Over 50 & Now About to Lose Everything

Are we still treating this thread like this bloke is for real?

 

Cheese stuck in the blender probably catches out lots of people.
Don't worry, be happy.

 

I started typing up a reply assuming realness, but then I gave up.

I'm not an unsympathetic person. But constantly
- bashing "3rd world call centre operators" and "foreign students who work for cheap"
- claiming that no-one will hire him because he's old ("just visit any Maccas to see they only like to hire young")
- claiming that he hates call centre work so won't work there, despite impending financial doom (yeah, folks who work in call centers work there because they love the job)
- claiming that he should take a holiday in Asia now
- bashing Australia while praising Asia
- claims he can't call free advice centres like Salvos due to erm cell phone issues?

Ah well, there you go, wound up typing a long answer anyhoo.

 

.. and home sitting could provide free rent, I know some who do this on a regular basis
I would also look at cleaning jobs, there is always a demand for this.

 

Considering the stress etc. I think I personally would place the property on the market and what I get I get and move on. At least this is one monkey off your back

I would try to avoid bankruptcy if possible

All the best, I hope it works out for you, stay positive its the only way forward, amazing things can happen when you stay positive

MTR

 

The unfortunate fact is people like ‘Nobel’ real or imagined live amongst us. Hypothetically speaking selling the Newcastle property maybe the sure-fire fix in the short run, but the OP may not manage the proceeds well, as pointed out by others. Also once the property is sold, he may never be able to re-enter the property market again if property prices keeps growing. In years to come when the OP is eligible for Pension, his PPOR will be not be asset tested, plus he will have a place to sleep without having to rent.

Furnish that second bedroom with second hand furniture and handouts, keep it tidy. Go to Newcastle Uni and advertise there’s a room to let in the bulletin boards. There will be other ads, undercut their price. Have someone move-in. Male or Female. Some human company will do you good. It will also help with the cash-flow and mortgage payments. Look at local papers for odd jobs here and there………Good luck!

 

That would be tough, as these jobs are highly contested by immigrants hustling for business...
It's really hard to compete with them as they work really hard for low pay.

 

I pay pretty decently for an Airbnb cleaner... $35 per hour...

 

This is true. I know a couple who joined a housesitting web site while saving for a deposit.

 

That's true. In OPs situation, I would rent out my property and live in a caravan park, house share or house-sit. Actually, come to think of it, I have actually done all of these over the years.

Student rentals seem like an obvious solution considering Newcastle Uni.

 

Yeah, but you live in Sydney.

 

Yeah he's equivocating a lot.

I don't really blame him though because trying to get unskilled jobs in Australia is hard these days, which a lot of people in Australia with professional/secure jobs don't understand. Migrants tend to work harder and for less money than Australians so Australians get overlooked. Believe it or not even getting call centre jobs is difficult because there are literally hundreds of people that apply for them. With his sub-standard resume and lack of confidence it's not surprising to me that he wouldn't get an opportunity to work there. As for McDonalds you're kidding yourselves if you think it's easy to get a job there when you're 50. I used to work at Hungry Jack's when I was a kid. Every year from 16-21 you get a salary increase. Therefore, the managers hire school kids and when it comes to finding full-time staff they'll look for people on gap years. That's the reality.

As for OP-

Selling your apartment and using the proceeds to travel to Asia for a 'holiday to unwind' is just stupid! Apart from the lack of confidence/lack of skills you're 50 years old so you had a lifetime to increase your skills/knowledge and also to build up your financial security for a rainy day. You said it yourself at one stage you were earning 10k a month- what did you do with it???

I think you should forget about doing that 'business course' and trying to venture a start-up now. Those business courses aren't even worth the paper they're written on and if you've run a business before you already have the knowledge. You won't get kitchenhand jobs because the reality is they'll hire students/foreigners to work for $10 an hour. Look to do age care. It's a **** job but it only takes a couple of months to get qualified and you'll be earning minimum wage but at least you'll have a wage/steady income.

 

I know a lot of immigrants, and I know their work ethic and the kind of rates/conditions they accept.

Not necessarily targeting OP, but's a bit strange to claim you can't get work because of immigrants and then
- refuse to accept/compete with the wages they work for
- and/or claim the hours immigrants work are too long
- and/or claim the work they do is too strenuous.

And this should go without saying, but - immigrants are Australians too.

 

different market, commercial cleaners shuffle dirt and competitive

I pay $30 per hour in Perth.

 

Immigrants degrade the pay the conditions of unskilled jobs for locals- if they can even get a job. I wouldn't hire an Australian/white person as a kitchen hand because I'd have to pay them too much, and they are much more likely to complain. It's the same for most low-skilled jobs. The fruit picking, 7/11, chicken factories etc. that were exposed in the media earlier this year were just the tip of the iceberg. The Government knows it happens and that's why approve hundreds of thousands of visas each year for people to come over and work.

 

Same situation in Singapore. Foreign workers do jobs that locals won't.

 

Wow.

I'm feeling a Gina Rhinehart moment coming on.

 

It's basic supply and demand please don't play the whole 'holier than thou' attitude.

 

^^^ this.

I was reading a while back that the Mandurah LGA had a high level of youth job vacancies and a high level of youth unemployment. Basically, the unemployed people refused to do the jobs that were being advertised. I think it is racist to then resent immigrants for doing these jobs. If white Aussies won't do them, some other person will.