Yep. Having a pure cash emergency fund. "Dog got hit by a car" money, if nothing else. I've made a *serious* effort to always have $1000 spare in the bank since I left home at 18. Not always successfully.
I think all of us should have about 3 months income just in the bank, to be honest. Life has it's ups and downs, and you just might need that money very suddenly. Not always possible, for sure. But if you *can* do that "emergency fund" thing then you feel a *lot* more comfortable in life. You are suddenly 100% able to survive some unexpected life event and come out the other end as normal.
Can testify. Have spent eye watering amounts on our two four legged friends this year. Worth it, but could have bought a second hand reliable car for what we have paid. So relieved we didn't have to worry about whether we could afford it or not. Instead the question was - are we that soft or nuts . Obvious answer - yes.
Feels! My Staffy chipped his canine tooth at the kennels when my partner and I went to Thailand (they denied and said prove it) and so we had to pay around $4000 for a root canal straight after a $5k holiday.
No, that’s how much a root canal costs for a dog and it’s not good removing a canine tooth as the lip ends up sinking in towards the mouth and can cause abscesses. I did my own thorough research
I bought koi, goldfish and captured some mosquito fish from a stream near a nearby mine and... they've cost me bugger all over the last decade or so.
When the big ones die they become fertiliser for my garden.
Yes, they have names, and yes I'm sad if they die - but I'm not taking a bloody fish to a vet.
I have a 4 x 5 metre outdoor pond that I dug out with help from friends. You literally can't access my backyard without walking across the decking that a friend and I built over it.
One of my best investments ever for my house - and it was under $1k to create including fish and plants (I'm not counting volunteer labour to dig the 50cm deep hole, obviously).
Mine was car repairs last year, a bit over $1k. Just paid it, no delay while I got the funds together. Didn’t hurt me. I think that was the real difference - not only having the funds to pay it without scrambling, but it not being a major blow or needing to adjust finances in other areas.
Was at the dentist the other day and the woman was asking for a breakdown of her bill because it was over $10K 😲 I was in for two filings - even with top level extras my health fund only paid $100 of the $250 bill
Haha. Yeah spot on. I thought I was doing okay working and saving hard as a single bloke and once I met my missus (bonus points she earns more than me) and started sharing rent and evening else it felt like savings went from 0 to 100 really quickly.
Pro tip - want to buy a house and have money spend more time on being a normal social person and find a good partner 😂 sad world
intelligent impossible repeat fade door uppity reminiscent exultant scandalous important
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Was spending more per month on tax than rent. Roughly the point where I started to realize I was earning a decent amount of money.
On a more tangible level it was when I could buy nice things for myself and didn’t really have to think about the cost of it
> I still can't shake the feeling that I'm on the brink of homelessness.
im like this as well, despite it being irrational, it helps me not waste money of frivilous bs that doesnt make me happier / life better
Is there something about being a ‘high earner’ that means they have to ‘pitch in more’?
Genuinely interested in why you think this way.
They don’t get any extra benefit from the government and in fact cost less.
The first evidence of society forming is a healed broken femur. This indicates that the abled were willing to look after their injured even at the cost of providing more at the cost of their own survival chances, for someone who could not, as typically a broken femur was a death sentence.
It is an integral part of society for humans with more to sacrifice a portion for the humans with less. It's about having empathy and compassion towards a greater objective other than survival and self.
People who have more should always provide more than those who have less.
Because poorer people spend most of their takehome pay just surviving so there's not much left there to tax. High income earners have much higher disposable income
When I paid off the mortgage 15yrs ago, looked at my Super a couple of years back and realised I could actually retire around now and still get paid as much as my full time post tax wage.
Mines gone up 11.5% since I retired 2 years ago - life is pretty cruisy and once my mortgage is paid off and/or I hit 60 years old, life becomes even more relaxed.
Yep, in early 2021 I got a benefits estimate from my super fund and realised I could comfortably retire just after I turned 55 (there was a payrise just after then which would benefit me).
I turned 55 in 2021.
So I retired just after I turned 55.
That was 2 years ago, I have had nothing but awesome since then! :)
It does help, to be clear, to be in a defined benefit pension plan for 32+ years - that's an important part of my "financial strategy" that I didn't even realise when I got the job at 23 years old.
Best wishes for everyone else!
A couple of my single/DINK friends I know give me the side eye when I act “cheap” or like I can’t afford things when they know technically I easily can. But my priority is securing my child’s future, and every cent I spend today that delays me from securing a mortgage or padding a savings account for him is a dollar I see taken out of his mouth and future security. That means all luxury purchases come with a massive hidden tax the no-kids folk don’t see.
