Overweight and in Debt. Why?

Gunther on 21/03/2017 - 15:56

Why is Australia as a nation, overweight and in (bad)debt? Two major necessities in life – food and money.

Two topics that people can easily be educated on, yet as a majority we are not. Is this a case of the education systems not dealing with it, so the responsibility sits at home. Thus creating a vicious cycle of uneducated people who do not or are poorly educating their children in regards to diet and money. WTF?

Random Google Statistics for those who like numbers:

Australia Credit Card Debit
https://www.finder.com.au/credit-cards/credit-card-statistic…

Australia Overweight
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/…

General Discussion

Comments

  • Euphemistic on 21/03/2017 - 16:05
    +62

    Get big loan, lots of cash, buy too many tim tams.

    • ItsMeAgro on 21/03/2017 - 16:09
      +27

      I'm investing in connoisseur ice cream, myself.

      Worth going into debt for…

      • Scrooge McDuck on 21/03/2017 - 16:11

        There's always a market for ice cream, just leave it out of the freezer.

      • ItsMeAgro on 21/03/2017 - 16:14
        +16

        Seriously though, the amount of debt people get into astonishes me. I'd really prefer not to pay double for everything thanks to interest.

        No, you don't need to get a car loan and buy a $45,000 dollar car. Literally nobody does.

        (Sure, it might be a justifiable purchase if your household income is above 200 grand, but that's not the same as needing one).

        • Thundaja on 22/03/2017 - 10:50
          +78

          No, you don't need to get a car loan and buy a $45,000 dollar car. Literally nobody does.

          Unless you are a graduate Investment Analyst at Westpac.
          In which case, you should do it because its an investment with high yield.

        • Meconium on 22/03/2017 - 11:08
          +18

          @Thundaja: haha that kid will never live this down

        • Scrooge McDuck on 22/03/2017 - 14:26
          +15

          @Meconium:

          He will be forever preserved in the OzBargain hivemind along with Broden and jv.

        • skyva on 22/03/2017 - 14:41
          +7

          Some people have bad debt, some people have good debt.

          If you could not afford a $200,000 house in 2007, but borrowed to buy it, you may pay off lots more than that over 25 years. BUT, the house is now worth much much more than your initial outlay and debt repayments combined, plus you have saved rent. Good debt.

          Buying a $100,000 car on high finance, with it begin worth $30,000 when you sell it, is not good debt.

          More good debt means higher assets for the investor. The trick is identifying good debt v bad debt.

          If you lump it all in together and cannot tell the difference then you are correct to not borrow.

          And I am currently fat because i cannot study when hungry, and I studied a lot. I have finished now and will drop weight again as I can work and watch tv whilst hungry.

          Fat people generally have poor habits that were introduced when young. It takes more than education on diet to get around it.

        • Wonderfool on 23/03/2017 - 16:49

          @Scrooge McDuck: I know about the kid, since it's really hard not to miss that thread, but who is Broden and JV?

        • Scrooge McDuck on 23/03/2017 - 16:50
          +1

          @Wonderfool:

          Please report to the infirmary for re-education.

        • Alpacino299 on 23/03/2017 - 23:31

          Well logic says the only things we need are food water and shelter.(sure you could account for Maslow's list too).
          Will I buy an intricately crafted skeleton automatic watch from the likes of hublot to the tune of 20,000? I probably will because I appreciate the engineering and finesse of what's at hand.

          As for our culture of debt cycle, well take a look at the lnp government that cuts funding and increases flat line taxes to hit those poorest the hardest.
          Is it coincidence that lnp MPs all have a couple of properties to their name?, clearly they're putting their own interests ahead of the rest by perpetuating unsustainable property growth. Isn't it also interesting how those most well off in a liberal world are business leaders who keep the poor poor with interest and privatisation.

        • x853 on 24/03/2017 - 07:45
          +1

          @Thundaja: fantastic comment, props

        • taoz on 24/03/2017 - 10:07

          @skyva:
          Not sure any debt is good.
          So many things can happen and you are still on debt being changes that.

