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SBS Australia
6 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Tim is taking a 'financial gap year'. It might just save him $100,000
In July, Tim Abbott left Sydney for a remote property more than 700km from Brisbane. Now, his workday starts at 5.30am and ends by late afternoon. He spends the day logging pine trees — a skill he picked up when he moved there — accompanied by only two other people. The work, he says, is more physical and repetitive than the Zoom meetings and quarterly planning sessions he left behind when he quit his digital marketing role in Sydney. And for the next year, until he returns to Sydney, this will be his life. The town? "It's as small as you could possibly imagine," he told the Feed. "There's one of everything." One supermarket, one petrol station, one primary school. But Tim is enjoying the simplicity and the quiet, and the new lifestyle brings one big selling point. "The money that comes in, normally I'd be like, 'okay, well that's going to bills, that's going to tolls, that's going to petrol, that's going to dinners, groceries, this, that, the other.'" Tim, 31, moved to inland Queensland and says his living expenses have dropped by 75 per cent. Source: Supplied "Now, all the money that's coming in, I'm like: 'Oh, this is my money and it's staying there,'" Tim said. Tim is part of a number of Australians who are taking a "financial gap year," relocating, temporarily, to somewhere significantly cheaper to fast-track long-term goals like home ownership. Despite more than a decade in the workforce and a steady job in digital marketing, Tim was watching his savings and income stagnate. "I was like, 'if I cut back anything less, I just don't know where it would be from. My car is 13 years old. I don't buy new clothes. I live a very humble existence,'" Tim, who grew up and spent most of his life in Sydney, told The Feed. After spending $600 a week on rent alone in Sydney, now it's $220 a month in western Queensland. Abbott estimates that his living costs have dropped by more than 75 per cent, and his income has seen a modest increase. His goal: to save $100,000 in a year and eventually buy a little, sustainable hobby farm with goats, ducks, a veggie garden. Somewhere warm, quiet, and just out of reach of the city. "I feel like it's delayed gratification. I feel like instead of missing out, I feel like I'm excited to build something for the future," he says. "It's the first time in probably pre-COVID that I'm really excited for the future again." 'Regional cities holding onto more people' KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley says the trend of younger Australians moving to regional areas has accelerated since the pandemic — driven by remote work opportunities, housing affordability and changing local economies. "We've always had people shifting around the country for short-term contracts, spending a couple of years in a regional town. So that's definitely continuous, people churn from the big cities and then back," Rawnsley says. 'While we've always seen this, I think those regional cities are probably holding onto more people than they did in the past.' Trends change depending on the location, he says, but overall, people in their late 20s and early 30s are the big cohort leaving cities like Sydney and Melbourne for "affordability and livability". The latest Regional Movers Index (RMI), which tracks migration from capital cities to regional areas, found a 10.5 per cent increase in the March quarter of 2025. This is in line with an overall trend out of Australia's capitals and into the regions after the onset of the pandemic. Current figures are 20.5 per cent higher than the pre-COVID average level of quarterly migration. "Housing affordability is going to be more of a barrier going back into the big cities," Rawnsley says. Along with affordability in the regions, Rawnsley says white-collar workers are increasingly taking advantage of the ability to work remotely. "Architects, engineers who previously were really tied to the CBDs in Sydney and Melbourne, they're now able to live and work remotely and dial into those major meetings." But while rents and mortgages remain significantly cheaper outside the capitals, housing supply in many regional centres has tightened in the past few years with the boom. "Pre-COVID vacancy rates might've been three or 4 per cent … now they're kind of one and a half, 1 per cent," he says. Even though some places are churning out housing supply, he says others just aren't. "While they've had this big influx of people, they've also brought the big city housing problems with them, and everyone's trying to work out how do we get more supply coming out of the ground." Looking forward without financial anxiety For Sarah Brown, 29, and her partner, Will Ridley, 30, the move from Sydney to Forster wasn't a leap of faith — it was planned in a spreadsheet. After the pair bought a property in the NSW mid-north coast town, which they had initially planned to keep as an investment, they decided to move into it for a "financial gap year". Now, the pair are saving the rent they'd have spent in Sydney, saved on stamp duty with first home buyer assistance, and have cut down on their living expenses. When the year is up, they'll make an assessment based on finances about what they'll do next. Will and Sarah made the move from Sydney to the coastal NSW town of Forster earlier this year. They say when their "financial gap year" is up, they will reassess their options. Source: Supplied "We were paying $820 a week [in rent] in Sydney — all of that has gone into savings," she said. The move has made them "the most financially secure we've ever been," Brown said, describing a new ease in their relationship and more freedom to imagine milestones down the line without financial anxiety. The trade-offs, though, are real. Friends are a four-hour drive away, and she spends a lot of time shuttling between Forster and Sydney for work, which still requires her to be on location for half of her working days. But for now, the benefits are outweighing the sacrifices. "I just wish I could pick all my friends up and dump them here and then I would never leave."
