They’re awesome! Free flights, Christmas shopping paid for, wine deliveries … and it doesn’t feel like I’m paying for them. And I’m not really. And many others who enjoy the benefits of rewards cards don’t pay either. But someone is. Rewards program benefits are not really paid for by the bank. They are paid for […]
Call a family meeting in the backyard. Tell them to close their eyes, as you have a pre-Christmas surprise for them. Unfurl the garden hose and turn the tap on full. Now, calmly, press the hose trigger and spray them mercilessly, like you were crowd-controlling rowdy protestors. Hose down those expectations! Kids make Christmas Day […]
WHAT? Whoa! Really? You’re asking me to solve an out-of-control, national, credit-card bingeing problem? How about something simpler? Perhaps stopping Australians drinking beer? Halting the Ebola Virus? Smashing our druglords’ supply chains? I could get shorter odds at the TAB on me brokering peace with Islamic State. There’s nothing actually wrong with credit cards. They’re […]
Um, bit embarrassing. I think my accreditation to speak authoritatively here has lapsed. The division of labour in our house means I only go to the supermarket five minutes before people arrive to get forgotten items. However, with beer shopping, I do have A+ qualifications. So, the following is largely from Mrs DebtMan. “Sign up […]
With the way markets have behaved in the last two months? Possibly next decade. Maybe in another generation’s lifetime. Kidding. However, I don’t have a crystal ball. If I (reluctantly) must pin a tail on this donkey, I’d suggest about 2017. That would make it a decade from one peak to the next. That […]
“She works hard for the money, so you better treat her right.” Donna Summer’s 1983 classic was written about a restroom attendant. Could easily have been about the world’s “oldest” profession. Or about any of us and our relationship with our banks. Banks should treat us right. Sadly, they often don’t. They are great at […]
THPPPT! Spare money? For Generation X? Ho, ho, ho! Surely you jest, dear editor. Weddings, monster mortgages, hungry midgets’ mouths, education expenses … we’re just trying not to drown. However, the truth is we do get through. And for Xers striving to get ahead, here’s what you’ve got to weigh up. In the early years […]
My mum was allergic to animals, following a nasty incident with a cat when she was pregnant. Consequently, animals weren’t part of my early childhood. My parents eventually relented and got us two cats, Steak and Kidney. Kidney Kitten got his name because his first feeding bowl was an old kidney specimen vase, a relic […]
“Wax on, wax off.” If you don’t know what that means, you’re not Generation X. Try a column to the left or right. Daniel-san, aka The Karate Kid, was taught the wise ways of the martial art by Miyagi, a teacher with odd-ball methods, but who got his point across. And Danny-boy, by learning to […]
I call it “rewiring my brain”. And I’ve had to do it a bunch of times since 1999 – when I first decided an aspect of my life needed an exorcism. While none were bad money habits per se, all were destructive behaviour patterns with financial consequences. I tended to focus on the financial outcomes […]
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