Australia is fortunate enough to have many different private health insurance companies offering many different policies for various lifestyles and budgets. It is recommended health fund policy holders review their plan at least once a year and see if all its inclusions reflect their current stage of life.

From time to time health funds may tweak the terms and conditions of different plans. The pricing points of different policies change each year.

Consumers have a right to switch to a different policy or provider if they find their existing plan no longer fulfils their requirements.

The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, which is the organization established to assist people with health fund complaints, recommends a course of action for those health fund members who wish to change to another provider. Here are the key points to remember.

Your Protection When You Switch

The Private Health Insurance Act 2007 ensures members are protected when they are considering switching policies or funds. If you have selected a new policy with the same level of cover, you will not have to sit through the waiting periods all over again. However, if you are upgrading to a more comprehensive level of cover, some new waiting periods may be enforced.

For the full safeguards to be in place, make sure your premium payments with your old fund are up-to-date and have not fallen into arrears.

It is important to note that this protection normally applies to hospital cover. There aren’t any safeguards in place for extras cover. However, many private health insurance companies will offer instant access to extra cover, as long as these new members had the same level of cover with their old policy. The responsibility to ensure that the same level of cover exists lies with the consumer. The health fund member should also check to see what the new annual limits on claims are and if there is any change.

A member’s Lifetime Health Cover status should not change, as long as the level of hospital cover remains intact.

Upon joining any new fund, you should be given the full list of features, benefits and premiums on paper. A 30-day cooling off period may apply. If you change your mind in the first 30 days of signing up and haven’t made any claims, you may get a refund for any payments you have made.

Loyalty Programs

Many private health insurers have loyalty bonus schemes in place. They normally exist as an incentive for members who have been with a particular fund for a long period of time.

A couple of loyalty bonus examples include the building up of credits that may reduce hospital excess amounts or increased annual limits for extras claims.

The longer a member has been with their fund, the more bonus credits they may have accumulated.

If credits have accumulated, they have amounted to quite a substantial amount, especially those that can be used for expensive treatments such as specialist orthodontic work.

New funds may not always honour existing bonus credits. Ask with the new insurer to confirm.

The latest blowout in project costs by Gold Coast City Council is another demonstration that the current Councillors who wish to be Mayor are not up to the task.

As a former Deputy Mayor and Councillor I can assure residents you don’t need to be the Mayor to lead and make change when the system is so clearly broken. The three Councillors who have expressed a desire to be Mayor are all senior Chairs of Committees and have the ability to gather support for any resolutions they wish to put forward that can help stop this massive waste of Ratepayers funds.

They have done nothing and the reasons are simple, they lack both the technical knowledge how to proceed as well as the ability to inspire trust amongst their colleagues in Council and therefore get the numbers to pass reforming policy positions. This is not what we need in a Mayor and is precisely why this City has deteriorated in the last 4 years.

Our City and its people are bleeding and every week we hear of blowouts in projects with the latest being in the new computer system which may end up costing more than $100 million. That is our money not theirs and we need to demand they respect it.

We have three simple choices for a Mayor to lead us next time. Another apprentice who will have to learn on the job and once again be a captive of the bureaucracy, a current Councillor who is part of the problem and has in fact helped make it worse or the only candidate with verifiable experience on Council and the private sector to fix this mess. Not only can I assure residents that I can reform the bureaucracy but I can identify savings across the board that will allow us to reign in the exorbitant rate increases that they have dropped on us in recent years to pay for their mistakes.

The success of our Councils in years gone by is because we have always had Mayors who not only served an apprenticeship to learn the system but also Mayors that actually had the ability to lead their colleagues. It is patently obvious this talent is not there or one of them would have inspired the other Councillors to create change.

On a positive note I am seeking feedback on an initiative to support junior sporting clubs with the establishment of a central finance bureau. This would be made up of a small number of staff largely paid for through State and Federal grants which are available to provide bookkeeping services for any junior sporting club that wishes to take up the offer. This will free up an enormous amount of time for volunteers and allow more time to actually work directly for the children in a club rather than diverting scarce volunteer resources into complying with ever increasing rules for State and Federal Government agencies.

