Income Disparities

Fairness and equality among the sexes has been deliberated time and again. Feminist groups have made an impact but women continue to earn less than men. I always thought Australia was a fair country and in many respects it is. It’s possible to have a decent standard of living on an average income when you don’t have debt, subject to your postcode. Unfortunately, women continue to get paid less than men. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘average weekly total cash earnings were $1,010.30 for all employees, $1192.10 for male employees and $827.70 for female employees.’  That’s a whopping difference of $364.40 per week or $18,948.80 per year between the
sexes. [Low end of the scale is $475.60pw and high end $2,206.90pw].

Are men harder workers than females? Are they more valuable?

I don’t like labels but I may sometimes come across as a feminist and have an anti men attitude. I don’t mean any offense. There are equally as many nasty and lazy men as there are women. The same goes for all the hard workers; there are women who can multitask and complete jobs as efficiently as men, if not more so, and vice versa. Which is why the difference in income is so frustrating. Earning less because you don’t have a dick in your pants is simply unfair, especially if your qualifications and experience are up to par.

We are getting closer to bridging the gap but it’s taking longer than it ought to. In 2011, incomes should be equal. Managerial positions should be equal. Governments should be equal. On a global scale Australia is doing pretty well, we have a female Prime Minister, Ms Julia Gillard, Governor- General, Ms Quentin Bryce, and in Queensland we have female Premier, Ms Anna Bligh. That’s awesome however females still have a long way to go. According to an article in The Sydney Morning Herald last year, women were still having a tough time breaking the glass ceiling and being promoted to senior executive roles. Yes, there are women who choose to have children and put their careers on hold, but there are equally as many who want the opportunity to have a successful career. Why can’t they have both without missing out on a portion of the pay cheque?

Visa Express

I went to the supermarket this morning to top up my prepaid mobile phone. I was
using my credit card to pay for the purchase and was surprised when I didn’t
have to sign or key in a pin. The transaction went through within ten seconds,
no proof of id required.

‘Check with your bank,’ the shop assistant said, ‘all purchases under $35 no
longer require a pin or for the customer to sign.’

Now, I don’t like this at all. $35 may not be much money but if someone else
gets their hands on my credit card they are free to make as many $35 purchases
as they wish. This does not rest well with me. I preferred my credit card when
no matter the amount spent a pin or signature were required. I know we’re all
busy but come on, what’s an extra 15 seconds at the check out to sign your name
at the bottom or key in a few digits. The only thing I can see this time saving
idea doing is encouraging people to steal credit cards and make small purchases.
By the time you report your credit card stolen, the thief could have used up
your balance by making multiple $35 purchases.

I know that from now on I’ll be extra careful with my credit card, since the ‘Visa
Express’ is becoming more popular, the credit card has become extra attractive
to theft. Then again, it might make me leave the Visa at home and end up saving
me money in the long run.

Unemployed? It’s up to you to do something about it

Appalled: that’s a word that I’ve used a bit recently. I am appalled at many things, and the numbers keep climbing up each day as I watch the news or listen to the radio. Last week, a ‘bubble wrap’ robber held up a Seven Eleven store at Main Beach with a knife. The next day or something like that, police arrested him in his home at Main Beach. Come on, what was he thinking?

What really annoyed me this morning was the fact that his family are supporting and standing behind him in this matter because he was depressed due to unemployment. For crying out loud, around 8.1% of the Gold Coast population is unemployed at the moment; at least half of them are not feeling too chirpy about it. Heck, I’m unemployed but you don’t see me robbing stores regardless of my emotional state. If you’re depressed, have a cry, talk to someone who cares but don’t go blaming unemployment and depression for your crimes. There is no excuse; this isn’t the Robin Hood era where we have to steal from the rich to give to the poor or feed ourselves.