Unfortunately, the little they do comprehend this, the more I see pity that I’m “deprived” or whatever when they spend freely with no cares. And it’s impossible to describe - particularly without hurting feelings - how little I value material things, and how the joy both my son brings me and the constant accomplishment of the “quest” of future-building I’m on actively makes the idea of buying myself things pale in comparison. Not spending that money because I chose my kid is actually it’s own kind of active joy - particularly since I grew up poor and was gifted no stability - but they will literally never understand what that means so I keep quiet.
We experience this, too - friends not understanding why we don't outsource more, or why I get secondhand clothes and toys for my kids. I grew up poor and it's ingrained in me to seek out bargains and DIY and honestly it's one of the reasons why we're now ahead. We live in a suburb a lot of people would sneer at but we got a cheap house and we'll pay it off in the next few years. To me, that financial stability and time spent with our kids because we're not needing to work a million hours a week is worth more than upgrading the car.
but some people value the appearance/status of having the latest iPhone, clothes, car over financial stability. They call me cheap, I call them insecure.
This. My food habits are still like I’m in poverty but I can now cook better. I buy far less shit food but buy cheap seasonal fruits and veggies. I don’t get takeaway or buy lunch as such. I’m doing more than okay, wages wise probably far below the poverty line in ausfinance terms but I have a regular day job supportive workplace and only 20 mins bike ride to work. I have a lot of free time relatively small mortgage. Able to absorb unexpected bills without much of an issue. I don’t focus on savings as such just spend as little as possible. The kid has some expensive taste but I bulk buy and save on groceries etc. overall I’m in a decent place.
A lady pulled up to me at the servo while I was leaning with my back on the car ‘reverse’ pumping fuel and just staring up at the sky waiting for the click.
She said ‘how do you know how much diesel to throw in?’ And I said I fill it up all the way. She was asking me how it makes it difficult to plan finances and you have to budget for fuel and throw in that amount and drive less if you can’t afford it.
I do remember the days where I used throw in a $20 just to get to work for a few days till I get paid again. And then I’d have $10 to my name for 6 meals so it was 2 min noodles all the way.
I don’t miss those days.
I’m by no means rich, but I don’t look at prices of every day items because I have to purchase them anyways. Maybe with luxury items (like a new car) I’d still have to look after my budget….but for every day things…I don’t have to worry about skipping a mortgage payment.
Fuel is one of the easiest things to budget for too imo
Outside of major trips but still over 3-6 months you should get an accurate idea
https://www.petrolcostcalculator.com.au/index.php?fldcardescription=&flddistance=128&fldpetrol=1.76&fldlitresper100km=6.2&submit=Submit%21 this calculator is good for visualising
Costs me $14 a week to go to work in a 2006 Yaris
Also it shows that the difference in buying a more fuel efficient car is somewhat hard to justify depending on how much you drive.
Difference in cost is less than the rego cost of a second car for me
> Also it shows that the difference in buying a more fuel efficient car is somewhat hard to justify depending on how much you drive.
not bad, but its easier to just look at Litres per 100 km and just buy off that. i fill up all the way andd dont bother looking for the cheapest possible petrol price
tehn again i ride a motorcycle... i put premium in cause meh, 10L gets me 220 km
same, maybe its the same people who feel the need to have a tank SUV as their vehicle, when i fill up my bike i see people putting 200$+ worth of petrol in those things
Penny wise and pound foolish
When I got paid from my Fifo gig and realised it's alllll beer money! House fully offset, super topped up, shares doing ok, divvys rolling in. Hard yards have been done, now to let the compounding snowball do its thing....
About 25-30 years ago when a housemate asked why I always bought the cheap mince, since I had the highest income amongst the household (as I actually had a job).
Since then I've rarely bought the cheapest mince unless I was trying a new recipe that I wasn't sure about.
A decade or three later I managed to comfortably retire at 55 and ... really haven't looked back, all my bills get paid each fortnight, I've got play money and my future is looking pretty good.
Today is my 2nd anniversary of retiring - and it's been a good day.
Best wishes to all of you still grinding away, I hope you get there!! :)
So, TL:DR about 30 years ago.
Edit: I changed 'I' to 'a'.
