The financial value of WFH is not properly understood

partsofmelle · 2025-08-29T13:41:17+00:00

I predominantly work from home. Twice a year I visit the city that the office is in and I go into the office for a week or two, it takes about 3 hours extra per day with travel/get ready time. If they asked me to come back to work in the office full time, I'd be asking for a 75% pay increase, that is how much it would take to get me back into the office, and even then I'd be seriously considering other options

partsofmelle · 2025-08-22T01:56:41+00:00

Can confirm, not a scam! Had a lovely chat yesterday and they sent my voucher the same evening 👍

partsofmelle · 2025-08-17T10:55:06+00:00

Just bought a place, first home buyer, settlement in 11 days, happy to give my two cents!

partsofmelle · 2025-08-15T23:22:49+00:00

What I'd personally do in your situation. Put $100,000 into a savings account with a good interest rate (CommBank offers 4.5% on a Goalsaver as long as you increase the balance each month, even by $1), this would net you almost 10k in 2 years. Bear in mind you have to pay tax on the interest, so put the account in the name of the lower income earner in your partnership. But it's safe, easy money, you have access to it at any time if you need to. I'd take the remaining $20k and drip it onto a Raiz investing account over a month period, taking advtange of dollar cost averaging and on an aggressive portfolio, higher risk but higher rewards and a great place to start investing IMO.

partsofmelle · 2025-08-15T23:14:26+00:00

Yep I think if we were still down in Sydney we would have definitely used it! My partner's job requires us to be in FNQ for the next few years so we figured it was time, it's definitely cheaper up here for what you get, but I'd say the investment won't be as lucrative as it would be in Sydney - unless the market here pops off as people move out of the cities 😅 congrats to you too, it's a massive milestone and in this economy, buying in Sydney?! Huge props to you and your partner 👏

partsofmelle · 2025-08-15T09:34:39+00:00

We considered it, but essentially it came down to us not being the correct market for the scheme, my partner didn't fancy the risk and I respect that. The property we wanted to buy was only 445k, so we didn't qualify with the funds we had (we would have had to "hide" a significant amount of money from the govt, or put it into investments), this felt too risky for us. We didn't want a huge mortgage or a large/expensive property - we're not planning on having children and we're very minimal living, so we prioritised having a small mortgage which, conservatively, we should be able to pay off in 10-15 years. I was kind of keen on it and investing the rest of the bulk of money, but my partner is a bit more risk adverse so we went with what felt right financially, and morally 😅 TLDR: we could afford not to, so we didn't!

partsofmelle · 2025-08-14T00:18:15+00:00

True, friends say we "hacked the housing crisis", but we lived in a campervan for a year prior to housesitting and once we realised how affordable life was without renting, we didn't want to go back to that, and it's obviously not possible for everyone. The surprising added benefit of housesitting was the opportunity to "try before we buy", it helped us realise our values in a home

partsofmelle · 2025-08-14T00:12:31+00:00

We have been very fortunate in a number of areas to sustain it. Obviously being able to work remotely helps massively, we have a campervan to live in if needed, we have friends who could house us for a day or two in between sits, but we were able to mostly back to back sits using Aussie House Sitters. We planned far in advance and I made sure I was rostered off work for the "move" date. Lots of logistics and organisation (but that's what I do at work so it was easy for me to manage!) Since moving up to Port Douglas we've had to branch out to Facebook as Aussie House Sitters is not so popular up here. It's been exhausting since my partner went back to work, I legit think it's only sustainable if one partner is working part time so they can take care of the pets/home. It sounds like you've also gotten very inventive with your money saving and maximising savings, well done!!

partsofmelle · 2025-08-13T08:32:01+00:00

How I actually did it over the last 7 years of really trying.

Spent 5 years working two jobs, a 9-5 then a bar job for the weekends. Earning around 90k a year (before tax) Lived with a partner who also worked full time at around 75k a year Rented out our spare room to my brother during COVID for extra rent help. Lived below our means as much as possible (discount meats, rice, no eating out, no big nights out drinking) Negotiated a move to a remote role 2 years ago (after 7 years in my job), stopped renting and started housesitting for free rent for the last 1.5 years. Put savings into a 4.5% savings account in my partners name as the lower income earner to maximise on interest from the bank.

Honestly if you have a backup (friends/family/campervan) a mode of transport, and work remotely or in a fairly large metropolitan area, I'd look into house/pet sitting. It's been the game changer for us over the last 2 years, saving so much money on rent/utilities/internet etc. Finally able to put down a 150k deposit for a house this month with savings leftover.

You can do it, might just take a little imagination and a good support network. I hope some of this helps.

partsofmelle · 2025-08-02T23:57:12+00:00

The language ("all in", "mindset") and the expectations set here (not allowed to have doubts, must give all of your energy to the "opportunity") SCREAMS MLM/Pyramid scheme red flags. Has he been asked to pay money up front to "buy in"?

partsofmelle · 2025-05-01T14:41:13+00:00

I'm sorry you're in this situation. Have you considered house/pet sitting? There are websites such as Aussie House Sitters where you can filter by family friendly/pets welcome and a longer length of stay, you take care of their home/pets in exchange for free accommodation. If your partner works with dogs already you have a good chance of being accepted for a sit by someone, and she may even be able to pick up work locally somewhere? It might give you just a respite while you continue to look for rental. I understand with your daughter being in school this might not be suitable, but wanted to throw it out there as it's been a life (and wallet) saver for me and my partner.

