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Slashing salt can save lives – and it won’t hurt your hip pocket or tastebuds

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-breadon-1348098">Peter Breadon</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lachlan-fox-1283428">Lachlan Fox</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> Each year, more than <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/eb5fee21-7f05-4be1-8414-8b2bba7b4070/ABDS-2018-Risk-factor-supp-data-tables.xlsx.aspx">2,500 Australians</a> die from diseases linked to eating too much salt. We shouldn’t be putting up with so much unnecessary illness, mainly from heart disease and strokes, and so many deaths. As a new <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/sneaky-salt/">Grattan Institute report</a> shows, there are practical steps the federal government can take to save lives, reduce health spending and help the economy. <h2>We eat too much salt, with deadly consequences</h2> Eating too much salt is bad for your health. It <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41569-018-0004-1">raises blood pressure</a>, which increases the risk of <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14240">heart disease and stroke</a>. About <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/risk-factors/high-blood-pressure/contents/summary">one in three</a> Australians has high blood pressure, and eating too much salt is the biggest individual contributor. Unfortunately, the average Australian eats far too much salt – <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.5694/mja17.00394">almost double</a> the recommended daily maximum of 5 grams, equivalent to <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/sodium-and-salt-converter#:%7E:text=We%20recommend%20adults%20eat%20less,about%201%20teaspoon%20a%20day">a teaspoon</a>. Australian governments know excessive salt intake is a big problem. That’s why in <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-preventive-health-strategy-2021-2030?language=en">2021 they set a target</a> to reduce salt intake by at least 30% by 2030. It’s an ambitious and worthy goal. But we’re still eating too much salt and we don’t have the policies to change that. <h2>Most of the salt we eat is added to food during manufacturing</h2> Most of the salt Australians eat doesn’t come from the shaker on the table. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7231587/">About three-quarters</a> of it is added to food during manufacturing. This salt is hidden in everyday staples such as bread, cheese and processed meats. Common foods such as ready-to-eat pasta meals or a ham sandwich can have up to half our total recommended salt intake. <h2>Salt limits are the best way to cut salt intake</h2> Reducing the amount of salt added to food during manufacturing is the most effective way to reduce intake. Salt limits can help us do that. They work by setting limits on how much salt can be added to different kinds of food, such as bread or biscuits. To meet these limits, companies need to change the recipes of their products, reducing the amount of salt. Under salt limits, the United Kingdom reduced salt intake <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.16649">by 20% in about a decade</a>. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41371-021-00653-x">South Africa</a> is making even faster gains. Salt limits are cheap and easy to implement, and can get results quickly. Most consumers won’t notice a change at the checkout. Companies will need to update their recipes, but even if all the costs of updating recipes were passed on to shoppers, we calculate that at most it would cost about 10 cents each week for the average household. Nor will consumers notice much of a change at the dinner table. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/10/4354">Most people don’t notice</a> when some salt is removed <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022316622031224">from common foods</a>. There are many ways companies can make foods taste just as salty without adding as much salt. For example, they can make <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704534904575131602283791566">salt crystals finer</a>, or use <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4520464/">potassium-enriched salt</a>, which swaps some of the harmful sodium in salt for potassium. And because the change will be gradual, our tastebuds will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvac060.077">adapt to less salty foods</a> over time. <h2>Australia’s salt limits are failing</h2> Australia has had voluntary salt limits since 2009, but they are badly designed, poorly implemented, and have reduced population salt intake by just <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/healthy-food-partnership-reformulation-program-two-year-progress">0.3%</a>. Because Australia’s limits are voluntary, many food companies have chosen not to participate in the scheme. Our analysis shows that 73% of eligible food products are not participating, and only 4% have reduced their salt content. <h2>Action could save lives</h2> Modelling from the University of Melbourne <a href="https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/4783405/The-Health-and-Cost-Impacts-of-Sodium-Reduction-Interventions-in-Australia.pdf">shows</a> that fixing our failed salt limits could add 36,000 extra healthy years of life, across the population, over the next 20 years. This would delay more than 300 deaths each year and reduce health-care spending by A$35 million annually, the equivalent of 6,000 hospital visits. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/jhh2013105">International experience</a> <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.16649">shows</a> the costs of implementing such salt limits would be very low and far outweighed by the benefits. <h2>How to fix our failed salt limits</h2> To achieve these gains, the federal government should start by enforcing the limits we already have, by making compliance mandatory. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S216183132300042X">Fifteen countries</a> have mandatory salt limits, and 14 are planning to introduce them. The number of foods covered by salt limits in Australia should more than double, to be as broad as those the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/604338/Salt_reduction_targets_for_2017.pdf">UK set in 2014</a>. Broader targets would include common foods for which Australia does not currently set targets, such as baked beans, butter, margarine and canned vegetables. A loophole in the current scheme that lets companies leave out a fifth of their products should be closed. The federal government should design the policy, rather than doing it jointly with industry representatives. Over the coming decades, Australia will need many new and improved policies to reduce diet-related disease. Reducing salt intake must be part of this agenda. For too long, Australia has let the food industry set the standard, with almost no progress against a major threat to our health. Getting serious about salt would save lives, and it would more than pay for itself through reduced health-care costs and increased economic activity.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213980/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-breadon-1348098">Peter Breadon</a>, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lachlan-fox-1283428">Lachlan Fox</a>, Associate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/slashing-salt-can-save-lives-and-it-wont-hurt-your-hip-pocket-or-tastebuds-213980">original article</a>.

