I think the AUD will strengthen again, bro,... just hold-on to it and don't convert yet. And try to convert at the moneychanger in Msia,...

Don't TT over from NAB or any of the banks....

Good morning Hansel, when the rate is good (like when it was 2 days ago) it is probably advisable to change more. Two days ago, it was at 3.23 (mid-rate). Now it is at 3.127 (mid-rate). a big 10c difference.

It is easy to carry A$10k/person when traveling but i am needing to change a lot more than that so i may have to use telegraphic transfer. Also now with international travel so difficult (need to quarantine and passengers get bumped off flights), it may be difficult to carry more cash to change at money changers - a lot of things have changed since Covid.

If i were to leave Aust, i don't know when i will be able to return to Aust as flying in/out is so troublesome!!

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Feb 27 2021, 03:30 AM

Aust govt wants to play it safe by restricting movement in/out of Aust. We as PRs of Aust cannot leave the country without having a 'valid' reason. So ridiculous - we are basically locked in!! Now i have to apply to DFAT just to leave Aust when i want to go back to KL to retire. This decision to stop residents of Aust from leaving will be reviewed again in March next month. I honestly hope they will not extend this ban when it is reviewed.

With the rollout of the vaccine, let's hope that new infection rates will come down round the world. A totally new world we live in today with Covid!!

Good morning, Gary,.. tqvm for your great inputs. I think now is not a good time to migrate into Msia, bro,... Let things settle down first,... get your vaccine shots in Australia first. I believe Msia has a long way before she is able to ctrl the infections successfully, even with the rollout of vaccines.

Hello Hansel, thank you for your advice.

My wife is the one who really wants to go back fast. Her dad passed away last May (in KL) and she couldn't attend the burial. She has so many things to do in KL and she is quite skeptical about taking the vaccine. I am more inclined to stay back in Sydney but my wife really hates winter as well.

I have a 82-year old uncle (who usually lives in KL) but has been locked down in Sydney (holds an Aust retiree visa) and he was initially skeptical about the vaccine but now wants to take it before returning to KL as he doesn't want the China vaccine. Don't know when is his turn but older residents like him will get priority.

When going back to Msia, we need permission to leave Aust (from Dept of Foreign Affairs) and also need permission from Msian embassy (need to get a Travel Note from Msian Embassy online). Flying from one country to another is harder than going to the moon

Take the vaccine. Eventually, no vaccine no travel.

and move to QLD lah!

There are a lot of people i know who are afraid of the side-effects of the vaccine. When you live in Aust and the number of new infections are virtually non-existent (talking about situation now), you will wonder whether it is necessary to take the vaccine. I don't know what the future ruling will be in future - whether vaccine will be a prerequisite for travel but at moment it certainly looks that way.

Queensland is a highly desired destination for retirees - a lot of NSW retirees do eventually end up there. I would but i have no relatives there (all my relatives are in Sydney). At the end of the day, my wife is the boss as she cooks my meals so i leave it to her to decide - as long as my tummy is full, i have no complaints. This is why i like Msia - there is food everywhere and so many different varieties and much cheaper than Sydney .

How long will you want to wait to take the vaccine?

Australia has to open up eventually, I would not like to be unvaccinated when that happens. I think the COVID shot will end up being a yearly affair like the flu shot tbh.

That's basically the problem with Oz.....unlike other countries where vaccination results in opening of economy, for Oz/NZ even with vaccination, opening of economy means letting Covid in....

For the likes of USA/UK/Europe, dropping from 5 figures to 3 figures cases is wonderful....

for oz, reaching 3 figures cases is a disaster....

I suspect my turn (age 59) will not be till July earliest this year. There is currently a slight delay in the rollout of the vaccine. Govt estimates everyone will be vaccinated by Sept/Oct at the latest.

From what i gather Aust govt is rolling out Pfizer and Astrazeneca and according to the news, we will not be told which one will be used when we go for the vaccine.

There is so much talk that people who fly in future will have to be vaccinated before they are allowed to fly. Don't know what to think of this.

Imagine people like us (PRs and citizens) are locked in the country unless you have a very good reason to leave the country. Talking about freedom and human right!!

Going back a few months, Australians couldn't even leave the country to attend funerals (of their loved ones) overseas!! Only citizens and PRs are allowed to come back to Aust - PRC students all can't get back into Aust once they leave the country. No wonder all the PRC students are not coming back anymore!!