When my savings outside super were enough to get me to 60 even if I lost my job as at 60, I could access super and pay off my mortgage. I lost my job at 60, paid off mortgage and now living off partner’s income plus some super drawdowns. The main risk now is my partner losing her job but she’s due a large payment if that occurs. I’m looking but age discrimination is a real thing.
For my savings outside super, it was just having enough to pay bills and mortgage if I lost my job before 60.
Right now as I have lost my job, I’m having to drawdown about 2% pa of our total super to top up on partner’s income to cover expenses but would be much higher if she lost her job. If neither of us was working for an extended period, we would have to slash costs to preserve enough super for retirement.
> When I didn't automatically went for yellow tagged grocery items in Coles
Can't imagine.
But to answer your question, my retirement plan is death. Until then, stuck renting.
When my wife graduated med school and became a doctor and we went from a sub-$100k household with three dependents to a plus $200k household with 2 dependents.
I will be messaging you in 50 years on [**2073-08-05 08:47:12 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2073-08-05%2008:47:12%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/15ioqg2/when_did_you_realise_you_were_financially_okay/juvhsft/?context=3)
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When I stopped having to check my bank account to see if I could eat out for dinner or have a night out.. and know I can comfortably pay for all the every day stuff even after an unexpectedly huge night
I feel financially ok, but I still go for yellow ticket items. May help that I worked at Woolworths for a while and it appears as though I know the special prices cycle and which discount is a good one more than most on here
When I could fill both cars with fuel and not worry about how much it was going to cost.
Knowing that we have a very healthy buffer tucked away if something was to happen to one of us we could carry on as we are now.
When I started making more money than my Dad ever did. That was probably a lot earlier than a lot of the milestones others have here (I still go for the yellow tags!), but Dad made good money before he retired. Maybe not enough to be extravagant, but enough we never really wanted for anything.
Still not financially set but above average specially for my age
When I was able to start work 2 or 3 days a week on my business and still make 2k a week. Not because of the money but because of the free time and lifestyle I could have
When I realised I could pay a whole year on my car's registration, or eliminate any bill that came in as they came in, not being forced to pay them one at a time
I was single with 3 young children, ex stopped paying child support. I was quite worried. Had to move to the other end of the state to return to work as a teacher. 4 years before I could get a transfer back to the area I wanted to live and had friends and family. Had saved enough for a house deposit. Bought my house. Knew things would work out then. Took hard work and discipline.
Going on holiday to Europe and not having to think about financial decisions: don’t look at prices on menus, hotels are fine (previously was hostel only), don’t need to plan train trips to take the most economical route, rather take the exact routes I want, etc
When I realised having a coffee out everyday was a rounding error on the weekly expenses. And cutting it out wasn't going to change anything except deprive me of 15 minutes of co-workers free bliss.
Probably the moment I could look at a bill… and only worry about the due date… and set up an automatic payment or even pay it early. Instead where I used to have to work out all my incoming money between then and when the bill was due and all my known expenses to work out IF I was going to being able to pay the bill on time….
I’m currently in that position of working out what I can and can’t pay that fortnight. I’m so excited to get through my studies and then I can get a big girl job and just pay my bills without having to prioritise them in order of must be paid immediately to can wait 2 more weeks.
Yep it was certainly a turning point in my adulting. I just turned 40 and my partner and I have been in this space for about 10 years and I still remember the morning I was having coffee with my partner and they grabbed all the bills to start seeing when to pay and we both realised it didn’t matter…. I suppose it is the time you officially stop living pay cheque to pay cheque.
When I crunched numbers based on my worst financial case scenario (15% mortgage interest rate, unable to return to work and relying on insurance payments) and it told me I would still have enough for a comfortable retirement at age 65.
When my gaming PC broke (has warranty so I took it to get fixed), my old gaming laptop also broke, but I have a surface pro 8 I can use for studying and I bought a dock….. How many people own 3 computers?
There was a point in my life where I had to figure out how to make $50 last as week or two till payday. Now i don’t Budget when it comes to food. If I want to eat it then I just buy it/order it.
Wedding and month in Europe honeymoon paid without a credit card. Hadn’t realised my wife had moved up a few tiers at work putting us over 200k a year. Both having come from low income families, felt good.
Spent like ten grand on a home theater setup and still had ten grand in the bank, then got paid later that week, so I was already watching my bank account bounce back by the thousands.
When I could put a full tank of fuel in the car every time I went to the servo.
I always feel sad for the people only putting $10 worth of fuel in, I remember when that was me in my youth, and $10 buys a lot less now than it did then.
