Sometimes I tend to think the mining lifestyle is glamorised a bit with all the media coverage. Let me give you a bit more perspective on a FIFO lifestyle, from someone who is living it.

There is nothing glamorous about a FIFO lifestyle, especially in the Pilbara of WA. The only glamor is in your pay packet. That's it.

It is stinking hot in the summer (40°C+), cold (inland, not the coast) in the winter on night shift, flies are rampant in the summer, dust bad enough to have to wear safety glasses all the time and usually irritating dust masks as well. Everything is so dirty in comparison to the city. There are different rosters, but it's mostly 14 x 12 hour days. Do your sums and you can see we average a 56 hour week. You don't get a break in the middle of the roster, except for a minibreak switching from day to night shift. You live in one room for those two weeks and you can't whip down to Maccas, go to the cinema, go shopping or attend a concert. The general conversation is crude with rampant swearing everyday speech. I'm single, but apparently FIFO and marriage is a difficult mix. If you are married and can see yourself living away from your partner for two thirds of your life, then it could work.

If you can stomach those conditions, then you are a candidate for FIFO.

Wes.

Don't totally agree with you, Steve.

Economies (countries) seem to play by a different set of rules to individuals. They shouldn't, but they do. An individual can have the rug pulled out from underneath them quickly and be bankrupted. Not countries, oh no. We've just had it with Greece. They should have been cut loose for their useless mismanagement of money. But no, others came to the rescue, "You want bailing out? No problem, here's $160 billion to do as you wish. We don't have it either, but so what, we'll just pluck it out of thin air, rack up more debt ourselves. Who cares?" Brilliant!

I really don't get it. Many countries are in debt. I guess the only thing that separates them from Greece is they magically find a way to service it. Take the USA. Are they any different to Greece in their mismanagement of money? The GFC happened because useless managers charged with managing finances absolutely failed in that duty. Until the world stops attempting to extract more from a system than it is capable of providing, we will be in the crap. The growth in products and services simply does not match the value we want to place on them. That balance must be restored. How that is achieved and how long it will take is the $64 trillion question.

Look at it this way. If one has too much debt, you are going nowhere until you suck it up and take your medicine! What that means is forget growth because it can't happen when you are in dire straits. That's pumping a dead horse. No, you need to reduce debt to a manageable level until the balance is restored. Only then can you look towards growing again at a sustainable rate. Anything else and you're kidding yourself. Think of the word "greed". Sure, we all want more, but the world is in no state to be getting it.

I remember someone once saying money is an illusion. At the time I thought that was a pretty vague and meaningless concept. I think I now know what it means. You only have to see how amazing amounts of money are plucked from nowhere. It's ridiculous and should be stopped dead in its tracks. Stop using alchemy! It's illogical and completely unethical.

…and to finish with a question that I hope someone can answer. What is a bailout? Now, no vague, airy fairy explanations please. Explain to me the nuts and bolts of how a bailout works. Where does the money come from, i.e. do the countries providing the money actually have it? Does it get paid back? I'm all ears and look forward to someone with real knowledge of how this works. Thanks.

This has been going on for years and will continue into the future because useless regulators like ASIC and Fair Trading are absolutely and completely clueless in doing anything to stop it. Scammers register with ASIC because it "legitimises" their name in the eyes of the unsuspecting public. It is such a limp process and anyone can do it. It's called a $2 company.

When the proverbial hits the fan, i.e. complaints from customers, they disappear and go to ground until the dust settles. No-one ever finds them. Then they rise out of the ashes like the phoenix and start all over again, and milk the next unsuspecting victims. Scammers are very clever and know they need their escape plan in order.

If you've got no conscience, there couldn't be a better business. If you're free of ethics, this is the business for you. Unfortunately, blood suckers like this exist in society. With my upbringing it is something that I couldn't believe for a long time, but now I know it is simply part of life.

Tony

I don't have a huge opinion on this, but will just make one point. Don't get too cosy thinking property is immune to big falls like the share market. It may not fall to that degree. But if circumstances come together and there is a panic (and that's the key) you never know what might happen.

There is a tendency to take comfort in the points you make, trying to convince yourself everything stacks up and nothing can go wrong. This is the sort of thinking that pervaded the mining industry. And it all turned to s..t. Some sources believe the Aust property market is highly overvalued. Can we say they are wrong without a shadow of a doubt?

Nothing is guaranteed, and you should keep in mind the outcome you least expect is a possibility.

WJ Hooker

Your argument is flawed. It won't work. If you believe it, then give up your day job and work your system. Why would you work if all the money you need is on tap betting on the horses? Nope. You love your work and don't want to give it up. Fine, but you still have all that money on tap to build your property and/or share portfolio.

Anyone who reckons they win at the casino, horse racing or whatever, just tell them to give up work and do it full time. Like I said above, logic says you don't need any other income because the pool of money available is huge, and they reckon they can tap it any time they want. Absolute crap!

If you don't believe what I'm saying, you are probably too young to know (no life experience), or a naive fool. If you still want to play it, be my guest, but know right now you won't win. And that's not being negative, it's reality. Your choice.