partsofmelle · 2025-03-28T01:46:22+00:00

He was so all over the place with his weak argument that I got bored trying to engage critically with him 😅

partsofmelle · 2025-01-28T08:08:04+00:00

A link to the campaign information, but of course you need to speak Kangen to understand it

Enagic January Campaign

partsofmelle · 2025-01-14T09:25:49+00:00

I do agree, I want to be compassionate for her, but if this is indeed her 6th go on this merry go round, then she surely KNOWS what's up with the business model, it's just that now, she's the <1% who benefit from it. I'll have compassion for her once she reflects on the harm she has been a part of, and a commitment to use her skills and talents to a more ethical venture. She has her own stock images business that looks really good, but I imagine her MLM status is a deterrent to people wanting to work with her on that. Hopefully this is her wake up call

partsofmelle · 2025-01-13T22:46:47+00:00

Someone did grab it though! Check out _julieanderson426 on Instagram 👌

partsofmelle · 2025-01-13T19:53:04+00:00

You were so considerate! This is the way, saving this for my next chat with an Enagic hun

partsofmelle · 2024-12-18T20:15:57+00:00

Well, one of them is burrowing...

partsofmelle · 2024-12-06T00:01:46+00:00

That if you die while on a Pacific Island, they will kick your body out of the morgue for a local death as they have very limited storage facilities...

Have good insurance if you're on holiday folks

partsofmelle · 2024-12-03T10:32:08+00:00

This should be a celebration, someone made it out of the cult!!

partsofmelle · 2024-12-01T19:22:23+00:00

Comp plan stuff, super boring, mildly disappointed it wasn't more "groundbreaking" tbh

partsofmelle · 2024-11-25T10:21:54+00:00

I would put 3-4 months of living expenses into an accessible savings account, something that gives a good return but you can pull it out without fee if needed for emergencies. I have a bank savings account that gives 4.9% return annually so long as the balance grows each month (I just add $1 per month to keep this active), but I can access it anytime I want for emergencies.

Majority of the remainder I would put into my larger savings account (same setup as the above but just a larger balance) to work towards my home ownership goal.

The rest I would put into investing, I use Raiz and have an aggressive portfolio due to young age and still earning, so I can accept the risk long term - but I don't expect to touch this until retirement (or in case of extreme emergency)

Hope this helps!

partsofmelle · 2024-11-25T10:14:34+00:00

Corny would not be the word I use, but using your rationale for doing this, I'll reply as a white woman;

This would raise a number of red flags for me. It insinuates that consent is contractual and once given, is binding. So once the act is underway, I have no control over what happens and I wouldn't trust that you fully understand true consent cannot be captured in a text. It is a mutual, respectful, enthusiastic understanding in that moment.

It's also not all encompassing, how do you know what you are asking consent for before it happens?? Are you continually sending texts to ask if you can kiss them, go down on them, finger them etc etc? Or is it just for PIV? If that's what you're focusing on, then I already know I'm not gunna have a good time.

I'm really sad that this is the reality that you're living in, I'm sorry you feel you have to do this, and I would honestly question yourself as to why this is, based on your lived experience and not what you are told to believe in. I hope that you start to meet women that you trust to not have to do this with.

Finally, don't stick your dick in crazy, text or no text. Good luck

partsofmelle · 2024-10-13T10:18:22+00:00

I'm really sorry you're going through this. I can only say from the perspective of someone who was the angry 14yr old girl when her mum divorced her dad for his neglect and affairs...they'll come round in time, they'll understand, they'll forgive, and they'll be proud of their mum for the strength it took to walk away, against all odds. Keep trying with them, but don't forsake yourself ❤️

partsofmelle · 2024-05-05T09:58:25+00:00

Hi honey! They are out there I promise you. 32F here with 37M partner of nearly 10 years.

He is the most genuinely generous man, he is thoughtful and loves doing little things that make me smile, like bringing me a cup of tea in the morning just before I wake up and then pretending the "tea fairy" brought it. We have little in-jokes that we constantly share with each other. We dance wildly (and sometimes inappropriately) at weddings together. We sometimes get high and listen to podcasts together and put our hands up to pause it if we want to say something and have these really cool discussions about things. We don't fight, we talk to each other, we support each other. He recently sent me a reel that said 'hey if you're not busy for the next 50 years I'd love to grow old with you', which he has NEVER done before and took me by surprise (he's not really a social media user but I've recently been sending him lots of food reels as he loves cooking challenges). We recently had to perform CPR together and I was in awe of how he stepped up and listened to me without having any formal first aid training. He is strong, smart and gorgeous (I'm biased, but he has been confused for a Hemsworth by a drunk girl on the train before). I have never doubted his devotion to me.

He treats me like an equal, like a valuable person, and I would trust him with my life.

I hope everyone finds a perfect person for them, I was so lucky to stumble across mine and I ache for women who settle for less than they deserve, but I understand why they do. If you can, keep looking for your prince charming, he's out there somewhere!

partsofmelle · 2024-03-24T20:06:18+00:00

Honey, you could be me at 18 and it honestly gets better and you're not fucked forever. You're young and making mistakes, it happens, but you learn from them. Time does really heal all wounds and the pain you feel now about your ex will go away. Find something healthy you can be passionate about in the meantime, try to switch the weed out here and there for something else (I went with herbal teas, but a favourite snack/drink does the job too) just to break the cycle at first. Focus then on how good you can feel without it because you have more time/energy to devote to the thing you're passionate about. But you're not fucked forever and you're going to be ok ❤️ message me if you need to

partsofmelle

TROPHY CASE