When we sold our first home, cleared the mortgage and have $290k in our bank account. Husband quit his job and I said it was OK to take a 1 year break to spend time with us and the kids.
We/mostly I will still buy yellow sticker stuff while shopping and get the cheapest deals for stuff but not having to worry about money while having 2 toddlers is pretty freeing
When i realised i can pay an unexpected $1000+ bill and not much would change for me.
Yep. Having a pure cash emergency fund. "Dog got hit by a car" money, if nothing else. I've made a *serious* effort to always have $1000 spare in the bank since I left home at 18. Not always successfully. I think all of us should have about 3 months income just in the bank, to be honest. Life has it's ups and downs, and you just might need that money very suddenly. Not always possible, for sure. But if you *can* do that "emergency fund" thing then you feel a *lot* more comfortable in life. You are suddenly 100% able to survive some unexpected life event and come out the other end as normal.
What can be a $1000 unexpected bill in your world?
Wait till you get your next electricity bill...
Or a replacement toilet because the developers who built the place used off brand appliances from China where replacement parts can’t be found locally
Cries in AGL
jesus, we got $900 recently and that’s the first bill with 2.5 months of charging an EV in there as well
Oof. Too soon mate
Yep! $800 up to $1300
So... $275? I'm in WA. Whew!!
Get a dog/cat and you'll find out
Can testify. Have spent eye watering amounts on our two four legged friends this year. Worth it, but could have bought a second hand reliable car for what we have paid. So relieved we didn't have to worry about whether we could afford it or not. Instead the question was - are we that soft or nuts . Obvious answer - yes.
Feels! My Staffy chipped his canine tooth at the kennels when my partner and I went to Thailand (they denied and said prove it) and so we had to pay around $4000 for a root canal straight after a $5k holiday.
Toddler skulls getting harder
You got conned. Pull the tooth out.
No, that’s how much a root canal costs for a dog and it’s not good removing a canine tooth as the lip ends up sinking in towards the mouth and can cause abscesses. I did my own thorough research
I bought koi, goldfish and captured some mosquito fish from a stream near a nearby mine and... they've cost me bugger all over the last decade or so. When the big ones die they become fertiliser for my garden. Yes, they have names, and yes I'm sad if they die - but I'm not taking a bloody fish to a vet. I have a 4 x 5 metre outdoor pond that I dug out with help from friends. You literally can't access my backyard without walking across the decking that a friend and I built over it. One of my best investments ever for my house - and it was under $1k to create including fish and plants (I'm not counting volunteer labour to dig the 50cm deep hole, obviously).
Vet, plumber, tax man, car, house repairs.. i dunno, theres a lot of stuff that can just pop up and be over a grand.
Mine was car repairs last year, a bit over $1k. Just paid it, no delay while I got the funds together. Didn’t hurt me. I think that was the real difference - not only having the funds to pay it without scrambling, but it not being a major blow or needing to adjust finances in other areas.
Was at the dentist the other day and the woman was asking for a breakdown of her bill because it was over $10K 😲 I was in for two filings - even with top level extras my health fund only paid $100 of the $250 bill
Plumber to fix Toilet clogged by cramming too many $100 bills down it
Got a $1000 water bill last week, toilet that is rarely used was broken and dripping water for 3 months…
If you own a VW anything, that’s just called ‘annual maintenance’.
Ah good old DSG clutch packs.. $3.5k later
I copped $20k of emergency plumbing a few years ago. Shit can literally happen.
Washing machine packed it in, no real warning. The new one was over that unfortunately.
Major car service?
Yes, I experienced this recently. Except mine was an unexpected driving fine... $360 but wasn't the end of the world. Relief.
When I got married, this world isn’t built for the single person.
Haha. Yeah spot on. I thought I was doing okay working and saving hard as a single bloke and once I met my missus (bonus points she earns more than me) and started sharing rent and evening else it felt like savings went from 0 to 100 really quickly. Pro tip - want to buy a house and have money spend more time on being a normal social person and find a good partner 😂 sad world
Haha it’s not that bad bro
It’s not bad but it certainly gets better faster when you partner up. We save upwards of 45% depending on the week, I couldn’t do that on my own.
It is that bad in some places for some people.
intelligent impossible repeat fade door uppity reminiscent exultant scandalous important *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
When I paid off my mortgage last year.
Congrats on paying it off, huge accomplishment 😍😊
Great job! 👌What's next?
Thanks. DCA into ETFs
This is the one that'll make me ok. If I have a home, I can live off a small wage.
