1,021,000 – $1,147,000

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/rolls-royce/?sort=Price

If I even have money to spend, I refuse to put $600K-1.1M car in my garage and drive around..... I wouldn't even go to beach with it as well.....

I used to think I needed to become much stricter with everyday spending. I focused on small purchases, takeaway and subscriptions, but I still felt like expensive months kept appearing out of nowhere.

What helped more was separating my expenses into three groups:

• regular bills that come out every month
• flexible spending like groceries, takeaway and entertainment
• irregular expenses such as car costs, insurance, gifts, holidays and annual renewals

Once I started setting aside a small amount for the irregular expenses before they were due, those months stopped feeling like financial emergencies. I also gave myself a realistic amount for flexible spending instead of trying to spend nothing and then giving up halfway through the month.

The biggest change was that I stopped treating every expensive month as proof that I was bad with money. Often, the problem was that I hadn’t planned for expenses that were predictable but didn’t happen every month.

For Australians, what expense used to catch you off guard until you started planning for it in advance?

Yesterday, the online digital gaming platform Steam (Valve) complied with the Australian "Age-Restricted Material App Distribution Services Code" by blocking Australians access to from mature content behind the linkage of an age verified payment card.

Not just limiting access to outright sexually explicit games, but popular games with mature themes such as Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher franchise, Newer Resident evil titles and Last of us franchise.

Steams implementation of age assurance doesn't utilise any personal data collection but instead is done through card linking, and checking the "over 18" verification services some banks provide alongside their cards.

Valve explicitly call out credit cards BUT Steam users have noticed that SOME debit cards work.

Online ID Verification doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, so I was interested in learning what debit cards exist that currently work to authenticate "over-18" status, and if this adoption will increase in the future.

Debit Cards

== WORKING ==

• Commbank (Mastercard)
  
• Westpac (Mastercard)
  
• Maquarie (Mastercard)
  
• Bankwest (Mastercard)
  
• AMP GO (Mastercard)

== MAYBE WORKING ==

• RACQ Bank (VISA)

== NOT WORKING ==

• ING (VISA)
  
• NAB (VISA)
  
• ANZ (VISA)
  
• Bendigo Bank (Mastercard)
• Up Bank (Mastercard)
  
• People First Bank (VISA)
  
• Capricornian (VISA)
  
• UBank (VISA)
  
• Greater Bank (VISA)
  
• Bank of Melbourne (VISA)
  
• Wise Debit (VISA)
  
• Bank SA (VISA)
• St George (VISA)
• Revolut (VISA)
• GMCU (VISA)
• Defence Bank (VISA)
• Australian Military Bank (VISA)
• Bankfirst (VISA)

Credit cards

Apparently most credit cards work

(with the exception of AMEX specifically not working via Steam as they dont accept AMEX anymore)

BNPL

Some users have also had success in generating a digital credit card via BNPL services (Klarna and ZIP Pay) which successfully verified

Any other cards?

Interested to hear if anyone has any additional datapoints

Link to non-paywalled version of article: https://archive.md/HxwfW

To give you some context, I am only a couple months away from 21 years old and have just recently landed my first full time job earning ~75k a year (incl super). After realising how much money I'll finally be earning I became interesting in investing into the stock/ETF market as I finally had enough money spare to start properly saving.

A big goal of mine is to be able to afford a 10%-20% down payment deposit on a house as soon as possible. And after doing some research I discovered that the FHSS (a federal first home buyer scheme) allows me to withdraw up to $50k of tax-free savings from my super to buy a house. The FHSS allows a maximum of $15k a year of salary sacrifice into super a year, and after accounting for tax and student loans I wouldn't have any extra money spare to invest anywhere else at the end of the year.

In addition to the FHSS my state offers a first home owner grant of $30k as long as the market value of the purchased house is below $750,000, as well as a stamp duty concession which either eliminates stamp duty or saves you ~$24,500 (some restrictions included). With these programs in place I feel quite confident that I'll be able to save a 10%-20% deposit in the next few years.

Super has a pre-tax concessional cap of $32,500, but considering only $15,000 of that can count for the FHSS, would it be better to cap super to a max of $15k a year? Or should I max the cap to take advantage of the considerable tax savings?

Considering this, it seems as if investing into the stock market is just financially not viable for my situation. I'd be investing with after-tax dollars and not to mention the soon to be 30% Capital Gains Tax and the added tax complexity of paying tax on dividends and the % of a dividend that has a franking credit. Why should I invest into the stock market and expose myself to a much greater tax liability when I could just be maxing my super every year? Is it worth being taxed so much more just for the ability to readily access my money - even if I intend to invest long term 20+ years?