        • magic8ballgag on 25/03/2017 - 15:49

          On the subject of 'need', who really needs anything?

          Mostly everything apart from the bare basics (milk, bread, toilet paper etc.) are a luxury these days, so who are you to say what the average Australian needs?

          I say that if you can comfortably afford it, and aren't putting yourself into big debt, then why not just enjoy life?

        • Suspect420 on 29/03/2017 - 12:38

          @Thundaja:can someone please post the original link… lol i been looking for it for ages

        • Thundaja on 29/03/2017 - 12:47

          @BKZ:

          Here you go!

        • Suspect420 on 29/03/2017 - 15:31

          @Thundaja: OMG that is classic

          Lol -350 votes! BAHAHAHA

    • BookerDeWitt on 21/03/2017 - 16:45
      +1

      Thank you, I needed a laugh today.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/03/2017 - 18:41

      10/10 guide, Clive Palmer approved.

  • Scrooge McDuck on 21/03/2017 - 16:09
    +23

    I put it down to an inability to delay gratification.

    • try2bhelpful on 21/03/2017 - 16:55
      +2

      Premature debt, huh.

      • afoveht on 22/03/2017 - 09:20
        +1

        The inability to delay gratification is an environmental as well as personal issue. National statistics may speak more of a social phenomenon than individual "failures."

        http://www.bxscience.edu/ourpages/auto/2012/11/13/61180471/K…

        • try2bhelpful on 22/03/2017 - 09:35
          +5

          Bizzarely enough I think a lot of the problem is that just about everything, but housing, has become incredibly cheap. People think, well it only costs a little bit so I'll buy it, then they use if a couple of times and put it into a draw or throw it out. We pay the actual same amount for air fares as we did in the 80s, when wages and the cost of houses, was much smaller.

          I think this is combined with an explosion of things you can spend your money on - an astonishing array of electronic goods, phone plans, entertainment plans, travel opportunities, clothes, cars, etc. Most of it is not built to last and we fill the environment with more and more discarded crap whilst people "social media" and image of their latest purchase/experience. We weren't "poor like the Waltons" but we didn't get a lot of stuff individually growing up because there were 5 kids and stuff was expensive compared to my parents wage. However, what we did get was a good education and the ability to earn our way in the world.

        • Scorpex on 22/03/2017 - 10:19
          +3

          @try2bhelpful:Oh how I remember the saving regimes placed on my siblings and me by our parents. You want it, you save for it. Long term goals and rewards. Classic delayed reward training. I'd like to think that it worked….no debt, average weight!!

      • jlogic on 23/03/2017 - 12:48

        Those radio ads from the AMHC can help with premature… Wait this is gratification not….

    • [Deactivated] on 22/03/2017 - 10:26

      …which is directly proportional to IQ!

    • Scrooge McDuck on 22/03/2017 - 11:16

      Add to that the abundance of sugar laden cheap food, cash welfare handouts, cheap credit and the consumerist society.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 22/03/2017 - 11:19

        These lead to overconsumption of food (and other goods) and a poor value for money.

  • pjetson on 21/03/2017 - 16:15
    +16

    too many tim tams

    Is that even possible?

  • Ryanek on 21/03/2017 - 16:17
    +27

    I take it you're fit and rich? Hey can I introduce you to my sister?

  • retiredfeline on 21/03/2017 - 16:17
    +11

    Eat the cards, then cannot spend or eat anything else. Problem solved.

    • ChillBro on 21/03/2017 - 16:19
      +18

      I'd like to hire you as my financial advisor and fitness instructor. You will be paid competitively at 2 eneloops per week.

      • TerryJustTerry on 22/03/2017 - 20:53

        Where do i sign ?

      • cannedhams on 22/03/2017 - 22:20

        For one session per week and for made in japan eneloops you may have a deal.

      • [Deactivated] on 23/03/2017 - 18:43

        1 eneloop + an Xiaomi product I probably don't need and it's a deal.

