by shaz | Jan 15, 2026 | Musings
Do you know how road tolls came about?
Do you realise how you have been tricked into paying them – when it’s not actually legal to pay tolls. A man in Sydney won a legal case and drives around not paying a cent in tolls.
Originally, when I was growing up, the only toll was 20 cents, to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge, later $2 I recall.
We were told the tolls was used to pay for the bridge construction.
Then as new Sydney roads were built, more tolls were introduced, to pay for the roads, the government needed more money than our taxes, to pay for the infrastructure.
Except once the road was built and paid for, the tolls do NOT stop.
Instead, the road toll system was “privatised”, sold to private corporations, big businesses, who collect billions in tolls in cities every day. The whole idea was the toll paid for the road, now our toll money pays a corporation to get rich, to increase it’s wealth, profit at all costs
They barely pay TAX, often shifting profits into off shore companies, avoiding our tax system, supported and encouraged by governments
While you and I, we pay so much more than just income tax
GST in everything we buy
Fuel tax
Electricity tax
Alcohol tax
Every single bill you pay has tax included, renamed as fees etc. Hidden taxes are everywhere.
Why
Why are the people who collect our taxes not spending OUR money FOR us, on what ordinary Australians need.
Instead, our electricity prices are higher than ever, water, many other fees and charges squeezing our money tighter and tighter, making the biggest cost of living crisis we have had. It’s actually a cost of government crisis that we are experiencing.
They (government) do not pay as much tax like WE, politicians are also exempt from a lot of rules that they put on us.
They make the rules to suit them or exempt themselves from the laws.
Anyway, that’s only a start
I have a lot more to teach you, to point out, from my learned experience and wisdom
Much love to all
Shaz
by shaz | Jan 12, 2026 | Musings
When I sold the unit I owned (outright) at Ocean Plaza Resort, Coolangatta QLD in 2021, I did not leave the cash in a bank.
I had learned about the Bail Out law that our government set up for the banks, to protect the banks, at the cost of the people – US.
Did you know that if a bank starts failing, running out of money – like they have in other countries, including the USA – the bank can keep, as in refuse to give you, steal, freeze, they can use, can keep YOUR money, completely legally!!! ($200,000 and above)
I invested in Bitcoin, firstly by “accident” – it was the way I could buy the speculative crypto currencies I played around with in 2020 – I took the profits in 2021 and converted it all to Bitcoin.
I put the bulk of my wealth into precious metals, mostly silver, some gold.
My self managed superannuation fund had been held in shares on the stock market. When I moved from Port Macquarie NSW to Coolangatta in 2020, I requested the accountancy firm in Port to sell all the shares for the fund. The guy I dealt with was not impressed I was no longer using his company, joking did I know something he didn’t. I did, that’s why I got out of the stock market.
I moved my superannuation to another accountancy firm, owned by my friend Martienne, who assisted me investing it off shore, in a managed portfolio, based on platinum and silver.
It has taken several years, going backwards, declining in value… until late 2025. I just checked it now, it’s more than double my original investment.
Tim “The Man in the Hat” who runs BTR bullion (Instagram) who I discovered last year, has been teaching people to invest in gold, silver and Bitcoin for several years, educating people about financial system history, as well as fiat currency, how it all works.
I love learning history of finance etc from him – history has the answers.
So if you have a bank account with $200,000 or more, and your bank started to run short of money, or to start to collapse, your account balance, YOUR money, belongs to them, if they choose, legally, to keep it and refuse to give it to you!!
Imagine if you had $1.000.000 or more!!
The banks are able keep your money legally, if times are hard for them.
How is that fair?
These same banks that make millions in profits, earning their main income by charging you fees and interest, while paying a tiny percentage of tax – compared to the approximately 50% income tax that WE, the people pay.
Banks and big corporations contribute very little to our tax system, more like 5% or less, while we pay around 50% or more – why?
Corporations and big business are favoured in this country, by the government.
It’s a fact
It is not fair
I can see the stock market, not only crashing, but crashing and burning out of existence, in the coming year or two.
Much love to all
Shaz
by shaz | Jan 11, 2026 | Musings
I see a lot of different lifestyles, living on the road and being outdoors a lot of the time – more on that another time.
I no longer own a home, apart from Venus.
Venus has no shower, or laundry, and though I have a sink, I only use the tap. There is a drainage container under it, I prefer not to use it, so I throw the water out the door and do my dishes outside.
I am also manager of my own water supply, filling my 110 litre tank around once every week or two.
My power is charged by driving, as well as the 3 solar panels on the roof, as well as occasionally plugging into external power at caravan parks or homes of friends.
Instead of paying council and service providers like most people in fixed dwelling homes, I take care of my own sewerage as well, emptying my porta-loo toilet every 2 days in dump points, or public toilets when no point is nearby, as I use no chemicals.
I can highly recommend Bosisto’s Eucalyptus and Lemon Myrtle Antibacterial Solution for the water tank in portable toilets.
I locate laundries in my travels – cash ones, I don’t use cards.
Besides, those electronic equipped washing machines and dryers cost more and the electronics often break down.
I love using the old Speed Queen washing machines, usually $4, the ones with card options are $8 or more.
The extra charges are partly to PAY for the eftpos tap system. Cash costs less to use – in fact it’s free.
Cards ALL have a cost attached to them, you just see your no cost side of the transaction, the business and machine owners pay for the electronic service
.
I worked in Sydney for most of my working life, 25 years of money markets, mostly Stockbroking.
I know a lot about finance and how financial markets work, I worked in administration and client accounts, the financial side.
I was never a trader or advisor – they were mostly men, a few women, they are sales people, basically.
I have actually learned more about the mechanics and workings of the whole financial system in the last 6 or more years, though I have been out of the city high rise buildings and corporate life since 2009.
I will share more of my financial insights in upcoming musings.
Much love to all
Shaz
by shaz | Jan 5, 2026 | Musings
I spend a lot of time in nature, particularly in these first days of 2026
Sitting on my rug in the sun a few mornings ago, I watched a lone medium sized ant with a yellow butt wander through blades of grass, redirecting it when it approached my rug. I’m sure there were more of those ants close by
There were many other small black ants on their own pathway, busily going about their colony work, hundreds of them.
Today I sat on the step in my van home Venus – I prefer there or my rug on the ground to sitting on chairs – watching bees pollinate dandelion flowers right in front of me, magical.
There was also a young juvenile kookaburra, sitting on a branch by a tiny creek.
I’ve never seen a young kookaburra until last week.
It was watching something, so I watched him (or her) with the assumption he was on the search for food. After a while he flew into the small gully and came back wet, he’d had a bath.
I was parked by a park with lots of trees and birds, opposite houses, in a quiet area surrounded by nature.
A few birds, with an unusual call that I want to identify, played and flew around singing their unique sounds.The kookaburra watched them & so did I.
They were too high in the tree to see, I’ll learn what they are with my binoculars an other time
I also watch birds over the ocean, some fly very close to the waves surface, especially when it’s wind
Time spent in nature is very relaxing and good for the soul
Much love to all
Shaz
