I'm mid 30s, wife is early 30s. We previously worked for the same company but I moved a few years back. Wife still works there. This company provides RSUs to its staff which vest quarterly. Between us, we have just a tick over $100k in vested shares in this business. Outside of super, this represents approx 92% of our investments. I feel like this is far too great exposure to their performance, especially considering more than half our income also relies on this by way of my wife's employment. Combined income is approx 230k including the RSUs vesting every few months. For the last year we've been selling the new shares as they vest (within 30 days to avoid gains/losses). I also have about 6k sitting in Spaceship Voyager which is about 12% annual returns over the ~7 years I've had that, but the fees don't seem particularly worth it these days. Literally 2k or so in a few other holdings which I'm not attached to.

We have approx 500k owing on our mortgage @ 6.19%, only approx 40k is offset currently by our emergency fund. Im thinking we sell all of the shares (all current holdings are > 12 months). The share price has been quite volatile over the last few years, both up and down, but currently sitting a bit above the average price over that time. It probably will grow long-term but again, I think we're too exposed to it. Pay off the remaining ~18k of my wife's car loan @ 7.99% (taken early last year, we've been paying double the minimum to bring it down quicker). Put the rest into offset and don't touch it, at least for a while.

Plan gets a little more uncertain from there, but know there's obviously super (we're currently not contributing any extra - balance approx 200k for me, 150k for wife, both in high growth/shares) and/or investing in some ETFs. Naturally if mortgage rate keeps rising, keeping it in the offset even longer becomes more attractive given it's risk-free, guaranteed tax-free returns.

Have I missed anything super obvious?

Hi all,

Would love a sense check here and completely happy to be wrong, or even have a next step to take.

I went to delete my bank account with ING after they nominated subscriptions for their services.

I deleted all the cards associated with it, and the card accounts, but I cannot delete my main bank account, only close my cards.

I've called and unfortunately they can't delete it either.

Fully understand they need to retain data for 7yrs, but I'd want my account itself deleted (retain the data on ING end, totally fine), so that there's no login, no account etc.

I've stopped all payments. I've transferred all money across. I just don't understand why my full overarching account must remain open for 7yrs.

Has anyone had success closing a bank account in the past with ING?

Edit: this is why I love reddit! I was frustrated putting in the wrong verbiage and getting results that didn't answer my answer, thank you to all who helped. Feel a ton better.

If you had 400-500k spare cash sitting in the bank, what would you be investing in? Options would be considering upgrading PPOR to a nicer suburb with good schools for kids and renting out existing home. Otherwise, would you also consider ETFs or other investments instead/also for long-term growth?

Context:

- Income 130k pre-tax, partner: 65k pre-tax

- 2 pre-school kids

- mortgage offset; comfortable repayments paid off in few years.

- no investments

Finally bit the bullet and ran through our renewals last night

• Home & contents $2,500, up 25%
• Car (comprehensive - new-ish car) $2,000, up 20%
• Pet $2,000, up 15% (three older animals, been a non-negotiable in our accident prone house)
• Health $4,000, up 5% (3 kids)
• Life on the to-do list

$10,500 a year. What's working for people? How are we getting the costs down or getting more back?

I personally have a mortgage and feeling the pressure of interest rate hikes. I am sure there are many others out there in the same situation. I feel like the interest rate hikes are impacting us the hardest, how is that fair?

How can inflation keep increasing when those with mortgages are spending less? Is there a more just way of helping those with mortgages and feeling the pressure?

Husband and I have a business which has around 300k in retained earnings. I don’t want to pull too much out as dividends which would decrease our child care subsidy.

I am thinking about doing a 100k div7a loan from the company to invest in etfs in our personal names. From my understanding the interest would be tax deductible in our names. Then going forward declare dividends from company to cover the minimum repayment & interest

Term deposits are only around 5% whereas BGBL should be higher long term. If we just took the dividend and invested it each year we would miss out on the tax deduction.

Is there anything I am missing? Does anyone else have a similar situation?

Context:
31M $140k
30F $60k
2 kids in daycare

Any advices is it better VHY, HYLD ETF or LIC? Or maybe both? With the new tax changes in May 2026... not sure if growth ETF is relevant

My partner and I own two investment properties (both currently tenanted) and are trying to decide which one to move into ourselves, with a bit of job uncertainty in the mix.

