The Christmas tree has been packed away and the last of the ham finally eaten – yes, Christmas has come and gone for another year.  But try telling that to your bank accounts! This is the time of year when Aussies feel the festive financial stress of having to repay our over-stuffed credit card bill.  To help FiftyUps who want to pay down their debt, we asked the gurus at CreditCardCom... Read more

If you’ve ever been a little late paying a bill or like me, found yourself out of work and not in a position to pay your mortgage, you’ll understand how shameful this can feel.  Or if you’ve ever tried to negotiate a better interest rate directly with your lender, you’ll know how small and powerless a person can be. It’s at times like these that a broker can be invaluable, and that’s why ... Read more

    While travelling in the US a few years back, I picked up a copy of a foreigner's guide to Australia. I was looking forward to reading about all the great things about my country. The first line deflated my balloon. “Australians are lovely, warm people….until they get behind the wheel of a car.” What makes normally easy-going, friendly people suddenly lose it on the road? ... Read more

With Australia fast becoming an ageing nation, more and more Aussies are grappling with the anxiety that comes with retirement. While in theory retirement should be a time to be celebrated after years of hard work and providing, the reality is something entirely different. With the constantly increasing cost of living nowadays, the thought of retirement for many comes with the fear of fin... Read more

The cost of energy debate showed no signs of slowing this week with news outlets across the country covering the issue.  The dilemma of whether to “heat or eat” was confirmed by Coles Managing Director John Durkan who told Channel 9's A Current Affair that Australian families are doing it tougher than ever, with families now forced to choose between food and household bills. John Durkan’s... Read more

News surfaced this week about the possible introduction of surge pricing in Australia. The story centred around supermarkets but when you think about it, we already do have surge pricing here. Time-of-day tolling is in place on some roads where the toll is higher at peak times and when you think bout it, the petrol cycle could also be considered surge pricing as could airline tickets. But ba... Read more

  I have a Swedish friend I met when our kids started Day Care about 17 years ago. Elisabeth had moved from Sweden with her Australian husband to raise their twins in Australia.  Our kids are now 19 and Elisabeth’s boys are living in Europe, enjoying the benefits of dual citizenship. Over coffee last weekend, Elisabeth shared with me that she is considering a move to Germany. One of th... Read more

Most over-50s in Australia are facing constant strain on their budgets, with our new cost of living survey revealing health insurance is the household bill causing the most pain, shortly followed by electricity.  The FiftyUp Club’s Annual Cost of Living Survey has now had almost 5000 responses and reveals that; 66% find the cost of living ‘very difficult’ or ‘quite difficult’, Health... Read more

Click here to have your say on what sacrifices you making right now to pay your household bills. So far, 31% of respondents report cutting back on basics such as food, heating and electricity while 27% are going without a holiday. Some members are even going with out heating in winter while one member is still paying last year’s winter electricity bill! Some comments: Cutting back on i... Read more

The first news report I listened to post-Budget this week claimed “banks won’t be happy” and I thought…who cares? It must be a pretty good budget if the banks are the only ones not happy right? It turns out the banks will be hit with a new levy designed to help get the Budget back into surplus.  For the over-50s, there are also some new tax breaks to encourage downsizing, energy rebates and ... Read more