    • whirlpool_guy on 23/03/2017 - 09:34

      Without the cards, I can still PayPal

  • indium on 21/03/2017 - 16:18
    +6

    I think education is the answer, was not taught any of this in school and it was only later on that I found out some useful information about these topics that have impacted my life.

    • mskeggs on 21/03/2017 - 18:28
      +1

      Wow, how old are you? Both topics have been compulsory parts of the school curriculum for many decades, at least in NSW.

      • the cheeky dropbear on 21/03/2017 - 19:37
        +3

        The Weight topics would be studied in PDHPE, but money and debt not so much, at least not when I was there. There weren't any compulsory subjects that really touched upon Personal Finance

        • Waffles on 22/03/2017 - 08:45
          +3

          From what I recall the 'lower' levels of maths were more focussed on money and reading and understanding bills while the higher levels were way more quadratic equations and calculus

        • the cheeky dropbear on 22/03/2017 - 10:48
          +1

          @ewanw:

          That's true, although the examples are there to show the applications of the maths within society. It's only in the past couple of years that the curriculum has started to include financial literacy and personal finance;

          https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/teaching/teaching-resources/te…

          https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/teaching/teaching-resources/te…

        • Telios on 23/03/2017 - 13:35
          -1

          PDHPE

          Is that a new type of plastic? Should I be checking my water bottles are PDHPE-free?

        • Praeto on 23/03/2017 - 17:33

          @ewanw:

          I'm in my 30s and never learned anything about finances in school. Health was covered under PDHPE, but finances were not part of any curriculum.

      • Elnato on 25/03/2017 - 09:42

        I can assure you they aren't, not in public schooling, PE is taught at a younger age but both should be reinforced in year 10 and 12 for sure, would be helpful for clueless students at TAFE and university

  • retiredfeline on 21/03/2017 - 16:27
    +10

    Seriously though, I think pokie machines have a lot to answer for too. As a nation we're up there in the gambling stats too.

    • ilikeradiohead on 22/03/2017 - 11:57
      +1

      We are #1

    • Godric on 22/03/2017 - 17:47

      Speaking of, which machines do you have the best stats with?

      • retiredfeline on 22/03/2017 - 18:09
        +1

        Linux for uptime win! :D

    • Oofy Doofy on 23/03/2017 - 11:01

      Yup. My nan put every last dollar through the pokies after her husband died in 83.

      Clubs with gaming machines have a lot to answer for.

  • 7hours 44min ago on 21/03/2017 - 16:28
    +5

    Entitlement.

  • geek001 on 21/03/2017 - 16:35
    +10

    Bad parenting? My parents had nothing when they were young, so growing up the two things they teach me is eat as much food as you can when you get the chance and make as much money as possible. Now I am overweight but not in debt, because I have been programmed to accumulate as much money as possible. True story, bro.

    • psyren89 on 21/03/2017 - 18:35
      +5

      You can kill two birds with one stone by eating your money.

    • goraygo on 22/03/2017 - 23:50
      +2

      I actually resonate your education. Pretty similar here.

      But I was overweight and I decided to do something about it.

      Lost 20 kg in a year few years ago and now I am very careful with what kind of food I put in my mouth and do moderate exercises to keep this hard earned weight.

      True story here too.

      • geek001 on 23/03/2017 - 09:41

        How do you stop eating? I think it has all the symptoms of an addiction. I eat reasonably well, ie. fresh food and cooked at home. The problem is I start looking for things to eat whenever I am alone or not doing anything.

        • ScroogeMcChicken on 23/03/2017 - 18:01

          Research ketogenic diets (whats often referred to as a high fat low carb diet). This is a good place start: http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/ketogenic-diet-plan.h…

          A ketogenic diet is where you eat mostly fat, some protein and very few carbs (i.e. avoid bread, pasta, rice, potato, milk, sugar, fruit). The typical diet you are probably eating at the moment is the reverse of that.

          Once you start a ketogenic diet your body switches over to using fat as it's energy source (ketosis). If you have extra fat on your body it will start using that once it has used up the fat you ate. It's like you are drip feeding your body from your fat stores with energy all day long.

