I’m close to buying gym equipment because I think I’ve put on weight since late June…
Only problem is I don’t know how far to go! Dumbbells only or maybe a bar? Half rack? Full rack?
I went this route ~10 years ago and honestly you can't go wrong. If I wanted, I could sell it now for more than I paid, it hardly degrades if you keep reasonable care of it and overall convenience is huge.
I have bumpers so dropping is not an issue for me, but sometimes regular plates will breakdown if continually dropped on a hard surface so be cautious.
Only real issue over time is rust, but that is mainly down to environment. Keep your gear clean and in a dry environment and you'll likely be fine. Main things to help prolong are; brush off chalk (absorbs moisture) if you use it and occasionally (every 1-6 months) coat barbells with 3-in-1 oil.
Lots of bodyweight programs you can do.
However a full squat rack if you have the space is the bees knees. Speaking as an ex-fit bastard how is now a big fatto.
How much space do you have where you're going to put it?
A barbell is 8ft/ 2.4m, and you'll be standing at least 70cm either side to load the bar comfortably, so give yourself 3.8m of width. Depending on the rack breadth, give yourself its breadth + another 1m. Then you'll need a good 2.7m ceiling height preferably if you do any olympic lifting/ shoulder press/ advanced calisthenics , and plan on putting rubber mats underneath (3m+ if you want to do muscle ups).
If you invest in good equipment you'll want to use it, whereas if you get junk you won't want to use it.
I've got a pair of adjustable dumbbells (40kg each), adjustable bench, pull-up bar and set of resistance bands. Still managing to hold onto my gains so far.
Barbell / bench etc take up a lot of room.
Start with a few sets of dumbbells - I shove them in an old plastic box so they stay out of the way, and can easily drag them out. Has served me ok for a year.
Recently added a kettlebell for swings, takes up hardly any space but adds a cardio element.
I recently did this, went full rack system, with adjustable dumbbells and barbell. Thing that got me was the flooring, bought what I thought I'd need, then figured I needed a few more mats then realised I needed about double all of that to make it look proper and give me the area I really needed and then realised I was one short... so about $500 in gym floor.. but he'll I did the maths and the whole thing costs about 2 years of going to the gym for my partner and I except now it's 10 seconds away and I love it.
This is both a blessing and a curse. I'm doing ok with WFH, no commute so saving tons on that and food. Bad side is SO works insane hours and I have to literally stop her from working as it's 9pm.
My sons lost their working hours so surviving on the equivalent jobkeeper or no extra income for them.
I tell to hold steady, get the jab and we'll get through this by October - if the rest of Sydney/NSW get their vaccination.
Same, plus I am saving shitloads of money in lunch, cheaper rent and nowhere to spend my money during weekends.
My credit card balances went down by around 1k a month.
If a counsellor would be okay instead of a psychiatrist, contact Lifeline! I've been having fortnightly sessions (first in person, now via video chat) for a year on a pay-what-you-can donation basis and it's been amazing. Not sure what's available near you but worth a try.
I've already spent over a grand this year on a psychologist and unfortunately that did nothing. I'm going to need more serious intervention at this stage
Thank you! I will mention it to my gp.
And it's so true, there's all this bs about fixing the mental health crisis when in reality the government couldn't care less.
It’s not necessarily free, most psychologists still charge a gap on top around where I live since the demand has gone nuts. Where I am (in the country) they still charge $100 on top per session
I don’t spend money anymore because I have no social life. I’ve saved more than usual.
Editing to say: I’m screwed if this lockdown turns into a real lockdown though- I can’t work from home. I’d be sent home to use all of my leave, and once that’s gone I’d have no pay. This is what I’m saving for. The anxiety is real y’all
I actually realised my life hasn’t changed that much since covid started. Not sure how i feel about that 🤔
I see some people really struggling with lockdowns etc, for me it’s just been the same. I work from home anyway, my GF works just on the next street and is in health so is essential worker. We’ve just been getting on with it. Our friendship group has all started to have kids so they’re busy with baby stuff. Apart from not going on holiday, i’d say everything is 95% as it would have been for us anyway. I guess we’re fortunate, or we live boring lives 😂
Perhaps act as if the worst case scenario will play out ? Make of list of things (costs) you can control. Reduce all of them to the absolute maximum.
Moving into cheaper accommodation is usually the biggest and best money saver.
> I’d be sent home to use all of my leave, and once that’s gone I’d have no pay.
Wouldn't you be eligible for the pandemic disaster payment? You don't even have to use up annual leave for that.
Yes, there are no asset tests, partner incomes tests, or anything of the sort. It's calculated based on how much work you've lost compared to normal.
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/covid-19-disaster-payment-new-south-wales-if-you-dont-get-centrelink-payment/who-can-get-it
It's up to $750 per week now if you've lost 20 hours or more. It may not be as much as what you earn now , but it should hopefully be enough to tide you over.
My pizza franchise is suffering. We are only down 15% on the 2019 period so no assistance, however we were only just above water before the decline. So it's rough.
I work retail so I don’t make much money normally. Lockdown has been wonderful. I’m still picking up a few hours to arrange click & collect and dispatch online orders and the government top up has taken away any financial stress. I’m not gonna be meeting my financial goals for the next couple of months and possibly have to readjust them for the year but I’m not worried about paying rent. Meanwhile, there’s a labour shortage in my industry and I’m looking around at my options. It’s really brought into stark relief how much of my time I give away for so little. I need to make some changes in my life and hopefully some forward progress.
Not me personally but I have a friend who runs a music school and the lockdown has meant she's lost about 3/4 of her business.
Still no sign of any COVID disaster grant or JobSaver turning up in her account even though she applied as soon as schemes were opened. It's really dire because she's been in contact with ServiceNSW and basically just being told to wait.
She is offering zoom lessons but a lot of parents aren't keen - it's kinda dependent on how good your bandwith is and I'm assuming some of the parents have lost work and music lessons are probably first to go.
I’m in the same boat. I run a music school with private students at 4 schools around sydney/Bankstown. I’ve lost probably 3/4 or more students and doing the rest on Zoom. I think parents are less interested in organizing Zoom lessons because that’s just another hassle, which is fair enough in these stressful times.
I applied for the Covid Disaster Payment and after 4ish days the money was in my account.
it's probably quite meagre , but could those freelance sites help at all? eg. airtasker, fiverr. sometimes they ask for musicians to record stuff etc, and you charge for it.
It also doesn't work with younger beginners. I'm a piano teacher in Tassie and I had to put about a quarter of my students on hold when I couldn't teach in person because they were just too young. There were also a few that didn't work due to a language barrier. I hated the online lesson thing, it was incredibly frustrating and I was completely exhausted by the end of the day. I feel terrible for the teachers who have been doing online lessons for the majority of the past two years, I honestly don't think I could have handled it.
I’m sorry she’s struggling.
Just re the disaster grant and Job Saver - I recently had a seminar with service NSW about this and they have massive delays in processing.
And if you put both applications in at the same time, apparently it bumps the old application and causes further delays.
But they sound like they are struggling - but hopefully it should come through soon for her.
Job saver started trickling out yesterday, some have already got the grant but lots of us have actually gotten job saver before the grant despite applying for it 11 days before. It's something at least. I'm not blowing into a paper bag as my late fees rack up for a week or so now. Hopefully hers comes through too. These grants have been like getting blood out of a stone.
WFH is easy for my job as a banker. We are probably saving more as we are not out spending. I really feel sorry for the people really impacted by the lockdowns / virus.