Body

All-electric homes are better for your hip pocket and the planet. Here’s how governments can help us get off gas

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/esther-suckling-1220357">Esther Suckling</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> If every Australian household that uses gas went all-electric today, we would “save” more than 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next ten years. That’s because there are more than <a href="https://www.energynetworks.com.au/resources/fact-sheets/reliable-and-clean-gas-for-australian-homes-2/">5 million households</a> on the gas network, and the <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/getting-off-gas">avoided emissions per home</a> ranges from 5-25 tonnes over the coming decade, depending on the location. Most people would spend less money on energy too. Electric appliances use less energy than gas appliances to do the same job, making them cheaper to run. Our <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/getting-off-gas">new report</a> shows how much most households can save by switching from gas to electricity for heating, hot water and cooking. The extra cash couldn’t come at a better time: about <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2023/may/hidden-energy-poverty">a quarter of Australian households</a> say they found it difficult to pay their energy bills this year. But many households face hurdles that stop them, or make it hard for them, to go all-electric. Governments could make it easier for people and bring emissions-reduction targets closer to reality. <h2>Most households save by upgrading to electric</h2> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532139/original/file-20230615-29-h20bv5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A chart showing estimated savings for each household switching from gas to electricity, over 10 years, in each capital city" /></a><figcaption>Over 10 years, the estimated savings for each household switching from gas to electricity range up to $13,900 in Melbourne. It’s a flat $3,890 figure for Brisbane, rather than a range, because there’s no gas heating. Grattan Institute, Author provided</figcaption></figure> Households in Melbourne tend to use more gas than those in other mainland capitals, mainly because the winter is so cold. Our report found Melburnians who replace broken gas appliances with electric ones, or move into an all-electric home, could save up to A$13,900 over ten years. Households with rooftop solar will save even more. It’s a similar story in most parts of Australia except the west, where gas is relatively cheap. This mainly reflects differences in the historical development of the gas markets between the west and east coasts. Getting off gas could also be <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/december/health-risks-from-indoor-gas-appliances">good for your health</a>. Several studies link cooking with gas to <a href="https://www.nationalasthma.org.au/living-with-asthma/resources/patients-carers/factsheets/gas-stoves-and-asthma-in-children">childhood asthma</a>. <h2>Households face a series of hurdles</h2> Renters make up nearly a third of all households, and they have little or no control over the appliances that are installed. As most electric appliances cost more to buy than gas ones – and the subsequent bill savings flow to tenants – landlords have little incentive to upgrade their properties from gas to all-electric. Apartment living can increase the level of complexity. Multi-unit dwellings often bundle gas bills into body-corporate fees, limiting the occupants’ incentive to go all-electric. There can also be space constraints in these buildings. Centralised electric heat pumps, for example, take up more space than centralised gas water heaters. Then there are households that simply can’t afford the upgrade. Induction stoves and heat pumps are more expensive than their gas equivalents, by up to a combined $2,000. This initial outlay will soon be recovered by cheaper energy bills, but that doesn’t help households that don’t have the cash up front. The <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/data/taking-the-pulse-of-the-nation-2022/2023/energy-poverty">12% of households that skipped meals</a> to pay their energy bills in the past year are the most likely to remain locked into high gas bills. Some people also simply prefer cooking with gas. Some think induction cooktops will be no better than the poor-performing electric cooktops they may have used in the distant past. Others haven’t ever heard of a heat pump for hot water. <h2>Here’s how governments can help</h2> Governments, both state and federal, should lower the hurdles on the path to all-electric homes -– to reduce people’s cost of living and to cut carbon emissions. As a first step, state governments should ban new gas connections to homes. In 2021, more than 70,000 households joined the gas network. Trying to shift households off gas while allowing new connections is like pouring water into a bucket with a hole. Then, governments should provide landlords with tax write-offs on new induction stoves and heat pumps for hot water, for a limited time. After