          Because you now have a constant energy source your hunger simply goes away (takes about three days to kick in - to get over this hump there are some awesome low carb bars available and you can also eat various nuts, dark chocolate, plain greek yoghurt, cream and berries whenever you feel you desperately need a snack. Also you will need to drink a tonne of water as the diet initially makes you sweat and urinate like crazy).

          It's easy to do even if you have a busy life (E.g. I had McDonald's for breakfast this morning and chicken kebab with salad, egg and cheese for lunch as I was on the road today. How is this possible? I didn't eat the bread from either one and I didn't order a hash brown or chips as those are all carbs).

          Once you hit your target weight you just add in a few more carbs to stop the process. Seriously it will change your life and you won't be hungry!

        • geek001 on 23/03/2017 - 18:14

          @ScroogeMcChicken: Thanks for that. However I have been advised by my GP against the keto diet as I have a fatty liver unfortunately. Any other ideas?

        • goraygo on 24/03/2017 - 00:47

          @geek001

          I have exactly the same problem you mentioned.

          I've done the following for a whole year. It is tough. I will explain a bit in each point.

          1. Exercise: jog 6 days a week. (I don't jog on rubbish day because of the smell of the bins.) - this is actually ok to keep doing once you past the 2 weeks mark and your body started to pick up. I mix jog and fast pace walk when i run out of breath. I normally do 45 mins in the morning before work.

          2. Meal control - instead of eating 3 big meals a day, I eat 5 smaller meals a day. The 2 in between meals are mostly healthy fruits or low fat yoghurt. (The reduction in the main 3 meals size was the Toughest to bare for about a whole month!!!!!) but your stomach will get used to it. You don't have to drop heaps. Just make sure you drop enough. Watch out for next point.

          3. Eat slower - I was a super fast eater. My wife used to tell me I don't chew even though I do. But eating fast means I over eat every meal. So I consciously reduce my speed of swallowing food. (This change take a bit of mental power but not very tough) it will help you with point 2.

          4. Portion control - i eat less carb but more vegetable. I also eat meat but lean meats. Those red meat help you to control your cravings.

          5. No junk - haha. This is the worst one. No chips, no chocolate, no soft drinks. Just water, tea and coffee with little milk. No macca or KFC neither. That isn't too bad for one year.

          For the looking for food to eat part, if you can find something low in calories and fat lying around. It would help. You don't have to stop eating. It is what you eat and how much you eat.

          I actually have some not too healthy wasabi peas around my work desk to help with my cravings. Of course I didn't go nuts with them.

          Happy to discuss more if you need more info.

        • geek001 on 24/03/2017 - 08:30

          @goraygo: Thanks for that. I definitely can see myself in some of your points, especially with the eating too fast part. :)

          Did you find hard to get jogging started? I naturally do not enjoy exercise. I know people who are gym junkies and love it but I have tried going to the gym and picking up other sports, but I just don't enjoy it at all.

          No junk is a hard one. Both my missus and I work, so sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances, it gets a bit too late for cooking at home. The kids always wants to go to Maccas, I don't know why. Where do you go if you need to get takeaways?

        • goraygo on 24/03/2017 - 09:06

          @geek001:

          I am with you on the exercise bit, I am not those gym junkies, I tried treadmills but never work for me. I find gym boring and also exercise waste of my time before I start every time, not to mention the travel to the gym.

          I jog on the street, it is the easiest to start, you can pick your distance and gradually increase it. You also get to see cars and people or checking out houses around your block.

          Starting to jog initially take a bit of mental push yourself, and the aching will definitely hurts. remember, it is no shame to drop one day if you are REALLY tired or had a late work night. Just remember to keep it up the following day, once you past the first 2 weeks, the aching will go and you will find it easier to get yourself motivated. I kept telling me I have to do it because I want to see my kids and their grandkids and not die early. This motivated me. You have to find your own motivations.