Yeah same, work from home and saving more because I’m not paying transport costs and eating out less. I consider myself extremely lucky.
Can’t imagine the stress of not been able to earn a income which a lot of people are experiencing at the moment.
Pretty surprised to see not many people in this thread getting the disaster payment.
I work in manufacturing, cant leave my LGA for work, so I'm on the disaster payment. $600 to $750/week tax free is pretty decent money for not working. Honestly surprised they didn't do an asset test, but hey, I'm not complaining.
That being said, my partner continues to work full time, and our expenses including mortgage is usually very manageable with only one income. I've got a partner that shares good personal finance planning as well. So we are pretty solid moving forward.
Don't wanna be that person, but the disaster payment is counted as taxable income; Centrelink just won't withhold tax from each pay unless you tell them to do so.
This caught out a few people last FY so something to keep in mind moving forward.
https://www.ato.gov.au/General/COVID-19/Government-grants-and-payments-during-COVID-19/
All good, but it is actually tax free. Only for this disaster payment.
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/covid-19-disaster-payment-new-south-wales-if-you-dont-get-centrelink-payment/how-much-you-can-get#:~:text=The%20COVID%2D19%20Disaster%20Payment,it%20in%20your%20tax%20return.
Was announced a few days back. The link you have is probably for the previous support.
And that should teach me to do more Googling! Good to hear they've sorted that out..I probably should tell my mum to not worry as she's had to claim the payment for two weeks due to being forced to self iso.
There are multiple different payments, I can only say it's the case for the covid-19 disaster payment where it's tax free.
The one where you have to isolate for 14 days and get a one off $1500 payment, (pandemic leave disaster payment) is still taxable. I think that's what your mum has.
Surely they'd have blood work up before being sent for scans. NSW health protocol is to check platelets, d-dimer and fibrinogen levels first to try and rule it out before giving unnecessary radiation.
The incidence rates for clots related to AZ in Australia are astronomically low, like 1 in a million.
> The incidence rates for clots related to AZ in Australia are astronomically low, like 1 in a million.
While it's not likely, the risk of blood clots nowhere near that low. Another person died of AZ related blood clots yesterday, a fairly young person, so it's understandable why people are concerned.
https://www.health.gov.au/news/atagi-update-following-weekly-covid-19-meeting-28-july-2021
> the risk of TTS is estimated in Australia at around:
> 2.6 per 100,000 in those <60 years; and
> 1.7 per 100,000 in those ≥60 years.
Of the 93 total cases reported so far there have been six deaths, or a case fatality rate of 6.4% . Reference: https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-05-08-2021
Combining those two stats, if you're under 60 years the risk of *dying* is around 1.5 in 1,000,000 which may be what you're thinking.
I think the mods of this sub may not like this OT conversation though, sorry.
Cripes. I work remote, I wouldn't like my chances of the small country town hospital saving me if I did present with any issues.. definitely going to have to wait I think
This is wildly incorrect for all ages, but in younger people it’s about 1:30,000, with 50% of women affected ending up in ICU. Due to a lack of granular data from the UK we don’t know what the incidence is in the 18 year olds the authorities are telling to go get Astra but we suspect it’s dire.
I'm not advocating for 18 year olds getting AZ, nor am I commenting the vaccine itself. I'm talking about best medical practice. We should not be scanning every single person that comes in the hospital just because they've had the AZ vaccine, which is what OP was saying that he is seeing.
Common things are common, clotting post vaccine is not common. We should be doing our due diligence as doctors and avoiding increasing someone's risk of cancer if the chance of clot is so low and we can rule it out with a few blood tests first.
My sister had clots after Pfizer. She is 18, thin, fit and healthy. Her only pre-existing condition is polycystic ovarian syndrome. Has anyone else had clots post Pfizer?
With pcos sometimes this can be treated with ocp or 'the pill' I wonder if she has had treatment for pcos and in what capacity. As someone who works in healthcare, young people got random clots often and young people also have random heart attacks more often then people realise and this is before any vaccination or covid was even around. Sometimes it's not always related to vaccination just correlation and not causation which basically means she might have been fated to throw a random clot at this point in her life anyway, it just so happens she has also been immunized. Kind of like saying I ate eggs for the first time Saturday and then woke up with a PE (clot in lung) Sunday so it could have possibly been the eggs if that makes sense?
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "clots" but I don't see anything related listed as a known side effect of the Pfizer (COMIRNATY) vaccine.
https://www.ebs.tga.gov.au/ebs/picmi/picmirepository.nsf/pdf?OpenAgent&id=CP-2021-CMI-01093-1&d=20210806172310101
She ought to talk to a doctor. The doctors could report it to the TGA as a possible adverse event so it can be tracked.
Currently on forced leave. Working in the construction industry. Unfortunately all the company jobs are within the 8 LGA's so we arent working. With my position i could definitely work from home, but the company is going through a couple of cashflow issues as none of the jobs are generating anything due to no works happening. Kinda pissed off im chewing into my annual leave but what can i do.
I think early next year we're going to see a hell of a lot of builders go under, and maybe a few of the big boys in town as well.
Between fixed price contracts and the increasing cost of materials, days lost due to covid/weather/etc, days lost due to material shortages, extra km's and time on vehicles as a result... lots of guys will be going backwards already even if they don't know it.
100%.
Commodities are through the roof ATM - copper has gone up 20% this year, alone. All that while we’re being squeezed down in our tenders because builders are just going in so cheap, whatever the reason that will be.
I’m quoting jobs for the same price I was 10 years ago, while wages, materials, rent, petrol, consumables, overheads, insurances etc. have increased up to 50% in that period.
Tough times in the construction industry at the moment.
Web design. Been run off my feet for more than 12 months. Complete opposite problem. Turning new clients down and there's a real challenge with time management between work and family (young kids).
I don't know too many people hit hard by this. Most of my clientele are essential services. In fact, many big moves are being made by those who are doing well to solidify their good fortune. Hence being so busy. It's not work for those who want to stay afloat by pivoting or offering new services, it's work for those doing well and want to accelerate things.
Instead of flat out turning down new clients, perhaps you have one or two trusted affiliates you could direct them to, where you can feel confident in their quality of work?
Not only that, but referring those clients to your colleagues in return for a commission is a common trade. These are paying clients, and the work will otherwise be done by someone else.
Nobody is going to pay for the referrals in the current climate. They know they're next on the list in Google to get the call after me. Or already had one before me.
Average CPC for "web design" in Google AdWords was reaching over $300 per click prior to COVID. Now it's down to $15.
Google made it so idiots cannot do too much damage. During setup there are max cost per click, and total spend limit options.
Without proper targetting Google won't display the ad for the selected keywords anyway. You put in "water tanks" but come up for the less expensive "round plastic water tanks with zigzag design and flag on top". It can also lead to "fish wanks" which becomes a waste of money. But at least you didn't unwittedly spend $300 1,000 times.
Those actually spending that kind of money specifically targetted that keyword. With heavily tested landing pages. They knew what they were doing (at least I hope so).
As for businesses spending hundreds or thousands a month and receiving mostly useless clicks in return. It's happening at a very large scale.
\[edit\] I shouldn't say mostly useless clicks, that's an exaggeration. "Many" useless clicks would be more accurate. Every single time I've done this exercise with a new customer they have been unhappy with the ROI though. Hence the exaggeration.
Google also discounts you if you're offering a better user experience. If your site is poor for users you'll be paying 10x as much per click as someone who has a better user experience on site.
