We come to the world to live deliberately and not to escape unscathed. The truth is no one gets out alive. The point is how you live and the point of this blog is to help you live well.
There are endless amounts of advice and you will get it from all sources, probably mostly unsolicited. Here is a source of truth for the basics of adulthood. Provide comment and enjoy!
Something can be explained to you a thousand times but until you have been there, seen it or experienced it, it will never feel real. Traveling, I admit isn’t for everyone, you may find one destination that you will visit every year until you are 80 or you may visit every country in the world. The choice is ultimately yours but it all starts with a desire to step out of your comfort zone and see/try something new.
I recommend grabbing some brochures from the local travel agent or trawling through trip adviser to get some ideas.
Once you have the destination/s in mind and have secured one or many travel buddies there are some things to keep in mind.
There is no reason you cannot have both budget friendly and healthy. We will soon be embarking on the 50 recipes you should know how to cook to masquerade as a pro in the kitchen. Whether it be to impress the hottie from accounting or just so you don’t end up living off of toasties and 2 minute noodles. Most of these meals can be made in bulk and frozen for convenience. You could make a big batch of Chilli Con Carne for less than $15 and it could keep you going for weeks, or just a tub of cookie dough, that could work too.
Happy to hear suggestions or post your pics of recipes that have worked for you
-Rudyard Kipling
A Choice of Kipling’s Verse (1943)
Your superannuation basics
A basic guide to what superannuation is, how to save it and what you can do to increase it.
What is superannuation?
Superannuation, often called super, is money put aside by your employer over your working life to live on when you retire from work.
Super is important for you because the more super you save, the more money you will have for your retirement.
You can only withdraw your super money in certain circumstances – for example, when you retire or turn 65 years old.
How do I save super?
For most people, your employer pays amounts called ‘contributions’ into a super account for you. This is called the ‘super guarantee’. They pay these contributions on top of your salary and wages. There are laws about how much super your employer must pay.
Generally, your employer must pay super for you if you are:
This applies whether you work casual, part-time or full-time hours, and if you are a temporary resident. You may also be eligible if you are a contractor who is paid primarily for labour, even if you have an Australian business number (ABN).
How is money paid into my super?
From 1 July 2014, your employer is required to pay a minimum of 9.5% of your ordinary time earnings into super. This is set to gradually rise over the coming years.
Ordinary time earnings are what you generally earn for ordinary hours of work, including over-award payments, certain bonuses, allowances, and some paid leave. Payments for overtime hours are generally not included in ordinary time earnings.
You can also add your own money into your super savings, and sometimes the Australian Government puts money in too.
What if my employer is not paying the correct super?
Talk to your employer. Ask how often they are paying your super, into which fund they are paying it, and how much they are paying.
You can check your last Member statement from your super fund or contact the fund to confirm whether your employer has paid your super.
If you still believe your employer is not paying the super you are entitled to, you can phone the ATO on 13 10 20.
Should I be wary of promoters offering early access to super?
Beware of promoters offering various plans to gain early access to your super savings before you retire. The promoters of these plans will tell you that they can help you access your super savings for reasons such as paying off debts, buying a house or car, or even going on holiday. These schemes are illegal and heavy penalties apply if you participate.
Most people can choose the super fund they want their contributions paid into. If you’re eligible, your employer must give you a Standard choice form within 28 days of the day you started working for them, so you can make that choice in writing. If you do not choose a fund, your employer will choose a fund for you.
All employers have a nominated super fund, or ‘default fund’, where they make super guarantee payments for their employees who have not selected a preferred fund.
If you want to have your contributions paid into an existing super account but can’t remember your super fund account details, check SuperSeeker for help.
Making sure your super fund has your TFN will make it easier to keep track of your super, move it between accounts, and receive super payments from your employer or the government.
You can check whether your fund has your TFN by looking at the statements they send you.
If you’ve ever changed jobs, you could have super in many accounts. SuperSeeker is an online tool to help you find super savings you might have lost or forgotten about.
On SuperSeeker you can also see all of your active super accounts and their balances, and ask to move your super savings from multiple accounts into one preferred account. If we are holding any super monies on your behalf, you can also select one of your super fund accounts for us to transfer the money into.
You’ll need your TFN to do a quick search for lost super. See also:
As well as the contributions your employer pays, you can add to your super by making your own contributions. You may be able to ‘salary sacrifice’ to super from your before-tax income, or contribute to super from your after-tax income.
If you choose to salary sacrifice contributions, your employer may make super guarantee contributions based on your new reduced salary.
There are limits called ‘caps’ on the amount you can contribute to your super each financial year without having to pay additional tax. If you contribute more than these caps, you may have to pay additional tax. If you are planning on contributing more than $25,000 to your super (including employer contributions), seek advice from a suitably qualified professional.
If you’re a low-income or middle-income earner, you may be eligible for contributions from the Australian Government – the government will contribute to your super savings for you.
See also:
Generally, you can access your super money when you retire. However, there are some circumstances where you can access your super savings early, such as severe financial hardship and specific medical conditions.
If you legitimately need some of your preserved super earlier, ask your super fund about whether you may be able to access it before applying.
(ATO Website)
Ingredients
Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp. Add mince. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, for 15 minutes or until browned.
Basic car mechanics is essential, here are some handy tips and tricks..
Change a tyre –
Flat tyres always seem to happen in inconvenient places, so make sure you pull over in a safe area, clear of passing traffic, and on a surface that is hard and flat to change it. You should also turn on your car’s hazard lights. Ensure the car is in ‘park’ and apply the handbrake. As an extra safety measure, place a chock (a piece of wood or a brick) under one of the wheels on the opposite side of the car to the flat tyre.
You will need a jack and a wheel brace to replace your flat tyre, both of which should be in the car’s boot. Once you have located them, get down on your knees and look for small notches or grooves on the underside of your car (right) – this is where you need to place the jack. Remember, the jack needs a hard surface under it. If you have pulled over onto soft ground, place a solid object underneath the jack.
Once the jack is in place, slowly turn the handle until you remove some of the car’s weight from the flat tyre.
This is the point at which technique becomes more important than brute strength. Place the wheel brace on one of the wheel nuts (right) and, with a straight arm and a straight back, ‘crack’ each of the wheel nuts in turn in an anti-clockwise direction (looking at the wheel). You can use your foot on the wheel brace if the brace is a good fit on the nuts and doesn’t slip off.
Keep the wheel brace horizontal to the ground and you’ll find that your body weight alone is adequate to loosen the wheel nuts. Now, use the jack to lift the car up so that it is someway off the ground to accommodate the fully inflated tyre.
You should now be able to remove the wheel nuts one by one and gently lift the wheel from the car (right). If the wheel will not come free, it could be that corrosion has caused the wheel to stick. If this happens, put one nut back on the wheel and give the wheel a kick in order to free it.
Remove your spare wheel from the boot and place it against the car’s wheel assembly. By lining up the wheels’ holes first, it will make it easier to lift the wheel straight onto the car. Then tighten all the wheel nuts by hand. If you tighten the bottom nut first, it will hold the wheel in place. Using the wheel brace, give all the wheel nuts a small ‘nip’ to tighten them. The idea is not to tighten the nuts completely at this point because the car is not completely stable while it is still on the jack.
Unwind the jack slowly until the new wheel takes the weight of the car and then remove it (right). Remember to keep a straight arm and back, and with the wheel brace horizontal to the ground, use the weight of your body to tighten all of the wheel nuts.
(Courtesy of NRMA Insurance)