          I know, kids just LOVE Maccas! We try to reduce Maccas to minimum, may be once a week for the kids but we go to local food courts which have Maccas and other takeaway shops. And I will just get sushi or sashimi or noodles. (Remember the reduction in crab bit? Try to order vegie with it)

          Takeaway shop food mostly oily and fatty, during the lost weight year, I managed to convince my wife to cook over the weekend and freeze home made food for 2-3 days a week and the other days we go out to eat.

          Eating out, once you got your reduced sized meal sorted, you should be able to eat less outside. I've been brought up to not waste food and finish everything. That's the mentality I had to change. If i don't finish my bowl of food from restaurant, I am winning.

          It is all about keeping your portion when you eat out and pick the healthies options available even though most of them aren't that healthy but at least you ar doing something about it.

        • knk on 24/03/2017 - 17:41

          @geek001:

          I find the best motivator for people is to count calories, even if you're not restricting yourself.

          Weight is all calories in and calories out and IF you count you'll soon realise that certain foods contain an insane amount of energy. You'll replace things like say, a bowl of rice for something equally as filling / large which isn't as dense etc etc.

          Then when you go and eat mcdonalds, count the calories there and realise holy shit I just ate a weeks worth of food and I'm still hungry!

        • Russ on 11/04/2017 - 00:09

          How do you stop eating?

          My dietician gave me four pieces of advice:
          - don't drink anything with significant calories (like most soft-drinks, juice, milk, alcoholic drinks)
          - change your diet to have more protein and less carbs
          - at dinner time, make carbs fit on no more than one-quarter of your plate
          - eat more frequently, but plan what you are going to eat at those times. I didn't previously eat morning tea and afternoon tea, the dietician said I should.

          Protein makes you feel full, so you won't feel like snacking. And enforced snacking of healthy food helps too.

          For me, the changes to my diet were quite small.
          - for breakfast, I now eat untoasted muesli with low-fat high-protein yoghurt.Yoghurt varies hugely in protein content, many are around 3-4g/100g protein. Chobani low-fat is 9.7g/100g protein, the highest I could find.
          - I must eat an apple or similar-size fruit (not grapes!) at morning-tea time
          - I eat slightly fewer sandwiches for lunch (three slices of bread instead of four)
          - for afternoon tea, I have low-fat crackers with low-fat high-protein cheese. Cheeses vary quite a bit in protein content, and I found some cheeses that are NOT marked as low fat actually have very similar protein and fat figures (e.g. Edam cheese), so you can have nice-tasting cheese. Some ordinary water crackers have similar figures to low-fat crackers too.
          - I haven't really modified my dinner habits, other than to try to put more carrots/broccoli/etcetera on my plate, and limiting the number of potatoes.

          Doing all the above has removed most of my pot-gut, and I have now stabilised at about 9kg lighter than before I made the changes.

        • geek001 on 11/04/2017 - 08:50

          @knk: Thanks for your comment. I did try it once, I downloaded an app on my phone to keep track of what I was eating, basically calorie counting. I always come in under the energy requirements of what a normal sedentary adult male needs according to the app. I gave up after a while, because I didn't lose any weight.

        • geek001 on 11/04/2017 - 08:55

          @Russ: Thanks for that. I have a few questions:

          1. What brand cheese do you buy?
          2. Is milk really bad?
          3. Do you have any snack ideas? I tried having an apple when I feel peckish. But it didn't satisfy my craving. So most of the time ended up having 2 or 3 apples. But still not feeling satisfied after that.
        • geek001 on 11/04/2017 - 09:02
          +1

          @goraygo: Thanks for all your advice, I will give exercise a go. Although it is very very very very hard to get started. :) I have problems with your points 4 and 5, but definitely try to do it. I will let you know how I go in a month or 2. Lol.

        • Russ on 11/04/2017 - 11:59

          @geek001:

          What brand cheese do you buy?

          I usually buy cheap cheese, as I am trying to pay off a house. Coles, Woolies and Aldi all have cheap generic-brand 500g packs of low-fat sliced cheese, Aldi is the cheapest at $5.29. Nicer-tasting cheeses are about twice the price-per-weight, so I only have them as treats. I actually quite like the Aldi cheese now.