that, they should require every rental property to be all-electric. Governments should pay to upgrade public housing to all-electric, where they are the landlords. And they should pay not-for-profits managing community housing to do the same. The federal government should help all households to spread the cost of electric appliances over time. It should subsidise banks to offer low-interest loans for home electrification, via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. And governments should set out to change people’s preferences, from gas to electric. They should embark on a multi-decade communication campaign, not unlike the campaign to upgrade from analogue to digital television in the early 2000s. A key challenge will be shifting people’s ideas about the best way to cook. There are precedents. In Gininderry, a new all-electric suburb of Canberra, one developer recruited chefs to run demonstrations on induction cooktops at the display village. The proportion of potential homebuyers <a href="https://ginninderry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Ginninderry-2017-Householder-Attitudes-to-Residential-Renewable-Energy-Futures.pdf">willing to consider buying an all-electric home</a> rose from 67% to 88%. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K9ytSh5TM9M?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Induction cooking with Chef David Wei at Ginninderry.</figcaption></figure> <h2>‘Green gas’ is no panacea: electricity is cheaper</h2> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532117/original/file-20230615-23-n0wdqe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Chart comparing the cost of hydrogen to electricity over time, showing hydrogen is more expensive and will remain so for decades" /></a><figcaption>Hydrogen is more expensive than electricity and will remain so for decades. Grattan Institute, Author provided</figcaption></figure> The gas industry has another solution in mind: instead of switching from gas to electricity, it suggests using “green gas” -– biomethane or “green” hydrogen. Biomethane is chemically identical to natural gas, but is derived from biological materials such as food waste, sewage or agricultural waste. Green hydrogen is made by using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. But both options are <a href="https://theconversation.com/hydrogen-where-is-low-carbon-fuel-most-useful-for-decarbonisation-147696">too expensive and too far away</a>. Under the most generous of assumptions, green hydrogen will only become cost-competitive with electricity after 2045. And there is not enough biomethane commercially available to replace gas in households. Meanwhile, more than three million Australian homes already run on electricity alone. Getting the five million homes that use gas to the same point won’t be easy. But with good policy, it is doable. For households, and the climate, there is much to be gained.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207409/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/esther-suckling-1220357">Esther Suckling</a>, Research Associate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/all-electric-homes-are-better-for-your-hip-pocket-and-the-planet-heres-how-governments-can-help-us-get-off-gas-207409">original article</a>. Images: Getty

Real Estate

Are you ready for a bit of extra pocket money?

Millions of Aussies will receive a bit of extra pocket money to help combat the rising cost of living. With the cost of petrol now sitting at $2.40 a litre, and fruit and vegetables having soared in price - Aussies are really struggling. As of March 21, singles under the age, disability support and carer payments scheme will receive an extra $20.10 a fortnight, adding up to $987.60. Couples under the same payments will receive an extra $30.20 a fortnight, adding up to $1,488.00. Senior Australians will also be able to access part of their pension earlier on as the asset test limit increases. For a single homeowner, it has increased by $6,750 to $599,750 and for a couple it has gone up by $10,000 to $901,500. Single Jobseeker recipients will receive a $13.20 jump in their pay up to $629.50, while those under Parenting Payment Singles scheme will get an extra $18.20 to $874.10. Help for renters will also be increased to $145.80 for singles a fortnight and $193.62 for families. Social Services Minister Anne Ruston described the 2.1 per cent increase to pension payments as the largest since 2013. “It gives us a higher weighting to fuel and transport costs in recognition of their significance to pensioners, which helps ensure the rate of the age pension maintains senior Australians’ purchasing power in the economy,” she said. Labor Leader Anthony Albanese however slammed the Federal Government for being out of touch and claiming the increase would help. “This government is so out of touch that they’re prepared to spin out there saying how well pensioners are going to be off,” he said. “When they get to the supermarket to buy products they find that everything‘s gone up. “The rise in the pension will not keep up with the costs of living. Pensioners are doing it really tough at the moment.” Image: Shutterstock

