Was thinking of retracing our honeymoon journey this anniversary, but unfortunately cannot get into Oz now.

I am sure, it's 3x years since....

Because we wanted to go through Cooma, and then overnight in Lakes, we had to use a secondary road. At that time, part of the road was still gravel!

Byron bay was and still is off the Princes highway, and you need to drive about 10km into the town. It has grown a bit, with tourism as the eastern most part of the continent of Australia.

It suffers from proximity to the Gold Coast. Can't complete with the vibrant 57 km of beaches. But remains a tourist attraction amongst Australians as the eastern most point, and a nice lighthouse. A bit remote for mainstream foreign tourists.

Good. Keep to NSW! Unfortunately Melbournians have recently discovered Gold Coast and starting to spoil the prices.

They just opened to Canberra/ACT....but only if you fly....lol

Yes, I'm just waiting/hoping for next year for the mandatory hotel quarantine to be lifted and switched back to home quarantine. Happy to do that rather than pay the 2k.

Also it's a big point in the gaming scene as new gaming hardware is out for PCs, and the new game consoles were also announced. The PS5 and Xbox One series have been made ready for pre-oder. What surprises me somewhat, that in an economy that is supposedly struggling - these new goodies have been sold out on pre-orders.

I am really eager to buy the new toys too, but I would think twice about dumping money into it now - these individuals do not seem to be worried in the slightest. These hardware cost upwards of A$750, and can be sold out in a matter of hours.

You can go drink Barossa Valley wine from Thursday....

Sidneysiders with a Byron Bay property technically can go to QLD from next week...

Not really tax cut....just finally adjusting the tax rate bands after years of inflation driven tax hikes through gradual tax band creep....

But yes, it's more money in hand.... but the question is, will people spend it?

true. imagine when you are reaching 50s, and u realize your eagle years had gone, and u only saved up not even enough until life end.

some say can still work what. but when bones ands brain slowed down, it will be so challenging to past through the final few years before retirement.

Hence,... my statement above, bro Gary,.... we need to start earlier,... starting early gives us an adequate amt of exposure and experience to dive into the proper investments that matched our needed returns and our risk profiles.

One can't possibly turn into an 'expert' investor simply when the time comes to retire. If one is to think like this, he will be too nervous to retire in fear of running out of money.

Again,... hence,... my statements in my captions below,....

For myself,.. I have always focussed first onto dividend stocks, and I must say this move has bode well for me,... of course, prior to taking this step, I have done all the researches needed and some simulations too prior to making this move. I have only recently started on Nasdaq counters, taking opportunity of the dip due to the pandemic.

Yes, it does boil down to risk vs rewards,... but I do insist that the odds favours more towards the person who starts early,... and who starts long before retirement age. Looks like you are that person.

Today,... I am able to say I dare to retire, in spite of going through this pandemic, even with huge responsibilities of children and family on my hands. I am confident that with my investments,... money will never run out,...

As a matter of fact,... investing IN A PANDEMIC has made me even more confident of being able to earn more compared against working in my profession. But,.. well,... that's me.

Bro Gary,... I'll give you some of my opinions and what I have experienced.

Many years ago, when I first started forumming in this forum (and in other forums too worldwide), I asked questions abt this amt and that amt and how to plan, how to apportion,... etc, etc,... things got really complicated,... and I decided to just do my best in investing and not to think too much.

The key to the whole hulabaloo is to make sure the cashflow does not stop today and in the future. And this is what I have been working on throughout my investment life. I just go on day by day and the money keeps coming-in,....

I make sure I have enough knowledge abt the whole investment universe available before me, in order that I am able to convert over if ever an instrument that I'm currently using starts to dim out due to whatsoever reasons.

Appreciated your sharing very much. 

US elections taking place now, anyone following? Any expected change to hit Australian if either Biden or Trump wins?

What's the reason? My family is mostly the same but they just hate the Trump media presents to them and don't quite have their own personal opinion about it. Personally I prefer Trump over Biden-Harris but things aren't looking too good for Trump now.

Google is also showing Biden has 209 of the 270 required while Trump only has 112 right now. If this is accurate it looks like a landslide right now.

Bros,... the AUD dropped because the RBA lowered the OPR by 0.15% two days ago.

The OPR is NOW at 0.10%, and commitments by the RBA for lots of QE actions. Sorry, has not updated here,...

Was updating my forecasts in my Whatsapp groups.

Was updating live in my Whatsapp groups for the US Elections too.

Edited by correcting a critical typo error above. Put 'not' instead of 'NOW'.

Yes,... news over the weekend and this morning from the US session seems to suggest that risk-on is back in play. A main contributor to this risk-on mood is the ann;t by Pfizer and Biontech last night that their vaccine tests have had a 90% success rate.

The AUD is a risk-on currency,...

Not the guy you're replying to but here's my 2 cents. I'm guessing most people who do migrate tend to have a more liberal mindset - which I think would explain their preference. Harder migration laws make it tougher for migrants like us, and with too much nationalism will definitely affect migrants in one way or another. Globalism good for many, and provides opportunities for people from third world countries like us. Trump's persona definitely does not help either and I noticed many that don't have a neutral opinion tend to highly dislike him. He's also criticized a lot for the Covid situation in the US. The US economy was doing well pre-covid and I quite like the hard stance on the CCP.

I personally dislike Biden and Kamala, especially Kamala. I want to see Biden investigated for his potential Ukraine deal involving his son, which was conveniently swept under the rug. Not to mention his decline mental capabilities, which would definitely make him replaced by Kamala - who I think is more akin to our Msian politician, she'll do what she can to get votes even by pandering to looters/rioters. I'm also sure there will be more intense/harsher lockdowns for the US under the democrat presidency.

It might be a better idea to have someone replace Trump as the new face of the team and I personally prefer the moderates than the too-progressive left, but it doesn't look like the democrats are not the moderates anymore. I like aspects of both teams, but even my pals are not happy with me for not going with the popular view. To me, your pro Trump stance in the minority - like 2 or 3 out of 10 people I spoke to supports Trump or thinks neutrally of him.