You’ve probably heard the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea, to which we may now add the real-life example of the petulant prince and the pen. Ok, he was actually King Charles when he threw a wobbly after being presented with a leaky fountain pen for his royal signature in a Belfast visitor’s book. But was his exasperation, “I can’t bear this bloody thing”, an example, as some critics p... read more>

It’s funny, but I have mixed emotions hearing that Australians are now considered, at least by one measure, to be the wealthiest people on the entire Earth. We should be joyful that the median, as opposed to average, Aussie adult now has a net worth of $413,260, beating the citizens of Belgium, NZ and Hong Kong. If you are one of Australia’s 2.2 million millionaires, and an extra 390,000 ... read more>

With all the planning, pomp, and ceremony, one trusts the royals didn’t overlook that key ingredient of any funeral - the gathering at the end. And nor should we, as a nation, when we mark a National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II tomorrow. How will you mark the day tomorrow? And have you planned your own wake yet, or do you intend to? If so, what music would you play, and what... read more>

Here’s another dreaded acronym to add to the alphabet soup of trends, and what’s worse, you may suffer from the condition. It’s called ‘FOGO’, or Fear Of Growing Old. According to a national survey by CareSide, a home care provider, we are in the grips of anxiety and worse when asked to rate the various impacts of ageing. The leading frights are cognitive and physical decline, a loss of i... read more>

Private health insurance enjoys its own complexities, which are not helped by some confusion about the round of annual premium increases. Thanks to the COVID fallout, most of the usual April 1 hikes in policy prices are now being staggered through dates in October and November. The existing system whereby the health funds propose an average increase, the government then bargains a lower f... read more>