Donna Brond

Living Frugal

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:18:10 -0800

There's never been a better time to live frugally. Although we're not technically in a recession, it certainly feels like a recession to me. As people reduce their spending on things they don't need, the jobs that were funded by spending on luxuries are becoming threatened. Times are tough. Recession or no recession, the economy is pretty tight at the moment, and people are feeling the pinch. ...

Taxing times for us all

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:50:03 -0800

Tax time is here again. Most people hate tax time. The stress of organising paperwork and waiting for statements to arrive, followed by the worst part of all. Filling in the tax return. Possibly the most boring activity known to man, after being forced to listen to teenage angst poetry. The inarticulately expressed triteness of teenage unrequited love has nothing on filling in your tax return. ...

Farewell the Fabled Surplus

Thu, 14 May 2009 09:14:25 -0800

Not so long ago, my partner and I would huddle around the television on Budget night, beers in hand, to bask in the warm financial glow of the legendary Budget Surplus, an ethereal beast who takes years to appear and then magically vanishes in an instant. While I've always been a little skeptical of the promises made by politicians, previous Budgets haven't been too traumatic.

However, I knew Budget '09 was going to be less than cheery. ...

Ruddcashed!

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:42:02 -0800

I got Ruddcashed last week, and I'm telling you, it was about time. After enduring weeks of torment at work of colleagues informing me that their cousin's stepbrother's chiropractor had received their payment, I was beginning to feel like perhaps I had been forgotten. This irrational anxiety got me thinking. Why is $900 so exciting? If you won $900 in the Lotto you'd probably be really browned off it wasn't more. ...

Not broke yet

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:17:44 -0800

Everywhere you look lately, people are getting jittery. First, someone says recession, then someone else says jobless figures rising, and next thing you know, everyone wants to hide under the economic doona. But is it really that bad yet?

Well, for some people, yes it is. There have been a spate of recent job cuts in different sectors. ...

Are you ready for the 'R' word?

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:00:00 -0800

It is a word that makes politicians sweat, and anyone with a job nervous. I'm talking about a recession.

Chances are, unless you were in a coma for the last six months, you've heard this term bandied around lately. Basically, a recession means that during a six month period the gross domestic product was reduced by ten percent. It's likely right now that we could be entering a recession. ...

Are you insured?

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:09:20 -0800

The recent bushfire disaster will leave a permanent scar on Australia, and the communities affected, for a very long time. It has been a shocking catastrophe on a massive scale, that will far outweigh both Ash Wednesday and Black Friday in terms of casualties and destruction. So great is the scale of the tragedy, it is hard to find anyone who is not somehow connected to those communities that have suffered. ...

Will they, won’t they, and by how much?

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:42:15 -0800

This week, the Reserve Bank of Australia holds their monthly meeting, and I'm excited. Not Big Kev excited, but pretty enthusiastic nonetheless. An interest rate reduction for me, and millions of other Australians, means less interest to pay on their mortgage, and that's more money in our pockets. I am hoping they will cut rates by 1%, but I expect it will be less than that.

Not all good news

However, it's not all good news. ...

Markets go down, and down, and down

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:08:52 -0800

If you've been sunning yourself on a beach or a riverbank for the last week or so, and listening to the cricket instead of the news, you might have missed the fact that the financial world is not looking as rosy as it might have at Christmas.

Remember that stimulus package the Rudd Government paid into millions of social security dependent Australians? Well, apparently it did stuff all. The black cloud of a recession is upon us. Already businesses are cutting jobs. ...

Beating the post-Christmas blues

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:33:12 -0800

Christmas is great. The food... The presents... But if you're a little inclined to go overboard in the lead up to Christmas, then the New Year can be pretty unpleasant financially.

Know your limit
While stores are likely to have bargains this time of the year, if you know already that you've overspent prior to Christmas, right now is a good time to cut that credit card up. ...