This assumes you have good SEO.
Keeping clients and circulating them within a small circle is better (any may lead to more opportunities for the circle) than letting those clients go to the competition.
I’m a self-employed design professional specialising in learning experience design (what people think of as eLearning). Last year I doubled my previous best year in business earnings, and this year I’ll likely match or come close to matching those earnings.
I don't take it for granted, either. I'm doing everything I possibly can to continue supporting the businesses and tradespeople I buy from during BAU times. I was also privileged to donate a percentage of my earnings to FoodBank last festive season so less advantaged families could have a week's worth of food over Christmas and on Christmas Day. As someone who at one time was down and out in life, it's an enormous blessing to be able to pay my current good fortune forward/back. 🙂
ETA: Hi fam, yes I will answer all eLearning/self-employed questions once I get today’s work wrapped up! cc u/wheres_my_burrito_
Semi-related: I work as a software developer in K-12 (mostly toward the K end) edtech. Our product is in assessment, not 'teaching' per se, but it's still a very novel product. I've built a couple of student-facing features and really enjoyed the unique challenges posed by catering education UX toward kids. I'd love to hear more about what you work on.
That's really neat! Did you study for this and how do you sustain on freelance work? I've worked quite a bit in eLearning and LMS support but don't have formal quals. Found it difficult to get into the industry again let alone self contract/freelance. Awesome work mate
Hey there. No, I didn't study for much of anything when I was in school tbh. I was too busy flirting with boys. 😏I did however have a natural affinity for the humanities, and despite coasting did really well in those subjects.
When I left school I went to work in the advertising industry as a copywriter, but left feeling disillusioned some years later. I took on short contract roles for a couple of years where I had to use my comms skills in lots of reports and presentations, which were invariably woefully designed. I started improving on those as part of my work, and got so much kudos for that I decided to take a lateral career step and pursue design.
I landed an 18 month contract role with a large training organisation designing all their face-to-face learning materials. At the end of that period, the HR manager didn't want to rehire me, but they needed a supplier to do the work. I put my hand up and said, "I know; I'll start a company and you can be my client!"
(If I'd known then what I know now, I probably wouldn't have done it, but I'm glad I didn't know, because I've been self-employed for many years and it suits me perfectly.)
A number of years into my training collateral design work, one of my long-term, very good clients said to me, "Have you heard of eLearning?" It was barely a blip on my radar back then. We talked about it, and she said she'd rather pay for me to learn how to use the software etc. and keep me creating work for her as opposed to hiring someone else whose quality of work and personal integrity she couldn't vouch for. 🙂
I sustain on freelance work by being excellent (and also very niche) at what I do. Just like Liam Neeson in Taken, I have a very particular set of skills, which I wont elaborate on here for privacy's sake. I was fortunate to form relationships during that initial 18mth training org contract whom I'm still contact with/working for today. Other than that, it's been word of mouth. If you over-deliver, your clients will keep working with you and recommend you to others.
Tl;dr: I have no formal qualifications, but I'm very smart and I work very hard. I also have a moderate amount of design talent and technical know-how on top of that.
All my gigs keep getting cancelled, since Feb last year. I work in live events - mainly concert/festival touring.
As of this lockdown I can't go work in the warehouse and my job doesn't allow me to really WFH. I still have an income, just feel useless and trying to make the most of the downtime.
I'm down 10s of thousands overall since 2020 as my job is usually overtime heavy, it's kinda factored into my very average salary.
At least I can still bring home a base wage as I am employed by a Multinational, but most people in my Industry are freelance. A few have bailed to find work elsewhere, others are just hanging on. But yeah the now non existent OT is where the magic really happens and I'm definitely feeling the crunch. financial goals have been devastated, just trying to cover debts and bills rather than the investing I was planning on doing. COULD BE WORSE
Seeing a lot of office workers that are fine in here. But as a fellow event company (own a small event business) it’s like playing roulette constantly on whether jobs will go ahead or be cancelled. And with there being less work clients are less willing to pay upfront because they are scared they will have to cancel, further eating into revenue when an event does cancel that we prepped for.
I’m working in Supply Chain as well but in retail. In my space suppliers/logistics providers are passing on the increased costs of shipping which all parties are happy to pay given there’s no alternative.
To add to this, we have a captive population with lots of stimulus buying tons of consumer goods... demand for shipping is insatiable at the moment and the freight rates show it
My office is so busy that we’ve had to turn away work.
In terms of personally finance, I’ve been spending a fair bit of money buying ‘fun things’ to keep the lockdown blues at bay (looking at you $300 box of Pokémon figurines...)
Although I’m not spending money on buying takeout food, makeup, hair appointments or public transport so it balances out.
I’m in construction and infrastructure. We have never been busier. Work is out of control - we cannot get enough workers. My super and share portfolios are going crazy. We bought a new home just at the first COVID dip and just had it valued by the bank to refinance significantly higher than what we paid.
I can’t believe the contrast my story has when compared to friends and family who have endured the exact opposite - lost jobs, or heavily reduced hours, unable to get into the housing market entirely due to timing. It makes me appreciate how lucky we have been.
It’s night and day the difference you can experience just based on the industry you work in. I consider myself incredibly lucky
Can't work at all and still waiting for the NSW micro business grant to come through 7 weeks into the lockdown. Have been fine because I'm burning through savings that will then fill back up when the back pay the grant but even then it's halving my income.
For me it's not paying for the bus and train fares which is minimal. I bring food to work as i can't justify paying over $10 for a basic sandwhich (Or thereabouts).
Honestly while i prefer to work in the office being at home has been a lot more cost effective.
Work in the public sector it's business as usual going into the office as I can't WFH. Still I've got a job and I really feel for a lot of people who are doing it tough out there.
I just started a distillery in South Sydney 2 weeks ago. Started the process 9 months ago hoping we could start the end of lockdown strong only to go back into it.
All the bars we had lined up to start selling Vodka to are closed which has sucked but it gives us time to focus on retail sales online I guess.
I finally feel blessed to have a shitty office job I can do at home in my pj's, save 3 hrs travel time everyday and $125 a week on train. The fact I finish at 4:30pm and have until midnight to go to bed and get up literally 10 mins before I start work at 8:20am, sit next to my soon to be wife and get all the things done around the house like washing and tidying up at lunch or when I need a 10 min break here and there. I'm not sure if it makes me happy or in the end it'll make me sad to go back to being in an office and how I just wait for the weekend each week for which I'm so tired and have a million things I need to catch up on.
Doesn’t affect me personally as I’m WFH, but it does for my partner. She works in the hotel industry which was heavily hit during and even after lockdowns.
Its fine during lockdowns cause she’ll receive income from Centrelink, however after lockdowns hotels are still quiet cause restrictions are only eased slightly and most people aren’t looking to travel at this stage.
Thankfully her company have reserved funds for these circumstances and are able to give $1000 to staff who are struggling financially and applies for it.
Struggling. Hubby is down one job, limited on the other, and minimal help. Both kids at home, one with both adhd and autism and only five. The other is two. Tremendous mental strain trying to organise stuff around them and for them, whilst home schooling one and not the other.
Mental health has taken a nose dive because I don't get a chance to take care of me.
My job hasn’t been affected.
My partner has lost 1 day a week work. That means she’s entitled to the covid19 disaster payment. This will mean we’ll be $250 after tax better off with her working 1 day less per week.
