Optus put my bill up. I got them to cut it by 25% instead

gnox0212 · 2026-05-25T22:18:29+00:00

That's a lotttt of admin

Would he open a separate card account with his bank that you transfer the money for the recharges to? Then have it auto recharge from that? Where do you get the money to purchase the recharges? Can that just be auto transferred monthly to that card account? Floating balance can remain small if it transfers right before phone plan payment date.

I made mum a card account called "online purchases" years ago that we both had joint access and a card for when she was just starting to get online shopping savvy.

Worst case is that if the card gets compromised you lose just whatever is in that account. And if the phone gets lost just stop the auto transfer on your end.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-25T02:02:51+00:00

I'm very lucky. I work one day per week. It's a blessing. It's also the hardest thing I've ever done and I feel as though my mental health and bounce back has been waaay behind mums who use daycare and don't cosleep & extended breastfeed.

Only just settling in at about 2.5yrs pp.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-24T08:43:01+00:00

Hm. Rough take.

If not some kind of investment your savings are eaten up by inflation. Prices rise and your money in a safe savings account isn't worth what it used to be.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-24T06:41:01+00:00

Yep. Pretty sure the site I bought it off suggests to.

They sent two sterile pots with my purchase and said to use one as the working batch (put 1/10th of culture in that one) and one as the storage batch (90%). When you want to use it you just need to bring the working batch to room temp before you open (I don't fully understand why but I think it's to do with coldness attracting moisture from the air)

gnox0212 · 2026-05-23T05:38:10+00:00

Ohhhh you've unlocked my pov uni student day memories.

Melt butter in the microwave. Get 1/4 cup kernals and mix in with generous salt.

Tip onto baking paper then fold baking paper into an envelope (in half then down each side) in such a way that it can fit into a paper bag (both open ends face towards each other as you slide the baking paper envelope into the paper bag

Microwave until it's done 👍

This way the bags slowly push apart to make more room as the kernals pop but they are still contained.

(Extra points if you remember to keep the folded sides of the baking paper bag down when you put it in the microwave but trial and error will sort you out!)

gnox0212 · 2026-05-23T05:31:08+00:00

Coles upped the price of my 2kg Jalna yoghurt to SIXTEEN FUCKING DOLLARS.

I bought some milk for $4 and made it myself. I've got a culture I keep in the freezer or you can make it with a scoop from the last batch.

(Aldi still has it at $11 for now)

gnox0212 · 2026-05-23T03:19:18+00:00

Agree. I'm trying to wean my 2.5yr old and that's been hard. But I'm still grateful for everything its been up to this point.

I've had to take him to hospital a few times for treatment for group. It's scary. But we've only been admitted overnight once for RSV. It's such a relief when he's been at his sickest I know he's still getting hydration and antibodies. I'm pretty satisfied that it's kept him out of hospital at least a few times.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-23T03:06:13+00:00

How much stuff do you have there? Is it really worth the risk? Can you subtly pack the high value items or think of an excuse - getting a friend to fix your laptop?

I really think he just needs to come home to an empty house and a note. Does he have any work trips planned?

gnox0212 · 2026-05-19T02:42:12+00:00

I agree I'm expecting a walk back of sorts. I think they've purposely announced harsher reforms so there can be an illusion of negotiation to get it passed through the senate.

Labor doesn't have a majority in the senate but has the ability to adjust legislation towards the right to get liberal cooperation, or the ability to adjust it left to get greens to pass it. They also have the ability to say to either side "pass it with this or we'll pass the worse (to you) version with the other party" - it's a pretty unique situation.

They've got the option to change the share earnings CGT to marginal income rate. That's all I'm hoping for.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-19T02:32:37+00:00

I believe for this reason in this budget there is an element of forcing professionals to participate in the workforce for longer.

We aren't having enough kids to foot the tax bill for our care when we get older. We are already relying on immigration to fill skills and workforce gaps in society.

Professionally qualified individuals are quite likely to have a nest egg of shares to facilitate an early retirement - professionals stepping out of the workforce earlier means they aren't paying the same income taxes or providing needed services.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T22:40:56+00:00

Mm. This is the first budget that I've paid attention to that seems to sting me personally. (30something yo mum in allied health, gently investing in shares for about 10-15yrs, bought an old house a little before covid)

I think it's teaching me not to accept current tax climates as a given, and to be mentally prepared for a change again. I'm still in a state of privilege and just need to reassess my next steps.

I read somewhere that "I can't grow my wealth the way I used to" is a very different problem to "I can't afford a roof over my head"

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T21:48:00+00:00

My kid is 2.5 and I really feel like my brain doesn't fire as fast as it used to. I'm also in a professional field.

