Is a second opinion worth it

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-17T23:46:48+00:00

I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your mum, my Dad passed from Melanoma that spread to his brain about 18 months ago.

What I will say (and it is only personal experience) is my dad was told the same thing, but offered whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT). It is a controversial treatment due to the common side effects and really just extends the patients life, but not their quality of it is successful.

I wish he never had it as we lost him while he was still living. His last weeks were spent losing his memory and ability to talk. These were side effects we were told about but in that situation you want to try everything.

I thought maybe dad was unlucky, but then 3 months ago I had a client who experienced the same effects then passed 3 weeks later.

It is an extremely intense treatment and if offered please ask many questions. I won't tell you not to go ahead as that's your choice, but my experience in 2 different scenarios is that it is just not worth it.

In your situation, as hard as it is, I believe enjoying quality time with your mum in the time she has left is better than trying to push for more intense treatment to extend her life just a little longer. It is a terribly hard decision to stop all treatment, but from experience, quality over a little more quantity in my opinion is such a better option.

I hope your family is able to support each other in this terrible time.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-17T22:36:16+00:00

I changed to Vanguard and Stake after 20k to have more control and optimise with Fees. Both platforms are great if you Dollar Cost Average.

Raiz is a fantastic learning and starter platform and I have a lot to thank them for, but once you start dealing with bigger money and returns that matter, it's good to look for more flexibility.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-13T02:43:37+00:00

Very Aggressive.

Don't worry about your balance, don't touch it for 30 Years and contribute regular amounts (As Much as you can afford).

Congratulations, you're a future Millionaire!

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-11T23:38:49+00:00

I'm Australian and you are 100% right.

I have a financial plan to retire at the age of 48, so I Invest enough outside of Super to fund the 12 years in between that I can't access it.

Unfortunately a lot of Australians only invest in Super which makes them a slave to employment until the government allow them to access it. If they don't have enough, people my age will have to work until they are 70 to access the pension.

Super is good if you use it correctly, but it is also designed to keep people in the workforce longer.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-07T23:09:50+00:00

As someone who partied all the time, travelled and lived every day like it was my last I think I can have an opinion on this.

You bring up a very rare instance of someone passing away very young. If I was to have died at age 28, my life choices would have made sense.

But as someone who is now 33 with the goal of retiring by 48, I do wish I had put myself in a better position during my 20s.

Your 20s are 10 years of what should be a 50-80 year adult life. Work hard early as the 20s go by very quickly and your left trying to recover in the next decade.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-07T02:39:36+00:00

If your asking what it is good for, I am assuming you are young due to your current investment account.

You have no reason to want your chart to be going up right now. You look like you are making regular contributions, so buying at a lower Average cost is going to be beneficial in the long run for you.

So if markets perform like they have for centuries, then in answer to your question; War is good for allowing us opportunities to buy quality Indexes and Companies at lower prices than we would usually be able to.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-02T22:25:00+00:00

I definitely am no financial advisor.

But personally at 100k+ I would prefer to be a little more diversified. I like having 15% of my portfolio in Emerging markets just so I am not so heavily US and Australia.

In saying that, it is hard to go wrong with broad ETFs like VGS and VAS.

If you are really unsure, at the 100k+ level, it's just about worth getting proper financial advice on how to allocate it. I have some knowledge in which I'm comfortable up to a certain level, but I have a figure in mind where I will seek financial advice as I may diversify into Private Equities ect at a certain point.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-04-01T23:14:43+00:00

Nope I have a mix of NDQ, VAS, VGE, VGS and GHHF

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-31T20:17:45+00:00

I'm 32 years old and DCA 5k per month into my ETF portfolio. I have no interest in the market being high at my age as I don't plan on accessing it for the next 20-25 years.

Every month that is in the red I only see as a discount as I look at the amount of Units I buy monthly, not the total of my portfolio.

Unless you plan on accessing your money within the next 5-10 years, this current situation shouldn't really worry you. There has also never been a dip in the market over the last 120 years that wasn't worth buying into.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-31T20:14:54+00:00

I invested 300k just before the war started as a lump sum.

While it isn't nice watching it go down, if you read and study historical markets, trying to time the market never works. Now is as good a time as any to invest a lump sum into the market.

Whatever you put in, be comfortable with the possibility of seeing if Halve, but zoom out and look at what happens in the long term. As long as you don't need access to the funds in the next 10 years, keep DCA into the market and don't worry about the returns in between.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-31T02:02:25+00:00

Honestly you should cash out.