I'm lucky to have my work go full remote/wfh without much hassle. Saving more with less expenditure on public transport, lunches, coffees (overspend). Am appreciating it a lot, but I feel hobbies at home will pick up
Work is booming, but staff morale is low, while stress and anxiety is at an all time high.
Everyone i’ve talked to says this lockdown is hitting them harder than the last.
My business has only been open just over a year and I'm struggling this time. I only qualify for the micro grant and that hasn't been accepted yet. I'm so sad. I'm hoping it will be okay but I haven't paid myself in months. Not optimistic at this point. It's an animal rehab centre and a job I truly love.
I lost my job and using free Maccas Wi-Fi to write this. I am now sleeping rough under a bridge. I won't say which bridge. The nights are cold but having multiple cardboard boxes flattened seems to work. They make pretty good blankets. Getting harassed in the middle of the night by other homeless people can be a bit scary but I'll be fine.
Thankfully I changed from hospitality to software engineering, but my fiancé still works in hospo only this time she has PR and gets gov help. Last lockdown was rough living off 1 persons job keeper.
So far losing about $600 a week extra income but still not in that bad of a spot. Just need to tighten the reigns on the budget.
While still lucky to be able to keep my job, working from home has increased my expenses so much that I dont think come tax period the deduction is going to make up for it. I have to get NBN because the 80gb data plan on my phone wont be enough anymore, my quarterly power bill will likely go from A$150 to A$300 etc.
On the other hand feeling grateful to be able to work one less day per week while getting paid a bit more by claiming the government payout which is higher than my daily wage.
Work in construction industry so most of the staff, including myself are on reduced hours. Ended around $600 worse off a month with the covid disaster payment
I've been working from home over the past 18 months. I have spent a fair amount on goods due to lockdown. I bought a hair clipper, manchester, a new high-end monitor and whole exercise equipment costing more than a grand. I think only this time I started to realise I need to be more self-sufficient and this lockdown will drag on till the end of the year.
Without the lockdown and the COVID in general, I wouldn't have purchased these goods. Before this lockdown, I re-decked out my home office including the desk and chair.
I’m a single parent studying full time at uni and work part time. I’m In a hotspot and work in a different LGA so haven’t been working. I was very worried when I initially found out there was no work. I wasn’t able to get the covid weekly payments as I also receive Centrelink but then they decided we’d be able to access $200 per week tax free so it’s kinda worked out even in the end. When you factor in petrol, lunches out at work, no gym payments, daycare fees and so on it works out the same for me, if not better.
Self-employed management consultant. Basically all worked stopped.
Letter from accountant provided to noServiceNSW showed 94% decline.
Luckily, I had some forethought about NSW being hit like Victoria and shuffled away my cash last year, so I'll be fine. But man, I really feel for a lot of small businesses. It's pretty dire. Interesting times ahead.
I'm losing out on $1700 a week, so pretty fucking hard. Live on the border of the hills shire LGA, have my first vaccine and live with my wife a new born baby and a toddler so I have to bring in all the money. Disaster payment doesnt cover the rent and car payment.
Assuming you are in NSW. Just wait. This will not be over until Christmas and I think they will have to allow some of those things again to keep people afloat.
Honestly no change. I'm classed as essential, so Ill be going to work whatever happens.
Covid has however further crushed my dreams of ever owning a house
Income and savings have been largely uneffected and are strong. However, the price of literally everything - used cars, materials, property, share market etc. has rapidly outpaced our income and savings growth so while on paper our numbers look great compared to a year or 2 ago I feel our position and purchasing power in general is actually worse. I feel like this is probably how a lot of people feel and if not they will start to notice soon...
Think the demographics of this sub are obivious when you compare the upvotes of comments saying "lockdown has been beneficial" v "lockdown has been adverse"
I’m very fortunate to work in an industry that wasn’t impacted heavily by this pandemic. And WFH has meant I’ve been able to save better than ever.
However, my workload remains incredibly busy and some days I feel so overwhelmed. It’s a tough position to be in because I am incredibly grateful that I have job stability whilst countless people don’t - but my goodness I really need a break from work. But I can’t say anything like this to family or friends without getting told “just be grateful you still have a job”. Like yes, I’m SO grateful. But I’ve been feeling this way since before the pandemic. Also stings a little that the job keeper payments basically equal my pay and reinforces that my work underpays me lol.
So for those who are in a similar boat, I feel for you and hope you’re doing okay!
Very blessed to have on office job that resumed BAU while WFH.
Saving money on the commute is also welcome as well
Haha I went and bought a new fish tank on the weekend I'd been eyeing off for awhile as it occurred to me I'm saving approx $125 weekly while WFH
I’m close to buying gym equipment because I think I’ve put on weight since late June… Only problem is I don’t know how far to go! Dumbbells only or maybe a bar? Half rack? Full rack?
I am going for a full rack … of ribs today
Well… it is high in protein which will help the gains
I went full rack, dumbbells, Olympic bar & weights. Bought mid last year and its been a great investment
I went this route ~10 years ago and honestly you can't go wrong. If I wanted, I could sell it now for more than I paid, it hardly degrades if you keep reasonable care of it and overall convenience is huge.
Are you doing anything to take care of it? Or just make sure you're not dropping them from 2 meters etc. Do you put anti-rust coating on bar?
I have bumpers so dropping is not an issue for me, but sometimes regular plates will breakdown if continually dropped on a hard surface so be cautious. Only real issue over time is rust, but that is mainly down to environment. Keep your gear clean and in a dry environment and you'll likely be fine. Main things to help prolong are; brush off chalk (absorbs moisture) if you use it and occasionally (every 1-6 months) coat barbells with 3-in-1 oil.
Lots of bodyweight programs you can do. However a full squat rack if you have the space is the bees knees. Speaking as an ex-fit bastard how is now a big fatto.
Just fast. I lost 12kg doing it
How much space do you have where you're going to put it? A barbell is 8ft/ 2.4m, and you'll be standing at least 70cm either side to load the bar comfortably, so give yourself 3.8m of width. Depending on the rack breadth, give yourself its breadth + another 1m. Then you'll need a good 2.7m ceiling height preferably if you do any olympic lifting/ shoulder press/ advanced calisthenics , and plan on putting rubber mats underneath (3m+ if you want to do muscle ups). If you invest in good equipment you'll want to use it, whereas if you get junk you won't want to use it.
I've got a pair of adjustable dumbbells (40kg each), adjustable bench, pull-up bar and set of resistance bands. Still managing to hold onto my gains so far.
I’d just start with dumbells. Once you build a good routine, add more. That way you don’t splash out only for expensive gear to go unused
Full rack, barbell, bench. I have zero regrets after 4 years.
>You can purchase adjustable dumbells so you don't need to purchase one of every weight.
Barbell / bench etc take up a lot of room. Start with a few sets of dumbbells - I shove them in an old plastic box so they stay out of the way, and can easily drag them out. Has served me ok for a year. Recently added a kettlebell for swings, takes up hardly any space but adds a cardio element.
I recently did this, went full rack system, with adjustable dumbbells and barbell. Thing that got me was the flooring, bought what I thought I'd need, then figured I needed a few more mats then realised I needed about double all of that to make it look proper and give me the area I really needed and then realised I was one short... so about $500 in gym floor.. but he'll I did the maths and the whole thing costs about 2 years of going to the gym for my partner and I except now it's 10 seconds away and I love it.
My favourite part, saving $150ish/wk on no petrol or tolls.
Buy heaps less useless shit when not walking around the city too
Absolutely.