Gentlemen,.. all the inputs above are valuable and are highly appreciated - thank you. I'd like to ask : is there an app or a website in Australia whereby we can register to take the shots ?

My uncle did register himself (he is 82 y.o.) for the jab. His daughter registered it for him. If i ask my uncle, he probably wouldn't know as he is not very IT savvy.

I have been told to register for the vaccine through my GP.

I have a very good Egyptian friend (who i used to lend money to) and he works at RPA hospital nowadays. He got his first Pfizer jab a few days ago and he mentioned he didn't feel anything. He is a 63 y.o. male but he is very tough physically. Thought i just want to add this in as he is the first person i know in Sydney who has got his jab.

It's good to see he forum still lively - it's been a busy period in my company with so many people leaving and joining - one would think that the job market is back to pre-covid situations.

I's great that the vaccine roll-out is here - though I've seen news that those in China who recovered from Covid caught it again about half a year later. Without clear reporting it's hard to tell if it was the same strain - but I am also in the boat that the vaccine is temporary like the flu jab. Wife has shared news of Malaysians scrambling to get the vaccine desperately in a bid to return to normalcy, though I highly doubt that the current government will relinquish their new found grasp n control and power. Imo, it's too politically unstable with all that power struggle which will quite well last past my lifetime.

On a side note, Vanguard looks to be starting their own Super in Australia. Any opinions on this? I'm pretty keen to find out more and hope they're gonna be low on fees too: https://www.canstar.com.au/superannuation/v...superannuation/

Superannuation will be a big thing in the future as more and more money goes in. As long as you are in an industry superfund, you should be fine as fees will be minimal. If you are young, just go for the most aggressive investment option (like 100% international shares or 100% High Growth) as you have plenty of time to recover if something goes wrong.

I have a defined benefit super which is very conservative in their investments and i also have a second superfund (Unisuper) which i have nominated 100% International shares - the returns on my Unisuper is more than double my defined benefit fund (State Super SASS). I am at the stage where i can start withdrawing my super as i am retiring on 15 March. I need to consolidate the two super accounts into one - hopefully what i have will be able to last me till i conk off

I haven't forgotten the lunch i owe you - just need to get all my finance organised. We can have yum cha at Burwood if you like since it will be nearer your residence. I usually have yum cha at Zilver in Chinatown but parking is a bit difficult sometimes as people are all starting to return to the city on weekends.

I've set my current super to roughly 50% high growth and am thinking of making it 80%. If he Vanguard super (I assume) allows for investing into their ETFs, I'm more than happy to put it all into Vanguard's High Growth ETFs - that's where the bulk of my stock purchases are anyway.

Does the super grow your account even after retirement age if you choose to leave money in it? Would it be better to put the entirety of one's super into dividend stocks and living off the dividends alone without touching the base? I've read living off dividends (roughly 50k/year from 1mil in dividend stocks) and this looks like a nice way to retire, while doing something fun or earn a little on the side. Something to strive for.


Both areas are good, more than happy to follow your recommendations. Also no issues taking the train to either destination - I dislike driving into the city and will avoid it when possible. At least 60% of passengers still wear their masks so I don't think it's too bad.

When you are young, be as aggressive as possible - after all you have many years ahead of you. Even for older retirees some of us who do not need the money for a long period, we can take a more aggressive position. When markets drop they tend to bounce back up. We have not seen a prolonged bear market for a long, long time and i do not think we will see one in the next 10 years because interest rates are low and there is so much liquidity in the market.

A lot of my retiree friends have more than a million in their superfund (i am the poorest in my group ). They are all living very comfortably and i can see most of them are still quite thrifty (only vice is going out to eat nowadays). Their passive income from their super is definitely more than what they can spend. I would say a million (Aussie) in retirement is more than enough to live on at age 60 for a couple (no mortgage/rent). I am at that stage now and i have been worried over the last few years about this.

Since you are taking public transport, we can go anywhere then. My wife and i are still wary about taking public transport. We will decide when we are ready for it. You will probably find it very easy to recognise me - 178cm, 80kg and 85% white hair .

I have lived in Sydney for about 40 years now - never seen so much rain in my whole life in Sydney.

Many places will be flooded in NSW today and the next few days.

Supposed to go out for dinner in Chinatown tonight but with this rain being so crazy, my wife and i dare not even go out the front door !!

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Mar 20 2021, 02:02 PM

Yes,... thank you for the update too, Gary,...

Dams all full, at least solved water shortage issues for a few years...