          Is milk really bad?

          Unfortunately yes. I love milk, I used to drink 2-3 litres a day, until my doctor said I was getting almost my entire daily fat allowance from milk alone. I changed to skim milk, but the calories in skim are not much less than full-cream milk. So I was getting much less fat, but almost all the calories. That was before I saw the dietician. Now I drink plain water much of the time, even though it doesn't taste great (Brisbane water!). Boiling the water and letting it cool reduces the Brisbane water flavour, I have heard that freezing it and letting it melt works too, probably more energy-efficient if you let it melt inside your fridge.

          I have found it helps if you drink while you are doing something else, like working or watching TV, so you don't notice the flavour (or lack of it) much. Flavouring the water with tea (normal or herbal) adds zero calories, if you can't stand plain water. Soda water has no calories either, but different brands have different flavours, the one I occasionally drink has potassium bicarbonate as the flavouring agent.

          Do you have any snack ideas?

          Boiled eggs are high in protein, and you can keep them in the fridge for snacking. Add herbs and spices if you find the flavour boring.
          The dietician recommended "a small handful of almonds" for snacking. Most other nuts are nearly as good, but apparently almonds are the best.

        • Russ on 11/04/2017 - 12:05

          @geek001:

          I should add that the foods I eat for morning tea and afternoon tea are the foods that the dietician recommended.

        • geek001 on 11/04/2017 - 12:41

          @Russ: Wow.. lots of good info, thanks for that.

          Now I drink plain water much of the time, even though it doesn't taste great (Brisbane water!).

          Tell me about it, I noticed that immediately after I moved to Brisbane. I thought I was the only one because no one else in my family noticed it. I put in a cheapie water filter from one of the ebay 20% off sales. Seems to make it a lot more tolerable.

          What about plant based milk like soy? I have switched to soy lately because my wife has developed lactose intolerance.

          Boiled eggs huh? Urghh… Can I have that with soy sauce?

          I tried snacking on almonds, but somehow before I know it, I have finished the whole pack!

        • Russ on 11/04/2017 - 13:12

          @geek001:

          I don't know about soy, but read the nutrition panel on the side and compare the figures with other drinks. I think soy is a sweetened drink, so probably bad.

          To prevent yourself from eating a whole pack of anything, keep the food in the kitchen and only take small quantities out of the kitchen. That way you can't keep eating - once the small quantity has run out, you have to go back to the kitchen, and normally you won't. This only works if your kitchen has no chairs, so you won't linger in the kitchen. If you don't have a separate kitchen, maybe keep your snack food in the laundry room or in the garage, the more difficult it is to access, the easier it will be to eat less.

        • knk on 12/04/2017 - 19:46

          @geek001:

          No offence mate, but if you were counting and eating under what a sedentary adult eats (~8000kjs?) then you're counting wrong.

          Do it for a month and literally weigh everything that goes into your mouth, you will lose weight. Science doesn't lie.

          Also pay attention to the spread of macros you're eating, if putting yourself at a deficit you'll need to ensure you get enough fats in particular as you'll end up being a lethargic moody (profanity) if you don't :).

  • dasher86 on 21/03/2017 - 16:39
    +12

    too many kfc deals.

  • iridiumstem on 21/03/2017 - 16:47
    +3

    I think the stats on credit card needs more information.

    Summation of balance that's accruing interest with credit card isn't giving me enough information, I'd assume that distribution of those balance in households would be more important. I am having a hard time believing that pre-2002, there were no balance that was accruing interest, but I guess I am digressing.

    Anyways, the balance is getting larger. Though population is also getting larger, inflation might've not been taken into account etc etc. I don't think I can make any statements other than, I need more info. In fact, if you do balance accruing interest/number of accounts, it's been going down since 2011 but I am not sure whether that says anything meaningful because it's an average without info on distribution.