This is both a blessing and a curse. I'm doing ok with WFH, no commute so saving tons on that and food. Bad side is SO works insane hours and I have to literally stop her from working as it's 9pm. My sons lost their working hours so surviving on the equivalent jobkeeper or no extra income for them. I tell to hold steady, get the jab and we'll get through this by October - if the rest of Sydney/NSW get their vaccination.
And time!
Yes me too! Never been so grateful to be a corporate slave! Im saving $200 a month on transport.
Same, plus I am saving shitloads of money in lunch, cheaper rent and nowhere to spend my money during weekends. My credit card balances went down by around 1k a month.
I've saved a lot of money, but I think I'm going to have to spend it on a psychiatrist so it's a lose situation for me
If a counsellor would be okay instead of a psychiatrist, contact Lifeline! I've been having fortnightly sessions (first in person, now via video chat) for a year on a pay-what-you-can donation basis and it's been amazing. Not sure what's available near you but worth a try.
I've already spent over a grand this year on a psychologist and unfortunately that did nothing. I'm going to need more serious intervention at this stage
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Thank you! I will mention it to my gp. And it's so true, there's all this bs about fixing the mental health crisis when in reality the government couldn't care less.
Good luck 💜🌱
If you're mentally struggling I know your GP can get you 10 free sessions with a psychologist. Hopefully that helps you out ❤️
It’s not necessarily free, most psychologists still charge a gap on top around where I live since the demand has gone nuts. Where I am (in the country) they still charge $100 on top per session
I saved money too. Just blew it on a gaming PC. Oops.
I don’t spend money anymore because I have no social life. I’ve saved more than usual. Editing to say: I’m screwed if this lockdown turns into a real lockdown though- I can’t work from home. I’d be sent home to use all of my leave, and once that’s gone I’d have no pay. This is what I’m saving for. The anxiety is real y’all
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I actually realised my life hasn’t changed that much since covid started. Not sure how i feel about that 🤔 I see some people really struggling with lockdowns etc, for me it’s just been the same. I work from home anyway, my GF works just on the next street and is in health so is essential worker. We’ve just been getting on with it. Our friendship group has all started to have kids so they’re busy with baby stuff. Apart from not going on holiday, i’d say everything is 95% as it would have been for us anyway. I guess we’re fortunate, or we live boring lives 😂
Perhaps act as if the worst case scenario will play out ? Make of list of things (costs) you can control. Reduce all of them to the absolute maximum. Moving into cheaper accommodation is usually the biggest and best money saver.
I’m actually living with my parents rent free right now so I’m very lucky
Perfect!
> I’d be sent home to use all of my leave, and once that’s gone I’d have no pay. Wouldn't you be eligible for the pandemic disaster payment? You don't even have to use up annual leave for that.
Just looked it up and it seems I would be eligible. Better than nothing! Still not great though
Have they changed the rules on assets/savings making you ineligible? I know when we originally discussed the possibility I wasn’t eligible
Yes, there are no asset tests, partner incomes tests, or anything of the sort. It's calculated based on how much work you've lost compared to normal. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/covid-19-disaster-payment-new-south-wales-if-you-dont-get-centrelink-payment/who-can-get-it It's up to $750 per week now if you've lost 20 hours or more. It may not be as much as what you earn now , but it should hopefully be enough to tide you over.
Yes, much easier to get it this time around.
>if this lockdown turns into a real lockdown Ha. VIC says hi. 😢 We're on to #6 now, no thanks to Borisjiklian and multiple fucktards.
My pizza franchise is suffering. We are only down 15% on the 2019 period so no assistance, however we were only just above water before the decline. So it's rough.
They've changed the eligibility conditions for comparison periods so it doesn't have to be in 2019...
Where's the pizza place?
If you were already struggling pre-covid, then you might want to look at your business structure.
Yep this has been constantly happening. We were heading in the right direction pre covid, just working to turn it around.
Sorry to hear that man. Hope business picks up, I’m guessing you really knead the dough.
Do you do delivery? Find myself eating more restaurant food (via Uber eats) than ever before to stave off the mundanity of home life
Yeah. You could say it's our speciality.
I work retail so I don’t make much money normally. Lockdown has been wonderful. I’m still picking up a few hours to arrange click & collect and dispatch online orders and the government top up has taken away any financial stress. I’m not gonna be meeting my financial goals for the next couple of months and possibly have to readjust them for the year but I’m not worried about paying rent. Meanwhile, there’s a labour shortage in my industry and I’m looking around at my options. It’s really brought into stark relief how much of my time I give away for so little. I need to make some changes in my life and hopefully some forward progress.
I'm really glad that a seemingly negative thing has turned into something positive for you. Retail workers put up with so much, for such little pay.
Good luck! Maybe just a bit of breathing time to reassess will be beneficial.
Not me personally but I have a friend who runs a music school and the lockdown has meant she's lost about 3/4 of her business. Still no sign of any COVID disaster grant or JobSaver turning up in her account even though she applied as soon as schemes were opened. It's really dire because she's been in contact with ServiceNSW and basically just being told to wait.
Damn that sucks. My guitar school has been doing lessons via zoom during lockdowns and its quite effective. Maybe she could try that?
Sounds like if she has 1/4 of her business left that would be what she’s doing
She is offering zoom lessons but a lot of parents aren't keen - it's kinda dependent on how good your bandwith is and I'm assuming some of the parents have lost work and music lessons are probably first to go.
I’m in the same boat. I run a music school with private students at 4 schools around sydney/Bankstown. I’ve lost probably 3/4 or more students and doing the rest on Zoom. I think parents are less interested in organizing Zoom lessons because that’s just another hassle, which is fair enough in these stressful times. I applied for the Covid Disaster Payment and after 4ish days the money was in my account.
it's probably quite meagre , but could those freelance sites help at all? eg. airtasker, fiverr. sometimes they ask for musicians to record stuff etc, and you charge for it.
It also doesn't work with younger beginners. I'm a piano teacher in Tassie and I had to put about a quarter of my students on hold when I couldn't teach in person because they were just too young. There were also a few that didn't work due to a language barrier. I hated the online lesson thing, it was incredibly frustrating and I was completely exhausted by the end of the day. I feel terrible for the teachers who have been doing online lessons for the majority of the past two years, I honestly don't think I could have handled it.
I’m sorry she’s struggling. Just re the disaster grant and Job Saver - I recently had a seminar with service NSW about this and they have massive delays in processing. And if you put both applications in at the same time, apparently it bumps the old application and causes further delays. But they sound like they are struggling - but hopefully it should come through soon for her.
Has she tried for the covid 19 payment from services australia/ centrelink?
You can only get one, not both, and the NSW business grant is better if you're eligible.
Job saver started trickling out yesterday, some have already got the grant but lots of us have actually gotten job saver before the grant despite applying for it 11 days before. It's something at least. I'm not blowing into a paper bag as my late fees rack up for a week or so now. Hopefully hers comes through too. These grants have been like getting blood out of a stone.
WFH is easy for my job as a banker. We are probably saving more as we are not out spending. I really feel sorry for the people really impacted by the lockdowns / virus.
Yeah same, work from home and saving more because I’m not paying transport costs and eating out less. I consider myself extremely lucky. Can’t imagine the stress of not been able to earn a income which a lot of people are experiencing at the moment.
Pretty surprised to see not many people in this thread getting the disaster payment. I work in manufacturing, cant leave my LGA for work, so I'm on the disaster payment. $600 to $750/week tax free is pretty decent money for not working. Honestly surprised they didn't do an asset test, but hey, I'm not complaining. That being said, my partner continues to work full time, and our expenses including mortgage is usually very manageable with only one income. I've got a partner that shares good personal finance planning as well. So we are pretty solid moving forward.
