Port Adelaide were real winners in the eyes of families doing it tough in Murray Bridge.
Food Bank organised a Pop Up free food market at the racing club in Murray Bridge last Wednesday for those struggling to make ends meet. Food Bank gathers food from supermarkets and outlets for distribution to needy people. Port Adelaide FC is one of Food Bank's charity partners and made a firm commitment to help out. On the day over 300 locals were able to help themselves to what they needed from a large range of food, from fresh produce to tinned goods as well as enjoying a bite to eat at the BBQ.
Players, managers and port staff worked alongside Food Bank volunteers from the morning set up all through to the pack up at the very end of the day. Handing out food, carrying groceries to cars and pretty much doing everything they could to make people feel that they mattered.
It has to be said that sometimes celebrities and organisations use such events as promotional opportunities to improve the perception of their team brand. Stepping in and helping only when the cameras are rolling or there is an interview on offer. But not this team. Nothing was too much trouble for The Power as everyone in a port uniform showed their true colours in supporting the needy in the region with a huge personal best, good grace and humility.
Thanks to Food Bank and well done to Port Adelaide FC. Their commitment in supporting this event showed true team spirit and meaningful benefit for families dealing with recent events such as the Thomas Foods Fire that has impacted on the local community. This event coming on the back of record making donations from the supporters of the club directly to Food Bank.
There are several agencies that support the local community of Murray Bridge and surrounds each week with community lunches, emergency relief and fresh produce markets several times a year, similar but not quite as big as the Food Bank Pop Up last week. See the Affordable SA App for more food distribution activities and helpful services in this region.
The stigma of being in financial hardship prevents many of us from seeking the help we need until it’s too late. There are many reasons for financial hardship and it is not just a case of people mishandling their finances. Separation or death of a partner, domestic violence, loss of employment, health and mental health issues can rapidly deteriorate our financial wellbeing.
Many of us will go through financial problems at some stage in our lives. Some will waiver in and out of hardship on a regular basis. It is not, as some people would want us to believe, just a case of better money managing or poor choices. Paying for the huge increases in electricity and water bills has caught almost all of us off guard and people who would never consider themselves in financial trouble find themselves dipping well beyond just tightening their belts. Add in such life changes as losing a job or only being able to get casual part time work and many more families are in dire straits.
Payday lenders thrive in these environments and target these vulnerabilities with carefree style marketing ads. It’s never a case of borrowing and just moving on.
Even accessing a pension or regular income payment doesn’t spare you from the cost of living eating into your ability to stay above the threshold. Pensioners can genuinely feel held to ransom as any change to their expenses including medical can put their future security on shaky ground and why they are so vocal about any proposed changes. Losing a life long partner brings not only grief but can throw many financial problems and in particular older women struggling with under valued or interrupted superannuation schemes at a real disadvantage.
There are concessions and hardship assistance available and seeking help early can avoid plunging into long term debt or hardship. Finding the right sort of assistance on your own is difficult and accepting that you need help is a huge step forward in keeping the financial hounds at bay. Most charitable assistance agencies provide dignity as a key component to their assistance.
Last week, Affordable SA received an eloquent plea on facebook from Michelle to all those experiencing financial hardship.
“So I have just found a fantastic resource... and yes they have an app! Affordable SA are here to help South Aussies make it through some very real, sometimes unexpected challenges we face. I was referred through our local Salvation Army Community Support branch yesterday and am already feeling some of the weight from my shoulders being lifted! And I have more support to investigate yet!!
Look I know it’s not easy to stand up in public and say “hey I am actually really struggling”... it’s not even easy to confide in those close to you. (Trust me I have been grappling with that dark neigh sayer in my mind for a few months now.) However like every other stereo-typed, “indiscretion” in our modern day society, unless we share our stories of vulnerabilities, life struggles and the much appreciated life lines offered to us then the perpetual cycle of struggle and hardship will continue and the efforts that those make to help will be tarnished by our silence.