Money & Banking

Six-year-old and her siblings use pocket money to buy first home

Image: 7News Three siblings from Melbourne are well on their way to becoming property owners after pooling together pocket money to buy their first home. With the help of property investment guru father Cam McLellan, 6 year-old Ruby, her brother Gus and sister Lucy have managed to snap up their first home in Clyde in the city’s southeast. The family told 7News they plan to sell the home in 2032 and split the money. “My name is Ruby and I’m six years old and I’m about to buy my first house,” Ruby told the network of the home, which cost $671,000. Ms McLellan told 7 News he expected the property’s value to double in a decade. “Financially they have each contributed $2000 and they have saved that up,” he said. “The price on that block has already gone up $70,000, so they’ve done well so far.” The kids managed to save up their deposit by completing chores around the home and by helping their dad pack copies of a best-selling book on property investment. “It’s written for my kids to use when they’re old enough, so I’ve outlined all the steps it takes to build a property portfolio,” Mr McLellan said. Earlier this month, news.com.au reported on Mr McLellan’s decision to retire at 36. Mr McLellan started amassing properties when he was just 20 with the aim of generating enough passive income so that he would never have to work again. After he hit $250,000 in earnings after tax from renting out his many properties, he decided to enter early retirement. He has managers in place running his portfolio so essentially no longer has to do anything to lead a more than comfortable lifestyle. The McLellan siblings’ property milestone comes after new research by property analysis firm Hotspotting revealed real estate was getting even further out of reach for many first time buyers, after several suburbs saw their median property value soar by $200,000 by just three months. The average price of a home in Sydney’s exclusive Rose Bay jumped from $3.8 million to $4.09 million in that time while Northbridge, in Sydney’s lower north shore, lifted from $4.1 million to 4.3 million. North Bondi leapt from $3.31 to $3.58 million, and Gymea Bay and Kogarah, based in Sydney’s south rose by $200,000 to rest at the same final number, $1.62 million. Manly went from $3.51 million to $3.82 million, as did Killara in the north shore, going from $3.3 million to $3.63. But the unassuming Queensland town of Ipswich stole the number one position in terms of home price growth.

Real Estate

Grandfather left shocked after police fine him for carrying a pocket knife

Wayne ‘Cowboy’ McLennan, a 75-year-old grandfather from Chinchilla, Queensland, was leaving his local pub after grabbing a beer last month when he was stopped by police, breathalysed, and charged for wearing a pocket knife in public, something he’s done since he was 14 years old. McLennan told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/aussie-grandfather-bushman-fined-over-carrying-pocket-knife-public/1d4492b7-8d17-4b23-a01e-de7578d2a72f">A Current Affair</a>, "I just said I'd head home now, get me four cans in a bag and just walked down the steps and the police pulled in behind … as I was walking down the steps ... she said 'I'm going to bretho (breathalyse) you', I said 'ok'.” He blew sightly over the alcohol limit, so the officer took him to the local police station, just 100m down the main road. There, he blew under the limit, so he thought he was free to go, but the officer surprised him. "While I was there she said 'but I am going to charge you for wearing a pocket knife in public'. I said 'what? ... I didn't know you weren't allowed to wear one ... I've been wearing one since I was 14-years-old'. She said 'that's it, that's the law'.” The law in question is Section 51 of Queensland's Weapons Act, which states that a person must not physically possess a knife in a public place or school unless the person has a reasonable excuse. <img style="width: 500px; height: 280.6122448979592px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844270/https___prodstatic9net-1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/7f35af9627464c8b8646e616ea5f1f35" /> McLennan, a bushman who’s worked on the land his entire life, doesn’t go anywhere without his pocket knife. "Well if I got to go and put a bale of hay out, I use it to cut the string and then open a bag of horse feed, use it to open the top," he explained to reporter Pippa Bradshaw. He had no idea such a law existed, or that he was unintentionally violating it every time he went out in public with his pocket knife attached to his belt. After being charged by police, he faced court and was fined $100 by a magistrate. News of his run-in with the law quickly spread around Chinchilla. "That's why people keep ringing me and talking to me about it, they didn't know whether it was true or false," McLennan said. Many locals have expressed their support, pointing out how common it is for people in the area to carry pocket knives. As a result of this encounter with the law, however, Cowboy now plans to leave his pocket knife at home in the future.