You also have to remember the type of people lurking around this reddit.
Fair point, all them nerds with the ability to work from home. Less of us salaried trades in here. Hoho 😉
I can’t be offended because that is exactly me.
haha I was reaching for the pitchfork before I realised he'd perfectly targeted and executed me.
They did have an asset test ($10k liquid), but removed it after the first week
Don't wanna be that person, but the disaster payment is counted as taxable income; Centrelink just won't withhold tax from each pay unless you tell them to do so. This caught out a few people last FY so something to keep in mind moving forward. https://www.ato.gov.au/General/COVID-19/Government-grants-and-payments-during-COVID-19/
All good, but it is actually tax free. Only for this disaster payment. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/covid-19-disaster-payment-new-south-wales-if-you-dont-get-centrelink-payment/how-much-you-can-get#:~:text=The%20COVID%2D19%20Disaster%20Payment,it%20in%20your%20tax%20return. Was announced a few days back. The link you have is probably for the previous support.
And that should teach me to do more Googling! Good to hear they've sorted that out..I probably should tell my mum to not worry as she's had to claim the payment for two weeks due to being forced to self iso.
There are multiple different payments, I can only say it's the case for the covid-19 disaster payment where it's tax free. The one where you have to isolate for 14 days and get a one off $1500 payment, (pandemic leave disaster payment) is still taxable. I think that's what your mum has.
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Based on your post history, I'd argue you'd be more reporting the CTPAs, CTVs and CTAs rather than acquiring them.
Surely they'd have blood work up before being sent for scans. NSW health protocol is to check platelets, d-dimer and fibrinogen levels first to try and rule it out before giving unnecessary radiation. The incidence rates for clots related to AZ in Australia are astronomically low, like 1 in a million.
> The incidence rates for clots related to AZ in Australia are astronomically low, like 1 in a million. While it's not likely, the risk of blood clots nowhere near that low. Another person died of AZ related blood clots yesterday, a fairly young person, so it's understandable why people are concerned. https://www.health.gov.au/news/atagi-update-following-weekly-covid-19-meeting-28-july-2021 > the risk of TTS is estimated in Australia at around: > 2.6 per 100,000 in those <60 years; and > 1.7 per 100,000 in those ≥60 years. Of the 93 total cases reported so far there have been six deaths, or a case fatality rate of 6.4% . Reference: https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-05-08-2021 Combining those two stats, if you're under 60 years the risk of *dying* is around 1.5 in 1,000,000 which may be what you're thinking. I think the mods of this sub may not like this OT conversation though, sorry.
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Cripes. I work remote, I wouldn't like my chances of the small country town hospital saving me if I did present with any issues.. definitely going to have to wait I think
Given CTs cause a small increase in cancer (roughly 1 per 10k to 1 per 100k) it's a tough thing to balance
This is wildly incorrect for all ages, but in younger people it’s about 1:30,000, with 50% of women affected ending up in ICU. Due to a lack of granular data from the UK we don’t know what the incidence is in the 18 year olds the authorities are telling to go get Astra but we suspect it’s dire.
I'm not advocating for 18 year olds getting AZ, nor am I commenting the vaccine itself. I'm talking about best medical practice. We should not be scanning every single person that comes in the hospital just because they've had the AZ vaccine, which is what OP was saying that he is seeing. Common things are common, clotting post vaccine is not common. We should be doing our due diligence as doctors and avoiding increasing someone's risk of cancer if the chance of clot is so low and we can rule it out with a few blood tests first.
This is true but your figures are off by 30x
My sister had clots after Pfizer. She is 18, thin, fit and healthy. Her only pre-existing condition is polycystic ovarian syndrome. Has anyone else had clots post Pfizer?
With pcos sometimes this can be treated with ocp or 'the pill' I wonder if she has had treatment for pcos and in what capacity. As someone who works in healthcare, young people got random clots often and young people also have random heart attacks more often then people realise and this is before any vaccination or covid was even around. Sometimes it's not always related to vaccination just correlation and not causation which basically means she might have been fated to throw a random clot at this point in her life anyway, it just so happens she has also been immunized. Kind of like saying I ate eggs for the first time Saturday and then woke up with a PE (clot in lung) Sunday so it could have possibly been the eggs if that makes sense?
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I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "clots" but I don't see anything related listed as a known side effect of the Pfizer (COMIRNATY) vaccine. https://www.ebs.tga.gov.au/ebs/picmi/picmirepository.nsf/pdf?OpenAgent&id=CP-2021-CMI-01093-1&d=20210806172310101 She ought to talk to a doctor. The doctors could report it to the TGA as a possible adverse event so it can be tracked.
Currently on forced leave. Working in the construction industry. Unfortunately all the company jobs are within the 8 LGA's so we arent working. With my position i could definitely work from home, but the company is going through a couple of cashflow issues as none of the jobs are generating anything due to no works happening. Kinda pissed off im chewing into my annual leave but what can i do.
I think early next year we're going to see a hell of a lot of builders go under, and maybe a few of the big boys in town as well. Between fixed price contracts and the increasing cost of materials, days lost due to covid/weather/etc, days lost due to material shortages, extra km's and time on vehicles as a result... lots of guys will be going backwards already even if they don't know it.
100%. Commodities are through the roof ATM - copper has gone up 20% this year, alone. All that while we’re being squeezed down in our tenders because builders are just going in so cheap, whatever the reason that will be. I’m quoting jobs for the same price I was 10 years ago, while wages, materials, rent, petrol, consumables, overheads, insurances etc. have increased up to 50% in that period. Tough times in the construction industry at the moment.
A major PT contractor entered administration this week so it's already happening.
For a reason I can't explain I've noticed a vast increase in alcohol expenses on my bank statements. Not sure what's happening there... 🤔
It would take Sherlock Holmes to crack this case. So I guess what I’m saying is, Sherlock Holmes must be drinking your beers.
That cunt.
Web design. Been run off my feet for more than 12 months. Complete opposite problem. Turning new clients down and there's a real challenge with time management between work and family (young kids). I don't know too many people hit hard by this. Most of my clientele are essential services. In fact, many big moves are being made by those who are doing well to solidify their good fortune. Hence being so busy. It's not work for those who want to stay afloat by pivoting or offering new services, it's work for those doing well and want to accelerate things.
Instead of flat out turning down new clients, perhaps you have one or two trusted affiliates you could direct them to, where you can feel confident in their quality of work?
Not only that, but referring those clients to your colleagues in return for a commission is a common trade. These are paying clients, and the work will otherwise be done by someone else.
Nobody is going to pay for the referrals in the current climate. They know they're next on the list in Google to get the call after me. Or already had one before me. Average CPC for "web design" in Google AdWords was reaching over $300 per click prior to COVID. Now it's down to $15.
I enjoy reading books.
Yep. [https://ads.google.com/aw/keywordplanner/home](https://ads.google.com/aw/keywordplanner/home)
I enjoy cooking.
