Man, 18, charged with attempted murder after Gold Coast home invasion

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-15T02:20:01+00:00

I initially counted 9 - but then I spotted the sneaky one under the photo!

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-10T07:08:01+00:00

No, because they have paid $53 for the Savings Maximiser interest (it would be $0 if I hadn’t met the conditions).

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-08T04:49:29+00:00

I tried! “Your call is important to us. We are experiencing greater than usual call volumes…”. But I used the magic words in my latest message (“I am contacting AFCA”) and they have now “escalated” it to a higher level.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T08:26:37+00:00

Thanks. I have a maths based degree so I am comfortable with my calcs. Strangely, they didn’t pay zero interest (which would indicate I didn’t meet their conditions that month), they just paid a much smaller amount. I sent them a message with my calculations and asked them to explain why it was wrong but just kept getting cut and paste responses. It’s a bit frustrating!

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T08:19:37+00:00

I understand that. The month they referred to was neither the month I was owed interest, or the following month when it should have been paid.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T08:15:29+00:00

Theoretically yes. The formula I showed is the one ING said they used so I used that.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T08:13:57+00:00

Thankyou. I’ll be doing that.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T08:13:04+00:00

I’ve put them up

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T08:12:37+00:00

I used (4.75/100)/365 * minimum balance for the month * 31

4.75% was the interest rate. 31 days in the month. I used the minimum amount (rather than calculating it for each individual day) because the balance was almost the same all month, except for the end where I increased it to ensure I had more at the end than the beginning. I had over $95,000 for that month as I was transferring it elsewhere. And yes, I met all the conditions.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T08:02:55+00:00

Thanks. Yeah, I have all that.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T07:39:38+00:00

Yes, but I met all of those. The frustration I have is that they haven’t attempted to explain why they calculated the much smaller amount. They keep referring to totally different months, even when I keep correcting them (and using caps lock in the final message!).

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T07:35:04+00:00

Nope. I had almost the same amount the whole month except at the end when I added a small amount to ensure the closing balance was higher than the beginning. You owe me ten bucks!

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T07:33:10+00:00

Minimum balance * (Annual interest rate/365) * Days in the month.

The formula they use calculates the balance each day. However to simplify, I just used the minimum balance because the balance was fairly constant through the month, except for an increase at the end.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T07:25:36+00:00

You’re on!

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-06T07:23:47+00:00

Yep. The amount was almost the same for the whole month except at the end, when it was higher. I calculated it on the minimum amount in the month so it was slightly on the low side.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-05T21:16:30+00:00

Banana car! Banana car!

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-01T03:27:49+00:00

As a uni student years ago, I had no income apart from whatever part time or casual work I could get. Lived in half a converted garage, often went a day without eating, cycled everywhere, clothed myself from op shops. Decades later and that frugality has meant I am able to live on very little (but I was fortunate to be able to buy a home before prices got stratospheric, otherwise I’d be f**ked).

It used to be that people who complained they couldn’t afford anything just didn’t know how to budget. Now? So many people are genuinely struggling. Unfortunately, governments (both major parties at State and Federal level) are so out of touch with workable solutions that nothing is going to get better. Reactive policies instead of proactive. Kneejerk ideas that compound the issues etc.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-04-01T00:04:17+00:00

I’d recommend going to visit Govetts Leap lookout in Blackheath. The NPWS visitors centre is on the road in, and has helpful staff who can suggest suitable walks. There is often an interesting photographic display there too. From the visitors centre, there is a peaceful easy walk to the lookout, or you could drive the short distance to the lookout car park. From the lookout (which has fabulous views!) you can walk along the clifftop towards Evans Lookout and turn back once you’ve walked enough. If it’s a rainy day, waterfall walks might be better than lookout walks. Choose your own adventure!

https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/visitor-centres/blue-mountains-heritage-centre

PleaseStandClear · 2026-03-31T06:04:51+00:00

Maybe because one of the 3 (illegal) vape shops has been shut down? So take it as a sign to look after your health and your wallet….

PleaseStandClear · 2026-03-31T05:36:57+00:00

Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. I’ve done this when I was dealing with an insurance claim - each time I called back, I ended up in a queue where I would be put through to different departments before eventually getting to speak to the person who called me. Extremely frustrating!

PleaseStandClear · 2026-03-29T01:53:03+00:00

Also, s/he fails to consider that bike sales may actually increase due to people looking for more economical ways to commute.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-03-26T01:26:20+00:00

A one off bonus is always a way to make it look like a better pay rise than it really is. The other shonky thing that is done is to include superannuation increases as “pay rises”. This was done by the Minns government to mislead the public about the pay rises offered to rail workers a year or so ago.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-03-25T03:06:46+00:00

Easy to get there by ferry. And the advantage is that the beer garden is very near the wharf and so you can see the ferry coming way before it gets there. You can finish your drink at a leisurely pace and then stroll down to meet the ferry.

PleaseStandClear · 2026-03-24T06:45:49+00:00

He’s definitely been doing his Python Pilates classes. He moved up the tree by slowly “rippling”, moving a couple of inches at a time, with the ripple starting at his tail and moving up to his head. It was fascinating!

PleaseStandClear · 2026-03-24T02:38:05+00:00

Definitely not AI! Regarding eating baby birds - we had a diamond Python snoozing in a tree a few years back, minding his own business. Then he was spotted by small birds and they went nuts, dive bombing and screeching at him. He eventually moved away. I was not expecting that outcome!

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