SBS Australia
6 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Tim is taking a 'financial gap year'. It might just save him $100,000 in a year
In July, Tim Abbott left Sydney for a remote property more than 700km from Brisbane. Now, his workday starts at 5.30am and ends by late afternoon. He spends the day logging pine trees — a skill he picked up when he moved there — accompanied by only two other people. The work, he says, is more physical and repetitive than the Zoom meetings and quarterly planning sessions he left behind when he quit his digital marketing role in Sydney. And for the next year, until he returns to Sydney, this will be his life. The town? "It's as small as you could possibly imagine," he told the Feed. "There's one of everything." One supermarket, one petrol station, one primary school. But Tim is enjoying the simplicity and the quiet, and the new lifestyle brings one big selling point. "The money that comes in, normally I'd be like, 'okay, well that's going to bills, that's going to tolls, that's going to petrol, that's going to dinners, groceries, this, that, the other.'" Tim, 31, moved to inland Queensland and says his living expenses have dropped by 75 per cent. Source: Supplied "Now, all the money that's coming in, I'm like: 'Oh, this is my money and it's staying there,'" Tim said. Tim is part of a number of Australians who are taking a "financial gap year," relocating, temporarily, to somewhere significantly cheaper to fast-track long-term goals like home ownership. Despite more than a decade in the workforce and a steady job in digital marketing, Tim was watching his savings and income stagnate. "I was like, 'if I cut back anything less, I just don't know where it would be from. My car is 13 years old. I don't buy new clothes. I live a very humble existence,'" Tim, who grew up and spent most of his life in Sydney, told The Feed. After spending $600 a week on rent alone in Sydney, now it's $220 a month in western Queensland. Abbott estimates that his living costs have dropped by more than 75 per cent, and his income has seen a modest increase. His goal: to save $100,000 in a year and eventually buy a little, sustainable hobby farm with goats, ducks, a veggie garden. Somewhere warm, quiet, and just out of reach of the city. "I feel like it's delayed gratification. I feel like instead of missing out, I feel like I'm excited to build something for the future," he says. "It's the first time in probably pre-COVID that I'm really excited for the future again." 'Regional cities holding onto more people' KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley says the trend of younger Australians moving to regional areas has accelerated since the pandemic — driven by remote work opportunities, housing affordability and changing local economies. "We've always had people shifting around the country for short-term contracts, spending a couple of years in a regional town. So that's definitely continuous, people churn from the big cities and then back," Rawnsley says. 'While we've always seen this, I think those regional cities are probably holding onto more people than they did in the past.' Trends change depending on the location, he says, but overall, people in their late 20s and early 30s are the big cohort leaving cities like Sydney and Melbourne for "affordability and livability". The latest Regional Movers Index (RMI), which tracks migration from capital cities to regional areas, increased by 10.5 per cent in the March quarter of 2025. This is in line with an overall trend out of Australia's capitals and into the regions after the onset of the pandemic. The figures are 20.5 per cent higher than the pre-COVID average level of quarterly migration. "Housing affordability is going to be more of a barrier going back into the big cities," Rawnsley says. Along with affordability in the regions, Rawnsley says white-collar workers are increasingly taking advantage of the ability to work remotely. "Architects, engineers who previously were really tied to the CBDs in Sydney and Melbourne, they're now able to live and work remotely and dial into those major meetings." But while rents and mortgages remain significantly cheaper outside the capitals, housing supply in many regional centres has