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The state of the economy at the street level

Are they renters? Or do they enjoy the pokies?

Through my work I know quite a few people on a pension, singles get $510 per week plus a load of concessions.

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hmmm , i get less than that , but maybe i have a few shares 😉

( just in case Centrelink runs out of money , while i am still alive )
I have been living with hardly any income lately,we can do.. with roughly 3k to 4k a month so $50k a year..on a big fully owned acreage,2 cars, no power bill.probably would need to add $10k year to cover with emergency hospital,car dying, house repairs etc
Basically $60k for a couple in 2024 for a good life, $0 benefit , pension, help or discount so full numbers.
But no EV, no overseas travels on these and we are self sufficient in mostly everything.
 
I have been living with hardly any income lately,we can do.. with roughly 3k to 4k a month so $50k a year..on a big fully owned acreage,2 cars, no power bill.probably would need to add $10k year to cover with emergency hospital,car dying, house repairs etc
Basically $60k for a couple in 2024 for a good life, $0 benefit , pension, help or discount so full numbers.
But no EV, no overseas travels on these and we are self sufficient in mostly everything.
since the Government told me to stop working ... i will take the extra cash while it lasts ( i am betting it won't last forever )

i live a fairly lean lifestyle , but working towards the derailment of 'the gravy train ' ( in my lifetime ) just in case

if i had to pay the full medical bills ( since i am un-insurable ) that might be a hit
 
No renters can't reverse mortgage their rental and they definitely aren't into the pokies, in W.A the only pokies we have are in the Crown Casino and that's way out of their stomping grounds.

They must have some crazy overheads those 80 year olds to be struggling on a pension when they own their home. Maybe they are asset rich, income poor. If that's the case, they are better off selling something.

My mother in-law had very little in savings, her partner passed away and she sold her modest country home about 10 years ago and moved into a Retirment village, she manages to live comfortably off of her pension. Her only overheads are the cost of the retirment home, internet provider, and utilities, light food for breakfast & lunch, tea and coffee, pet food, car registration and insurance, cigarettes (79 years old and smoke all her life, and healthy as a spring chicken). The village management helps her get all her entitlements from the government.
 
I have been living with hardly any income lately,we can do.. with roughly 3k to 4k a month so $50k a year..on a big fully owned acreage,2 cars, no power bill.probably would need to add $10k year to cover with emergency hospital,car dying, house repairs etc
Basically $60k for a couple in 2024 for a good life, $0 benefit , pension, help or discount so full numbers.
But no EV, no overseas travels on these and we are self sufficient in mostly everything.

Yeah, the system is all wrong. People like us work our guts out and save so as to not be a burden on society and the government comes along and thinks we have too much money and tax us senseless.

People are better off with almost nothing, or super rich. the middle guy gets hammered.
 
They must have some crazy overheads those 80 year olds to be struggling on a pension when they own their home. Maybe they are asset rich, income poor. If that's the case, they are better off selling something.

My mother in-law had very little in savings, her partner passed away and she sold her modest country home about 10 years ago and moved into a Retirment village, she manages to live comfortably off of her pension. Her only overheads are the cost of the retirment home, internet provider, and utilities, light food for breakfast & lunch, tea and coffee, pet food, car registration and insurance, cigarettes (79 years old and smoke all her life, and healthy as a spring chicken). The village management helps her get all her entitlements from the government.
When was the last time you caught up with her? Maybe the retirement village subsidises her costs eg meals etc.
The women I was talking to don't look high maintenance, more your normal grandma type, apparently they were both nurses when younger.
Who knows, they may have hidden habits, they both had a dog. 😂
 
When was the last time you caught up with her? Maybe the retirement village subsidises her costs eg meals etc.
The women I was talking to don't look high maintenance, more your normal grandma type, apparently they were both nurses when younger.
Who knows, they may have hidden habits, they both had a dog. 😂

Every week. My wife is very close to her mother, actually both of us are close to all our family. I see my mum at least once every week, she lives up the road from me 😊
 
It is a lot easier to live on the aged pension when you are part of a couple, I have friends who are doing fine.

They own a 2 up 2 down town house with moderate strata fees and they can afford a holiday each year just on the pension.

Their annual costs are about $27k and they get over $40k so all good.

The wheels fall off if you are renting or if you are single, of course if you are renting And single that is when life gets tough.
 
P & O Australia to be closed down, due to high operating and regulatory costs and low population density.
Interesting when Australians have really taken to cruising and population density hasn't been a problem before.

An update on the Australian cruising issue, that was posted recently.



Major cruise lines have revealed to Cruise Passenger they don’t believe Australian state governments that comprehensive plans to address infrastructure needs such as dry dock and hull-cleaning facilities, capacity issues, and high operating costs.