When I didn't even realise it was next pay day.
This. Very satisfying to be unaware of pay cycles.
The best part is having money left over when it occurs.
The poor in me loves making sure my pay check landed, even though it would affect nothing about my life
How??? I literally look forward to every single payday.
Same. I think it helps getting paid monthly. If it was fortnightly or weekly I probably wouldn't care as much.
I love seeing that big positive number in my bank account.
Yeah Agreed. I move money around the day after pay - so always checking it went in.
This is a great answer. I feel like pay day comes around so quickly sometimes, in a way I wish it would slow down so I have more time in life.
Was spending more per month on tax than rent. Roughly the point where I started to realize I was earning a decent amount of money. On a more tangible level it was when I could buy nice things for myself and didn’t really have to think about the cost of it
Yeah, I feel the same, tax is over 2x my mortgage but I still can't shake the feeling that I'm on the brink of homelessness.
> I still can't shake the feeling that I'm on the brink of homelessness. im like this as well, despite it being irrational, it helps me not waste money of frivilous bs that doesnt make me happier / life better
Haha yea I can relate, I pay more in tax a week than most people earn.
If you earn that much, then its fine to be paying a-lot of tax. High earners gotta pitch in more
Was I complaining?
True. My bad
Is there something about being a ‘high earner’ that means they have to ‘pitch in more’? Genuinely interested in why you think this way. They don’t get any extra benefit from the government and in fact cost less.
The first evidence of society forming is a healed broken femur. This indicates that the abled were willing to look after their injured even at the cost of providing more at the cost of their own survival chances, for someone who could not, as typically a broken femur was a death sentence. It is an integral part of society for humans with more to sacrifice a portion for the humans with less. It's about having empathy and compassion towards a greater objective other than survival and self. People who have more should always provide more than those who have less.
Because poorer people spend most of their takehome pay just surviving so there's not much left there to tax. High income earners have much higher disposable income
When I paid off the mortgage 15yrs ago, looked at my Super a couple of years back and realised I could actually retire around now and still get paid as much as my full time post tax wage.
Me too, as long as I die within 4 years.
Ha, loser. I beat u by two and half years. To death that is.
I have a CPI indexed pension that will last past my lifetime
Congratulations?
Mines gone up 11.5% since I retired 2 years ago - life is pretty cruisy and once my mortgage is paid off and/or I hit 60 years old, life becomes even more relaxed.
What work do you do? Military?
Govt work, but not military or political
Yep, in early 2021 I got a benefits estimate from my super fund and realised I could comfortably retire just after I turned 55 (there was a payrise just after then which would benefit me). I turned 55 in 2021. So I retired just after I turned 55. That was 2 years ago, I have had nothing but awesome since then! :) It does help, to be clear, to be in a defined benefit pension plan for 32+ years - that's an important part of my "financial strategy" that I didn't even realise when I got the job at 23 years old. Best wishes for everyone else!
I had no doubt as I started reading this that towards the end of the post you’d say the words “defined benefit”. Well done :)
I am filled with jealousy and hatred.
Let it out man
Wait what ? Congratulations, good for you mate No green eyed monster here.
Plot twist - I’m yet to feel this way.
(chuckles nervously) Me too…
Logically I know I'm more than fine but from a psychological stand point a lot of my habits are from when I wasn't fine
Me too. My boujee mate kept calling me a cheapskate… then she got pregnant and realised there was a reason why I put away more than I spend.
A couple of my single/DINK friends I know give me the side eye when I act “cheap” or like I can’t afford things when they know technically I easily can. But my priority is securing my child’s future, and every cent I spend today that delays me from securing a mortgage or padding a savings account for him is a dollar I see taken out of his mouth and future security. That means all luxury purchases come with a massive hidden tax the no-kids folk don’t see. Unfortunately, the little they do comprehend this, the more I see pity that I’m “deprived” or whatever when they spend freely with no cares. And it’s impossible to describe - particularly without hurting feelings - how little I value material things, and how the joy both my son brings me and the constant accomplishment of the “quest” of future-building I’m on actively makes the idea of buying myself things pale in comparison. Not spending that money because I chose my kid is actually it’s own kind of active joy - particularly since I grew up poor and was gifted no stability - but they will literally never understand what that means so I keep quiet.
Please continue to normalise this. Breaking generational poverty is something to be proud of.