If you are unemployed there are plenty of options;

* Centerlink (in Australia) provides Newstart Allowance for people who are unemployed but looking for paid employment. It’s about $900 per month which isn’t much but it’s not $0 either. If you’re studying you can get an allowance for that regardless of your age as long as the course fits into Centerlink’s requirements.

* Call up all your friends and acquaintances and tell them that you’re looking for work. Ask them if they know anyone who is employing, or whether they have any work going. Make yourself available and open to any work that may come your way. Use social networking sites to help you; almost everyone is on Facebook these days.

* Get your CV out there. Contact job agencies in your area and send them a cover letter and CV. Or better yet, go to their office in person and tell them what you’re after. They are more equipped and experienced in finding people work. Even if they can’t find you a full time job, they may be able to organise temporary work from time to time. Like I said before, something is better than nothing.

* Start your own business. You can make money from doing almost anything. If you’re creative you can write, paint, make jewellery , take photographs or whatever tickles you fancy. Maybe you prefer the outdoors and a lawn mowing, gardening, car wash or dog walking service is more your thing. Just do it. Put up your phone number on information boards, advertise on Facebook, create cheap leaflets on the home or library computer and distribute them all around your neighbourhood.

* Keep applying for jobs that you’re interested in. Sooner or later something that you love will come up. The more CV’s you get out there, the more likely someone will call. Just make sure you tell the truth and you apply for work that matches with your experience and education – that will increase your chances of finding a job quicker.

In the mean time do something constructive rather than destructive. Read a book, take a walk, volunteer your time at a hospital or fun run, try knitting a sweater, make an attempt at writing a novel or short story, clean up your house (and maybe make some money by selling all the crap you no longer need or want), write a letter to a loved one and tell them how much you appreciate them, write down a list of things that you are grateful. Seriously, there are lots of things you can do. No need to be resorting to crime – it doesn’t pay.

Why Spending Is Easier Than Ever Before?

Wherever you look today there’s an opportunity to open up your wallet and hand over your hard earned cash for a product you’ll hardly ever use or a service you probably could do yourself. Whether it’s a quick juice to quench your thirst, a $10 bargain at Kmart, a buy one get one free chocolate bar, a foot rub, a Lotto ticket, a charity auction, or a set of dumbbells from Aldi which you don’t need and will probably never use, the opportunity to spend looms in every corner.

You don’t even have to leave the house to be inundated with ads encouraging you to spend instead of save. Just watch a couple of ads where stores are advertising ’40 months interest free’ or ‘take it home and don’t pay anything until 2015’. You start thinking about picking up a new blender, or buying that 3D television that you never really wanted, or upgrading your perfectly good computer for a new Apple product because that’s the trendy thing to do.

Then there’s the Internet. Online shopping has grown in popularity, 2008 showed more than 60% of Australians making online purchases and spending around $20 billion (ABS, 2011). These days, there is very little that you can’t buy online which makes shopping even more accessible to anyone with a computer and Internet access whether you want a holiday, a new pair of shoes or your groceries done for the week.

Each week mailboxes get jammed with leaflets, brochures and handouts advertising the latest prices and specials in supermarkets and retail outlets, each one trying and often succeeding in persuading you to get into your car, drive to the shop and start spending on items you don’t really need or didn’t think you wanted until you saw them in the catalogue that gets dropped off every Wednesday. The colours and price tags are just so darn tempting.

Ok, it’s true, in order for the economy to function and for people to have jobs, consumer spending is a necessary evil. However, it doesn’t have to mean succumbing to impulse shopping and putting unnecessary purchases on an already debt-ridden credit card. We are masters of our own universe, we make our own choices. Sure the media may try to swerve us towards the direction they want but ultimately we make the decision to open up our wallets or purses and hand over our cash or credit cards. From now on I’m going to become a conscious spender – for the good of the economy of course. How about you?

What’s your take on the ease of shopping these days?

