Middle-class millionaires

The term millionaire is a little over used with high net worth individuals gainfully employed and living among the middle-class workers.

There are plenty of financially secure individuals that blend in so well in the middle-class that the average person is unable to distinguish between high rollers and middle-class millionaires.

In my experience, these high net worth individuals tend to be very modest and rarely speak about money outside of professional networks. They have nothing to prove to anyone except themselves - they don't need to brag.

Middle-class millionaires work together with us, play sport with us, drive second-hand cars and live in modest homes. These tend to be people who are self made through hard work and endeavor; they may be self-employed or professionals that are highly motivated and strong money managers.

In Australia, trades-people fall within the spectrum of a skilled workforce possessing the knowledge, skills and attributes to succeed as entrepreneurs. Through hard work, a strong savings ethic, prudent investment and educating oneself on investment matters - there are plenty of high net worth individuals among us and we mostly don't know that they are.

The Longines HydroConquest

The Longines HydroConquest, a stunning dive timepiece from Swiss watchmaker Longines is sometimes overshadowed by well known dive watches such as the Rolex Submariner, the Omega Seamaster or the TAG Heuer Aquaracer.

Without researching watches, you are not able to objectively compare the features, style, differentiating factors or pricing of each individual timepiece. In the initial stages of research for the purposes of comparison, price is not a factor - naturally that changes as you begin to eliminate timepieces.

I was looking to upgrade my dive watch as I have a quartz and I wanted an automatic, a somewhat unusual situation as I dive exclusively with a dive computer these days. Still, I enjoy a high quality dive watch and want a dive capable timer. 

When I'm overseas diving as I would prefer to keep my watch with me and not left in the hotel room or on the boat. I researched an Omega Seamaster Diver 300, the TAG Heuer Aquaracer and the Longines HydroConquest with the Omega being the most expensive and the Longines the least expensive.

I do like the style of the Longines, so I spent some time at a number of watch retailers to get a feel of the watch, you can undertake plenty of online research but you can't beat the feel of the watch sitting on your wrist. 

From the screw in crown, 300 metre water resistant case, screw in case back, scratch resistant sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating, this timepiece is well built. 

Looking at all the images online, I wasn't able to determine if the bezel was ceramic, it wasn't until I wandered down a watch retailer to try one on and I found the bezel is not ceramic so that is negative as both the Omega Diver 300 and TAG Heuer Aquaracer are fitted with ceramic bezels.

The uni-directional bezel, Arabic numerals on the face, luminous hands and a H-link bracelet and locking clasp - this is definitely a dive watch. You have a choice of movements with an ETA automatic or a quartz. 

This is a quality watchmaker with a long heritage of manufacturing stylish timepieces at very competitive prices. Ultimately, I went with the Aquaracer but the value for money of the HydroConquest made the decision so much harder. 

How long until you void a restaurant booking?

I was at a lovely open air Balinese restaurant overlooking Double-Six Beach when we desired a prime position table in the open air section of the restaurant - the key words here being open air. As the people seated close to us were chain smoking and blowing their dirty smoke in our direction - so we requested to move.

The restaurant staff dutifully informed us the table we requested in fresh air was unavailable as they had a standing reservation - fair enough. We ended up at a less attractive table but this is still better than breathing dirty air so no complaints. What I did notice as the table where we were unable to sit was still empty, now more than an hour had passed since the time on the reserved sign had lapsed and I asked myself, how long can you hold a table?

It is unfair to the restaurant, it is unfair to diners and it is just rude. You can be a little late, that happens but any more than 15 minutes and either a phone call is made or the booking is relinquished after 30 minutes as diners are inconvenienced and the restaurant is denied income from the table. In this instance, we could have been seated with an excellent view of the beach and when we left the table was still vacant. So while I don't know if this reservation ever filled, these people should be more respectful to diners and the restaurant.

Scuba Fundamental - Start diving the right way

The trilogy of dive books is now complete with renowned diving author Simon Pridmore completing Scuba Fundamental. Supporting Scuba Confidential and Scuba Professional; this latest work focuses on individuals seeking to become scuba divers.

Scuba Confidential focused on existing divers seeking to develop knowledge, skills and techniques developing confidence and capabilities to become a safer diver. Scuba Professional is focused on objective advice for current and would be dive instructors and dive operators as well as regular divers seeking a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes activities to make a dive operation run.

So what is Scuba Fundamental all about and who should read this book? Simon wrote this book for potential divers seeking to gain certification right up to their first twenty dives as new divers. This book allows potential divers to prepare for their first dive course to make informed choices. This is not a diver manual, Scuba Fundamental will not teach you how to dive, that is the role of the dive instructor.

