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I work with a gentleman who is a retired Australian Opera singer. Last time I saw him before the movie Les Miserables was released I asked him about the new movie. From the trailers he has seen, he said it looks to be very well done. You wont be able to watch the credits from Quartet, my...

Since I started accompanying my mother to all these ex-Navy and War Widow's functions over the last year, I get to witness the sometimes quite vicious arguments between those whose husbands served overseas and those whose husbands only served in Australia. Hey, we all want the perks. When i...

Quartet No China, not today. We are oldies, getting close to retirement age ourselves. We took Mum to see Quartet. She must have told me 50 times in the past week that she wants to see it. Us 50somethings loved it as much as everyone else in the audience. It was funny when the movie ended...

It seems we are back to discussing retirement incomes. While on the subject of pension discounts, we took my Mum to the movies this afternoon. It cost hubby and I $16:50 each and Mum got in for $1. A Gold Card is not just for any old pensioner. To be granted it you have to be an...

Thank you Geoff

I was suggesting Grandma in her mansion can take in a boarder (or two) because she does not get any pension. The income after expenses would work out about the same.

Grandma's house in Brighton is worth more like $1.6 million, China. Plumbers get six figure incomes. They can take care of themselves. Grandma can take in an Asian Student boarder. Are we happy now?

There are elderly self-funded retirees who may call themselves 'pensioners" but they are receiving an allocated pension from their investment fund. This is not a govt pension, China. I know of elderly retirees who were living comfortably off their funds before the GFC but with lower interest...

As soon as I turned off my laptop this morning I remembered that we have verbally informed the welfare recipients that their board is increasing in January at the same time our tenant's rent increases. I must write them a formal letter.

You are right, Sanj, I have been making excuses. I feel pretty bad about it. Another excuse I have used has been that he does jobs around the house, doesn't spend money on smokes, alcohol etc, pays board and is otherwise a pretty decent guy, so I have been too forgiving. We know that we have...

For goodness sake, China, no one on this forum would denigrate the wealthy. We aim to be wealthy ourselves.

Thanks for the suggestions, Nemo. I think I have already made them but went straight off to his room just then. The main thing in your post that stands out to me, though, is that you went from working at Woollies when you were at High School to continue working at Woollies when you were at...

Fair enough Luckyone. I am feeling inadequate because I have admitted to failing to be the world's most perfect mother. On the other hand I am delighted to have found a forum of very intelligent adults who like to discuss those taboo subjects that I cant discuss anywhere else. I thrive on the...

Everyone knows that the jobs that are so easy for 16 and 17 year olds to get, the ones that fit easiest around Uni contact hours, are not available to those in their mid 20s. So please offer suggestions as to what Mr qualified Fitness Trainer can apply for. He used to get calls for interviews...

Thanks for reminding us, Aaron and Lucky, how inadequate the rest of us are. If everyone was able to study full time and work pretty much full time at the same time and have excellent executive functioning skills, then your achievement wouldn't be an achievement after all.

I know. We, the parents, are appalled and it is both scary and good to admit that he is one of those gen Ys that everyone here complains about. We have been wondering if our kids were swapped with changelings at birth, neither of them seems to have come from our post-war Protestant work ethic...

O yeah, back to Kathryn's idea. I would love to see it work. I have heard of factories or canneries in Australia that were closed down by their owners. The workers formed a co-op and reopened once they acquired funding. Perhaps talk to Dick Smith.

Our local prisons have workshops where items are manufactured for private businesses. I know a hearse builder who gets his metal fittings made there. There are huge commercial kitchens that produce meals for hospitals. These are within the prison grounds, they are not factories. One of my...

Hi Kathryn, do you know that a lot of the supplies for public hospitals in Oz are made in the prisons, by the prisoners? That is cheap labour. I would also like to add that putting a group of disabled people, mentally ill people, drug users or alcoholics together is a recipe for disaster. I...