Tricky Spending Habits

I’m a spender not a saver, although it wasn’t always this way. As a child, I loved counting money, making money and saving money. I remember selling potatoes from our driveway during the late 80’s in Poland and making sure every zloty I earned stayed in my pocket. In the early 90’s when I spent a holiday there, I talked my grandparents into allowing me to help in the restaurant they owned – on the terms that what I sold, I earned. Even as an 11 year old I loved the idea of making and accumulating money, it’s was what my grandparents taught me to do.

So what happened along the way that I managed to get myself into debt and lose the saving gene?

My parents, brother and I moved to Australia and I became a spend thrift. My first job was during my school holidays washing laboratory dishes at my mum’s old work. I did the paper run once a week which earned me a measly sum of $11 or so. I worked in a fruit and vegetable shop where I spent everything I earned. I cleaned house, tried my hand at retail, real estate and legal secretary. I worked in a nightclub, an investment firm and as an English teacher to speakers of foreign languages. I’ve been earning since my adolescence, but instead of saving at least a portion of my income, all I’ve been doing was learning how to spend and get into debt.

I can recall when the debt started to accumulate. I took out a loan to purchase a car. Of course I didn’t do any research, and instead of deterring me my father allowed me to make my own decision. The car was ok, but it ended up being one of the worst purchases I could have made. I was in debt, and since then I’ve been getting into more, and this is no different than the other hundreds of thousands of Australians who are doing the same every day. Money mistakes compound and spell disaster. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2005 over 65% of Australians had ‘non-property debt’ which consisted of credit cards, shop cards and personal loans. In 2008, Australian’s owed over $1.1 trillion in debt – now that’s a hefty sum for a country with a population of approximately 22.5 million.

How did you accumulate your debt?

 

The next six months

When we look at goals we often group them into short, medium and long term. My current priority is the short and medium term: 1-9 months.

A new financial year is about to begin, and for the first half of it I need to get my butt into gear and start working towards the six figures, but that will only happen if I can achieve the short term goals first. It’s the ideal time to start.

1. Enter full time employment.
2. Eliminate all my debt – $20,000 ($8,000 credit card + $12,000 personal loan)
3. Build an emergency fund – $2000
4. Earn extra income from a second job or home business
5. Save 10% of my income from each pay packet

The reason I’ve set the goals so high is because I’m currently in a position where my living costs are very low. Since returning from overseas earlier this year, I’ve been living with my parents (mum and I are co-owners), my younger brother, and my partner. The arrangement is working for the time being and I hope it will continue to work until I’m free of debt and can save a nice down-payment on another property.

What are your goals for the next six months?

Nobody’s Perfect

I often feel like I could do a lot more than I do in order to save money, help the planet and be an all round better person.I have friends who are miticulous when it comes to cleaning house; others who save one household income every month; and, another couple are vegetarian, recycle everything and live in harmony with their environment. Sometimes I feel inadequate. But as Jessie J sings, Nobody’s Perfect and I’m far from it, so I’ll just go on doing the best I can at this moment, and hope that with time I can continuously improve and become a little bit more pedantic about cleaning, save at least 50% of the household income, and do a little bit of good for the planet that provides me with fresh air, beautiful oceans, green forests and gorgeous sunshine.

There’s a great article by J.D. Roth on Get Rich Slowly about the reasons we shouldn’t feel judged when others claim to cycle instead of drive, or save instead of spend, or whatever other comparison someone might come up with in future. We’re all here to do what is right for us, as long as we’re not hurting ourselves or anyone else in the process. We create our own paths and that should be good enough for each one of us.

Six figures in six years

I’m 28, by this time I always thought that I’d be settled and ready to slow down with work. In fact, the opposite is true: I’m in a worse position today than I was five years ago and it’s all my fault. I made mistakes. I made decisions without thinking them through and screwed up. Now I’m in debt and have nothing to show for it. But that is all going to change.

I’m going to achieve my goal of six figures in six years and be finally financially free before I turn 34. How am I going to do that? Easy: work hard, save money, earn more, invest, learn a lot and have fun at the same time. And it all starts today.