Google made it so idiots cannot do too much damage. During setup there are max cost per click, and total spend limit options. Without proper targetting Google won't display the ad for the selected keywords anyway. You put in "water tanks" but come up for the less expensive "round plastic water tanks with zigzag design and flag on top". It can also lead to "fish wanks" which becomes a waste of money. But at least you didn't unwittedly spend $300 1,000 times. Those actually spending that kind of money specifically targetted that keyword. With heavily tested landing pages. They knew what they were doing (at least I hope so). As for businesses spending hundreds or thousands a month and receiving mostly useless clicks in return. It's happening at a very large scale. \[edit\] I shouldn't say mostly useless clicks, that's an exaggeration. "Many" useless clicks would be more accurate. Every single time I've done this exercise with a new customer they have been unhappy with the ROI though. Hence the exaggeration.
Google also discounts you if you're offering a better user experience. If your site is poor for users you'll be paying 10x as much per click as someone who has a better user experience on site.
I enjoy the sound of rain.
This assumes you have good SEO. Keeping clients and circulating them within a small circle is better (any may lead to more opportunities for the circle) than letting those clients go to the competition.
It's the same for everyone. They don't want/need the work either.
I guess it falls back to supply/demand considerations then... web design prices need to go up.
I’m a self-employed design professional specialising in learning experience design (what people think of as eLearning). Last year I doubled my previous best year in business earnings, and this year I’ll likely match or come close to matching those earnings. I don't take it for granted, either. I'm doing everything I possibly can to continue supporting the businesses and tradespeople I buy from during BAU times. I was also privileged to donate a percentage of my earnings to FoodBank last festive season so less advantaged families could have a week's worth of food over Christmas and on Christmas Day. As someone who at one time was down and out in life, it's an enormous blessing to be able to pay my current good fortune forward/back. 🙂 ETA: Hi fam, yes I will answer all eLearning/self-employed questions once I get today’s work wrapped up! cc u/wheres_my_burrito_
Can you elaborate on learning experience design? This sounds like an interesting school teaching profession
Semi-related: I work as a software developer in K-12 (mostly toward the K end) edtech. Our product is in assessment, not 'teaching' per se, but it's still a very novel product. I've built a couple of student-facing features and really enjoyed the unique challenges posed by catering education UX toward kids. I'd love to hear more about what you work on.
That's really neat! Did you study for this and how do you sustain on freelance work? I've worked quite a bit in eLearning and LMS support but don't have formal quals. Found it difficult to get into the industry again let alone self contract/freelance. Awesome work mate
Hey there. No, I didn't study for much of anything when I was in school tbh. I was too busy flirting with boys. 😏I did however have a natural affinity for the humanities, and despite coasting did really well in those subjects. When I left school I went to work in the advertising industry as a copywriter, but left feeling disillusioned some years later. I took on short contract roles for a couple of years where I had to use my comms skills in lots of reports and presentations, which were invariably woefully designed. I started improving on those as part of my work, and got so much kudos for that I decided to take a lateral career step and pursue design. I landed an 18 month contract role with a large training organisation designing all their face-to-face learning materials. At the end of that period, the HR manager didn't want to rehire me, but they needed a supplier to do the work. I put my hand up and said, "I know; I'll start a company and you can be my client!" (If I'd known then what I know now, I probably wouldn't have done it, but I'm glad I didn't know, because I've been self-employed for many years and it suits me perfectly.) A number of years into my training collateral design work, one of my long-term, very good clients said to me, "Have you heard of eLearning?" It was barely a blip on my radar back then. We talked about it, and she said she'd rather pay for me to learn how to use the software etc. and keep me creating work for her as opposed to hiring someone else whose quality of work and personal integrity she couldn't vouch for. 🙂 I sustain on freelance work by being excellent (and also very niche) at what I do. Just like Liam Neeson in Taken, I have a very particular set of skills, which I wont elaborate on here for privacy's sake. I was fortunate to form relationships during that initial 18mth training org contract whom I'm still contact with/working for today. Other than that, it's been word of mouth. If you over-deliver, your clients will keep working with you and recommend you to others. Tl;dr: I have no formal qualifications, but I'm very smart and I work very hard. I also have a moderate amount of design talent and technical know-how on top of that.
Thank you for your lovely story :)
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What you do sounds super niche. How would you even advertise?
Fucked
Am a photographer. Have had to sell all my shares just to pay rent. Will probably have to find another job in the meantime.
All my gigs keep getting cancelled, since Feb last year. I work in live events - mainly concert/festival touring. As of this lockdown I can't go work in the warehouse and my job doesn't allow me to really WFH. I still have an income, just feel useless and trying to make the most of the downtime. I'm down 10s of thousands overall since 2020 as my job is usually overtime heavy, it's kinda factored into my very average salary. At least I can still bring home a base wage as I am employed by a Multinational, but most people in my Industry are freelance. A few have bailed to find work elsewhere, others are just hanging on. But yeah the now non existent OT is where the magic really happens and I'm definitely feeling the crunch. financial goals have been devastated, just trying to cover debts and bills rather than the investing I was planning on doing. COULD BE WORSE
Seeing a lot of office workers that are fine in here. But as a fellow event company (own a small event business) it’s like playing roulette constantly on whether jobs will go ahead or be cancelled. And with there being less work clients are less willing to pay upfront because they are scared they will have to cancel, further eating into revenue when an event does cancel that we prepped for.
A small sector of my business works on live events and we have had one job since March 2020. Thankfully it is only a small part of my total income.
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I'm sure the bosses will still figure out how to claim Jobkeeper/Jobsaver. If not, ask them to call up Gerry Harvey for some tips.
What area do you work in?
Sales
I work in the logistics so the lockdown is great for me
Why so?
Because naturally companies are doing more shipping at the moment
How ya going with cost of pallets?
I’m working in Supply Chain as well but in retail. In my space suppliers/logistics providers are passing on the increased costs of shipping which all parties are happy to pay given there’s no alternative.
To add to this, we have a captive population with lots of stimulus buying tons of consumer goods... demand for shipping is insatiable at the moment and the freight rates show it
My office is so busy that we’ve had to turn away work. In terms of personally finance, I’ve been spending a fair bit of money buying ‘fun things’ to keep the lockdown blues at bay (looking at you $300 box of Pokémon figurines...) Although I’m not spending money on buying takeout food, makeup, hair appointments or public transport so it balances out.
Out of work for over 2 months :')
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I’m sorry to hear how tough this has been for you but thanks for taking the time to post this. People need to hear it.
I am completely ruined, I don’t know that I’ll ever financially recover, and I might be homeless in a couple of months.
Have you applied for all the government assistance you can?
I’m in construction and infrastructure. We have never been busier. Work is out of control - we cannot get enough workers. My super and share portfolios are going crazy. We bought a new home just at the first COVID dip and just had it valued by the bank to refinance significantly higher than what we paid. I can’t believe the contrast my story has when compared to friends and family who have endured the exact opposite - lost jobs, or heavily reduced hours, unable to get into the housing market entirely due to timing. It makes me appreciate how lucky we have been. It’s night and day the difference you can experience just based on the industry you work in. I consider myself incredibly lucky
Can't work at all and still waiting for the NSW micro business grant to come through 7 weeks into the lockdown. Have been fine because I'm burning through savings that will then fill back up when the back pay the grant but even then it's halving my income.
For me it's not paying for the bus and train fares which is minimal. I bring food to work as i can't justify paying over $10 for a basic sandwhich (Or thereabouts). Honestly while i prefer to work in the office being at home has been a lot more cost effective.
Work in the public sector it's business as usual going into the office as I can't WFH. Still I've got a job and I really feel for a lot of people who are doing it tough out there.