tightened in the past few years with the boom. "Pre-COVID vacancy rates might've been three or 4 per cent … now they're kind of one and a half, 1 per cent," he says. While some places are churning out housing supply, he says others just aren't. And while regional areas are benefiting from the influx, they're also feeling the strain. "While they've had this big influx of people, they've also brought the big city housing problems with them, and everyone's trying to work out how do we get more supply coming out of the ground." Looking forward without financial anxiety For Sarah Brown, 29, and her partner, Will Ridley, 30, the move from Sydney to Forster wasn't a leap of faith — it was planned in a spreadsheet. After the pair bought a property in the NSW mid-north coast town, which they had initially planned to keep as an investment, they decided to move into it for a "financial gap year". Now, the pair are saving the rent they'd have spent in Sydney, saved on stamp duty with first home buyer assistance, and have cut down on their living expenses. When the year is up, they'll make an assessment based on finances about what they'll do next. Will and Sarah made the move from Sydney to the coastal NSW town of Forster earlier this year. They say when their "financial gap year" is up, they will reassess their options. Source: Supplied "We were paying $820 a week [in rent] in Sydney — all of that has gone into savings," she said. The move has made them "the most financially secure we've ever been," Brown said, describing a new ease in their relationship and more freedom to imagine milestones down the line without financial anxiety. The trade-offs, though, are real. Friends are a four-hour drive away, and she spends a lot of time shuttling between Forster and Sydney for work, which still requires her to be on location for half of her working days. But for now, the benefits are outweighing the sacrifices. "I just wish I could pick all my friends up and dump them here and then I would never leave."
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Grandfather's simple changes reversed pre-diabetes diagnosis that left him 'petrified'
A 66-year-old grandfather who exercised daily was stunned to learn he was pre-diabetic — and he says making one small change to his eating habits helped reverse it. Dance teacher Will McKechnie, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, told SWNS he had always considered himself healthy. At 5 feet 10 inches tall and 167 pounds, he wore a medium-sized shirt, danced seven times a week, and didn't think twice about his daily snacks: a chocolate bar and a bag of chips. Experts Reveal Hidden Ways Sugar Accelerates Aging Beyond Just Weight Gain "I honestly thought I was really fit and healthy," McKechnie said. But after undergoing a free screening for people over 60 in May 2023, a routine blood test showed that his average blood sugar level was 6.2% — an indicator of pre-diabetes, according to SWNS. Read On The Fox News App McKechnie didn't find out until a year later, during an unrelated appointment, when his doctor reviewed the results. "I was so shocked and worried to hear I was pre-diabetic," he said. 'I'm A Neurologist — Here's Why Dementia Is Rising And How To Reduce Your Risk' McKechnie continued, "When he said it wouldn't be reversible over 48, I was terrified. I was petrified at the idea that I might be starting to have poor health." Determined to turn things around, McKechnie made some major changes — not only in what he ate, but how. He cut out the nightly chocolate and chips, started eating whole, nutritious foods, and began chewing his food much more slowly. Now, his lunch — a wholemeal chicken sandwich — takes him 40 minutes to eat. "I just have a very occasional treat now, and much smaller," McKechnie told SWNS. Golfer Phil Mickelson's Strict Weight Loss Diet: Doctor Shares What To Know His breakfast now consists of fruit, and a typical dinner includes boiled eggs, roasted peanuts, celery, cherry tomatoes, carrots and cucumber. By focusing on slower eating and more mindful food choices, McKechnie shed nearly 27 pounds, bringing him down to 142 pounds and a size small shirt. He also lost two inches off his waist — and, more importantly, his blood sugar dropped to 5.9% within nine months, SWNS reported. "I'm very determined," McKechnie said. He added, "If I set my mind to doing something, I'll do it, and I'm going to get my blood sugar even lower." The grandfather of four said he no longer battles sugar cravings and doesn't feel the urge to rush into stores for a chocolate fix. He also stays busy caring for his 18-month-old grandson and teaching two dance classes a week. McKechnie, who quit smoking in 1986 and stopped drinking in 2012, believes everyone should be proactive about checking their health — even if they look healthy on the outside. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter "Even if you have to pay for it, it's worth getting your blood sugar checked routinely," he told SWNS, adding, "It's much, much better to find out." For more Health articles, visit According to SWNS, McKechnie now says he feels stronger than ever and has "enormous amounts of energy." "I'm so relieved I had that test. It has changed my life and made me so much fitter."Original article source: Grandfather's simple changes reversed pre-diabetes diagnosis that left him 'petrified'
Washington Post
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Homemade teriyaki sauce makes this chicken and green bean stir-fry sing
Chef Roy Choi made up his mind to change his way of eating a few years back when, he writes in new cookbook, 'The Choi of Cooking,' 'I was tipping the scales at 200-plus pounds, feeling unhealthy, hiding in my junk food abyss …' Instead of latching onto some extreme diet, he began to add healthy tweaks to the foods he already loved and craved.
The Sun
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Luxury 4-bed house could be yours for just 99p in huge giveaway – here's how to enter
EVER dreamed of owning your own countryside retreat? This could be your chance to make it a reality. Dream Car Giveaways is about to make it true for one lucky reader - and all you'll need to spend is 99p. 3 Buy a Dream Car Giveaways ticket for 99p For just 99p a ticket, you could be in with a chance to win an extraordinary prize that could completely transform your lifestyle. Imagine owning a stunning luxury 4-bedroom home located in the picturesque village of Martley, surrounded by the rolling hills of Worcestershire. This dream home offers not just a place to live, but a lifestyle to enjoy, with its breathtaking views and serene surroundings. The luxury home itself features four spacious bedrooms, a well-designed kitchen and dining area, and an outdoor entertaining space. Imagine hosting friends and family in a light, airy dining room that opens up to a beautifully landscaped garden with breathtaking views of rural England. But that's not all: this incredible prize package doesn't stop at the house. The lucky winner will also drive away with a brand-new 2024 VW Transporter Camper, a vehicle perfect for spontaneous weekend getaways or adventurous road trips across Europe. Whether you're exploring the gorgeous scenery of Britain or venturing further afield, this camper is ready to take you on your adventures. On top of that, there's also a whopping £10,000 in tax-free cash included, which gives you the freedom to spend, save, or plan your next big adventure. 3 Buy a Dream Car Giveaways ticket for 99p For those who prefer cash over prizes, Dream Car Giveaways offers an alternative option. Instead of the home, camper, and cash bundle, you could choose to take an impressive £810,000 tax-free prize. That's a life-changing amount of money to use however you wish – from starting a business to buying your own dream property or travelling the world. The competition closes at 10pm on Sunday 29 June, so there's no time to waste. Entering couldn't be simpler. Tickets cost just 99p each, and you can purchase up to 1,000 tickets per person to maximise your chances of winning. Head over to Dream Car Giveaways' website to secure your entry today. Remember, entries close at 10PM on June 29, and one lucky winner will be drawn at random shortly after, live on the Dream Car Giveaways website, YouTube channe l, and Facebook Page '. Don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Act fast, grab your tickets now, and you could be the one walking away with this extraordinary prize package.
