I tend to avoid listicles, i.e. lists posing as stories, but given the icicles metaphorically are at least freezing much of the land, here are some of my energy and cost-saving hacks. Now for those uncertain about what a hack might be, the dictionary definition puts it perfectly: "Life hacks," as they are known, are all about eliminating life's manifold frustrations in simple and deliciously... read more>

This was a recent headline in Australia’s most popular satirical newspaper.  When it appears you bought your house for peanuts, how to best advise younger people about coping with the rash of higher prices, and not sound patronising? It's a dilemma highlighted with a cash rate increase for the first time in eleven years and many feeling the pinch and growing uncertainty of their world. ... read more>

To some, it is known as the aisle of shame, to others merely the “middle aisle”. But to most, it is the mecca of impulse buying and surprises in an otherwise highly predictable supermarket. I suspect many FiftyUp Club members may keep more than a fleeting eye on the unlikely bargains which pop up ever so fleetingly at Aldi stores every Wednesday and Saturday from 8.30 am. Sometimes there’... read more>

The rich are known for their willingness to pay ridiculous prices to show everyone else they are indeed very well off. Fancy a Tiffany tennis ball can for just $1500, that Louis Vuitton skateboard - only $8,250 - or a carbon fibre toilet seat a snip at $249? But now it seems prices are going through the roof for almost everything: meat, new cars, hire cars, building materials, labour, fru... read more>

This Oscars week, some films hardly ever shown in cinemas and made by the new digital platforms have been celebrated as great movies. But recently one of the last, and certainly one the most eclectic, DVD stores in Australia has pulled the plug largely sunk by the technological torpedo of the streaming services.  The Film Club, (now closed) in Sydney’s inner-city Darlinghurst, prided itse... read more>