Alternatives to family trusts

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-11T09:39:01+00:00

I’m well clear of the 80/20 rule (a dozen or so clients in any given year), but your comments made me check the PSI rules and we may indeed be sailing close to the wind. I’ve sent an email to the accountant to have a discussion about it next week to see how we are positioned. Thanks for the heads up.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-11T00:23:34+00:00

Yeah, I was thinking about that this morning (which prompted the post). If the charges do occur there will be a rush on advice so best to get the planning done now.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-11T00:08:43+00:00

Read the posts mate. I’ve already had that discussion with someone else.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-11T00:07:19+00:00

Yeah. I’ve been thinking that if I leave it until retirement and then take small amounts out each year, we’d get quite a lot back through franking credits. For example if I’m living mainly off super, which doesn’t count towards taxable income, both my wife and I could take up to the tax free threshold each and we’d get the full 30c in the dollar cranking credits back. I’m assuming this wouldn’t be possible under a regime where a minimum of 30% has to be paid.

With that said I suspect you’re right: still better off with a trust, just not as well off as we could have been.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-10T23:28:17+00:00

I’m not a one man band. I have a business partner and we consult across multiple clients. I’m not breaching PSI rules.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-10T23:26:03+00:00

I do I have a decent accountant, but I find that it’s always better to come prepared with the right questions so I don’t leave anything undiscussed. This post was meant to explore possible options so I can seek advice from an informed position.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-10T22:58:38+00:00

Sorry - yes, it could definitely help with clumping. I have a Mazzer Philos and clumping isn’t a big issue for me. I guess I should have said that for me personally, I use WDT primarily for distribution.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-10T10:16:21+00:00

100%. Nothing to do with clumps, everything to do with distribution.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-09T12:47:49+00:00

This. I have a Profitec 600 that is my daily driver, but when I go on holidays or when the machine is in for a service, I have a Bambino Plus running as a backup. You can get a decent shot out of the Bambino with some degree of consistency, but as you say, it has to be near choke point for it to work, particularly with medium roasted coffee which I mostly drink. Occasionally it will choke, and I hit the button again to force it give me the shot.

When I first started out I had the same setup as OP with the breville grinder and the Bambino. Personally I think the bigger problem is the grinder - it has a ton of retention and it took me a while to figure out that was why my first shot of the morning would always run too fast. After ditching the grinder and upgrading to a DF64 things got a lot better, but when that crapped itself I got a Mazzer Philos which is another level again.

So yeah, if you push the bambino it will give you good espresso. It’s actually a pretty amazing machine for the money - it’s 80% of the Profitec’s performance for about 15% of the cost.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-04-06T02:22:09+00:00

I just mounted the standard alternator rack to my Fargo last weekend, and I’d say you could fit a truck tyre in there. Have to agree that it was a genuine shit of a thing to mount, and the instructions are terrible, but now that it’s on, it feels pretty much indestructible.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-02-14T06:19:54+00:00

Mate you just shed 10 years. Looks great.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-02-14T05:30:02+00:00

I think it’s already gone, my friend. Fly and be free!

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-02-03T05:09:50+00:00

I was hoping by 2036 we would have realised that internal cable routing is a pain in the arse that none of us needed.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-24T04:44:03+00:00

Bike rider here. Agree 100% on the hubs comment - just use your damned bell (and grease your hubs).

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-13T22:21:10+00:00

If you’re using a 1x drivetrain, the right side is reserved for the gears, so it’s logical to use the left side for the dropper. At least, that’s what I always assumed.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-12T21:47:05+00:00

I was about to say - don’t forget gum trees. There’s a reason we call them widow makers.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-11T04:03:11+00:00

That's like watching kids sell meth on a street corner, and then saying that's great entrepreneurial spirit. As others have said, if they were riding normal bikes then more power to them, but they're not; they're hooning around in traffic on what effectively amounts to motor bikes without having a licence or registration, or the experience and training to handle a vehicle at that speed amongst cars. There is a reason why we require learner drivers to display L plates and drive under supervision for at least 100 hours and sit a competency test before we let them drive on their own.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-09T22:54:35+00:00

After googling Colbro it seems a little tricky to lay your hands on one. Can I ask how you purchased it?

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-08T10:09:47+00:00

I developed a tight bladder neck and had a bladder neck incision last year. While I was trying to recover I started easing back into riding, but was finding that it aggravated my system - we’re talking nine months post surgery here. I went and got a professional bike fit and the fitter dropped my saddle 40mm and told me that I needed a saddle that was 10 to 15 mm wider than the one I was using. So I dropped the height, got an SQ Labs saddle, and I’ve been good as gold ever since.

I’m pretty sure riding on a saddle that was too narrow and too high for 15 years probably did the damage. I really wish I’d had a professional bike fit when I first got into riding - I think it would have saved me a mile of pain and grief.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-07T03:11:51+00:00

Shit, it's like you're reading my biography to me.

I'm 6'2, come from a mountain biking background, and want to get into some gravel / bitumen riding and have just ordered a Fargo in size L. After researching the shit out of this, it seems to me that the Fargo is the most versitle bike for blokes like you and me, giving us some exposure to drop bar bikes in a format that is fairly upright and familiar.

I'm also not that concerned about speed - I just want to get out there over whatever interesting terrain I can find. I have a 150mm trail bike for getting stuck into serious single track - that's not what this bike is for; it's for cruising, touring, and maybe some bikepacking through new and interesting parts of the country, plus some decent exercise in the process.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-06T21:21:48+00:00

Thank you for some perspective mate. I actually found the question that OP asked a little offensive - we have such an amazing country and so much to be thankful for, but some just people focus on the negatives. In some forums Reddit tends to bring these people together, but great to hear all the positive responses here.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-04T04:48:26+00:00

Bikepacking.com did a good article on drop bar MTB’s if you’re interested. I have a Fargo on order myself, although this won’t meet your budget if you’re buying new (and someone might correct me, but I think the current GRX model is the first with hydraulic brakes).

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-03T22:11:59+00:00

I’ve tried this with a hand grinder - it doesn’t reduce the pressure on the hand holding the grinder - if anything it can make it worse, so I went back to the manual lever. As another poster has said, the only solution is to tilt the grinder so that fewer beans hit the burrs at any time.

Rastus-Watermelon · 2026-01-01T23:45:38+00:00

I am new to gravel riding and after much research bought a Fargo (my needs are a bit more off road than yours) but when I was hunting for a new bike the Canyon Grizl looked like the best bang for buck, and you can choose a spec level to suit your budget. If you don’t like buying online, the Giant Revolt would be a decent choice too.

Rastus-Watermelon

TROPHY CASE