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Are you financially literate? Here are 7 signs you’re on the right track

<p>With the cost of living and interest rates rising, a growing number of Australians are struggling to manage their <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/almost-half-of-australia-is-financially-stressed-here-s-one-way-to-fix-it-20221011-p5bowq.html">finances</a>. Many are experiencing real <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/australians-under-increasing-financial-stress#:%7E:text=The%2520level%2520of%2520financial%2520stress,say%2520they%2520are%2520struggling%2520financially">financial stress</a>.</p> <p>But even in the best of times, managing your finances is hard. Every day, you’re making complex financial decisions (some of which carry huge ramifications) and there are more financial products and services available than ever before. Navigating this minefield can be overwhelming and lead to financial anxiety.</p> <p>Being financially literate helps. But what does “financial literacy” mean in practice?</p> <p>Here are seven signs you’ve got the basics covered.</p> <h2>1. You track your cashflow</h2> <p>By tracking your cashflow on a regular basis, you’re ensuring your expenses don’t exceed your income. In other words, you make sure you’re earning more than you spend.</p> <p>A good sign you’ve successfully managed your cashflow is that you have a surplus or a buffer.</p> <p>These left-over funds can be used to boost savings, pay off debt or meet other financial commitments.</p> <p>Cashflow management allows you to assess whether there are opportunities to increase your savings and/or reduce spending. Being able to manage your earnings and spending is a key financial skill.</p> <h2>2. You have a budget – and you follow it</h2> <p>Setting and following a budget requires financial discipline, which is a key part of financial literacy.</p> <p>By following a budget, you’re putting a measure in place to live within your means and reduce the risk of overspending.</p> <p>With all the competing demands that come with managing money, your budget can be a tool to keep you on track. And developing this habit over time can empower you to make wise financial decisions.</p> <h2>3. You understand the difference between good debt and bad debt</h2> <p>Love it or hate it, debt forms part of our financial portfolios and sustains the financial institutions we interact with. Knowing how to make debt work for you is a skill and a sign of good financial knowledge. It is crucial to understand the difference between good debt and bad debt.</p> <p>Good debt is debt used to improve your long-term financial position or net worth, such as a home loan.</p> <p>Bad debt tends to be consumption-driven and doesn’t have lasting value. Examples include payday loans or retail accounts.</p> <h2>4. You have your money in various places</h2> <p>One of the key concepts of financially literacy is understanding the importance of diversification.</p> <p>By having your money spread across various places (such as a savings account, property, the share market, superannuation and so on), you’ve reduced the concentration of risk.</p> <p>This helps protect your wealth in tough economic times.</p> <h2>5. You understand how financial assets work, along with their pros and cons</h2> <p>Financial assets refers to things like cash, shares and bonds. It’s important to understand how financial assets work and how they can either help or hurt your financial position.</p> <p>For instance, savings accounts are a safe financial instrument that earn interest on the amount accumulated within the account. But the fact they’re so safe also means that they won’t outperform inflation.</p> <p>This type of knowledge is an imperative part of financial literacy.</p> <h2>6. You’re aware of your financial strengths and weaknesses</h2> <p>Financially literate people reflect on their capabilities.</p> <p>When you can appreciate where your financial strengths and weaknesses lie, you can make better financial decisions and prioritise your needs.</p> <p>On the other hand, being oblivious to your strengths and weaknesses means you miss opportunities to improve your financial health.</p> <p>For example, perhaps you buy unnecessary stuff when you feel sad. Or maybe you panic when faced with tough financial choices and make quick decisions just to make the problem go away.</p> <p>Neglecting to reflect on patterns of behaviour can lead to serious and possibly irreversible financial mistakes.</p> <h2>7. You set financial goals and put measures in place to meet them</h2> <p>Financially literate people plan for their finances. This involves setting goals for either earnings, savings, investments, and debt management or putting measures in place to protect wealth (via, for example, insurance to protect your wealth against loss).</p> <p>Setting goals is one thing, but it’s also important to have a system and habits in place to achieve them.</p> <p>Make sure you understand what you’re trying to achieve with your goals, why the goals are important and how you’ll achieve them.</p> <p>Boosting your financial literacy can feel tough at first. But tackling your finances head on, controlling spending, participating in financial markets, handling debt, being able to understand financial assets and working towards financial goals can help you feel in control of your financial situation.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-financially-literate-here-are-7-signs-youre-on-the-right-track-202331" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Money & Banking