I am not proud to be on struggle street right now (with both health and financial challenges) however i am appreciative enough of the help being offered to have the courage to share my vulnerabilities with my network! If you are struggling, with health, finances, dental, relationships...anything really please come to me and let me pay it forward and help others to link with help as others have been so kind as to do for me.”
Thanks Michelle. We hope things start to improve soon.
AnglicareSA and Thread Together have taken to the streets with mobile wardrobes delivering brand new clothes directly to people in need.
Thread Together works in conjunction with clothing manufacturers and fashion retailers to receive and sort brand new, end-of-line clothes for distribution through its charity partners across Australia. Earlier this month (March) AnglicareSA commenced their initial deliveries to communities in the northern and southern Adelaide suburbs.
Picking out a brand new outfit can make a difference to people's lives and adds a little dignity to those that need it most.
Death, taxes and rising Health Insurance Premiums seem to be the new constants in our known Universe. April fools day an appropriate date set for increases each year and fear style advertising abundant on our screens as the funds desperately try to get young people, in particular, to sign up.
Private Health Insurance is usually shrouded by concerns between the cost, and what is best for you and your family’s health. It is a substantial chunk of a family budget that many facing increased cost of living pressures simply cannot afford and need to rely on the public system. Even the traditional middle income earners have less to spend because of huge utilities costs and are choosing to opt out of private funds in droves or cutting down on many extras coverage. This has partly been responsible for sending waiting times up even higher. Western Australia has seen a 12% increase in waiting times since the downturn of its resource boom as many more return to the public system.
Why does health cover keep rising each year? Well, health costs go up each year, more people are claiming more often, an ageing population living longer and the Government actually reduces its contribution each year. Yes reduces its contribution. Which means we have to pay more each year. An average of around $200 more.
The big scary cut off point we are told is when you turn 31 as if you are not in a health fund you will be charged a surcharge. How do we know if this surcharge is worth avoiding? CHOISE has released a simple guide to help (see link below for info). CHOICE is a consumer advocate that provides Australians with information and advice, free from commercial bias. This survey asks a few simple questions and gives you an answer based on strictly financial outcomes. There are assumed variables and carefully worded disclaimers and it should not be taken as a complete and absolute guide. Whilst many would welcome a definitive yes or no, it really depends on preference as it does not consider that many people want some control of what, when and who they can use for treatment, particularly for elective surgery. Joining the waiting list at the back of the queue can be stressful when there is discomfort involved. So there is always a personal choice but usually dictated by the realities of whether you are willing to wait or can afford to jump the queue by paying for private treatment. Many can’t afford the costs and have to put up with serious discomfort as they slowly progress their way to the front of the queue in the public system, and that is not right.
So who is the real winner when it comes to health care? It still comes down to what you want and what you can afford. Like many things in life a lot depends on your income. If you’re in the big dollar bracket then you can expect to pay a hefty surcharge if you don’t have a fund. So you can save money if you stay in the health cover you can afford. If you’re young and reasonably healthy then the odds are in your favour for opting out and continuing with knowledgable ignorance. Experts say that you should put some money away in place of paying for private insurance to manage if things go wrong but good luck telling that to a young adult signing up to a new phone every year or struggling to pay a Hex debt. If you’re in the middle income bracket you can expect a lot of cajoling or sharp pointed sticks prodding you in the direction of just coughing up and paying. Middle income earners is the market where most of the fear advertising is directed. If you’re in the low income bracket with no private cover then please take a number and wait and we'll be with you as soon as we can.
In reality, we are only just hanging on to the belief that the majority of people have access to health care if they need it. No matter what they earn or if they are in a fund or not. Choice and urgency is what is quickly disappearing. Waiting lists for treatment have and will increase and without urgent attention it will spiral out of control and we may just lose the dream of affordable health for all. Cost of Living increases mean that many who have been paying the lion share are opting out and the waiting lists are growing like bread lines in a recession.
So, look at the your scenario well. Do the survey but measure the response with your needs. Check to see if you can get a better deal but be careful as to what that deal is giving you. Unfortunately it all seems a bit of a gamble with your health at stake.