I have spoken to a number of clubs about this and it would be a very simple system to set up if the support is there. We need to find ways to support our community and help clubs prosper. This is one way we can free up an enormous amount of time for club treasurers and secretaries. I would appreciate your feedback but early indications are that not only is this achievable but could actually save the community money.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their enormous support this year. May this festive season bring joy, laughter and be full of surprises for you and your families. This is a time we all need after such an intense year so that we can face the coming year with renewed hope and vigour.

You are what makes this City great, the beating heart of the Gold Coast please be safe and together in the New Year we can stand shoulder to shoulder to make the changes we need for our children to prosper and our City be respected again.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Regards,

David Power

There is a lot of talk in the national newspapers and TV about the two-speed economy: the mining industry that is doing well and the rest of us, doing not so well.

Here on the Gold Coast we seem to have a three-speed economy: the mining industry, the Council and the rest of us. Seems like while the mining industry boom along in other regions of our state and our Nation, the only industry doing well on the Gold Coast is the Council.

I’m in a local business and like a lot of local businesses we have had to tighten our belts and reign in spending to survive the downturn in the economy generally and the tourism industry specifically. Seems that tightening of belts requirement has not reached Gold Coast City Council.

The most interesting document obtained the long-term financial outlook. It’s on my website now for anyone to download. For transparency sake, I think that all the council meeting agendas be online long before the meetings are scheduled and the minutes should be online in the following week of the meeting for all interested residents to see. Ultimately I would like to see council meetings streamed to the internet so that a cheap but permanent copy is retained about what was said by whom. I have witnessed myself things said during Council meetings being different to what is presented to the media later on.

The long-term financial outlook Council is bleak.

We will be in deficit in 2012-13 to the tune of $26 million. 2013-14 sees that add another $40 million. $29 million for 2014-15 and $13 million for 2015-16. That is over $100 million of deficits for the next term of Council locked in for whomever wins the next Council elections. This is not counting the $50 householder pork barreling that Councillors pushed through before the next election. There is no money for this $50 cheque to go to every household – it’s just borrowed money. We as a city are borrowing millions just to pay ourselves $50 each!

These deficits also point to the fact that Council is locking itself into general rate rises of 5.5% from 2013 onwards and a fee and charges increase of 5% per annum compounding. AllConnex disbandment is being lined up to get all the blame but I feel it is Council itself that should be taking a good hard look at itself. It hasn’t made the cuts it should have as the economy down turns just like every other business had to on the Gold Coast to survive.

The figures presented are sometimes contradictory and other figures are downright disturbing. For example on page one of the long-term financial plan the discussion details how the Council’s budget will be in deficit for the next four years at least. Yet on the very next page one of the assumptions is that “The model assumes the budget will produce an annual surplus of $15m”. We have recently seen announcements of budget surpluses but as far as I can see we have been borrowing for building assets that won’t provide a return. That’s deficit spending in my book.

Another inconsistency I discovered was the money that the city has borrowed for projects that are no longer going ahead. According to the Mayor’s speech at the Institute of Business Leader’s budget prelaunch breakfast, Council has borrowed a lot of money it doesn’t need right at the moment. But rather than bring down the debt we at the breakfast were told that officers report that the city is making more money from interest revenue. I found that strange at the breakfast and yep – the document shows how this is not the case. We receive around 5.5% interest revenue and pay 7.0%pa on borrowings.

In the last budget in 2008 our city had borrowings of around $265 million. In 2012 that will top at $850 million and be almost $1 billion dollars of debt by 2015! There is a lot of talk about Net Debt however our city seems to be borrowing or drawing down against our ‘home loan’ and then just putting that money in the bank.