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“It’s literally alive!” Woman uncovers slimy visitor in her garden salad

<p>A woman has received the shock of her life after she made a surprising discovery in her salad.</p> <p>Karlie Allen from Wisconsin in the US recorded the incident unfold and posted the clip on Twitter.</p> <p>In the video, she can be heard screaming, “Oh my God, it’s literally alive!” as family members realise there’s a trapped frog inside the salad.</p> <p>The clip received mix reactions as many were in total disbelief while others felt sorry for the small amphibian.</p> <p>“Not sure why a frog is gross to everyone. You buy organic greens. It’s nature. At least he was alive. Free the little guy, wash your greens and be done with it already,” wrote one person.</p> <p>“I hope the little frog is OK. Poor little guy,” said another.</p> <p>Ms Allen tagged Simple Truth, the supplier of the organic mix, along with the caption, “Bon appetit! Nothing like salad with a side of live frog.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">bon appetit! nothin like salad with a side of live frog 🐸 <a href="https://twitter.com/SimpleTruth4U?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SimpleTruth4U</a> <a href="https://t.co/KG9bPjotZ9">pic.twitter.com/KG9bPjotZ9</a></p> — Karlie Allen (@kkarliea) <a href="https://twitter.com/kkarliea/status/1161673730378141696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">14 August 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Another user on the social media platform questioned where she could “find companies like this”.</p> <p>“The fact the frog lived through that says they are legit organic!!! Frogs are extremely sensitive to chemicals and pesticides! I’m sold!” the person said.</p> <p>“That’s exactly what you might find if you grew it in your own garden. Place the frog outside, wash the lettuce and enjoy your fresh organic salad!” said another.</p>

Food & Wine

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Research has revealed that technology is a literal pain in the neck

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Researchers have revealed that technology is changing the bones in our necks and skulls, which is setting people up for a lifetime of pain.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This comes from device overuse, as it can cause posture problems.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast have found something unusual that tends to go unnoticed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They used a sample of more than 1,200 people aged between 18 and 30. They discovered that 41 percent of the participants had grown a bony lump on the back of their skull.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The horn-like spurs were between 10 to 30 millimetres thick.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We suspect the reason for this bone spur formation is because they carry their head forward,” University of the Sunshine Coast’s David Shahar said to </span><a href="https://thewest.com.au/news/health/researchers-reveal-technology-is-proving-a-pain-in-the-neck-ng-b881234805z"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The West.</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sustained stress on the skull is creating bone de-position which usually takes years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The simple solution? Lift your head.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Bringing the weight of the head back to rest on the bones and not on the muscles,” Dr Shahar said. </span></p>

Technology

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"You will literally wait for hours!": Frustrated woman vents about husband's odd bathroom habit