It's festival time in Adelaide and as usual the Fringe sounds the starting gun tonight with its Opening street party and continues with a colossal line up of artists and events running from 16th Feb to the 18th March.
The good thing about living in a festival town is that there is quite a lot of great free stuff surrounding the main acts. Festivals receive quite a lot of public money so always include a lot of free entertainment, street performance and challenging installation works for all to experience. It's all part of the festival atmosphere which could be in an alley way, a tent, pub, Laundromat or Airport terminal?
Even the buskers in Rundle mall are seasoned festival pros and well worth the gold coin you may need to give up to interrupt your shopping. For the last week the oversized luggage pick up at the airport has seen a constant stream of guitars and instrument flight cases pouring off the incoming planes and performers easily spotted by their artistic hair and flair as they Uber their way to old Adelaide town.
The festival glow can be somewhat diminished when you have little to spend and the big-ticket artists are of course, at big-ticket prices. Many people can barely afford the loose change for the hard working street performers and taking a family out to a big night out can put quite a severe dent in your finances. Great artists and performers provide so much inspiration for us and who couldn't do with a good laugh or diversion from the hardship and struggle economics most of us have experienced lately with the cost of living blues.
If you're going to struggle to pay for the festival experience then you need to get you and the family to some of the free stuff on offer. The Fringe starts with the Opening night and street party. This Free event always has big entertainment including the night market which is a good scene setter for your budget festival spending. Fringe in the Mall brings some of the acts free to the people in Rundle Mall. Pull up a pig and enjoy.
A must for the younger kids is the walk down North Terrace for The parade of light where the iconic buildings of North Terrace are transformed into something quite special. If you took the kids to see the "Lights of Lobethal" then this is nothing like that. The LOL is a B&W Western and this is Star Wars with CGI. Bring a few snacks for the kids and the family as you can spend quite a long time seeing all the intrecacies. Starting at 8.30 and finishing at midnight you can usually find somewhere to park within walking distance for a late night cheap family outing.
Offered again this year is the GooseChase which is a free download app scavenger hunt with missions, puzzles and tasks to earn points.
The Fringe is a massive undertaking and the only way to expand is out. This year there are more Regional events planned. Kangaroo Island, Port Augusta, Whyalla, Mount Gambier all have free events and the Adelaide Hills lower their glasses long enough to get into the swing of things with their own local shows. Even the Adelaide Airport will keep the many arriving tourists and daily travelling jet set amused with performers that will not go unnoticed or possibly arrested.
In the end it's all about us having a good time, appreciating and supporting the artists. The fringe is partly the artist being entrepreneurial and some artists will walk away with very little in order to get their talents on show. So purchasing at least one ticket during the festival is always a good show of support for the arts. You can get the best deals by signing up to receive the daily festival email and be ready to pounce on the half priced tickets offered each day. You can go online to see whats on but there is nothing like thumbing through the enormous paper guide, which has become in itself a festival tradition.
The other advantage to seek out is the fringe membership which for under $20 will get you in to a host of special events that include show highlights with big names uttering a few classic lines from their usual monologue to help sell the shows as well as other free stuff.
All this festival frivolity is leading us up to the frantic antics of the State election which may go unnoticed buried between festival acts and Womad or stalled somewhere on the chicane of the Adelaide 500. Mad March in South Australia will be madder than ever with this election shaping up as a real three-ring circus.
The cost of getting your kids ready for the school year seems to increase every year. Books, uniforms and even young sporting or musical aspirations can have a huge impact on the family budget. Computers have become the big-ticket item that has added to traditional education needs and "bring your own technology" is the new buzz words for saying "you’ll need to pay for these required technologies from your own pocket".
These extra costs at the start of the year combined with the recent flurry of Christmas credit card spending can see many families disappearing further down the financial black hole of debt. The Affordable SA Helpline has as you would expect been flooded with calls from families in need of assistance, many regarding managing these extra educational costs.
