But wait... there's less!

If you're on a low-to-middle income, the Australian government will give you up to $500 co-contribution towards your retirement. Here's how to get it. Check your eligibility. What counts as "low-to-middle income"? Right now, people earning under $39,837 can get up to the full $500. People earning up to $54,837 can get at least part of it. There's some other technical eligibility rules , including that you are 70 or younger, have lodged your tax return (to verify your income) and that 10% of your income comes from employment or running a business. Not sure why that last rule exists, but it does. Oh, and here's the one that stops most people from getting their free money... Start saving yourself There's a reason it's called co- contribution. To get the money you have to put some of your own money into your superannuation. Some people don't like doing this. But really it's just giving money to your future self. It doesn't includ...

The watch-spend-work treadmill from the Story of Stuff. Ads tell us to buy things. We buy them. We go to work to earn back the money. Then the cycle repeats. Locking down the treadmill In recent times, the only shops open have been the "essential services". For once we could only buy what we actually need. That's a significant change from usual times, and (after a brief surge of stockpiling) our spending has gone way down. The treadmill strikes back Of course the online world means that we can purchase most things even when stores are closed. Advertising and business love smartphones. For them it's like having a cash register in every home. In normal times there's a gap between when we see and ad and when we make a purchase. Marketers like to close that gap because time allows us the chance to realise that the purchase isn't worth it. Purchase distancing In 2020 we all know that creating distance protects our physical health. The same things appl...