You know the line. “When we were young, life was simple.”
Yes, it was simple but not because life was some magical stress free wonderland. It was simple because we had less. Less income, less responsibility and less expectation. Earn a wage, pay the rent, spend on travel, movies or eating out and save whatever was left. Done! Tax? Barely payable as the withheld covered the bill and you may have got a refund or two along the way.
Then came the house. Mortgage, rates, repairs and insurance. Still very much manageable as you felt like an adult with an asset even if the bank really owned it. Then you realised property ownership doesn’t just mean repayments but it means the ATO is no help because no, your family home doesn’t get you a deduction.
But it never stops there. You start a business. At first it is just you at the kitchen table then you hire staff and need an office space. Suddenly there is payroll, GST, super deadlines and the ATO demanding their cut on time. That is also the point you put your accountant on speed dial because Google just does not cut it anymore. Running a business means you don’t just sell but you also report, reconcile and remit.
Add kids into the mix and it’s a whole new game. Now you are juggling daycare fees, school runs, dance and sports practice and the mysterious ability children have to find expenses you did not even know existed. Private health, school uniforms, birthday parties that somehow need catering and that is before they even hit high school. The family tax offsets you once qualified for? Gone. The more you earn, the less you get back. Welcome to bracket creep.
Then come the investments. One property felt clever, two felt ambitious and three felt just like playing Monopoly until the real land tax, stamp duty and capital gains reminded you that every upgrade comes with an actual bill. With all the emails exchanged, your accountant’s inbox is basically your financial autobiography now. Wealth creation isn’t just about buying assets but it’s about managing the tax drag that comes with them.
Maybe life was not better when we were young but it was just lighter. Growth adds weight. More money, more moving parts and more tax. In all honesty, part of the game is keeping up appearances and half the juggling is just making sure it looks good from the outside. The house, the cars and the holidays. Nobody posts their Notice Of Assessment on Instagram but poolside selfies at Bali infinity pools are everywhere.
So yes, life was simpler when we were young but we wanted more and now we get to pay for more…