Highly recommended by our Financial Counsellors is the Saver Plus Program made possible by ANZ Bank and local community organisations (supported by the Australian Government). Saver Plus is a matched savings and financial education program and provides an opportunity to have every dollar saved (up to $500) matched with an additional dollar for your own family’s education-related expenses.
You may be eligible to join Saver Plus if you or your partner:
- have a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card
- have some regular income from work
- are at least 18 years old and are a parent or guardian of a child at school or are doing a vocational training course yourself.
The program will set a 10-month savings goal with help from your Saver Plus Worker after you open an ANZ Progress Saver account.
The program also includes 10 hours of fun, informal financial education workshops.
If you successfully complete the program, ANZ matches your savings dollar-for-dollar, up to $500. This money can be used for education costs (either your children's or your own) such as computers, uniforms, books and sports equipment.
Over 32 000 people have previously participated in the program which is available in 60 locations around Australia. The Smith Family manages the program in South Australia with several face-to-face “Saver Plus” workers in locations around Adelaide to assist you in every aspect of the program. These locations are:
- Adelaide Northern region.
- Port Adelaide, Enfield and Charles Sturt.
- Salisbury and Playford.
- South Adelaide
To access the program please phone 1300 610 355 or SMS your name and postcode to 1300 610 355 or e-mail saverplus@bsl.org.au
You can find more information about this program and other cost of living services that can assist you on the Affordable SA suite of services via the Affordable SA app, website and Helpline. Or mingle with us at http://www.facebook.com/affordableSAapp/
Please remember. If you are struggling with debt a Financial Counsellor can help you take control.
Financial counselling is free, confidential and independent. These services are provided by not-for-profit, community-based services and available to people in Australia experiencing financial difficulty. See the Affordable SA App "Financial Counselling" for more details or phone the Affordable SA Helpline on 1800 025 539.
The beginning of the year sees many of us trying to make good on our New Year’s resolutions about spending money and looking to avoid the financial short falls of the previous year. As a result a lot of people on social media are talking about #savingschallenges. These challenges are crafty little ways to help you save throughout the year by putting a certain amount away each week for the end of the year. They can be a great way of involving the whole family by providing goals such as offsetting the cost of a plentiful Christmas or making possible an end of year family holiday.
There are many #savingschallenges to choose from that might suit you. The 52 week challenge, The $5 note Challenge, $20 a week Challenge, Christmas saving challenge and the Gold coin challenge where you slide in any loose $2 coins in a plastic drink bottle. A coke bottle full of $2 coins is a lot of money and can take quite some time to fill. Like most challenges in life the support from others participating or friends and family groups can really help to keep you going. If there is a nifty way of saving there is a challenge for you to try.
Something to consider is that coming up to February a lot of us will be expecting deferred Christmas payment options and many more of us would have experimented with Afterpay during the Holiday season. This week will also see more spending with the back to school necessities. Like Christmas it is likely our credit cards will once again bleep and ping at the cash registers. These accumulated debts can amount to a considerable sum and will probably require a range of payments and doing without over the next weeks or even months. Any credit card or payment option will most likely have high interest associated and even higher interest rates if payments are not met. If your planning on paying just the minimum you may be in for a long haul of debt well into the year. A lot of people find themselves only paying off their Christmas debt up to six months into the New Year. Those gold coins in the plastic bottle will look very tempting.
So there is one thing you need to take into consideration when starting any “Savings Challenge”. If you have on-going debt you may be savings pennies but bleeding dollars. In some cases big dollars if you don’t look at paying off more than the minimum. So perhaps it's being a downer on your enthusiasm but sometimes the best savings challenge is to pay back debt as early as possible. On every debt dollar saved from debt you could be saving yourself an extra 20 cents and in many cases even more. Sometimes the real challenge may be to manage your debts as a priority and leave the coke bottle for the recycling.
If you find yourself in financial difficulty you can speak to a Financial Counsellor for help. Financial Counselling is free, independent and confidential. Ring the Affordable SA Helpline on 1800 025 539 or the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 to arrange an appointment with a Counsellor nearest you or on the phone.