The table below shows how much it would cost to dock Quantum of the Seas at major ports around the world, as well as how much certain destinations would pay in total if they had the same as NSW’s 720,849 passengers in a season.

Screenshot 2024-06-26 142155.jpg

Methodology and port charges (all prices in AUD)​

  • Sydney charges $44.72 per cruise passenger
  • Melbourne charges $32 per cruise passenger
  • Barcelona charges $4.65 per cruise passenger
  • Amsterdam charges $0.416 per gross tonne + $22.67 per passenger per 24 hours, their charges were calculated on an eight-hour stay
  • Rome charges $10.87 for simply disembarking, or up to $25.46 for a roundtrip cruise homeporting out of Rome.
  • Miami charges $19.19 per passenger
  • Juneau charges $19.52 per passenger
  • Cozumel charges $0.392 per gross registered tonne
  • St Thomas/St John charges $10.29 per passenger
  • Port Canaveral charges $0.411 per 24 hours, their charges were calculated based on a 10-hour stay
 
Sign of the times?

Historic Regent Cinemas Ballarat announces closure, effective immediately

  • In short: Ballarat's Regent Cinemas has announced its closure, effective immediately.
  • Management posted a statement to social media, saying a "number of factors" contributed to the "heart-breaking" decision.
  • What's next? The future of the historic cinema is uncertain, but community members have been vocal in their support and disappointment in the closure.
The historic Regent Cinemas, once the largest "movie palace" in regional Victoria has closed, effective immediately, after almost 100 years of screening films.

Ballarat's Regent Cinemas, which screened its first film in 1928, shut its doors unexpectedly on Monday night.

Its website is usually filled with movie screenings but instead, this morning it reads "no session times available."

Residents received emails saying their upcoming birthday parties and events would be unable to run.

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Ballarat's Regent has six cinemas including the main theatre room. (Supplied: Bronwyn Blaiklock)
 
WOW, this headline doesn't sound good, it looks like cracks are appearing. Literally.

From the article:
Cash-strapped Victorian councils say they will be forced to let roads deteriorate, sell off assets and ditch aged care and kindergarten services unless the state government loosens its grip over how much they can hike rates.
The peak body for councils wants to move to a “multi-year approach”, giving councils a rate cap over four years instead of one – and the ability to charge more in one year and less the next.

The increases are set based on a forecast of the consumer price index – which measures inflation – to reduce pressures on household budgets. But local government bodies and councils have complained that actual inflation often easily surpasses the cap, leaving them struggling to keep up.
 
Unintended consequences of share homes, but what options do you have, when rents are too stupid for words?


A man has been charged with the stabbing murder of an inner west woman just two weeks after he moved into her home.

Police found the body of the woman, believed to be in her 50s, at a home on Clements Street in Russell Lea on Thursday morning.

Police allege her new housemate, 42-year-old Benjamin Art, stabbed her multiple times. The woman ultimately died from a stab wound to the neck, police allege.

Police allege her new housemate, 42-year-old Benjamin Art, stabbed her multiple times. The woman ultimately died from a stab wound to the neck, police allege.
All five people living at the home were present at the time of the attack.

“We know that the victim and the other housemates moved into this residence five to six weeks ago. We know that the [person of interest] moved in two to three weeks ago.”

Art, who will face Parramatta Local Court on Friday, was not in an intimate relationship with the woman, police said.
 
Sign of the times?
I expect it quite likely is.

Cinemas are one of the most obvious expenses someone can cut. First because the activity itself is non-essential. Second because ultimately you'll end up watching the movie anyway at home via streaming or, if you wait long enough, even broadcast TV if it's something mainstream.

Unless you live locally, the overall cost is substantial for what is only 90 - 120 minutes of actual entertainment. Not just the cost of the cinema itself but the cost of getting there also.

So cinemas closing is consistent with the notion that money's tight. :2twocents
 
We go to the local cinema ocassionally, mid week during the day so it isn't busy, but even so often there are only 6 or so people watching a high budget film e.g the latest Mad Max offering.
@sptrawler We gave up on cinemas some time ago.
The only reason being we were being blasted out of our seats by the volume.
The last time I took my work ear muffs and She had ear plugs.
The volume was that loud even with these noise restraints on we could still hear the words clearly.
 
@sptrawler We gave up on cinemas some time ago.
The only reason being we were being blasted out of our seats by the volume.
The last time I took my work ear muffs and She had ear plugs.
The volume was that loud even with these noise restraints on we could still hear the words clearly.
That's age related issues, I'm actually starting to notice it, but I still like a great visual show like 'Top gun Maverick' on the big screen it is just amazing.
On the TV (I do have the blue ray) it just isn't in the same league, the visuals in the cinema are worth the cost of sound cancelling headphones, just to watch it IMO. Lol
 
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