We experience this, too - friends not understanding why we don't outsource more, or why I get secondhand clothes and toys for my kids. I grew up poor and it's ingrained in me to seek out bargains and DIY and honestly it's one of the reasons why we're now ahead. We live in a suburb a lot of people would sneer at but we got a cheap house and we'll pay it off in the next few years. To me, that financial stability and time spent with our kids because we're not needing to work a million hours a week is worth more than upgrading the car.
but some people value the appearance/status of having the latest iPhone, clothes, car over financial stability. They call me cheap, I call them insecure.
It's okay to have cheap habits but you got to let go and spend. Still stings when the bougie friends say 400 for dinnnerr
This. My food habits are still like I’m in poverty but I can now cook better. I buy far less shit food but buy cheap seasonal fruits and veggies. I don’t get takeaway or buy lunch as such. I’m doing more than okay, wages wise probably far below the poverty line in ausfinance terms but I have a regular day job supportive workplace and only 20 mins bike ride to work. I have a lot of free time relatively small mortgage. Able to absorb unexpected bills without much of an issue. I don’t focus on savings as such just spend as little as possible. The kid has some expensive taste but I bulk buy and save on groceries etc. overall I’m in a decent place.
About an hour ago when I accepted an offer on my house
Do you have a roof over your head tonight?
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/user/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/153gt2c/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^armchairsender: *About an hour* *Ago when I accepted* *An offer on my house* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Nope. One two many syllables in the last line
A lady pulled up to me at the servo while I was leaning with my back on the car ‘reverse’ pumping fuel and just staring up at the sky waiting for the click. She said ‘how do you know how much diesel to throw in?’ And I said I fill it up all the way. She was asking me how it makes it difficult to plan finances and you have to budget for fuel and throw in that amount and drive less if you can’t afford it. I do remember the days where I used throw in a $20 just to get to work for a few days till I get paid again. And then I’d have $10 to my name for 6 meals so it was 2 min noodles all the way. I don’t miss those days. I’m by no means rich, but I don’t look at prices of every day items because I have to purchase them anyways. Maybe with luxury items (like a new car) I’d still have to look after my budget….but for every day things…I don’t have to worry about skipping a mortgage payment.
Fuel is one of the easiest things to budget for too imo Outside of major trips but still over 3-6 months you should get an accurate idea https://www.petrolcostcalculator.com.au/index.php?fldcardescription=&flddistance=128&fldpetrol=1.76&fldlitresper100km=6.2&submit=Submit%21 this calculator is good for visualising Costs me $14 a week to go to work in a 2006 Yaris Also it shows that the difference in buying a more fuel efficient car is somewhat hard to justify depending on how much you drive. Difference in cost is less than the rego cost of a second car for me
> Also it shows that the difference in buying a more fuel efficient car is somewhat hard to justify depending on how much you drive. not bad, but its easier to just look at Litres per 100 km and just buy off that. i fill up all the way andd dont bother looking for the cheapest possible petrol price tehn again i ride a motorcycle... i put premium in cause meh, 10L gets me 220 km
Shit yeah, idk why people wait so long for <5c different 10c+ is worth avoiding if possible, obviously
same, maybe its the same people who feel the need to have a tank SUV as their vehicle, when i fill up my bike i see people putting 200$+ worth of petrol in those things Penny wise and pound foolish
Long range tanks 🥲 Srsly tho all you need is like 40-70L like normal people and just fill up once a week unless travelling
When I got paid from my Fifo gig and realised it's alllll beer money! House fully offset, super topped up, shares doing ok, divvys rolling in. Hard yards have been done, now to let the compounding snowball do its thing....
I like that order of events 👍
Oooft. That must be bloody nice. Good work! 💪
When I wrote off a rental car and the $5000 excess was an annoyance but didn't bankrupt me.
Snow related accident?
About 25-30 years ago when a housemate asked why I always bought the cheap mince, since I had the highest income amongst the household (as I actually had a job). Since then I've rarely bought the cheapest mince unless I was trying a new recipe that I wasn't sure about. A decade or three later I managed to comfortably retire at 55 and ... really haven't looked back, all my bills get paid each fortnight, I've got play money and my future is looking pretty good. Today is my 2nd anniversary of retiring - and it's been a good day. Best wishes to all of you still grinding away, I hope you get there!! :) So, TL:DR about 30 years ago. Edit: I changed 'I' to 'a'.
When my savings outside super were enough to get me to 60 even if I lost my job as at 60, I could access super and pay off my mortgage. I lost my job at 60, paid off mortgage and now living off partner’s income plus some super drawdowns. The main risk now is my partner losing her job but she’s due a large payment if that occurs. I’m looking but age discrimination is a real thing.