    Obesity data is saying far more, in my opinion. It's widely known phenomena that low socioeconomics status correlates (don't think there were any empirical studies on it) with obesity in developed countries. That said, I thought that relationship is more due to low SES group tend to spend less on food, ending up with relatively unhealthy food? At least that I think was one of the explanations. Though, that relationship is up to debate as well if I remember correctly.

  • songford on 21/03/2017 - 16:51
    +20

    I run a bottle shop, and sometimes people have stacks of cards…Literally stacks of them, which make their wallet so thick. I don't know exactly but I would assume they are credit cards, otherwise what's the point of having multiple debit cards? They will just come in and try out every single one of them, until the transaction is accepted by the bank and gone through. I don't have any problem with having multiple cards. If the bank issues you one, they probably have confidence (?) on your ability to pay back. But it's precarious when you see a customer tries 10+ cards and all get rejected. It gives you an appreciation of how much overspent (or rather, debt) (s)he's in. Yet they just shrug it off and buy pricey boozes.

    I don't know if the Australian way of drinking has contributed to the two facts (in debt and overweight), but I reckon it's highly likely. For one, boozes are energy-packed, so if you drink a 6-pack everyday, you'll have to take down other energy intakes significantly to balance your DI. On the other hand, alcoholic beverages are expensive, especially spirits. So there you go. If you do a slab every other day, there's a high chance that you'll be poor and fat.

    • dasher86 on 21/03/2017 - 17:06

      ever get unauthorised charge backs?

      • tomsco on 22/03/2017 - 09:03

        I'd hope with the introduction of PayPass or confirmation a PIN has been used that this would cover the business against fraud.

        • songford on 22/03/2017 - 11:25

          You are correct. We saw like 5 customers having a card that requires signature from them in the whole previous year. It's becoming more and more rare.

      • songford on 22/03/2017 - 11:23

        Thankfully no so far.

    • bennos on 22/03/2017 - 09:18

      What do you suggest i drink when i get home?

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/297237

      • songford on 22/03/2017 - 11:22
        +3

        Coke zero.

        I'm addicted to coke. I see you said you don't like sugar. The good news is there's no sugar in coke zero. You might err on the artificial sweetener in it. But FDA tried probably around 50 years to pin it as a carcinogen to no avail. You know when they can't frame a stuff directly to an aliment, they say it's a carcinogen, because it's so hard to prove it but it scares people off efficiently. So on one hand, you have sugar overdose, which gives you all sorts of nasty stuff from diabetes to obesity, on the other hand you have sweetener, which goes into your mouth and comes out as-is like a tourist. It's a no-brainer to me.

        I've been drinking coke zero since it's a thing. The taste is different, of course, but I won't say it's inferior to normal coke. I hate diet coke. It gives you a metallic aftertaste. But I can't feel it at all with coke zero. In fact, now I feel weird and uncomfortable drinking normal coke after all these years. Coke life is a joke.

        So in summary, if you are an addict to coke like me, but feels disgusted by the massive sugar intake with normal coke, coke zero is your messiah.

        • Cluster on 22/03/2017 - 11:52

          Aspartame (used in Coke Zero) has been shown to cause people to feel hungrier. While the drink itself has virtually zero energy, if may cause you to overeat other foods.

        • Jolakot on 22/03/2017 - 13:45
          +1

          @Cluster: As far as I'm aware the effect on hunger is identical to that of regular sugar.

        • Baysew on 22/03/2017 - 14:32
          +1

          @Cluster: So it's a good thing to put a shot of bourbon in it?

        • songford on 22/03/2017 - 15:14

          @Cluster:
          You might be correct. I think I've read about something about that as well. The whole concept is plausible, since you tricked your brain to think you've had a lot of sugar but then he finds out there's not actual energy from that "sugar", there might be some subconscious feedback to make you eat more to make up for it? But "hungry" is such a subjective term, I don't really believe there's any way to quantitatively evaluate whether it makes you "hungrier" than before. I for myself didn't really find I become hungrier after having coke zero, since I eat about as much food everyday and am not a snacks person. Maybe it makes some hungrier? I dunno.