Cries in Victoria
I just started a distillery in South Sydney 2 weeks ago. Started the process 9 months ago hoping we could start the end of lockdown strong only to go back into it. All the bars we had lined up to start selling Vodka to are closed which has sucked but it gives us time to focus on retail sales online I guess.
Hoping everything goes well for you mate!
I finally feel blessed to have a shitty office job I can do at home in my pj's, save 3 hrs travel time everyday and $125 a week on train. The fact I finish at 4:30pm and have until midnight to go to bed and get up literally 10 mins before I start work at 8:20am, sit next to my soon to be wife and get all the things done around the house like washing and tidying up at lunch or when I need a 10 min break here and there. I'm not sure if it makes me happy or in the end it'll make me sad to go back to being in an office and how I just wait for the weekend each week for which I'm so tired and have a million things I need to catch up on.
Indirectly it has, being home with the wife a lot has resulted us in being pregnant...so yeah, this is going to affect me financially!
No impact financially at all.
Same, wife and I are lucky to have jobs where we're not really affected.
Doesn’t affect me personally as I’m WFH, but it does for my partner. She works in the hotel industry which was heavily hit during and even after lockdowns. Its fine during lockdowns cause she’ll receive income from Centrelink, however after lockdowns hotels are still quiet cause restrictions are only eased slightly and most people aren’t looking to travel at this stage. Thankfully her company have reserved funds for these circumstances and are able to give $1000 to staff who are struggling financially and applies for it.
Work at a hospital. Business as usual.
Struggling. Hubby is down one job, limited on the other, and minimal help. Both kids at home, one with both adhd and autism and only five. The other is two. Tremendous mental strain trying to organise stuff around them and for them, whilst home schooling one and not the other. Mental health has taken a nose dive because I don't get a chance to take care of me.
God I'm so sorry :( That sounds incredible stressful. Sending love! Really hoping we get out of this soon.
Thanks mate. It definitely is. I hope we do to, but I doubt it
Work in medicine. Made me work more for the same money.
My job hasn’t been affected. My partner has lost 1 day a week work. That means she’s entitled to the covid19 disaster payment. This will mean we’ll be $250 after tax better off with her working 1 day less per week.
the problem with the system. much needier people need that more than you
wifes job cut a day per staff but as 6 hour days unable to get help. its not much but when you live close to the edge you feel it
I'm lucky to have my work go full remote/wfh without much hassle. Saving more with less expenditure on public transport, lunches, coffees (overspend). Am appreciating it a lot, but I feel hobbies at home will pick up
Software Engineer salaries have been going up and up and up this year
Changed jobs at the beginning of the second lockdown. 30% bump in pay.
Work is booming, but staff morale is low, while stress and anxiety is at an all time high. Everyone i’ve talked to says this lockdown is hitting them harder than the last.
Anyone who looks at the ASX would assume that aussies are getting richer during the lockdown and have lots of money to throw around.
I'm a casual teacher. No work, no money. Worried about my mortgage. Bored and lonely
My business has only been open just over a year and I'm struggling this time. I only qualify for the micro grant and that hasn't been accepted yet. I'm so sad. I'm hoping it will be okay but I haven't paid myself in months. Not optimistic at this point. It's an animal rehab centre and a job I truly love.
whilst there isnt jobkeeper, there is very comparable aid available. it is however taking long to hit business accounts.
I lost my job and using free Maccas Wi-Fi to write this. I am now sleeping rough under a bridge. I won't say which bridge. The nights are cold but having multiple cardboard boxes flattened seems to work. They make pretty good blankets. Getting harassed in the middle of the night by other homeless people can be a bit scary but I'll be fine.
Thankfully I changed from hospitality to software engineering, but my fiancé still works in hospo only this time she has PR and gets gov help. Last lockdown was rough living off 1 persons job keeper. So far losing about $600 a week extra income but still not in that bad of a spot. Just need to tighten the reigns on the budget.
Still travelling to work, and doing full time hours at the "office" since working from home can't be done.
I work in healthcare. Still open as an essential service, but business is down maybe 30%.
While still lucky to be able to keep my job, working from home has increased my expenses so much that I dont think come tax period the deduction is going to make up for it. I have to get NBN because the 80gb data plan on my phone wont be enough anymore, my quarterly power bill will likely go from A$150 to A$300 etc. On the other hand feeling grateful to be able to work one less day per week while getting paid a bit more by claiming the government payout which is higher than my daily wage.
Work in construction industry so most of the staff, including myself are on reduced hours. Ended around $600 worse off a month with the covid disaster payment
I've been working from home over the past 18 months. I have spent a fair amount on goods due to lockdown. I bought a hair clipper, manchester, a new high-end monitor and whole exercise equipment costing more than a grand. I think only this time I started to realise I need to be more self-sufficient and this lockdown will drag on till the end of the year. Without the lockdown and the COVID in general, I wouldn't have purchased these goods. Before this lockdown, I re-decked out my home office including the desk and chair.
I’m a single parent studying full time at uni and work part time. I’m In a hotspot and work in a different LGA so haven’t been working. I was very worried when I initially found out there was no work. I wasn’t able to get the covid weekly payments as I also receive Centrelink but then they decided we’d be able to access $200 per week tax free so it’s kinda worked out even in the end. When you factor in petrol, lunches out at work, no gym payments, daycare fees and so on it works out the same for me, if not better.
I spend way more on coffee now.
Self-employed management consultant. Basically all worked stopped. Letter from accountant provided to noServiceNSW showed 94% decline. Luckily, I had some forethought about NSW being hit like Victoria and shuffled away my cash last year, so I'll be fine. But man, I really feel for a lot of small businesses. It's pretty dire. Interesting times ahead.
Personally, it hasnt affected me at all. Still employed thank God almighty... But I don't... *feel* like we're heading towards a recession?
I'm losing out on $1700 a week, so pretty fucking hard. Live on the border of the hills shire LGA, have my first vaccine and live with my wife a new born baby and a toddler so I have to bring in all the money. Disaster payment doesnt cover the rent and car payment.
Assuming you are in NSW. Just wait. This will not be over until Christmas and I think they will have to allow some of those things again to keep people afloat.
Self employed, haven't been able to work for three weeks, still waiting on NSW Gvt subsidies to be approved....
Honestly no change. I'm classed as essential, so Ill be going to work whatever happens. Covid has however further crushed my dreams of ever owning a house
Income and savings have been largely uneffected and are strong. However, the price of literally everything - used cars, materials, property, share market etc. has rapidly outpaced our income and savings growth so while on paper our numbers look great compared to a year or 2 ago I feel our position and purchasing power in general is actually worse. I feel like this is probably how a lot of people feel and if not they will start to notice soon...
Think the demographics of this sub are obivious when you compare the upvotes of comments saying "lockdown has been beneficial" v "lockdown has been adverse"
Unaffected. Work as a doctor in an area without any cases (currently). I am grateful.
I’m very fortunate to work in an industry that wasn’t impacted heavily by this pandemic. And WFH has meant I’ve been able to save better than ever. However, my workload remains incredibly busy and some days I feel so overwhelmed. It’s a tough position to be in because I am incredibly grateful that I have job stability whilst countless people don’t - but my goodness I really need a break from work. But I can’t say anything like this to family or friends without getting told “just be grateful you still have a job”. Like yes, I’m SO grateful. But I’ve been feeling this way since before the pandemic. Also stings a little that the job keeper payments basically equal my pay and reinforces that my work underpays me lol. So for those who are in a similar boat, I feel for you and hope you’re doing okay!
Work from home and got a raise of about 20% spend way less money so yeah that's good i guess