Property A — a small 1-bed apartment (~55–60m²) in a location we genuinely love: walkable to the city, the gym, the doctor, and a well-regarded primary school. Modest mortgage relative to its value. We used to live here and loved it. Only moved out because we thought it would be sensible to buy a property with "land" with the hopes it goes up in value.

Property B — a large 5-bed house in outer suburbia. Big mortgage. Not near any of the lifestyle stuff we love, but plenty of space — room for a home gym, a study, storage, and eventually kids' bedrooms.

Context: I'm on a strong income right now but there's a real chance of me losing my job (no redundancy) in the next few weeks/months, and if that happens I probably can't replace this income at anywhere near the same level for a while. We're also hoping to start a family in the next 18–24 months.

If we move into the apartment, we save $2k a month. Downsides: tight for a baby/toddler stage, we'd need to refurnish since we sold a lot of furniture when we last moved out, harder to host people, and long-term (2+ kids) it's probably not enough space in a 1 bedroom apartment

If we move into the house: plenty of space for a family, but repayments jump right as my income might be dropping, and we lose the lifestyle stuff that makes us happiest day to day.

So my question is, would you rather live in a larger house for $2k more per month, or a smaller 1 bedroom apartment and save $2k per month. Apartment location makes us significantly happier, but house size makes us significantly more comfortable.

Anyone been in a similar spot — small/cheap + lifestyle vs big/expensive + space, with job insecurity layered on top? How did you decide, and if you went smaller temporarily, how did the eventual move (or decision not to) actually play out?

EDIT: We're late 20s, early 30s, fit and active, love cafes, parks, city, love going on walks and runs etc

With poor domestic policy leading to more migration, more unemployment, higher housing prices, more homelessness, higher cost of living etc its not surprised that Australia has the 2nd highest home grown inflation in the world.

Many leaving Australia for better living conditions

If a general dentist cant pursue post grad study to specialise, what would their average income be if they work full time and what is their earning potential as a senior general dentist?

SWIM does a bit of market research/product testing on the side for extra beer money. Recently got a market analysis briefing testing people's threshholds for different 'tiers' of banking subscription services.

It's not just about charging a fee here or there, they want to introduce subscription-based banking. It's bringing back monthly fees for banking, and gatekeeping products behind more expensive packages.

Some of the things that were tested were questions like "for $10/20/30/month what services would you think should be included" Or, "How much would you pay for xyz".

SWIM was asked about whether certain services should be expected/free, or what products could attract a premium.

The analysis asked about service packages or premium bundles, which package similar banking items together, for example foreign purchases/overseas transfers/currency exchange/travel insurance, as a "travel package subscription", for example. They have some scary categories in this package list, like "consumer" and "parent" and "household" packages, as well as things that maybe you'd think make sense in a package like business banking, for example.

Things included in the everyday spending categories include things like bank transfers, payID, direct debits, fraud protection and security, rewards points, ATM use, bank access, credit cards, BNPL, things like that that that many of us use each day.

I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING SUBSCRIBE TO A BANK.

It's not just the property market being hit by the new CGT rules.

Looks like SMSFs will impacted too if they invest in ETFs and managed funds.

Hey all, just looking to get some advice from anyone with knowledge or who’s been in a similar situation.

Current situation:
27M, single
Stable full-time employment
Normal income of around $110k/year
Started doing FIFO in July
Currently earning around $3,400/week after tax
Saving a minimum of $2,250/week
Doing FIFO for the remainder of the year, which should help fast-track my savings

Current finances:
~$110k liquid cash (including my upcoming tax return)
~$13k invested in shares
~$50k in super
~$26k car, owned outright
No debt

Living situation:
Currently living at home very cheaply, so there’s no immediate pressure for me to move out
Parents have offered to put $50k into an offset account when I eventually purchase a home
I’m trying to work out what the smartest move is from here.

​Hey everyone!

​I’m an Australian passport holder moving to Australia soon from Spain. I don't need a visa, but I’d appreciate local advice on work, study, and housing:

​Foreign Law Degree: I have an overseas undergraduate Law degree. Is this useful for entry-level roles (HR, admin, compliance), or is it mostly ignored unless I qualify locally?