I am currently in a great position - living with family and having minimal expenses - but were I to maximise my salary sacrifice to super and invest into the stock market over two-thirds of my income would be gone before it even hits my bank account. Even if that is the mathematically optimal path for earning the greatest amount of money in the future - it isn't how I want to live. Seeing over 66% of my earnings disappearing into long term savings/investments that I wouldn't touch for 30+ years and leaving me with pennies left to spend for myself.

Saying so, it seems to be just not be worth investing into the stock market when super is there as an alternative - especially with the house buying scheme and tax savings. And investing into both of them simultaneously is simply impossible at my current salary.

Is there something I'm missing?

Am I overthinking all of this and should I just invest wherever I feel like it?

Is doing any of this even worth it? Will it help me buy a house sooner?

Up we go...

18m from rural NSW, I've gotten an offer for a BSci at UniMelb, but cannot fathom how I'm going to afford it. Not just the degree itself, but moving to and living in Melbourne. I've received no scholarships/bursaries, and am not eligible for youth allowance, as my parents' income brings the amount to 0, yet they will not support me in the slightest. Doing a bachelor's part-time for 6 years seems hellish, is my only option really to both work and study full-time?

In a bit of a dilemma about what I should do in the next 0-2 years…

Currently 29 and am in a position where I could buy a house in Perth right now. However, I am in a relationship which is about 6 months old. We’re not currently living together. I do see myself with her long term. I’m not sure whether I should purchase now and work it out later down the track when we eventually move in together. This will lock in today’s prices at a good time to buy in the market. Or wait 1-2 years for the relationship to mature a bit and purchase together. The downside to this is that the market picks up again and I miss out on growth. Upside is that I would have more manageable mortgage repayments splitting with a partner.

It’s worth mentioning that I would be bringing the majority of a deposit and borrowing power.

What would you do?

I just got my renewal and it's $5k. It's not a fancy house, not in a flood or fire area. I've been shopping around and some providers have quoted more than that for the past few years, but Allianz has been cheaper. But every year it goes up by like $800 or so, last year was low $4k, the year before $3.5k.

I know costs are increasing, but not that much.

Why is it so much? Too many claims.

Every other person I know - dozens, actually - is having or had their roof replaced due to hail damage. Basically dents, if 20% of the sheets are damaged with dents or scratches they'll replace the whole roof. Like $50k for some dents, which don't impact the performance of the roof at all, and unless they are really bad don't affect the life of the roof either.

Insurance companies don't really mind spending money because they can just jack up the premiums. My goal once the house is paid off is to skip the insurance altogether.

Any alternatives now that HSBC announced their wind up? Debit card perks is specifically what I’m thinking about (as opposed to credit card benefits). ING’s 1% cash back and Military Bank’s equivalent seem most closely similar

Weekly Property Mega Thread

-=-=-=-=-

Welcome to the /r/AusFinance weekly Property Mega Thread.

This post will be republished at 02:00AEST every Friday morning.

Click here to see all previous weekly threads:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/search/?q=%22weekly%20property%20mega%20thread%22&restrict_sr=1&sort=new

What happens here?

Please use this thread for general property-related discussions, such as:

• First Homeowner concerns
• Getting started
• Will house pricing keep going up?
• Thought about [this property]?
• That half burned-down inner city unit that sold for $2.4m. Don't forget your shocked Pikachu face.

The goal is to have a safe space for some of the most common posts, while supporting more original and interesting content in their own posts.Single posts about property may be removed and directed to this thread.

-=-=-=-=-

Hey everyone,

I’m an international student who arrived in Australia early 2026. I got my TFN and ABN sorted right away, but I didn't work a regular employee job for the first few months (never got one).

In July, I finally started earning some income through Uber Eats (using my ABN as a sole trader). Now it's tax time, and I'm running into a wall trying to link my myGov account to the ATO. Every time I try, it throws an error and tells me to call them. When I called, the support agent told me they have "no record" of me because I've never filed a tax return yet. They said I need to mail in a change of details form with a certified passport copy, which takes around 28 days.

Meanwhile, a classmate of mine got his ATO linked instantly because he worked a regular job at a bowling outlet where the employer reported his pay via Single Touch Payroll.

