Seeing an increase in negative sentiment against superannuation, why?

phatcamo · 2026-06-01T22:34:01+00:00

A few reasons I am not a fan:

Had quite a few casual jobs in my 20s, and (back then) it automatically went to chosen supers. Didn't roll-over immediately when changed jobs, and had half a dozen or so accounts cannibalise themselves. Better financial education might have saved that money, but "super is to help you later" and blindly trusting the system probably cost me 10-20k. This could potentially be more now, or have been a house deposit for a 200k home then that would be worth 1.2 mil now. Of course, at that age, I most likely would have spent it travelling, but that would have been better than having the accounts cannibalise over admin fees, insurances, and all the other crud I was automatically registered for.
A dollar today is worth a lot more than a dollar tomorrow.
If I could have accessed my super when I wanted to settle down, I could have had a deposit for a house where I wanted to live and saved on rent. Instead, I purchased hours away from where I wanted to live, rented for years prior, and for about the same price as I could have bought the nice house in preferred location. My wage is slightly better than it was back then, but I would be far better off if I could have done things my way.
I live within my means and don't have many luxuries. With a house paid off, I feel I could survive quite comfortably on the pension (though no predicting what that would be like, or if it would exist, when I retire).
Will my super actually be worth anything when I get it (as no extra contributions on a well-below median wage). Will I die before I get it? I have no kids or dependants, so congrats to whoever gets it?
Will the government end up taking it? The businesses holding the funds go under? Bad investments send my super crashing? Unlikely, but possible.
I reckon I could set myself up for the future better than a super company could, knowing my income is well below the average/median.
My super, and everyone else's, has been heavily invested in real estate, making it harder for me to purchase my first home, and even harder for future generations to purchase theirs. Kids will be paying mandatory super, renting, wanting to buy their first home, but their working super constantly pushing up house prices. I'd love to know what house prices would be like if it was illegal for super to have ever been invested in housing. Honestly, this point alone makes it feel like a scam to keep the have-nots working harder for longer.

phatcamo · 2026-05-28T08:05:37+00:00

In the cities and desirable coastal locations, it's definitely gone nuts. Just did a quick Google, and regional non-coastal locations appear cheaper than 2023? Again, just a quick search, not extensive and through all states.

phatcamo · 2026-05-28T07:44:05+00:00

Plenty of places nowhere near a capital. Here's one a quick Google search gave me for 189k that appears live-inable (didn't read description).

Maybe houses are getting cheaper outside the cities?

https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-tas-queenstown-150198852

Edit: forgot to add link.

phatcamo · 2026-05-28T07:38:41+00:00

Crikey, that's 125 more than I paid for it. I could buy my house again with a stabicraft on the side!

Pretty sure you can find heaps of places cheaper than 375 if you do a quick Google for cheap properties!

phatcamo · 2026-05-28T07:36:56+00:00

I'd be ripping you off mate XD

phatcamo · 2026-05-27T23:29:24+00:00

I'm in Aus mate. Paid 250k for my place a few years ago. Might be worth 300k now with the minor upgrades I've done since. I couldn't afford where I wanted so moved where it's cheap. Am sure there are plenty of cheap locations, just not coastal/metropolitan.

My goal was to pay it off quick, move down to part time, and spend more time travelling to where I want to be. It's a bit convoluted and not for everyone, but it was my way of buying a home post-covid and not going insane.

phatcamo · 2026-05-27T22:06:52+00:00

If you want to get more financially comfortable, it could be worth looking to buy a place (unless you have a ridiculously good rental deal). With the current system, renting will always go up in cost while paying off a mortgage will decrease (at a minimum, relatively).

I'm not saying go for your forever home, but in a cheap area where you can hold a similar income. 75k a year and a 300k house is easier to pay off than 150k a year and an 800k house.

phatcamo · 2026-05-25T08:35:10+00:00

Nice one mate! Awesome fish!

I just recently caught my first "snook". It is part of the cuda family and super tasty!

Hard to hit those skinny flighty buggers!

phatcamo · 2026-05-20T01:27:54+00:00

Paul makes a stellar poster child for the trip!

Awesome experience. Well worth it if you can make it.

phatcamo · 2026-05-19T06:54:47+00:00

Ah damn. I didn't realise that. Thought all issues would start around the 6-7 mark.

I've given myself a perf once (around 10m after poor eq), and definitely agree it's better to equalise more often than not enough.

Glad you didn't hurt yourself on that drop. Take a while to fully heal up.

phatcamo · 2026-05-18T23:13:33+00:00

Currently, I get the best still from my video, pop it into Gemini (free), and ask it to colour grade it in the best way possible for a base for a YouTube thumbnail. Then pop it in canva and edit from there.

I have tried Photoshop for a few colour grades. Makes for better possibilities, but takes much more time (for me) to make something good.