<p>A woman has been left wondering whether she was in the right to complain about her husband’s odd bathroom habit.</p> <p>The wife and mother has been left frustrated by her partner, who would take over the house’s bathroom for anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours at a time.</p> <p>Writing on <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/bbvgh2/aita_for_getting_pissy_about_my_husbands_bathroom/" target="_blank">Reddit</a>, the woman said the long bathroom breaks often kept her and her young son from using the loo when needed. </p> <p>“Fortunately, my son has a private little corner of our backyard where he can go relieve himself in emergencies, but it can be torture for myself or any other women stuck waiting to tinkle,” she shared.</p> <p>Explaining that the situation had been going on for years, she said the wait would be longer if her husband decided to take a shower after relieving himself. </p> <p>“You will literally wait for hours! I have finally got him to where he will unlock the door before he jumps in the shower so we can at least get in to relieve ourselves.”</p> <p>She suspected that her partner has not been using the bathroom for anything related to bodily functions. </p> <p>“I have to go in after him and a lot of time it doesn’t even smell! Zero evidence that he was ‘using the facilities’,” she vented.</p> <p>“I really don’t want to know what he does with his bathroom time, I just want him to be more respectful of the fact that other people have needs too!”</p> <p>Many people jumped in to reassure the woman that her concerns are valid. </p> <p>“That sounds excessive and rude. Is he reading? Needs a quiet place?” one commented. “Something is up!”</p> <p>Another wrote, “He’s being really inconsiderate ... and honestly it kinda sounds like he’s just chilling in there to avoid his childcare responsibilities.”</p> <p>The woman was also encouraged to address the issue with her husband. </p> <p>“I think you really ought to ask the reason,” one advised. “It’s possible he has a condition he’s embarrassed about that you could help him with. Or it’s possible he needs alone time and tries to get it this way. In any case, I don’t see this getting better without you insisting on getting the reason.”</p> <p>Another user chimed in, saying, “The fact that your son has learned to pee in the yard because daddy monopolizes the bathroom is shocking. That isn’t normal … What you are dealing with is really terrible and this isn’t going to be easy to fix. Counselling would be a good idea.”</p> <p>What do you think of the bathroom dilemma? Share your thoughts in the comments.</p>

Body

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Passengers literally forced to "wing it" on horror flight

<p><span>Passengers on a flight from Detroit to Denver were forced to evacuate a Delta Air Lines flight, climbing out of the plane’s windows, because of smoke in the cabin.</span></p> <p><span>The flight, which landed on Tuesday and was carrying 146 passengers, had an emergency evacuation while the plane was taxiing to terminal.</span></p> <p><span>Delta Flight 1854 from Detroit landed around 8:10 pm when smoke started appearing.</span></p> <p><span>Flight attendants instructed passengers to cover their faces and to get down as low as possible.</span></p> <p><span>“We didn’t get any clear instructions, so people were like, hey, smoke,” passenger Paige Armstrong said. </span></p> <p><span>“Someone was whistling, people were yelling, everyone was pressing their buttons and then they opened the cockpit.</span></p> <p><span>“The woman next to me may have been a flight attendant and she said they are checking with the pilot to see what was going on. And I said, ‘Why don’t they let us out?’ Then they did. Then everyone was very orderly and polite.”</span></p> <p><span>All of the passengers exited the plane by using either slides or a window near the wing of the plane.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">More pictures. We’re all inside waiting for info and our bags. We all keep saying how bad our mouths taste still after breathing it. <a href="https://t.co/urEoi5JiHX">pic.twitter.com/urEoi5JiHX</a></p> — Rachel Naftel (@rachelnaftel) <a href="https://twitter.com/rachelnaftel/status/994056485616353281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <p><span>There were a few reports of passengers who had minor smoke inhalation.</span></p> <p><span>“After arrival in Denver and during taxi to the gate, Delta flight 1854 from Detroit to Denver stopped on a taxiway where customers deplaned via slides and over-wing exits due to an observance of smoke in the cabin,” Delta said in a statement.</span></p> <p><span>“Airport response vehicles met the aircraft out of an abundance of caution and customers were transported to the terminal via buses. The safety of Delta’s customers and crew is our top priority and we apologise for the concern this situation has caused.”</span></p> <p><span>The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what went wrong. </span></p>

Travel Trouble

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15 kids who took instructions a bit too literally

