u/Odd_Ganache9498

We are a family of 5 adults wanting to travel UK and Ireland for a month from Australia. Bus tours are ridiculously expensive at $20k each and we would prefer to do it on our own. However we are wanting to limit our time hiring a car as we are concerned about congestion and finding car parks at tourist sites. Is there a way to travel by train or local bus to see main tourist sites? And if we do hire a car which parts are necessary to have a car for, and also easiest to drive in? Have previously travelled by train through Italy and found it easy, but understand it may be more difficult in UK.

Possible itinerary below. I haven’t included London as we won’t need a car for that. Looking at it now I see it is ambitious but we are travelling from far so we were initially hoping to do it all. If we split trip into two how do we do so effectively?

Possible itinerary
Cardiff
Stratford-upon-Avon
Liverpool
Dublin
Rock of Cashel
Killarney area
Ring of Kerry
Adare
Limerick
Galway
Donegal
Londonderry
Giant’s Causeway
Belfast
Edinburgh
Loch Ness
Scottish Highlands
York
Cambridge

I called up Suncorp the other day and could’ve sworn that I wasn’t talking to a real person and it was Ai. Very robotic replies, but good enough that I was not 100% sure. I work in a health insurance call centre and we currently have Ai taking some basic calls and if they can’t resolve it, it then goes through to actual agent. Anyone else’s workplace doing this? And how many years do you think before this stuff actually gets good?

I’ve bought etf IVV and wanting to receive dividends and reinvest them. Can someone explain to me how to do this when currently with Commsec / CHESS? And what happens when the dividend date has already passed do I just miss out? Also I really want to invest weekly but not sure how to do it as Commsec would charge me broking cost for each purchase. I understand Vanguard has this option to invest weekly without broking costs but doesn’t Vanguard only have US based S&P version like VOO? I thought it was best tax wise to have Australian domiciled shares? First time investing in ETFs so excuse my ignorance.

I want to start reading finance books to learn how to grow wealth. Does anyone have any great books I should add to my reading list and what specifically did you learn from it? So far I’ve only read the Barefoot Investor and I got a lot out of it. But not sure if most finance books are the same.

We are an Aussie couple in our 40s and it has always been a dream to travel around USA for 3 months, it is just such a beautiful land, whether big cities or national parks. But every time we have come to visit for a month we have spent $25k for a month alone (flying economy and staying in 3-4 star hotels).

How can I make this 3 month trip a reality while keeping the cost under $40k ($27k USD)? Is there any way to do a frugal trip (I refuse to stay at backpackers lodges). Just car hire alone would cost a fortune - are there any ideas to keep those costs down? I’m also happy to have a base in one area and travel from there but not sure where a good base could be. Any input would be appreciated.

Edit: I am loving these ideas. Everyone is making me think way outside the little square that I’ve been currently thinking. And I am getting really inspired that I can do it.

After discussion with my partner I’ve been brought back to earth that we’ve never camped more than couple nights more than a decade ago and aren’t those people. I thought we could do it for something different/unique but supposedly not.

Whether buying furniture at a store, or when buying a new car, what are the best tips for getting a good discount? I’ve been furniture shopping and find that the salespeople are playing hard ball. I can give them all the reasons why they should give me a good discount, not to mention it’s end of financial year, and I still come away with like 10% off the marked price. Anyone got some tips that have worked for you? Or if you’re a salesperson what do I need to know to get a good deal?

Quite some time ago I took money out of offset and put the money in redraw, because I thought it was better protected from others online being in the home loan account. I of course now realise that redraw and offset do not work the same and there are implications.

So my questions are:

1 if I now took the $300,000 out of redraw and said the reason was ‘renovations’ would that still allow me to negatively gear the property? Do they take the reason into consideration, and if so what should I put as a reason?

2 My house can definitely rent for $800-$1000 a week. So if I can’t increase my loan, the $300,000 won’t be adequate debt anyway to negatively gear anyway, am I right?

3 Is it the ‘initial’ loan amount taken out when first got the loan years ago that can be negatively geared? Or is it the loan amount as at tax announcement?

I always hear ‘just put money in offset’ rather than pay off the loan. But if the amount in offset is enough to pay off the loan, doesn’t the bank still keep taking repayments? How does it work?

For example, you’ve just bought a house, about to go on an overseas holiday or bought a new car. Those financial milestones are exciting times that have taken a lot of hard work to get there, and it is natural to want to share the pride and excitement with close friends and family. But instead I have often felt other’s resentment and jealousy at those times and found it to be really disheartening.

I like the quote ‘Pay close attention to people who don’t clap when you win’. But does anyone else get the distinct impression that friends and family don’t want to know you are ‘winning’ unless they are doing equally as well?