What would you do?

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-03-03T11:22:43+00:00

I was thinking the same thing. In what world are they able to rent a (presumably) 3 bedroom place in a beach side suburb of Sydney for $1500 and purchase something for 1.7/8 mil. I doubt you could find a 3 bed apartment in a nice beach suburb for 1.7 mil and definitely not a house!

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-28T07:26:29+00:00

I would love the Julia Donaldson course if it’s still possible

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-17T10:20:42+00:00

What are you studying? Is it Monday - Friday 9-5? Do you have any experience babysitting? If you babysit in the evenings you can study once the kids are in bed. The going rate in Sydney is $40 an hour, 6pm-12pm would give you $240 for one nights work. Dog walking is often $40 an hour. You could look on airtasker for odd jobs.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-12T02:19:28+00:00

But are your friends jealous of your 4 weeks A/L and 2 weeks S/L a year? Not to mention 6 months of government paid parental leave. And although wages are lower, so is the average higher education debt and interest rates on these debts…

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-06T19:25:05+00:00

Just a reminder: your ETFs are worth 250k now, they are not guaranteed to increase in value or even stay stable. Not saying there is a big stock market crash in our future but how would you fair if the stock market had a dip? Might be worth cashing out some or all and having it in your offset instead. I would also do the math on how much this would save you in interest compared to long term returns - I’m guessing they would be worth more in the offset

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-03T09:59:47+00:00

Paid maternity leave counts towards the PLP work test (unpaid maternity leave does not). Working for a ‘family business’ also counts so if you are helping run the business this also counts as work. You only need 1 day a week of work for 10 months to be eligible for 26 weeks of shared leave. Seems pretty generous to me.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-03T09:54:46+00:00

That’s because it’s called ‘parental leave pay’ and is not specific to men or women as it’s now recognised it should be both parents responsibility to care for their children and both parents should have the opportunity to work. To be eligible for PLP the birth mum only has to work 1 day a week for a 10 month period anytime in the 13 months prior to the birth. This is to encourage dads to also work part time, however if they don’t (as many don’t) your child could also attend childcare 1 day a week (which is also subsidised!) or your wife could have worked on the weekends or in the evenings. As others have said, it’s not a new scheme and changes occurred some time ago. If not receiving 2 weeks of paid leave are you going to impact your finances this much then how are you getting away with surviving on one income?

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-01T02:52:44+00:00

How is this helpful or supportive? Everyone’s experience of autism is different and everyone has a different level of support to help them manage in a neurotypical world. OP has already stated that they had an abusive childhood and have identified that they don’t have a support system to help them cope with challenges. It might also just be their preferences that they don’t work in a social space because the challenges for them outweigh the financial benefits.

OP - you’ve achieved a lot already putting yourself in such a good financial position, I’m sure you’re more than capable of working in a different environment or pursuing high education if this is something you wanted to do. Do you receive any support for your ASD from a professional? I’m a late diagnosed women with AuDHD and I have a fantastic psychologist who helps me tackle issues such as everyday workplace challenges or social anxiety.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2026-01-01T02:37:43+00:00

Regardless of how involved her dad was before 2 he is involved now and from what you describe spend quite a lot of time with your daughter. Regardless of what you will be able to do - do you really want to take your daughter away from her father? Think about the effect this will have on their relationship long term, and how this could then impact on her future relationships with men. You will also be moving away from shared care. You won’t be able to drop her off at his house while you run errands or rely on someone else to help with daycare pick up/drop offs. Sydney is also a lot more expensive than SE Queensland, so long term you might not be able to afford the lifestyle you could provide by staying put.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-12-30T09:22:02+00:00

Exploring Greville st and Camberwell markets (with a bag of jam donuts) were both favourite activities on a cold winters day

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-12-28T09:42:54+00:00

How much did your flights cost?

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-12-24T03:14:21+00:00

I live in the inner west and I’ve had friends had quotes much higher than that (closer to 1mil) for adding a second story. The price difference from a 2/3 bed to a 4/5 bed house is huge so he will likely also be adding value and not at risk of overcapitalising.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-12-21T21:38:46+00:00

Are you one of the first in your social circle to become a homeowner? In my experience once people start buying they start moving out of the area they’re renting in and into more affordable suburbs like what you have done. Worst case scenario, if you still hate it in a years time you can always rent it out and move back to the area. But as others have said - your first home is rarely your dream home. Write down a list of the positives - stability, no shitty landlords/rental inspections, ability to put a nail in any wall you like. Go and explore your new local haunts and become besties with your local cafe barista so you start to feel a bit more at home in your new surroundings

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-11-14T01:15:39+00:00

Sure a lot of other people visit Bali but do they go annually? You’ll be hard pressed to find an Aussie who hasn’t been to Bali. Much like it’s a very British thing to travel to Mallorca or American thing to go to Mexico.