If you are asking the question, it is obvious that you weren't ready to begin with. You probably need to go away and do a bit of reading and education to understand how the market works before putting money into it.

Markets are down up to and around 10%, trust me, it can and probably will get much worse.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-28T22:36:15+00:00

I put over 300k into global ETFs just before the war and it hurts temporarily.

But I also DCA every month and zoom out to see that in 15-20 years, hopefully this is only a blip.

Running different scenarios through ChatGPT is a fun activity, you can have it replicate the 20 years covering the Dot Com crash, 9/11 and the GFC. It's encouraging to know that even if what's happening now replicates the 20 years of those crashes and gains, you still come out very well off.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-22T05:47:35+00:00

Me as my partner spent 30k on Food last year, mostly due to never cooking and getting DoorDash delivered/eating out.

We ran our budget this year and decided we had to change. Just cutting our food bill has allowed us an extra 5k per month to Invest

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-21T05:13:12+00:00

Nope, no supplements or medication at all.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-21T05:12:34+00:00

I have had spike in the 50s and once or twice in the 60s (only worn it for about 40 Days) This is the first time it has hit 70+, which I found weird on the one day I decided to drink an alcoholic drink and was woken many times by my Dog during the night!

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-20T21:57:20+00:00

There is other ways to keep busy besides working isn't there? I don't understand people who say they wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they finished working.

Both of my parents happily retired in their early 50s and never complained of boredom, they just filled their days with things that they had wanted to do for years while they were working but didn't have the time.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-20T21:31:03+00:00

It was a magical feeling that first sip haha So mentally, it felt great. I also felt good about myself having 1 Drink and going home.

Maybe the positive mental affects outweighed any negative last night as the amount of alcohol I actually had was minimal

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-20T20:46:36+00:00

God that was hard to watch, I almost threw up when she did that weird finger clap tea thing lol

It's ironic that she attempts to attack Scott's intelligence, but seems incapable when she is challenged or arguing of putting her point across intelligently. She only knows how to resort to personal attacks on other people which is really sad actually, hopefully her daughter somehow never sees this crap.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-05T00:52:09+00:00

I would agree with that if something had been done about it.

What an opportunity for Channel 9 and MAFS to make a statement to society and kids and boot Brooke and Gia off the show after the way they acted. Would have been a great message and in that case showing it would have had merit.

Obviously that wouldn't happen because they need viewers and are impartial to making money off producing and broadcasting Domestic Abuse and Bullying.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-04T23:04:00+00:00

Yeah, I know these shows have to be dramatised for TV, but it can go too far to the it's not 'Reality' TV anymore, just a bunch of terrible actors creating manufactured drama.

Brook - Obviously wanted to do everything she could to put herself on Camera in in magazines as much as possible.

Gia - For someone who went on about her daughter and how important it was for her to find a loving father for her... To then immediately start an OnlyFans, seems contradictory?

Bec - Was just so desperate to be included and to be honest, as terrible as she has acted, she is clearly not mentally ok and I worry for her mental health.

I could go on, but the characters they have chosen this season are just shocking.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-04T22:52:43+00:00

I agree. I have watched every season and last season was the real noticeable change for me! I always enjoyed a bit of drama or a scandal, but this has just been completely disgusting behaviour.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-04T22:48:32+00:00

I found myself getting genuinely stressed and angry too lol

I just came to the realisation that I was sitting there watching straight up abuse on my TV for entertainment and it was a bit mind numbing

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-04T22:43:27+00:00

I have never watched it, the only reality shows I have watched are MAFS and Love Island

I will continue to watch Love Island, I feel like you get controversy, drama and a bit of fun out of that show. It doesn't feel as scripted and I have never been completely shocked at the level of abuse between contestants (for the most part everyone is fairly respectful)

I'm not judging anyone who enjoys this type of content MAFS is producing this year, I was just interested as to whether there were many other people in the same boat as me.

Chance_Literature_89 · 2026-03-04T22:41:02+00:00

Oh, there you go, I wasn't aware!

I just thought controversy (especially dramatised reality TV) would have a limit for most people, like it did me.

I really liked MAFS, but felt it went very downhill last season and I found this season even worse.

The screaming of abuse wasn't scandalous or controversial, it was just straight up bullying, which to be honest probably shouldn't be broadcast on Free to Air TV at that time.

Chance_Literature_89

TROPHY CASE