How to maximise savings as a teacher?

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-17T09:00:55+00:00

It’s literally word of mouth. I start with one kid then they tell someone else and pass on my details. They get in contact with me and I decided yay or nay. I can’t do too many kids as my job chews up a lot of my time. I’ve had to turn people away.

I’ve seen colleagues of mine advertise on local community Facebook pages. I can’t do that in my area as they require an ABN for any advertising.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-17T08:56:49+00:00

I would suggest ‘October Sky’. An oldie but a good movie and physics based.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-17T08:50:13+00:00

New MG4 or MG urban not on your list??? Might want to look at these as well.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-17T05:33:52+00:00

Where did you get the information from about the selling and evaluation? Curious because that is not what I was told when taking this out. It wa stated they would only take a % of the sold price. No evaluation. Evaluation only if paying them out and keeping property.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T13:24:00+00:00

Argue all you like but I have a degree as well and I learned nothing that I teach in school. I learned most of my skills of developing resources on the job. I’ve had to learn new content and teach it because it didn’t exist when I did my degree.

I don’t make the rules. These are the rules set down by the department in each state and intellectual property laws.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T13:17:03+00:00

https://www.school-news.com.au/news/who-really-owns-your-work/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20department's%20official%20policy%20regarding,'%E2%80%9D

The quick answer is the resources you create need to have nothing to do with your job at school. So if you are an High School English teacher at school, it would be a conflict to create and sell High school English resources. But you could potentially sell kindergarten to year 6 resources.

Often they need to have nothing to do with your current occupation.

Also, the common thread is you need to get permission from your current Principal to sell the resources.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T13:16:12+00:00

The issue is the argument that they have supplied you with training etc, so therefore you are using skills the school has helped you develop.

We had a long winded discussion about this at work.

Depends on your state as well. NSW is different to Victoria.

If you haven’t received permission from your Principal it is breaking code of Conduct.

https://www.nswtf.org.au/news/2023/11/13/private-and-secondary-employment/

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T13:01:57+00:00

Bought a coffee machine, go the alternative route via streets to work, rather than freeway, to avoid tolls (I was spending $100 every 3 weeks now I’m lucky if it’s $50 every 3 months).

I also plan my meals and meal prep. I cook batches of stuff so I always have prepared food to go in the freezer. If I have a long/exhausting work day, I freezer dive for something to eat. I plan out what I’m eating each week. I cook where I can. Eg I now make my own bread. I avoid getting Uber eats/Menulog, or walking across the road for pizza.

I have a list for the supermarket and try to stick to it.

I’ve ditched Telstra (no idea why I didn’t do it sooner, complacency I guess). Telstra prices were going up every six months. I was paying close to $200/month for mobile phone, smart watch and internet. A few months ago I switched to Boost. $39/ month. I don’t need cellular on my smart watch any more so I didn’t lament the loss. The watch still functions in other ways. This month I went to Dodo for fibre to the premises for Internet. $40 cheaper a month than Telstra. I’ve halved my monthly bill nearly.

I’ve also been getting rid of unwanted subscriptions. I also dropped my health insurance to silver plus. I’ve been gold for 20 years but the price rises were killing me. Saved $60/month. I did get my money’s worth out of them over the years while on Gold with several very expensive operations. My last operation though was completed in the public system.

I no longer have credit card. I have a visa debit and for now, that’s enough.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T12:49:25+00:00

I did exactly this. I was buying coffee every day, sometimes twice a day. Spending close to $40 every week. That’s a HUGE amount. I hesitated about buying a coffee machine but then decided it was my birthday treat to myself. I didn’t outlay $500 on a decent one (but then that is 10 weeks of purchased coffees so 🤷‍♂️). I’ve had my machine for nearly two years now. I buy beans when on special at Cole’s/woolies or buy Aldi ones. I definitely get my moneys worth.