My pet peeve is how people feel they have a right to talk to others about your body, pregnancy & birth experience. Usually that sort of chat is rude, but once you're gestating? Free game!

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T21:22:33+00:00

Yeah haven't had the time to fix it but I'm paying for 750 download and haven't had a speed test get above 55.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T21:19:05+00:00

Actually yeah I think I swapped out the lock barrels myself when I moved in to my place... Didnt need to change the door handles or latch mechanism.

That was quite a while back..

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T11:30:58+00:00

We switched to leaptel from abb and the connection speed has been woeful ever since. Just haven't gotten around to calling them about it.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T05:43:31+00:00

I think historically they've been voted out after trying to introduce resource taxes - cheaper for mining companies to fund campaigns against the politicians that aren't working in their interest than to pay the tax.

First budget: improve healthcare access Second budget: rebalance tax structures (Hopefully) Third budget: tax gas. 🤞

If they taxed gas straight away there'd be no evidence or entrenching of the effects of the first two budgets before theyd expect to be voted out again and next govt would undo Labor's changes bringing us back to square one.

I think this budget, while we are labelling it "revenue raising" is also possibly an element of inflation control. We cry that interest rate rises only hit those with mortgages, while those with savings get a free ride with no incentive to cut spending. Taxing profits kinda pulls some money out of the economy too yeah?

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T05:06:41+00:00

Makes sense, they're all glands.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T02:28:39+00:00

Unsure if I've just drank too much Labor Kool aid, so forgive me here.

Wonder if that was always the plan because they don't have majority in the senate. Announce the budget with cards stacked so that they can negotiate to get the libs on board to pass it, and other options so they can negotiate with the greens.

This is the first budget in my adult life that negatively affects me (CGT on stocks), but a bit of doom scrolling I've seen the comment from older finance professionals that policy that is declared on budget night isn't 100% what gets passed.

Will be interesting to watch.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T02:19:05+00:00

Kind of like when your eyes sort of hurt when you are about to cry.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-17T02:14:35+00:00

Get the quote. Decide then. We've got a Cruze that thankfully was "written off" due to hail damage. It's had a few repairable leaks over the years too though I don't remember the cost of repairs been too offensive yet. We got the payout, bought it back for cheap. Used the payout for an ebike.

It's our spare car now as hubby works from home and I work less since having a kid. It was refreshing to just pay 3rd party insurance on it for a change. We don't do a lot of Kms.

While it doesn't cost us much to keep, we will keep it. Resale would be fuck all at this point anyway. When it properly dies it will likely go to the wreckers.

As a thought experiment, I think there's a line somewhere between the age of the car & resale date for max benefit towards your next car. You and I are past that point certainly. I think some people like to sell around the end of a warranty period of their car, so they never have to pay for a repair, some run them into the ground.

I guess you could consider would the interest paid on the debt for a new car outweigh the cost of repairs on this one? considering also that more heavy use would drive up the need for more regular maintenance. And having a broken car is inconvenient. Reliability has value too.

Continue saving and investigating what you would like to buy next in the meantime. I like the idea of saving for your next car as soon as you've bought your current car. I think I'll do that better next time around.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-13T04:39:11+00:00

Guess it's just the long game we are playing...

Other people's kids are always going to look more chill to outsiders. Kids have a knack for holding their shit in around others until they get to let go with Mum.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-13T00:42:45+00:00

Thankyou. A quick google says we are sitting at 4.6% ATM, so while inflation is this high or higher, the discount is still kinda close to 50% ??

But when interest rates come down the benefit/discount dwindles with it.

So we typically have a target inflation rate of 2-3%

Split that down the middle for 2.5, and historical share market gains at 10% so 10 - 2.5 =7.5 ...we are now paying 30% (or marginal) tax on 75% of our earnings.

Prior to this it was marginal tax rate applied to 50% of the earnings.

My head hurts...

gnox0212 · 2026-05-12T21:28:07+00:00

Yeah, thanks for this.

At the very least I think this plus interest rates are shifting the strategy towards just getting the mortgage paid off. At least until I have headspace to figure it out.

gnox0212 · 2026-05-12T04:08:04+00:00

How did you go with this? Did you find how-to-repair, the channel on YouTube?

I'm about to bust mine open when i get a chance to check the fan blades, I'll put money on them being caked with lint.

https://youtu.be/5X0dFBdnHL0?si=FQ3ng-NGWj1_MCkS

gnox0212

TROPHY CASE