Scuba Fundamental will however provide a novice to with enough information to select a dive instructor, what to expect from the dive centre and what type of dives they should be undertaking straight out of their entry-level dive certification course. I can thoroughly recommend Scuba Fundamental - Start Diving the Right Way to all potential divers.

A trade is a respectable career option

I am involved in training and have been so for more than a decade yet, I am so concerned with the prevalence of the high school system to only pursue tertiary education as a pancrea for all career options. High school guidance councilors only focus on university placements to the detriment of technical trades - this is really bad advice.

Many university graduates are saddled with high education debts to pay off when they finally get working - many not in their chosen career. Even worse, students drop out without finishing a bachelor degree but still racking up significant university debts.

Notwithstanding, students may complete a degree, find themselves unemployable in their field of study so they either undertake a double degree or they may undertake a masters degree in a totally different area without first gaining any quality workplace experience.

Trade-based training on the other hand sees apprentices paid whilst attending college with many employers paying tuition fees for students. Trades such as mechanics, welders, machinists, mechanical fitters and electricians are skill-sets in high demand.

With technology dominating industries including agriculture, manufacturing, mineral extraction, mineral processing, oil and gas exploration and petrochemical processing; these industries are basing their operations on productivity increases from the adaptation of technologies.

Whilst Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of protecting American jobs from outsourcing to low wage countries, the greatest threat arises from automation.

Yes, manufacturing based jobs from advanced industrial economies such as the United States, Australia, Germany, France, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom are being sent off-shore to developing nations of China, Mexico, Bangladesh, India and the Philippines to name just a few.

However, the greatest threat comes from technological advances that are replacing jobs throughout the developed world. However, automation must be maintained, faults diagnosed and break-downs repaired - that is where the jobs are found.

Holidaying in Seminyak

A popular destination for Australians heading off overseas is a short hop to Bali. Staying out of the main centre of Kuta, Seminyak is becoming a popular locality with its restaurants, bars and upmarket shopping. For me, I don't much like the area, the beach isn't much, the restaurants are expensive and I think the area just lacks the excitement of Legian, Kuta or Sanur.

I don't like to stay more than a week in Bali, it is not a great destination for me; instead, it is a place to unwind and de-stress. I don't like to go shopping, clubbing or stay out drinking all night; I like hanging around the pool, reading my required text and write up an essay on my laptop computer.

I dislike the lack of quality beachfront of the area, the continuity of the streets and the distance between places of interest; I get this closed up feeling. I won't be staying in this area again on my next short holiday - I will be looking elsewhere.

Summer rains are better than fertaliser

Summer in Perth, you can almost forget about rain in February as this is usually the hottest month. But 2017 is throwing up a highly unusual summer with the most rain I can ever remember. Most years I am pouring water on my front lawn mixed with fertaliser in a pretty lame attempt to keep the green going.

I had laid two bags of chicken manure down a few weeks before the big January downpour and my lawn just took off, it was looking more than a little jaded after my Christmas break where not enough water was put down whilst I was away. I expected the whole of the summer would be spent nursing the lawn back to some form of health.

The lawn just exploded with growth after the three days of rain in late January and while it may be accredited in some form to the nourishment from a fortnight before, every other poorly maintained lawn in my street also exploded in growth and colour.

The excellent soaking combined with the sunlight is incredible, it is normally so difficult to get the water to actually soak in. This is also compounded by the fact that I have a sloping lawn with very high runoff rates.

Even though I have laid down extra topsoil over the years, the soak in rates haven't really improved. This year is different and the lawn has never looked better although it feels like we never had a summer in 2017.

Selling US treasuries - is this a problem for the investment community?

I was reading a financial commentary on what would happen if China started selling US treasuries en masse and the effect on world bond markets. There was concerns that the US dollar would depreciate, interest rates would skyrocket and shares would plunge - so far, this hasn't happened.

Firstly, the bond market is exactly that - a market. So for a market to operate there must be a buyer and a seller and if China was selling large parcels of bonds on the open market then there must be a buyer.

The principles of supply and demand would tend to indicate that a downward pressure occurs when supply is increased; however, the doomsday predictions are not yet eventuating as the sales are being absorbed by a number of buyers.

Chinese foreign exchange holdings are falling due to the exodus of cash overseas, by selling US treasuries, foreign exchange reserves are being replenished. The US bond market is easily the most liquid in the world.

The post GFC environment requires banks and financial institutions to hold Tier 1 capital as required under the Basel III Accord. Most expected the majority of US treasuries to be purchased by central banks, this may not be the case.

With the end of quantitative easing where central banks were purchasing bonds instead of selling, there appears to be plenty of capacity in the market to absorb these bond purchases.