The State Government financial benchmarks are all being missed now with this Council. Working Capital Ratio should be between 1 and 4. It will be 4.3 in 2011-12. The Operating Surplus Ratio should be no more than 10%. It will break that barrier in 2017. Our net financial liabilities ratio should be between 0% – 60%. Well next year we break that barrier for the first time and it will read 95% by 2014-15. The interest coverage ratio should be between 0% – 5%, for the next few years it will be between 7% and 8%. The Asset sustainability ratio shouldn’t be less than 90% according to the State Government. This is 66% next year and is falling rapidly to 39% in 2014-15.

Yep. These are highly technical accounting terms and ratios but in business they are the indicators of a healthy or unhealthy business. If Council was a traded stock the rating would be “SELL”! As it says in the report in black and white “Council does not meet the benchmark for these ratios until 2020″ – almost 10 years from now!

Seems Council has gambled on AllConnex bring home the bacon, reinvesting the compensation from the State Government for all the bulk water and distribution assets we gave up and reinvested them into a distribution business we already owned but now we don’t control.

The most damning line in the report is that “Council is raising sufficient operating revenue to meet operating expenses”. Even the way this line is written indicates how the Council wants Councillors to respond – to raise rates. Never is there any suggestion that drastic cuts need to be made nor is there any line that the council itself needs to reform.

Costs are out of control and so is debt creeping up to unsustainable levels. It won’t be long before we are a basket case like the Queensland State Government who is now suffering under an interest bill of $100 million each and every week!

To get out of this mess we need to reform council, cut the 8 directorates to 5, refocus them on core Council responsibilities and defer many of the ‘make work’ projects, reports, committees, task forces and unproductive activities the this Council seems to be doing these days. Tough minded business people need to take over in Council to turn this ship around otherwise we will be a failed city by 2016.

The Gold Coast City Council Budget for 2011-12 released last month showed that our city’s gross debt levels rising to over a billion dollars, if you include AllConnex, by 2015. But Gold Coasters shouldn’t feel especially worried, not when we compare ourselves to the overall debt position of our State of Queensland. That’s what people should really be worried about!

The Queensland Government through the Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) have announced that they plan to borrow just over $22 billion in the 2012 financial year. That’s up from $15 billion in 2011. By the end of 2012 Queensland will have a debt of $69 billion.

By 2014 our state debt level will likely top almost $90 billion. That’s a billion dollars in debt for each of the state’s 89 parliamentary seats. On the Gold Coast we have 10 state Seats including Albert, Broadwater, Burleigh, Coomera, Currumbin, Gaven, Mermaid Beach, Mudgeeraba, Southport and Surfers Paradise. That means our collective share of the state debt is over $10 billion out of the state’s $90 billion projected debt.

So in simple terms, look around the area in which you live – the state seat in which you reside and ask yourself: “do we have a billion dollars worth of new infrastructure here?”. The answer will be “no”, of course.

Why is this important? Well we as a state will have to pay this debt back at some stage in the future. We can’t just keep borrowing more and more money. However we don’t look like paying much back anytime soon as it is forecast that our state will remain in operating deficit until 2015.

It is a particular problem for the Gold Coast City Council – as well as its borrowing ability and the interest rate we pay is tied to the State of Queensland. Because we don’t have our own ‘City of Gold Coast Act’ like Brisbane does, we must go cap in hand and raise any borrowings through the Queensland Treasury boffins in Brisbane. As our State’s credit rating dropped from AAA to AA+ so did our city’s credit rating effectively. This won’t change for the next five years unless new state managers get into George Street.

If the polls are right then we are going to get a change of Government sometime this year or early next year. The problem of this large state debt is then going to fall into the hands of the LNP leadership team of Campbell Newman and his able Shadow Treasurer Tim Nichols. They are going to have a tough time and will have to make some very tough decisions. Unless we have a strong voice with the incoming State Government there is a danger that the Gold Coast may be overlooked at the state level.

It’s no secret that I am a conservative at heart and always will be. While I am running as an independent for Mayor, people should be in no doubt which way I lean and that I am a long time member of the LNP. Of course any Mayor needs to be able to work both sides of politics, whoever is in power in Brisbane, so as to get the best deal for our city. There is no doubt it is an advantage if you come from the same side of politics however.

