From the category archives:

Finance & Money

Government and Reserve Bank Don’t Directly Control Interest Rates

ANZ Bank will soon disprove the myth perpetuated by many parts of the Australian media and backed by disingenuous statements from federal politicians that implies the Federal Government and Reserve Bank of Australia directly control interest rates charged on mortgages and other loans. photo credit: woodleywonderworks EDITOR: This article was syndicated/re-published at the ABC Online [...]

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Freakonomics: Study of Human Incentives (Movie DVD Review)

In “Freakonomics: The Movie” Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubnor explain why incentives matter because if you can figure out what people’s incentives are you can guess with reasonable accuracy how they will behave. Economics is just boring graphs and statistics – wrong. Freakononics challenges conventional wisdom by analysing how people behave in interesting situations, stripping [...]

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Rainy Day Savings Fund For Unemployment In Bad Economic Times

People who spend most of their payday money within a few days risk uncertainty and having to borrow money from friends and family if they suddenly need to pay medical fees, need urgent repairs to their car or lose their job and a few weeks later don’t have enough money for the next rent or [...]

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Inside Job (DVD Review) – Financial Crisis Catalyst of Occupy Wall Street Protests

The Sony Pictures documentary Inside Job says the 2008 meltdown of world financial markets was avoidable. The global financial crisis of 2008 was an “Inside Job” that led to a global economic recession, millions of people losing their jobs, savings and homes and huge increases in government debt in order to pay for corporate bailouts. [...]

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Who Speaks For Interest Rate Rise Winners?

As usual media coverage of the Reserve Bank cash rate decision last week was dominated by the impact on households with mortgages and pleas from business lobby groups to keep rates where they are. This article was originally commissioned by ABC Online & published on The Drum Unleashed “A low rate world is not in [...]

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Cut Your Australian Electricity Bill By Threatening To Switch Providers

I just cut my ongoing electricity bill usage charges by 7% and got a $100 credit to my next electricity bill without having to switch from my current NSW electricity provider. Read on to find out how any Australian like you can negotiate a similar deal with your electricity power company to save money by [...]

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Winners and Losers from Fast Rising Australian Dollar

Many Australians are taking advantage of the rising $AUS against the $US to go online shopping or book a holiday to the USA. However Australian businesses selling goods and services overseas which are paid for in $US are unhappy as their income continues to fall. This is my first experiment using Storify – a new [...]

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Electricity Usage Meter Cuts Electricity Bills and Helps Environment

GUEST ARTICLE: Imagine if your grocery shop had no prices marked on the shelves and they simply billed you with a lump-sum statement every quarter. Yet, this is how most households and businesses pay for their electricity consumption. Using Power Meters can help you gain control and cut your power bill. If you’re the one [...]

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Economics of Unwanted Gifts: Deadweight Loss, Perceived Value

photo credit: Saquan Stimpson Christmas and Birthdays are the two times of year in Westernised countries when people give and receive a lot of presents It’s a little-known fact that the first economic rationalist was Ebenezer Scrooge. That’s because economists simply can’t understand why people would do something as stupid as giving presents at Christmas. [...]

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Confusopoly Pricing – Companies Intentionally Trick Consumers Instead of Competing

Banks, Finance/Insurance, Energy, Airline and Telecommunications companies are all examples of confusopolies – organisations with similar products who intentionally confuse customers instead of competing on price. The word “confusopoly” was originally coined by Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams in his book The Dilbert Future. Adams has an MBA in economics and management. He uses this knowledge [...]

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Global Financial Crisis: Great Time to Grow a New Business

GUEST ARTICLE: Almost 18 months ago, during the Global Financial Crisis, I wanted to share a bit of optimism so I wrote this post about it being the best time to start a new business and I believe I was right. “Growth”. photo credit: iChaz These were my main arguments: It Takes Time – to [...]

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How Big A Mortgage Is Too Big in Australia?

So you’ve saved up a deposit for your first house, you want to take advantage of the government’s first home owner grant while you still can, and the bank is actually prepared to lend you money. But how much should you borrow? photo credit: woodleywonderworks While Australia has not had the same problems with “sub-prime” [...]

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Too Much Stuff: Consumption Is Not A Way of Life

Compared to most people I don’t buy or own much stuff but I still have too much stuff so I am slowly giving away, selling or throwing away all my excess stuff (clothes, gadgets, shoes, books etc etc etc) “too much stuff” photo credit: joemad I really don’t need all this stuff, I don’t even [...]

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The Philosophy of Pocket Money for Children

GUEST ARTICLE: “Why give your kids pocket money? Are you using it for discipline or to encourage involvement at home? Do your kids simply need to practice handling money? Keeping up with their friends at school? Perhaps you want to share the family’s income? This article examines some philosophies of pocket money.” Eventually you are [...]

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How I Pay No Bank ATM Fees to Withdraw Cash

photo credit: thetruthabout For most people there’s a completely free alternative to withdraw money from your Australian bank transaction account. I’ve used this method for years – which is why I Pay Nothing Nada Zip $0 In Bank ATM Fees Which is why i’m always surprised when I hear Australian’s complaining about how much bank [...]

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