The low interest rate environment has aided bond markets; however, in the longer-term, rates are expected to rise making longer dated bonds less attractive. The US sharemarkets have had a pretty good seven year run.

A number of commentators believe this trend to continue for another two years based on the change of government and proposed infrastructure investment - I am getting nervous. The US sharemarkets have recovered from the GFC era unlike the Australian sharemarket that has not yet reached the highs of late 2007.

Chinese nationals appear to be moving money out of China and into international real estate with countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom among others as leading real estate markets.

In Australia, Chinese real estate investment (especially in the apartment market) is showing no signs of abating as prices in the Sydney and Melbourne apartment markets skyrocket. The depreciating Australian dollar makes such international purchases more cost attractive.

No doubt, a depreciating US dollar would also make relative US residential property investments more affordable, but I don't think this is the intention of the Chinese authorities.

But why do Chinese investors want to invest in international real estate after the Chinese government invested heavily in the domestic Chinese real estate market in the last decade?

A bubble has appeared in Chinese domestic real estate, researching Chinese residential property price graphs indicate a high degree of volatility over that time period.

I am reading plenty of contradicting analysis though, some economists believe the Chinese domestic residential property market is on the brink of collapse with dire consequences predicted for not only the domestic Chinese property market but worldwide growth as well.

I have asked a number of Chinese nationals involved in business if these ghost cities really exist as reported in the international media and I have been informed that this is indeed the case.

Asians in general are typically good savers, a more affluent Chinese population generally saves well and seeks real estate as an investment. The risk attached to Chinese residential property is high and investors are seeking to purchase international residential property to reduce exposure to the domestic residential property market.

The Chinese sharemarket is pretty volatile with plenty of restrictions imposed on investors. So, an outflow of cash is occurring in China despite the authorities clamping down on capital outflows.

The Chinese central bank is selling US treasuries to rebuild foreign currency reserves and the US bond market is liquid enough even after the quantitative easing period to absorb such sales.

Chinese money is pouring into international residential property markets pushing prices to unsustainable levels but you can't blame the Chinese, they are getting worried about domestic policies and seeking the relative safety of overseas property.  

Kuta Beach at peak season

So this is what Bali has become. The world famous Kuta Beach is a cesspit of rubbish and over-exploitation with no businesses or indeed local government involvement involved in maintaining this natural resource. This is not the hidden Bali, this is the premier beach on Indonesia's island of Bali; Kuta Beach is a shell of its former self.

This gross misrepresentation and over-commercialisation is an absolute disgrace. The Bali of Julia Roberts' Eat, Pray, Love is unfortunately just a fallacy. It is not only the rubbish in the water at Kuta Beach; the waters, rivers and beaches are all badly polluted. The plastic in the water is incredible, Indonesia is one of the largest polluters of the oceans and nobody in the government is willing to undertake substantive change to rectify this. So where to from now? I have heard stories of the army being involved in clean-ups but I am yet to see any evidence of this. If Indonesia and more specifically the Island of Bali wants to attract foreign tourists, then they really need to clean up their beaches.

Women entering trades

Once upon a time the young men headed off to trade school and the young women headed off to business school to learn administration and clerical skills. There were exceptions, hairdressing was a well represented trade for women and training to become chefs was also a popular vocation.

We live in a new age of opportunity where women are now able to enter the male dominated areas of engineering and automotive training to compete directly with the guys. I say fantastic, these occupations must attract intelligent and motivated people as the industries are dominated by technology and the brightest young minds are required to effectively maintain such systems.

With women in trades, no salary disparity exists; well, not in my experience anyway as jobs are costed and timeframes are tight - if you have an employee performing under pressure then the salary is highly negotiable. With technology increasingly linked to technical trades, the individuals who best adapt to technological change are the most valuable and deserve to the highest remuneration and best conditions - women meet these criteria and opportunities are opening up now.

The mighty Mo - an instrument of unconditional surrender

The quarter deck of the USS Missouri was where the dignitaries of Japanese empire signed the terms of their unconditional surrender bringing an end to the second world war. Known affectionately as "The Mighty Mo" the USS Missouri was an Iowa class fast battleship commissioned in mid-1944 to help bring a decisive end to hostilities of the Pacific theatre of WWII.

I very much liked this photograph and used this picture as a metaphor for what I thought would be my own victory over the elements of evil that had descended on my working life. On discovering I had won my legal case against my employer by default; my employer had failed to respond to the court order - total incompetence on their behalf. I searched for a picture of the Japanese surrender on the deck of the Mighty Mo pinning it above my desk - now this became a talking point. Yeah, I was beginning to enjoy this victory.