It can be done as long as you keep the petty politics at bay and always be fighting for the betterment of your home city. Great example of this approach include Campbell Newman and Paul Pisasale. Long term Brisbane LNP Mayor Campbell Newman got a lot out of the Labor State Government despite his LNP affiliation. Similarly I suspect that Paul Pisasale, an ALP man, will hardly miss a beat in getting the best deal for Ipswich if, as predicted by the polls, the LNP sweep to Government at the state levels within the next nine months.

The current Council has not set any records for its ability have itself ‘heard’ at the State Government level. The AllConnex debacle and the middle of the night stealth rip-off of our local bulk water capture, storage and distribution assets in return for a water retailer that we already effectively owned is evidence enough of those state level lobbying failures. We are going to need a strong voice fighting for our city the State Government that is looking to cut its own operating budget. Without it we could lose out as the realities of this State’s dismal finances start coming home to roost.

We’ve all run through the hypothetical situation right? The winning the lottery scenario? Telling your boss to jam it (not mine of course, Hi Nadia *waves*) paying off the house, buying a bigger one, purchasing a yacht, leaving town and never coming back. Doing whatever the hell it is you can’t do right now because you have to WORK. To you know, live and stuff.

Assuming my heart wouldn’t stop when the lotto official rang me up and advised me of my multimillion dollar windfall, actually, wait, as an aside, is that not the coolest job in the world? The ringer-upper person? “Hi, it’s Joyce from Gold Lotto, I’ve got some top news. You’re now a freaking multi-goddamn-MILLIONAIRE!!!

I digress…

Back to me receiving the phone call and being informed that I am now 10 million dollars richer. Again, let’s assume I would take this all in my stride and would not pass out in the middle of the Woollies bakery section (where I generally am at any given time), and simply thank Joyce and make some arrangements to pick up my cheque, well straightafuckingway, then I guess I’d call Phil right? Yes of course I would. I’d tell him to down tools and get the hell out of the ditch he was digging, and to oh, tell his boss he’s a righteous prick and that he’ll see him in Hell. Or maybe not. Just an idea.

Here’s where my thoughts get muddled.

Because it’s always been my desire, should I win the lottery, to pay out my very close friends and direct families, mortgages. But on the sly. You know, go into the bank, ask how much they owe and BAM, pay it out. When Mum was alive it was my first port of call to buy her any house she so desired. One night Phil and I sat down though and ran through this hypothetical. He was like “Um, do you really think we’d have enough to pay everyone’s mortgage out? Maybe we should like just give them $100K each.” So this is where it started to go all pear shaped.

We went through the process of friends thinking we were too selfish, too generous, too up ourselves and/or just too different now had that we “had money”. We even had a mini argument over it. Who needed it more? How much would we need to live comfortably? Really? We were fighting over a situation we would more than likely never find ourselves in anyway? Crazy talk.

I can see how having too much money could be just as problematic as not having enough. I guess if we were smart, we’d just keep 10% out, chuck the rest in the bank and go study something we were really interested in. More than likely though, we’d probably end up like that dude in the UK who bought a massive parcel of land, bought dirt bikes and wasted all the rest on hookers and blow.

What would you do if you won the lottery? Already got it planned? Or perhaps like me, a good place to start would be to actually buy a ticket.

Side Note: It’s my birthday today (on the 21st) and Phil surprised me by organising 2 of my best friends, their husbands, my brother and his gorgeous partner meeting us at a restaurant on the weekend. I reckon I might have already won the lotto. Love you Guys x

Myself and Bonnie

Myself and Phil

Jodi, Jeremy and a photobombing Bon

My brother Les and Rozy

Well, the short answer is of course, you.  But new research out yesterday suggests that maybe our friends are responsible for the few extra kilos we might be carrying around.  And not because they have physically put it on us, but if they’re overweight, just being in their presence for extended periods can encourage us to let our own food intake increase.

But here’s the thing, this sort of thinking is not new.  Motivational speaker and educator of personal development Jim Rohn said many years ago: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Which to me suggests: Those five people with whom you spend the most time affect everything about you – weight and wealth included.