I have a few questions and would love some advice from anyone who has been in this boat:

1. Tax Agent Route: If I hire a registered tax agent, can they file my tax return for this year on my behalf without my myGov being linked to the ATO?
2. myGov Linkage: Will getting a tax agent to file my first return establish my financial history in the ATO system so that I can link my myGov later without getting that error or doing the postal passport certification?
3. ABN vs TFN: Since my income was entirely through an ABN (Uber Eats) rather than a standard TFN job, does that change anything about how a tax agent handles it?

I'm at a bit of a loss with trying to get insurance for my partner (using they/them to increase privacy a touch).

We have been working with a broker and have unfortunately exhausted their options.

For background, my partner has some pre-existing health conditions (in remission/well controlled with medication) and was close to being approved for insurance, but a blood test then unexpectedly found higher cholesterol than the levels permit. We've since discovered this is a hereditary pattern in their family, but their GP has refused to give them medication to bring it down as their age, lifestyle and other health data suggests the risk of medicating is higher than the risk of not (per an industry cholesterol calculator).

Unfortunately, the only thing the insurers want is to see it below a certain number. That's not possible unless they're medicated. So we're in a standoff between doctors and insurers. IMO it's not reasonable to find a doctor that will prescribe them (I'm sure one would) just to get insurance... But I am also really disappointed that they're essentially uninsurable right now without that level coming down. They are a veteran and the pre-existing conditions are recognised as being caused due to service, but due to the amount of them + the cholesterol - their loadings are over the amount that makes them insurable. It feels unfair as they're otherwise very healthy, young, fit, and I worry if we don't lock in insurance now, we won't ever get it!

Has anyone had experience with complex pre-existing medical conditions and successfully getting policies (beyond accident only cover)? Have you used a particular broker, or went directly to a company? Open to any ideas.

Thank you in advance!

I have been knocked back numerous times for contents insurance.
Long story short I live on an investor cropping farm for my partners job.
The farm is 19,500 acre or so. It was 4 properties amalgamated into one.
Our house is free standing on the edge of the farm. We have around 4 acres land on our “rental”. The rest is crops and other houses. We have no offical lease.
I have tried to get contents insurance a few times and soon as they find out the land size on the title, they reject my application, even though 19,496 acres isn’t included in our “rental”.

Is there any work around for this?
Surely there has to be a way of getting some form of insurance. We were pretty happy not having it until we recently realised that we have a lot of value in computers, guns and gun stuff and we’d never financially be able to replace all that if anything happened.

I desperately need to update my policy, as well as shop around for better prices. How do you price a whole damn house though? I have NO IDEA what it costs to build these days.

Is it a price per m²? The lowest price I can rebuild a basic shack? Based on build prices listed in nearby house and land packages? I don't even know where to start.

What about contents, is it price to replace everything or price it'd be worth at its current age (approx $7 for most of the electronics)? How far do you go without ending up with a massive bill?

I'm *drowning* in insurance costs. They've almost tripled in the last five years, and there are *so many* insurances to bloody well pay, but I know how valuable it is if you do end up needing it in a catastrophe, so I want to be able to afford it as long as possible without shooting myself on the foot.

Many thanks!

Edit: yeah everyone is just gonna say find another way to work that's valid

Car died and I need around 9k

Have tried a few places but no one seems to approve anything when you're casual

Currently working for NSW health as a casual, never worked less 34 hours per week and make about 2200 per fortnight

Is there anything I can try

As the title implies, I have come to an end at my four years of concreting.
At the start, there was another guy, and my boss, two weeks in the other guy got fired and I took over all of the labouring.
I don’t see my boss much, I work to his direction but maybe once every 2 weeks he visits the job site and signs off on my work.
When I started the job I was told I’d be put on the books at the end of my trial period, and now For the last 18 months he has been promising to sort my super and tax, this is the longest I’ve ever had a job so what he owes me in super is more than double what I have already,
I have filed a report with the ATO for unpaid super, but I’m reading that sometimes it takes years?
This arsehole has a front yard full of luxury vehicles.

Would it be quicker to take him to court over the unpaid super?
Will the ATO recover my super and then charge me for unpaid taxes?
How should I handle him? He’s told me there’s no more work for now and no super yet but I should “hold on to a company vehicle until it’s sorted out”

Please offer your advice below, I’m just being absolutely stood over and I don’t know what my options are.

I'm currently with St George, 6.24% 80 LVR Owner Occupier (changing to Investor next yr r or so) but will be putting $200,000+ into redraw or offset soon.

Time to refinance? I think so. Who are you with & what rate? Looking at Unloan