I went into work on the Monday and served them with the papers to appear in court on Thursday; not a lot of time to prepare but they didn't need time to prepare as this was merely a verdict. They just had to be in attendance to hear the magistrate's verdict - that's all. They relinquished the opportunity to argue their case in front of the magistrate when they treated the court with contempt by failing to comply with the court order by ignoring the order to respond - ironically, they still haven't responded to the court.

Naturally I produced evidence where I had contacted my former manager a week before the deadline urging them to not forget to respond to the court. At a subsequent meeting with three directors, I found my former manager had forwarded the email to the divisional director but had not responded to me. Once again I had been ignored but I had evidence that the correspondence had been forwarded to the respective personnel. I also had email correspondence with the HR director sending him a copy of the response form, he claimed the forms were not included in my mail. This was untrue but I provided them with the forms to comply with the court order.

Regardless, I supplied them with an electronic copy of the response form and an affidavit so they had no excuses. I had even given them extra time as I had requested the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission allow them longer to respond. As they had 21 calendar days to respond and I had sent the mail on a Friday evening, I asked the first weekend to not be counted and I granted them an additional five working days for any postage delays and internal mail issues. I was being more than generous but I wanted no excuses.

When I contacted the court by phone after eleven days after the deadline had passed, I wanted to know my if employer had accepted some of the points of the claim as my submission had seven differing points, I wanted to know if they wholly denied the claim, accepted part of the claim or wholly admitted to the claim and consented to the court making orders sought in the claim. I was astounded to be informed that my employer had not replied to the court order and I now could apply for a default verdict. Naturally, I said yes and I was sent the forms necessary application forms.

I took the laminated photograph of the unconditional surrender to the Industrial Magistrate's Court for the verdict explaining to the representatives from my employer "this is what an unconditional surrender looks like". Ok, so I was gloating and being less than respectful to the losers. As these people had attempted to damage my career to benefit themselves - I cared little. Ironically, this court appearance was my final day of work in 2016 so I decided to head back to the office after the case to savour my victory with my colleagues. Some were happy for me - others not.

We now had a workplace where a government establishment was being run like a private company that benefited the few and was to the detriment of the many. Obviously the ones that were not happy about my victory formed the membership of the crony club and their immediate future as teflon coated elites is now uncertain. The individuals that had reaped the rewards of everybody's hard work are noticeably concerned - their free ride is over. Well, so I thought, the State Solicitor was contacted the day before and sought an injunction in court, whilst they tried to get the matter dismissed, that wasn't allowed but my default judgement was also thrown into disarray.

We were on the cusp on entering an era where a self-elected bunch of people were allowed to run roughshod over the whole strategic portfolio had come to an end. An uprising had taken place and they were now the vanquished, this cronyism was to be dismantled. Among the list of claims was workplace bullying, I could now not only remove the knives from my back; but we could inspect those very knives for fingerprints and DNA during the formal bullying investigation.

The following day I headed over to Bali for my end of year break so this was the final chance I would have in 2016 to enjoy my victory. Yes, I thought 2017 was going to be a totally different year for everyone at my workplace - that I can now no longer guarantee.

Pre-paid credit cards

I have known of pre-paid mobile phones for some time now; the market for the pre-paid credit card is a new phenomenon. Well known companies like Coles, ING, Fujitsu, Mitre 10, Dulux or Hewlett Packard offer pre-paid credit cards for their customers - this appears to be a growth industry.

I initially wondered why such a product would be introduced when a charge card such as an American Express or Diners Club International is available. Firstly, Amex and Diners Club aren't cheap, they charge a premium to issue a card. They are not accepted everywhere and vendors don't like them due to the fees involved. Ok, so that rules them out as they are chasing the premium market.

The modern cashless society relies on online financial transactions and plenty of people have maxed out their credit cards as the banks are intent on raising limits at any opportunity. Now you can engage in online shopping as you have a credit card to purchase goods and services. Unfortunately, modern society requires immediate access to credit and many people have multiple credit cards with high credit limits - this is their financial downfall.

A pre-paid credit card is a brilliant idea, you have access to financial services like Mastercard and Visa without the ongoing costs of credit card debt. To me, this sounds like a debit card and not a credit card. Looking at the Coles pre-paid cards, I see it cost $5 to purchase the online and gift cards and is able to be loaded with $1000 of credit.

The re-loadable Coles Platinum Mastercard costs $10 to purchase and earns 1 Flybuy point (their rewards program) for every $2 spent; the card may be loaded with $1000 credit or on application be increased to $10,000 credit so you just lost your advantage of a pre-paid credit card and now have a standard credit card with a pretty high limit.