There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.” —Jackie French Koller I heard an ad on the radio the other day for one of those loans where you sell a share of your home and you receive a lump sum cash amount to spend. When you sell, they get an agreed percentage of the future sale proceeds of your home, whenever that might be. The ad was ai... read more>

Australia’s unique urban petrol discounting cycle, which benefits savvy drivers but confounds many others, means the cost of filling up can be a gamble. Given this volatility and the unpredictability of price swings, and our sensitivity to the price of petrol meaning we’ll drive further to find a saving, consumers need help. Especially with the so-called ‘information asymmetry of oil ... read more>

I was speaking to a friend this week about Halloween and with furrowed brow he informed me that he didn’t like Halloween and it was “just another American thing” invading our shores. I appreciate the sentiment but my view is, if it brings happiness to people then why not. When my kids were all under 10 years old, I announced one year that instead of doing the rounds of the neighbourhood and ... read more>

Regular readers of our newsletter will know about our “What’s On In Your State” section each week. We feature an event from each state and where we can, we try and secure free tickets to these events. This week I thought we’d try something different and giveaway a book. We have three books to giveaway this week: More Please! – Manu Feildel with Clarissa Weerasena Manu has become on... read more>

British pensioner Ilona Richards has been dubbed the world’s thriftiest woman. She skimps and saves on every aspect of her life – living off an equivalent of $5,000 per year and a maximum $2 budget for every meal. Ilona’s blog is well worth a read. Titled “Life After Money“, Ilone describes how she quit working in her mid-fifties. Her theory was simple – “if I didn’t spend any money, ... read more>