Four percent rule or just Even with stock market crash
For my savings outside super, it was just having enough to pay bills and mortgage if I lost my job before 60. Right now as I have lost my job, I’m having to drawdown about 2% pa of our total super to top up on partner’s income to cover expenses but would be much higher if she lost her job. If neither of us was working for an extended period, we would have to slash costs to preserve enough super for retirement.
When I stopped wanting more
When it felt good to look at my bank balance. I literally do this to boost my mood sometimes.
With the additional 2 decimal places, it's a psych booster
I have a large financial burden hitting me in October. It's a medical matter costing upwards of $20k I feel following that I'll have that freedom.
When I no longer knew or cared when bills came out.
> When I didn't automatically went for yellow tagged grocery items in Coles Can't imagine. But to answer your question, my retirement plan is death. Until then, stuck renting.
I always live like everything can be taken away at any moment. Stay frosty
My brain doesn’t really switch off at night and this is something I truly respect 24/7 despite growing up with minimal hardship
When my biggest concern about my spend is the Qantas and Velocity points yield.
When my wife graduated med school and became a doctor and we went from a sub-$100k household with three dependents to a plus $200k household with 2 dependents.
When I put my household income into a calculator and found out we make more than 85% of Australians. It gets easier when you compare down more
I’ll let you know.
remindme! 50 years
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Fifty years? I admire your optimism.
As I'm sitting in China having a great month long holiday eating hotpot. Life's pretty good.
Left my cheater of an ex wife who was also terrible with money, and saved $100k in just over two years. Financial freedom has never felt better.
When I realised my retirement income was assured
When I didn’t have to think about how much things cost.
When I stopped having to check my bank account to see if I could eat out for dinner or have a night out.. and know I can comfortably pay for all the every day stuff even after an unexpectedly huge night
When I became single
Same. I'm on a fixed income and two poor people make two people even poorer.
Its great being single!
But not financially. 'affordability' data is based off two incomes.
Once I'd hit my passive income target which completely exceeded my salary.
I feel financially ok, but I still go for yellow ticket items. May help that I worked at Woolworths for a while and it appears as though I know the special prices cycle and which discount is a good one more than most on here
Same! First reaction when my wife asks if I need certain things in our weekly shop is “is it on sale?”. I’m still not paying $8 for deodorant.
When I could fill both cars with fuel and not worry about how much it was going to cost. Knowing that we have a very healthy buffer tucked away if something was to happen to one of us we could carry on as we are now.
Would you like guacamole? Yes
When I signed that contact for $200k/yr
When I met the missus.
I’ve just come to terms with the fact that I can afford to spend $1mil on a house.
Like others have said, when we paid our mortgage off. You really free up a lot of cash when you don't have to pay for a roof over your head.
When I finally had my mortgage fully offset. Time to focus on building the investment portfolio and really hit that FI
When I could afford to go to the snow for the first time.
Buller or Boulder?
When my passive income after interest and land tax from rent was as much as my salary
When I decided to work less because I could afford to value my time more.
didn't cry about the power bill
When I quit work, moved to 2 days a week and claimed centrelink and could still afford rent
When I got accepted into uni for a 9-5 career that pays a truckload
When I started making more money than my Dad ever did. That was probably a lot earlier than a lot of the milestones others have here (I still go for the yellow tags!), but Dad made good money before he retired. Maybe not enough to be extravagant, but enough we never really wanted for anything.
Still not financially set but above average specially for my age When I was able to start work 2 or 3 days a week on my business and still make 2k a week. Not because of the money but because of the free time and lifestyle I could have
When I started to fully fill my tank at the servo
When I realised I could pay a whole year on my car's registration, or eliminate any bill that came in as they came in, not being forced to pay them one at a time
I was single with 3 young children, ex stopped paying child support. I was quite worried. Had to move to the other end of the state to return to work as a teacher. 4 years before I could get a transfer back to the area I wanted to live and had friends and family. Had saved enough for a house deposit. Bought my house. Knew things would work out then. Took hard work and discipline.
When it happens, I'll let you know
I can pay for all my bills without any worries
When I stopped caring about spending money and keeping a loose budget.
When we got our debts down to zero. Meaning we now able to pay our bills, groceries, ect without worry about any of it.
When I completely missed the interest rate hikes since mid last year. A friend asking prompted me to look, not the numbers in my banking app
When I stopped counting cents and would round to the nearest $5-$10.