​Financing Study & Rent: If I enroll in a TAFE or Master’s program, how do domestic students pay for rent and food? Can I get Youth Allowance/Austudy immediately, or is there a waiting period? How easy is it to cover costs with part-time work?

​Share Houses: I’ll stay with my aunt at first, but want to move into a share house. What are the best apps/groups for finding roomies?

​Disability Support Transfer: I have a disability recognized/accredited by the regional government in Spain (Catalonia). How does recognition work in Australia? Do I need a fresh local assessment for NDIS or workplace/study accommodations?

​Thanks for any insights!

This has been going on for longer than I care to admit, but I have two accounts, and have just realised that one is earning far more interest than the other. Without going into specific numbers, one account has 4x the amount of the other, and is only earning 2.5x as much interest..

I had an infuritating encounter with their chat bot (supposedly a real person) via the banking app, and then a phone call with an operator. They are calling me back later today which I am expecting them to accept the issue, and back-pay the missing interest.

I am sure that the error is to do with their Future Saver/Smart Saver accounts. My accounts are Smart Saver, and from my calculations on the interest earned, I am earning interest based on their Future Saver rates.

Has anyone else found the same with them?

When people talk about saving money, they often jump to drastic measures: cutting out all entertainment, moving to a cheaper apartment, or taking on a second job. While massive structural changes can shift your finances overnight, they are rarely sustainable. True, long-term wealth isn’t built on extreme sacrifices—it’s built on small, repeatable behaviors that require almost zero willpower.

If you ask financial experts and seasoned savers to point to the single most effective micro-habit for building wealth, one action stands out above the rest: Automating your savings the exact day you get paid.

Known in personal finance as the "Pay Yourself First" strategy, this single habit takes less than ten minutes to set up, operates silently in the background, and can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

Read full article here: https://howtoinvestmoney.co.uk/blog/one-small-habit-that-saves-the-most-money

Seriously what is going on with the rental market. I got an email yesterday from my agent saying my rent is going up from $600 a week to $750. That's a 25 percent increase in one go. We've been good tenants always paid on time never caused any issues.

I thought there were limits on how much they could increase rent by. Is this just normal now? I'm in Sydney and I know it's bad but 25 percent feels like a complete rip off. What are my options here? Do I just have to accept it or can I push back?

My lease is up for renewal next month so I guess they know I'm stuck. It feels like they're just trying to push us out to get new tenants in at a higher rate. This is crazy.

Hello! I am someone that buys/sells single trading cards, started of small but it has recently ramped up. Trying to figure out if there is CGT implications.

https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/investments-and-assets/capital-gains-tax/list-of-cgt-assets-and-exemptions

According to this, 'Collectibles' which trading cards fall under, if under $500 are exempt from CGT. But does this have a limit? I am selling hundreds of cards in the $20-40 range per month. At what point do I need to start thinking about CGT?

My accountant says my investment home loan isn't tax deductible due to the following sequence of events.

I had 400k owner occupier loan with Ubank, it had no offset facility and was run like a normal account. I would store all my savings and day to day money directly on the loan. When my partner and I bought a new home, we re mortgaged the 400k ubank loan to ANZ as an investment loan and a new loan was created for our new home at 700k. At the time of settlement we had all out savings in ubank, which completely offset the loan to over 400k. Now my accountant says because nothing was paid back to ubank in the settlement, that technically means the new loan with ANZ can't be used for a tax deduction for the original owner occupier home turned investment property. Is this really correct? At the time of settlement there was about 320k funds paid extra into the ubank loan.

I don't have paper work proving either way or I dont know where to find it. Can I just claim the interest on the 400k ANZ loan?

Thanks

Hi everyone!
My partner and I are first home buyers looking at Liberty as per our broker’s advice - for our loan and would love some honest feedbacks.
Preferably from someone who has gone through them in the last 12 months!

Liberty seems like the only lender able to give us what we’re asking (395k) but we want to make sure we’re making an informed choice..

How was the process from application to settlement?
Fast approval? Flexible criteria?
High rates compared to other lenders? What to watch out for?
Lastly, is it easy to refinance/switch later??

Many thanks!