The concept works on two levels of consciousness – conscious and subconscious – suggesting that we attract what it is that we believe ourselves to be worthy of.

And this is what Robert Kiyosaki echoes in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad (published in 2001).  He had two dads – his poor dad, stuck in the middle-class with limiting viewpoints on money; and his rich dad, one of the wealthiest men in Hawaii who was smart about getting money to work for him. By consciously choosing to interface with his rich dad to learn from him, Kiyosaki acquired many thinkings and mindsets of how to become rich, which eventually led him to become successful in life.

So, are your friends to blame for your bulge … and your empty pockets for that matter?  Maybe.

The great thing is you have choice.  If you hang out with a group of successful, positive-minded people who believe in taking responsibility for their lives, you will move to do the same. If you hang out with a bunch of pessimists who think the world is out to get them and that there is nothing worthwhile, you will start descending into the negative whirlpool at some point, even if you are initially a positive individual.

It’s all your choice.

We live in a world that truly has no concept of money and budgets. It seems that everyone from the average person to the big banks and even the government is guilty of spending more money then they make and living on borrowed funds. While this is clearly causing a problem in our economy it is also sending a very bad message to our children. We need to stem the tide of the economic disaster by teaching young people how to manage their money in a smart and savvy way.

They need to learn early how to live on the money that they have and how borrowing money actually works. As a parent, this is not going to be an easy task. Most children see the world as something that is theirs for the taking rather then a place where they have to earn their keep. It is normal for them to see the world this way, a parent’s job is to teach them the difference.

Teaching Your Kids About Money & Finance

Earning Money – The first thing that many parents do to teach their children about money is to give them an allowance. However, simply handing out cash to your child every Friday does not really teach them how money is actually earned. Your child can have chores around the house at a very young age. This teaches them responsibility and allows them to actually earn their money. The tasks should be equal to the child’s abilities. A five year old can pick up their own toys and feed the puppy. For those jobs they might earn one dollar a day or five dollars per week.

As they get older the jobs can increase. A teenager is capable of sweeping the floors and taking out the trash and recyclables as well as cleaning up after the pet every day and earn ten or fifteen dollars per week. Keep in mind that there are some tasks, like maintaining his or her bedroom that are just expected and not paid jobs. If they slack off, it is reflected in the amount of their allowance, just as you would be at work.

Spending And Saving Money – Once your child is earning money they will want to spend that money on various items. While you might not agree with all of their expenditures it is important that they get to choose how to spend at least some of the money that they earned. Eventually, they will understand that if they waste it all on frivolous items then they will not have it when they actually need it. In terms of saving, it can be a difficult thing to teach your child. You might insist that they save a certain percentage of everything they earn. Hopefully, they will see their money grow an realise how important saving money truly is.

If you do not want to force them to put it into a traditional savings account you can talk to them about saving for something specific. If you child wants to purchase a new bicycle you can take them to the store and work out how many weeks they would need to save a certain amount of their allowance to buy the bicycle. This will give them incentive to stash their cash away instead of spending every cent they have as soon as they get it.

Taking Out Loans – Teaching children about borrowing money is really quite difficult. As a parent you tend to give them money rather then having them borrow it from you and if it is borrowed you might not be comfortable charging them interest. One way to approach it is to sit down and explain your loan to them.

They probably watch reality television programs where people buy everything, seemingly without cost. It is your job to explain that this is not actually reality. In reality most people purchase homes, cars, and even educations by getting a loan and then paying it back with interest. They also need to understand that a credit card is really a short term loan only at the end of it you do not have a degree or a house or a car, just a pile of stuff that you probably do not need anymore.

Kids should learn early that credit cards are to be used with great care as they can lead to financial disaster. Many banks offer prepaid debit cards which are an excellent way to teach kids about spending on cards without risking them getting into debt. It also allows you to monitor their spending even when you are not with them.

Making Financial Investments – Clearly you are not going to be able to teach young children about the finer points of investing their cash. If you try to explain to them that there is potential for loss they will probably stop listening. When my children were young we sat down with them once they had reached the $500 mark in their personal savings account.