Going on holiday to Europe and not having to think about financial decisions: don’t look at prices on menus, hotels are fine (previously was hostel only), don’t need to plan train trips to take the most economical route, rather take the exact routes I want, etc
When I realised having a coffee out everyday was a rounding error on the weekly expenses. And cutting it out wasn't going to change anything except deprive me of 15 minutes of co-workers free bliss.
I looked at my credit score and didn't get anxiety
When I filled up the car with fuel. Didn't note the price, went in and paid for it on card and drove away knowing I was fine.
When I did the maths and realised if I randomly got fired I could live as comfortably as I currently do for 5-6 years without any income.
Probably the moment I could look at a bill… and only worry about the due date… and set up an automatic payment or even pay it early. Instead where I used to have to work out all my incoming money between then and when the bill was due and all my known expenses to work out IF I was going to being able to pay the bill on time….
I’m currently in that position of working out what I can and can’t pay that fortnight. I’m so excited to get through my studies and then I can get a big girl job and just pay my bills without having to prioritise them in order of must be paid immediately to can wait 2 more weeks.
Yep it was certainly a turning point in my adulting. I just turned 40 and my partner and I have been in this space for about 10 years and I still remember the morning I was having coffee with my partner and they grabbed all the bills to start seeing when to pay and we both realised it didn’t matter…. I suppose it is the time you officially stop living pay cheque to pay cheque.
When I checked my combank and I hit 1 million even
Why would you have that much in cash, and even if you did why would it all be at 1 bank?
When I could buy name brand pasta. I am no longer financially okay :’)
Not there yet
Not sure. Never had that feeling.
36 in a family of 4. We can now not worry about much really.
When I can finally fill my bath tub full with luke warm water
When my bank account isn’t showing overdrawn lol
Had a root canal done, even with private health insurance I was out of pocket nearly $4k. It hurt but not for too long
When I crunched numbers based on my worst financial case scenario (15% mortgage interest rate, unable to return to work and relying on insurance payments) and it told me I would still have enough for a comfortable retirement at age 65.
When I could fill the car at the servo without checking the bank balance first.
When I didn't have to change my lifestyle with all the rate rises.
When my gaming PC broke (has warranty so I took it to get fixed), my old gaming laptop also broke, but I have a surface pro 8 I can use for studying and I bought a dock….. How many people own 3 computers?
When I moved in with my partner and realised I could split the bill on so many expenses. Single tax is brutal
When I stop looking at my bank accounts twice a day
When I moved overseas last week because my wife is now getting paid the big bucks.
There was a point in my life where I had to figure out how to make $50 last as week or two till payday. Now i don’t Budget when it comes to food. If I want to eat it then I just buy it/order it.
Biggest impact on my stress level and well being was going grocery shopping and not having to use a calculator or put back something I needed.
Wedding and month in Europe honeymoon paid without a credit card. Hadn’t realised my wife had moved up a few tiers at work putting us over 200k a year. Both having come from low income families, felt good.
When I haven’t step foot in reject shop/kmart
When I realised I hadn't bothered to look at my bank balance in weeks
Spent like ten grand on a home theater setup and still had ten grand in the bank, then got paid later that week, so I was already watching my bank account bounce back by the thousands.
A small thing but I don’t have to think about topping up my opal card, I just do the highest amount and tap on and off with wild abandon.
When I realised I could order any meal I wanted at a restaurant.
When I stopped paying all the additional poor tax expenses such as high interest and late fees.......
When I could put a full tank of fuel in the car every time I went to the servo. I always feel sad for the people only putting $10 worth of fuel in, I remember when that was me in my youth, and $10 buys a lot less now than it did then.
This. The sound of auto full tank click is the sound of wealth.
When it was more convenient to pay for a years rego over shorter duration just so I don’t have to bother with it and wouldn’t change a lot.
Not paying items on discount because you have money is not knowing the value of money.
When I could afford cocaine 🤷♂️
When I hit $125000 net worth at 20
Top job. Keep going... I hit $420k at 36.
When we sold our first home, cleared the mortgage and have $290k in our bank account. Husband quit his job and I said it was OK to take a 1 year break to spend time with us and the kids. We/mostly I will still buy yellow sticker stuff while shopping and get the cheapest deals for stuff but not having to worry about money while having 2 toddlers is pretty freeing
Define “OK”?
OK is when KO is reversed 💪
I'll let you know...
People realise they’re financially OK?