        • songford on 22/03/2017 - 15:22
          -1

          @Baysew:
          Drinking bourbon is like directly drinking vegetable oil per energy intake. Every time I feel like a gin tonic or CC dry, I'll rethink if I'd like to drink coke with canola oil. And I don't feel like it anymore.

        • DingoBilly on 22/03/2017 - 17:24
          +2

          @Cluster:

          Reading up on it on Wikipedia…

          "Although some researchers have stated that aspartame contributes to weight gain, hunger and increase in appetite,[8][68] broad reviews and regulators conclude that aspartame has no appreciable effect on appetite.[8][38]"

          So I don't believe your statement is true.

    • idonotknowwhy on 22/03/2017 - 12:42
      +4

      I must look like this too lol.
      I have several cards from the ozbargain deals to sign up for credit cards and earn bonux points, then meet the minimum spend and cancel.
      So I'll go to a shop, pull out an Amex, it gets rejected because they don't take Amex, then I'll try a Visa which earns less points.
      If someone sees my wallet, they'll also see the 2 additional Amex's which I have for Amex deals, shopsmall, etc.

      • songford on 22/03/2017 - 15:19

        Mate, I've got like 4~5 cards as well. That's normal. I get it. But what I was talking about is like ~50 cards. They've got no cash in their wallet because they put cards in their cash compartment. The wallet is like a dictionary.

        Also AMEX is not accepted in my shop as well. I think they charge a lot more than Visa/Mastercard from us per transaction.

        • ssyl9 on 23/03/2017 - 16:08

          I have 4-5 debit/visa/master/amex..

          Then my cash compartment is filled with membership cards (lots.. we are talking something like 20), vouchers and shit like that..

          No Cash… There are no rewards in using cash!

          So if you met me you might think I am one of them then.

  • 4foxache on 21/03/2017 - 17:01
    +2

    Get Strava, get your friends on strava… then continually try and beat each others best times. There you have it, obesity epidemic has been solved.

  • try2bhelpful on 21/03/2017 - 17:04
    +2

    Fortunately I don't have the debt situation; however, I do have the overweight situation. I was a gym junkie in my 30s and, although I was the correct weight/height I was never sicker in my entire life. Constant injuries, getting colds all the time and completely rundown. Now I'm in my 50s and overweight, but my health is actually pretty good. I rarely have colds, do a fair bit of walking and Body Pump classes 3 times a week. My weakness is eating out, croissants and hot chocolates. I don't eat much takeaway, junk food (chips etc) or premade sauces etc. I eat/drink dairy products and my bone density is holding pretty steady. Yes, I should lose some weight but overweight does not, necessarily, mean unhealthy.

    • airal3rt on 21/03/2017 - 18:03
      +18

      overweight does not, necessarily, mean unhealthy

      Well, in the same way being a smoker or exposing yourself to radioactive materials doesn't "necessarily" make you unhealthy. They're all choices you make that substantially increase your risk of serious health complications, despite how you may "feel" at the present time.

        • airal3rt on 22/03/2017 - 00:19
          +24

          is what discredits the whole weight loss industry.

          The whole weight loss industry is founded upon people's inability to acknowledge their own behaviour. Many people would rather drink some magic smoothie or wrap cling-wrap around their stomach or guzzle apple cider vinegar at 5am whilst striking a yoga pose or whatever the new "fat-loss secret omg!!1!" is, rather than accept they need to shovel less food into their mouth if they wish to reduce their body mass.

          I have no precursors to diabetes, heart disease, or any of the other risk factors

          Kind of like how that pack a day smoker isn't having trouble breathing… yet.

          My doctor is not at all concerned about my current weight

          Unfortunately more and more doctors are saying they are reluctant to discuss the overweight/obesity levels of their patients due to negative reactions and getting slandered in online doctor reviews, which can negatively impact their professional career. Case in point, your reaction here.

          Stop making blanket statements about "substantially increased risks" unless you have actually examined someone

          I don't think you understand how risk factors work. I don't need to inspect the bullet chamber of your gun to tell you that playing Russian roulette is hazardous to your health.

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