Reading Time: 6 Minutes Ever wanted to know how Aussie household wealth is doing? Well, it seems like the gap between the have’s (them) and the have-not’s (us) is increasing. That is to say, methinks dem rich are gettin’ richer. But don’t just take my word for it – the latest Roy Morgan (amazing research guys) Wealth Report has shown that the biggest gains in the past decade have been among the wealthy top 10%. What about us poor buggers in the bottom 50%? Our share of private wealth fell from a measly 3.9% (yes, 3 point freaking 9) a decade ago to… 3.7%. “Shakes head” Just wow, those at the…
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4 Reasons Why Property Prices Won’t Drop 40% Soon… and a Story About When They Do!
Reading Time: 7 minutes “Hey The Frugal Samurai, what do you think of the 60 minutes report?” What 60 minutes report? “You know, the one about house prices dropping 40%?” Oh… you mean this one (here)? “That’s the one”. Yeah nah, forty percent? That’s gotta be a typo. But no guys, it’s not a typo – it’s a very real and very “legitimate” story. Suffice to say, this story made sensational headlines in the media and property industry at large. Ah us Aussies – we love a good story about our real estate markets don’t we? Put any emotional words with the words “Australian” and “property” and it’s guaranteed to…
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Back at work I had a Light Bulb Moment, well Two Really…
Reading Time: 7 minutes Hey guys! How’s it all going? Brrrr it’s so very, very wet and cold here in Old Sydney Town, you’d be forgiven to think that winter is coming with the freezing rain and icy winds. Man, I wish I was back in China! Unfortunately I am back, but not in China you see – back at work. Sigh, that’s what happens to us 9to5er’s ain’t it, we’re only allowed 4 weeks a year to venture outside and see the world. Those precious 4 weeks of annual leave is what generates our… William Wallace voice on FREEEEEEEDOM!!! William Wallace voice off Suffice to say I’ve had many…
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Chinese Golden Week
Reading time: 5 minutes Whew, we are back boys and girls! Back from where? Well, China of course! Been a pretty epic trip this time, as chronicled in the last two posts (here and here). Although we spent the majority of the time in Beijing, we were pretty lucky (or unlucky) to experience Golden Week. What’s Golden Week? Well, Wikipedia explains it as the “week from the 29th April to early May containing a number of Japanese holidays”. Nice, nice – the Japanese really deserve it you know? What with their car-making, raw fish and exemplary manners. Good for them. Eh? Why’d you tell a story about Japan, weren’t you…
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4 Things to Know in Beijing (and My Brush with the Authorities)
Reading time: 6 minutes “Halt!” Shouted the voice outside the barracks. I turned, to come face to face into the glaring eyes of a soldier on duty. “What’s wrong?” I enquired with a quizzical look. ”Show me your phone”. I looked around, there were now FOUR soldiers in a semi-circle facing me. Without further protest, I handed it over to the first soldier, who proceeded to scroll through my photo album. “Delete this”, he pointed at the last two pictures I took. Meekly I obeyed, what else could I do? Because this here is China – the country of my birth. In China, taking pictures of government buildings and military…