We talked to them about investments and the potential to earn money from their money and the possibility of loss. In order to make them feel better we guaranteed their initial investment. We promised that if they lost money we would pay back the full $500 to them. This allowed them to make choices and watch an investment grow and change with zero risk.

Hopefully, once you have taught your child enough about earning, spending, saving, and investing they will understand the true value of money. It is easy for kids to get caught up in wanting things regardless of cost. But, once they understand what it means to live on the money that you actually have they might be less interested in just spending for the sake of spending. When you get to the point where your child rolls there eyes at the excessive cost of video games and designer clothes you will know that you have done your job right.

Timothy Ng is a personal finance writer, and has a real passion for encouraging people to compare credit cards to ensure they get the best deal. Check out his comprehensive guide to credit card comparison where he provides an in-depth overview and analysis, to help you find a better deal.

As  I write this, Phil is out getting me a birthday present.  Now, we kind of agreed a few years ago, after the kids came along, that we wouldn’t exchange presents.  Because, let’s face it, if either of us want something, we  generally just go out and get it.  Bunnings and Phil have quite the history of this.   And well, on top of that, his money is my money and vice versa. 

Don’t worry, we’ve never actually stuck to this plan.   I even made it dead easy for him by getting a Pandora bracelet a couple of Christmas’ ago.     There is always a sneaky present of some sort that comes out for him though.  In fact, previously,  I had become increasingly creative with my  present ideas for him.  Twenty laps in a race car with a racing legend, Jet boating, deposit on a surfboard of his choice,  you get the picture. It seems though, these kind of gifts require forward thinking and well, a bit of motivation. 

But this year I just don’t know what happened.  All of a sudden, it was the day before his birthday and I had Jack Shit.    No, not just the saying, I literally had Jack shit.  All over the toilet.   In his pants, on the sheets, in fact, there was so much of it, he was ready to star in his very own Gastro Boy.   So we made a mercy dash to the shops and all I could manage to get him was a plain block of Cadbury chocolate.  Regular Size.  And NOTHING ELSE.

I knew he was disappointed.  I think he might have even  been thinking as the day went on, that I would surprise him game show style, with a snowboard and trip to Perisher.   Bupbow.

The other thing is, we are really trying to finish this house and therefore any unnecessary spending has been ruled out.  We discussed this and I thought he was on board with the plan.  I guess not if todays comment of “I only need 5 minutes to get your present.  I know where the lolly aisle at Woolies is”  Shazam.

I have heaps of friends who just go out and buy the coffee machine they want and tell their husband when he gets home  to “Go look in the kitchen and see what you got me for my birthday big boy”.  Or “Check out these diamond earrings, Happy Birthday to me, thanks darling”.  Whilst I reckon this saves the bullshit of pretending you love the gift you get, (hello earrings from mothers day), it also takes away the exciting part of birthdays – the surprise.

And I think I get my fill of surprises with the kids.   I just about spoil the living shit out of them.  When they ask for toys during the year, I always tell them, “How about you ask for it for your birthday”.  So when the birthday does eventually roll around, I want to deliver.  And when I say spoil, I’m not saying stacks and stack of money on presents, I mean I want them to feel like they are the most special person in the world, for an entire day. 

I’ve always thought the best presents are the ones you can’t buy.  And my only request every year from Phil is a “no strings attached” massage.  Or as someone put it the other day “A massage with no happy ending”.  There is nothing I covet more.   That and a new handbag.  But, just quietly, I’ll be picking that one myself. 

In reality though, as much as I wouldn’t say no to a “Bradley Cooper  jumping out of a gigantic birthday cake surprise”, I’m thinking my present may be more along the lines of a snack sized packet of Cheese and Bacon Balls.

Seriously though, it’s just stuff and on most days, having each other and a roof over our heads is enough.   

“The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything… They make the best of everything they have…”  (Thanks Emily)

Addendum:  He has just returned home with a jumbo sized ladder strapped to the back of his car.  For Moi??