<p>Kids can be awfully cheeky when they want to, and while occasionally it gets them into trouble, most of the time it simply makes us giggle. Whether it’s creatively completing their homework or finding silly ways to follow their parents’ orders, these kids sure know how to take instructions seriously.</p> <ol> <li>“Not exactly what I had in mind when I told my son it was too nice out to play games inside.”</li> <li>“Took my son to a modern art museum and told him that he needs to really think about the art and what they are trying to say. I am not sure, but I think I have a smartass on my hands.”</li> <li>“My friend's daughter taking the instructions literally.”</li> <li>“This isn't exactly what we meant when we told him that he could look up puppy training tips on YouTube.”</li> <li>“We told our three-year-old that new year’s is special because you get to toast to a new year. A few hours later she said, ‘are we gonna make toast now?!’ and thus a new year’s day tradition was born.”</li> <li>“My kid said I gave her too many grapes. I said just eat half of them.”</li> <li>“Toddler was asked to feed the cat.”</li> <li>“Bring a fish to school day.”</li> <li>“One of them finally cracked the code.”</li> <li>“When your sister uses deodorant for the first time and gets the ruler out because ‘it's got to be 15cm away’.”</li> </ol> <p>Did your kids or grandkids ever take your instructions a little too literally? Share your stories with us in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/02/children-get-intelligence-genes-from-their-mothers/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Children get intelligence genes from their mothers</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/01/photos-show-what-kids-do-when-left-alone/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>15 hilarious photos show what kids do when left alone</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2017/01/signs-your-grandchild-is-being-bullied/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>4 signs your grandchild is being bullied</strong></em></span></a></p>

Family & Pets

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Puriri family grows Christmas tradition – literally

<p>Christmas is all about tradition for one Puriri family, and they've been growing theirs for 21 years.</p> <p>All Lynne and Keith Courtney wanted for their family's Christmas in the early 90s was a proper tree to enjoy.</p> <p>They could not find one so they began looking into growing their own and their search led them to a business in Australia that was successfully growing trees.</p> <p>"I got in touch with them, because we just thought we were going to plant trees, put them down and make some money. How hard could it be?" Lynne said.</p> <p>"We got over there and found it was a lot more involved that we thought and these people became our mentors."</p> <p>Twenty-one years later the seed they planted as a small family affair has grown into a strong family-orientated business in Puriri, near Thames.</p> <p>Lynne said she and Keith followed a steep learning curve, growing the perfect tree is rather labour intensive.</p> <p>"In 1994 we were on the back deck under the shelter of the house with a few Christmas decorations," she said.</p> <p>But through hard work and the guidance of their Australian counterparts they persevered, and Courtneys' Christmas Trees is what it is today.</p> <p>"We wanted to have a boutique market of well-shaped, proper trees," Lynne said.</p> <p>Growing up, Keith and Lynne's children would help on the tree farm most weekends and in 2010 one of the sons, Clark and his wife Miriam took the lease on the business and bought it outright this year.</p> <p>"We have customers who came with their kids and now the kids are bringing their own kids along, almost two generations," Clark said.</p> <p>Miriam said they're trying to grow a tradition.</p> <p>"I suppose because Lynne and Keith had set it up as a family business, the idea was that it was for family involvement and we have always been involved, and people that come out are bringing their families," she said.</p> <p>Early in the business proceedings, the family decided to use the barn at the front of the property and have filled it with more Christmas decorations than could be wished for, the whole farm complex has been designed to be a destination for families.</p> <p>Each year Courtneys' Christmas Trees donates trees to various groups in the community.</p> <p>"We try and do something for somebody, that is what Christmas is all about," Miriam said.</p> <p><em>Written by Cameron Massey. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a></em></p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/overprotected-children/"></a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/funny-things-grandkids-say-part-4/"><em>The funniest things grandkids kids say</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/overprotected-children/"></a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/sacrifices-grandparents-make-study/"><em>The many things grandparents sacrifice for their family</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/overprotected-children/"></a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/11/interspecies-animal-friendships/">15 unlikely friendships that will melt your heart</a></em></strong></span></p>

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