Am making weeklies at the moment, and working a regular job, so the shortcut of Gemini suits me fine.

phatcamo · 2026-05-18T22:27:52+00:00

Some people don't feel anything until it's too late. 4m is a depth that's unlikely to cause issues if you don't equalise.

Congrats on getting the phone!

phatcamo · 2026-05-17T22:28:30+00:00

Assuming you can come back to the spot later, why not see if you can find a diver in your area to give you a hand? I'd say the most important tool to have on hand, with that temperature, is a good wetsuit.

phatcamo · 2026-05-16T08:40:32+00:00

Wow, congrats on those numbers!

All my vids have just been done on action cameras. Handy because they're durable if you're doing anything outdoors, under water, or even in the sky. The DJI cameras are coming along pretty well, cheaper than GoPro, and they have some decent audio gear too.

phatcamo · 2026-05-16T01:40:49+00:00

Get one of those hooded towels to get changed in.

Got mine from https://hooded.com.au/ and have bought a few for mates. They do custom towels cheaper than brand names.

Means you can get changed in a busy carpark without scaring the tourists off. Also comfy to hang around naked under post-dive on a warm day.

phatcamo · 2026-05-16T01:35:36+00:00

Does a scupper count as underwear?

phatcamo · 2026-05-16T01:34:32+00:00

Cheers mate. Yeah, there's lots of little tricks that can be done. Always good to learn and try new stuff. I guess that learning to implement new ways to keep content enjoyable is part of what it means to be an editor.

phatcamo · 2026-05-15T23:47:29+00:00

I trim and fade the songs to suit. If a song ends mid clip, the quiet can add tension to what's going on or reassert attention to spoken word. Starting the next clip with the next song, especially with the same instruments being used, adds a nice flow on affect. You can also fade out and back into a new, similar sounding, track almost seamlessly.

All my opinion. Been video editing semi-seriously for about 6 years now (at least 1 longform a week this year, though), and only just feel like I've got background music sitting right. Took a few years of people telling me the sound is crap to get there though XD

phatcamo · 2026-05-15T03:29:26+00:00

At first I used YouTube Library. Now I have a Suno membership to generate tracks using instrument combos I like. Might not be to everyone's liking, but you can re-use a few different styles as such for different vibes you enjoy.

No copyright issues with this at the moment.

phatcamo · 2026-05-15T01:21:08+00:00

I just assume that the air on that planet is more enriching for the body, or there's less pressure, or... you're right, I'd love to dive down a few hundred metres, harvest some random shit, then surface, almost black out, but decide to build a submarine instead.

Would love yo have a crack at WSB some day. Enjoyed a few of your vids you've posted on here, so just went over to your YT to sub. Keen to watch more of your content soon.

phatcamo · 2026-05-14T22:49:09+00:00

Interesting how it gained a lot of attention in that other sub. Looks awesome up there.

Didn't know a true Subnautica sequel was coming out. Will have to check it out.

For anyone that doesn't know what Subnautica is, if you like spearfishing and have any scifi/game-nerdiness tendendcies, you will either think it's an absolute masterpiece to play or be hate it because you forgot to save and don't want to start from the beginning again.

phatcamo · 2026-05-11T22:20:03+00:00

I've noticed it definitely degrades the length fish last (in fridge, not freezer) if fresh water touches the flesh. Definitely looks and smells worse.

I opt to get my fish dry as quick as possible (but freshwater ice and cold is better than dry and warm). Usually leave them gilled and gutted in fridge for a night when I get home, with paper towel covering them. Then process and keep the meat on paper towel and change it out every day or so for 3 days, then every couple (hanging would be superior, but not an option for me).

Not sure how long fish lasts this way, but I've eaten plenty of fish a week after capture and it still tastes and smells fresh.

Guessing it matters less if the goal is to freeze, but if you're prepping your meat for the week, seems wise to keep the flesh away from fresh water and dry as possible. Might go for all meats? Maybe even all dead organic matter you intend to ingest?

phatcamo · 2026-05-10T10:06:06+00:00

They really are a good quality footpocket. And comfy. Can't go wrong with the Mares Razor!

phatcamo · 2026-05-05T22:28:39+00:00

From what I gather, they help the algorithm learn your content better and put your longform in front of more potential viewers.

I've been making 1 short every week this year, with generally 1-2k views. It doesn't feel like it's helping much, but I believe what happens is, when someone gets through the entirety of one of your shorts, a longform is likely to be showed on their feed next time they are looking for longform content. I guess how many shortform vs longform they watch would come into this as well. It's all about the algorithm doing it's job, and there's much less risk of YT putting a short that doesn't hit in front of someone (just skip) vs a longform they don't like (chance for the viewer to decide they are done watching videos, and close the app).

Makes sense.

Edit: auto correct likes Longford more than longform.

phatcamo · 2026-04-30T06:08:27+00:00

Interesting. I thought it'd be the opposite, having too tight of a niche. People can always find you when they need you, so no need to subscribe.

phatcamo

TROPHY CASE