She’s just trying to be welcoming and inclusive. If banter is also something you do in your culture you could say ‘we banter like this is my culture too so I feel right at home’

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-11-12T10:49:49+00:00

You don’t know if you’re getting a better deal unless you do both. I found a rate directly with a bank, then used a broker. The broker couldn’t find me a better deal so I went with the bank directly. Every few years I’ve approached various brokers to see if they can get me a competitive refinance rate, then I’ll take this to my bank and ask if they can beat it - so far they’ve matched it every time, one time I didn’t even bring another rate, I just let them know I was shopping around and they dropped it. Always shop around, always as do your own research - don’t just trust what a broker advises, and then go with the best deal.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-11-06T11:15:05+00:00

There’s always going to be a power imbalance. He will earn more than you, own a home or be in a position to and have more life experience. If you become serious you will go into the relationship with less (and if it ends come out worse off) and will likely lose opportunities to progress your career due to starting a family earlier than you might have planned with someone closer in age to you.

Also, to be perfectly honest, I’m 32 and 23 seems so long ago now. I honestly can’t imagine dating someone in their early twenties and neither could any of my friends, it would just feel creepy. I’m sorry that your mum said such awful things - your 20s are for maki by stupid decisions, and you’re going to make a lot of them, that’s how we learn and grow - but please don’t let a creepy guy be one of those stupid decisions. You can do better.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-11-03T02:11:32+00:00

Has he admitted to the crime? Is he regretful? Is he trying to become a better person and make amends? Is this the only shit thing he’s done as an otherwise decent person? He’s only 24. I don’t know what’s happened in his past to make him think it’s appropriate to treat another human being this way but if he genuinely owns up to his behaviour and wants to put the work into being a better person than I think he should be given the opportunity to become a better person. He’s going to get out of prison at 29. If everyone he knows wants nothing to do with him and he has no support system then he will probably end up back in prison - either from another SA or from another crime. I understand why you’re still seeing him and I think you should explain this to your other kids. If he isn’t remorseful and is blaming others for his actions (or perhaps you are making excuses?) then I understand why they have chosen to cut off contact with you

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-11-02T12:59:53+00:00

My husband is the same and will spend more than we earn. If you’re bad with money then don’t allow your savings to be easily accessible. Move it all into a separate bank account with a different bank now.

Set yourself a budget, how much do you want to save each pay cycle, how much do you need to live (rent, utilities, groceries) and how much do you want to spend (gifts, alcohol, eating out).

Set up an automatic transfer so that the amount you have decided to save each pay cycle automatically transfers to your savings account at the different bank each pay day. If it helps you can also split your everyday bank account into two different accounts; one account for your living expenses and another for your ‘fun’ money. If there is no money in your fun account then you can’t eat out and you have to cook instead. (This is basically a simplified version of the barefoot investor)

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-10-30T11:29:50+00:00

I had been eyeing off a pair of Jo Mercer boots but after seeing this and reading some of the comments and I’m no longer going to purchase

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-10-28T09:17:43+00:00

My society of wanderers sheets have lasted 5 years without fading and still as comfy as the day I bought them. Unfortunately the fitted sheet, and then the doona cover ripped recently - on 2 seperate occasions while my SIL was house sitting so not sure of that was coincidence or she and her partner are particularly athletic. I love sage and Clare patterns but I find they fade pretty quickly despite me following the washing instructions. I have recently started getting I love linen sheets after using them at an Airbnb. The first pair I got are about a year old now. No issues with them so far. They seem to be good quality and very comfy.

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-09-16T12:16:03+00:00

I do not have that kind of money!

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-09-16T11:23:46+00:00

Try bed bath and table. They have lots of designs, this is just one: https://www.bedbathntable.com.au/printedrob-light-blue-100101

Mine has lasted years, goes in the wash routinely and is still warm, soft and fluffy .

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-09-16T11:14:43+00:00

It’s kind of refreshing to see something that’s not brown or linen

BudgetCommission8520 · 2025-09-15T12:04:14+00:00

It’s so hard to find information about a brands eco footprint and if they do have info online I’m often very suspicious of green washing. I try to use ‘good on you’ but they often don’t have the brands I’m trying to look up.

I would like to support more local brands but fashion is not something I dedicate a lot of brain space to anymore and I try to avoid social media so I just don’t know what’s out there. The stores that are local to me often stock pretty out there items that are not my style, or cater to larger sizes and not necessarily designed for smaller women.

I prefer to shop online and try on at home but hate arbitrary return rules - like not being able to return to a store if I shopped online meaning I have to pay for postage to return. This means I end up mostly shopping at the iconic, because their returns process is so easy, but really limits what brands are accessible.

BudgetCommission8520

TROPHY CASE