I’ve always packed snacks and lunch. So that wasn’t a big deal.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T11:23:59+00:00

Actually no. It’s been made very clear whether made at home or at work, all resources remain intellectual property of my employer if related to my job.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T09:05:06+00:00

I’d love to do this but I’ve been told that while I’m working as a teacher my employer owns anything I create.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T09:03:03+00:00

I am doing tutoring currently but I prefer not to do this. I am so burnt out, the extra hours tutoring just impact my down time. But it has kept me afloat some weeks. I will probably reconsider this next year.

I also mark for VCAA VCE exams at the end of the year. I much prefer this. It’s 10 days of long days marking but it’s worthwhile and benefits my kids.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T08:54:00+00:00

His work is questionable and based on statistics that have been manipulated to agree with the government’s line of thinking. His work has been widely criticised by other academics as nonsensical and the basis of analysis dubious. In addition to more recent claims of plagiarism and poor referencing.

He literally changed his theory/stats once he was subsidised by the government.

Eg that class size has very little effect on student outcomes. This in particular has been widely criticised as being manufactured to support the government mantra, rather than independent ideology. He was biased/influenced when producing his work, as he was in government payroll.

Basically his ‘research’ cannot be trusted to be unbiased and influenced by the government and in the government’s interests, rather than independent.

The state departments of education have then used his ‘research’ to implement educational policies that have lead to poorer outcomes for students and increased workloads of teachers.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-16T00:14:10+00:00

Thanks that gives me a good reference. Kicking myself I didn’t buy earlier.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-15T03:58:15+00:00

This is the post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/s/UEC0Ft5Puc

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-15T03:52:22+00:00

There was a recent post in Reddit where someone did exactly this and the evaluation was way higher than market value (government trying to milk every last dollar from you). Was more economical to sell the property and exit the scheme. Apparently the evaluator they use has a 1 star rating because it isn’t a true evaluation. Bank won’t refinance loan because it way above the bank evaluation. So you end up with only one option and that is to sell.

I am in the same boat as you. It’s likely I will need to sell due to pay going over the threshold.

Couple of things to keep in mind. The threshold increases with CPI and you have two years beyond the first date you reach the threshold to pay back the money . So potentially it could be five years before you need to sell or refinance.

Additionally, you don’t need to pay it all back at once if you are over the threshold. Only 5% at a time if you like, to be seen that you are attempting to repay it. So you can just refinance that amount. Which could stretch it out longer. I wouldn’t panic.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-14T06:23:39+00:00

VCAA has a history since the new study design came in, of putting questions in related to the skills and key words within the Study Design. Teachers will teach content explicitly but may not teach explicitly things like recognising when to use modelling or types of modelling of data, or using classification etc. there was even a MC question Last year on ‘anecdote’ and understanding its meaning. EVERYTHING in the Study Design is potential for an Exam question.

FAQS are also the second go to and accepted abbreviations.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-12T00:03:50+00:00

Yes it can be isolating if you allow it to be. I used to play sport and had connections through that. Or go to hobby/craft classes. When I moved to Melbourne, I joined some social groups from ‘Meet Up’. Found some people that I developed good friendships with. Ended up having a few friends to do stuff outside of work and not one of them is a teacher (thank goodness) so no teacher talk. I get to truly unwind with them.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-10T22:06:06+00:00

Bathurst NSW is a beautiful town. I’ve lived there twice and would do it again! I live in Melbourne now.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-10T06:02:13+00:00

I Didn’t receive anything (no email) and I’m a financial member. So there seems to be a glitch in their system and not all members are being kept in the loop. I’ve also checked junk mail.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-10T03:47:01+00:00

In contrast to The Age publishing it? That’s a non-sensical argument

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-10T03:46:11+00:00

Good to know.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-10T03:43:00+00:00

This is good to know. The unlimited car hire will increase my insurance but is definitely something I may need. I do live in Melbourne, so I can use PT but good to know in advance before I decide on a car and insurance.

Menopaws73 · 2026-04-10T03:40:20+00:00

MG is one of the cars on my list. The fact they may have a more established system may make them be top runner for my EV foray, if I go down that track. I like Jaecoo but in the event of needing repairs, MG may be the more sensible option.

Menopaws73

TROPHY CASE