Subscriptions use to be used for trusty old-school products such as Reader’s Digest, gyms and motoring organisations like the NRMA. Now, it’s more likely you’ll be shelling out for a whole new raft of subscription services which didn’t exist in the good old days. But be warned, the subscription trap is still alive and well and many a profitable business is based on the well-known cons... read more>

A “loyalty tax” occurs when discounts are offered to new customers while longer-term customers pay more. Often this involves increasing premiums at the first and subsequent renewals. As the NSW government’s Insurance Monitor, charged with making sure insurance companies do not charge unreasonably high prices or mislead policy holders, I have had my office research the prevalence of loyalty t... read more>

While there’s no shortage of commentary on the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, I think it’s appropriate a club sharing this magic number should have its say too. In the same way looking up a 50-metre ladder seems further than looking down one the same distance, so too is the difficultly of imagining a world in 2069, compared to the less daunting task of picturing life in 1969 – a... read more>

The headline was click bait to anyone interested in the excesses, or perhaps the quite normal behaviour, of baby boomers given their rampant history with drugs. “A 60-year-old woman was among more than 20 ageing boppers arrested for possessing ecstasy or cocaine on their way to a music festival starring Boy George at Sydney’s Ivy nightclub on the weekend,” ran the Daily Telegraph. Des... read more>

From July 1 there’s a major change in insurance – last year’s premium for home and contents, and for cars, must be displayed on premium renewal notices. Using my powers under NSW legislation, and after a battle lasting several years, I have required this. Seeing the writing on the wall, all insurers and major brands have implemented this charge nationally, affecting almost 10 million hou... read more>