The Affordable SA Helpline 1800 025 539 is already receiving calls from people affected by the Thomas Foods Fire in Murray Bridge on Wednesday.
Most are seeking help through financial counselling as they consider their accumulated debts and the possible changes to their regular income or work status. Others are seeking associated free services available in the area that may also be of assistance.
If you or someone you know has been affected by the recent issues in Murray Bridge please pass on this information.
Download the Affordable SA App to access a wide range of free services that can assist with the cost of living in South Australia, or visit the website at www.affordablesa.com.au
A Financial Counsellor is a person who can assist you with a range of services relating to personal finances. It is free, independent and confidential. You can access a free Financial Counsellor by phoning the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 or the Affordable SA Helpline 1800 025 539 which can provide access to a financial Counsellor or other information regarding free services that may help your situation.
In South Australia the financial Counselling service is operated by a range of service providers who are motivated to supporting and assisting people in financial difficulty through an appointment based service in locations all around the state.
The Helpline Service is available from Monday to Thursday between the hours of 9.30am - 8pm and Fridays 9.30am - 4.30pm (closed public holidays).
These include providing information and assistance about:
- Financial rights and responsibilities
- Budgeting and money management
- Negotiating with creditors and others
- Debts and the debt recovery processes
- Insolvency and bankruptcy options
- Hardship applications if your situation has changed.
Qualified financial counsellors will help you:
- Ensure you are receiving all your concessions and entitlements
- Manage your money
- Deal with a summons
- Prioritise bills and debts
- Deal with debt issues
- Negotiate with creditors
- Work out a budget or a payment plan
- By referring you to agencies who can help you make informed choices.
Appointments are essential
The Community Information Centre at 13-17 Bridge Street will be open tonight till 8pm.
Finding things to do for the kids over the Christmas break is sometimes difficult. Particularly if your budget is low.
Most advertised or popular activities come with a cost. Supervised activities will understandably come with an appropriate price tag and even traditional days out such as taking the family to the Zoo can quite simply be out of some people’s reach. At around $90 for a family of four some would say that if you’re there all day it can be considered quite reasonable but its really one of those activities most families need to budget for and work into the overall costs of their holiday spending. Just make sure to bring your own lunch as the extra costs with just a round of hot chips can quickly add up.
Like most things in life, holiday activities require an investment of either money or time. Even money for petrol for travelling to see the relatives over Christmas can come as a surprise if it’s not part of your financial plan.
Doing family activities such as planting a vegetable garden or a treasure hunt in the backyard requires the investment of your time but its time well spent. Daylight saving means that outdoor activities or even dinner picnics on the beach are possible for working parents and can be quite a stress reliever after a busy day. Getting fit with the kids may involve events such as Parkrun, which is a free weekend activity across many parts of the South Australia.
It is well worth checking out your local Library for holiday activities, depending on the age of your kids, as well as the Community Centres or even Church groups if you have a little faith. Finding things that are budget friendly generally means turning to a good old-fashioned smattering of public institutions such as museums and galleries or a visit to the various playgrounds. There are some amazing playgrounds such as in St Kilda and Noarlunga that can help wear the kids out well before nightfall and with a picnic lunch the best value. Make sure to pack the sunscreen.
There are also many sites online where you can get some great school holiday ideas such as:
whatsonforadelaidefamilies or playandgoadelaide
As you would expect most of these sites have rather an Adelaide focus with little in the country areas listed but promised for the future. That’s where the local community groups are the best bet. Even ASIC's Money Smart has tips for cheap school holiday ideas but limited as you can imagine to mostly riding a bike or reading or walking on the beach or the local playground.
Mixing up your holiday fun between low cost activities and some budgeted extravagances can make for great all round Christmas breaks that are memorable. No matter how you look at it, it’s a time invested in your kids and you're family well-being. Getting to know the games they love the best and helped by budgeting in order to make those special one off events you can all share, more affordable and possible.