Legal

Why this rare $1 coin could have you pocketing thousands

One minor mistake to a $1 coin could be worth thousands of dollars. The Royal Australian Mint made an error when making the “Mule Dollar” coins meaning small amount of $1 coins from the year 2000 were designed using the wrong print. The Mule dollar has a double rim around the edge while a standard regular $1 coin has just one. A Melbourne mum excitedly revealed the fun find on social media. “We found the famous MULE Dollar” she wrote in a post on Instagram, under the username @melbournewithkidz. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8h1QVzAhCo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8h1QVzAhCo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">We found the famous MULE Dollar. 🙌 What's a Mule dollar? It's a small number of the year 2000 $1 dollar coins that had been minted using the incorrect obverse die (heads side) and released into circulation by mistake and only discovered a year or two later. The Royal Australian Mint accidentally minted the coins using the smaller 10 cent obverse die (head side) by mistake. With just a 1.4 millimetre difference in diameter between the 10 cent and $1 coin you can clearly see a double rim circle going around the edges of the coin. These errors are worth anywhere from $500 to $3000! Check your change and empty out the kids piggy bank!!!!!!! You could be sitting on a winner! Let us know if you have found any interesting coins in your change. Disclaimer: for use of images or content please contact us contact@melbournewithkidz.com #australiancoins #coincollecting #rarecoins</a> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/melbournewithkidz/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Tanya / Melbourne With Kids</a> (@melbournewithkidz) on Feb 13, 2020 at 5:20pm PST </div> </blockquote> “Royal Australian Mint accidentally minted the coins using the smaller 10 cent obverse die (head side) by mistake.” How to spot a real Mule Dollar Mule dollars have a unique look and design, including its year make which can only be 2000. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuLtwpTl54n/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuLtwpTl54n/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Drake Sterling Numismatics (@drakesterling)</a> on Feb 22, 2019 at 3:51am PST </div> </blockquote> For the rare coin to be legitimate it must also have a clear double rim around most or all of the heads side of the coin, about 0.5mm wide, according to Australian Coins. “With just a 1.4mm difference in diameter between the 10 cent and $1 coin you can clearly see a double rim circle going around the edges of the coin.” She said the coins are worth anywhere from $500 to $3000. One commenter left a handy tip to anyone who might find themselves in luck with a real mule dollar, and urged people NOT to wash the coin as it can result in its value decreasing dramatically.

Money & Banking

Warning: The new Telstra scam leaving customers out of pocket

Telstra customers are being advised to keep an eye out for scam that has sent realistic looking fake bills to inboxes across the country. The email is sent under the name “Telstra Team” and has been made to look like an authentic bill from the telecommunications company, containing an account and bill number, multiple links and branding that mimics Telstra’s. Once the links are clicked on, the victims are redirected to a Telstra-branded phishing site that asks for customer’s login details. After entering their username and password, recipients are taken to a second phishing page that looks like a payment form. Any credit card information that is then given through this form is kept by cyber criminals. Email security company MailGuard spoke <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/technology/telstra-bill-scam-email-phishing-scam-targets-aussie-telco-news-update/6eb9e953-61fa-4f53-99a4-ea4f3c4b2e9d" target="_blank">9News</a>, saying the scammers have made sure that their con looks as legitimate as possible. “These include employing high quality graphic elements such as Telstra’s branding in the email,” said MailGuard. “A key feature is the inclusion of the sentence ‘If you have any questions or concerns about this email you can get in touch with us as Telstra.com/contact.” Telstra said customers should “think twice before giving personal details online – instead, contact the sender using their publicly available contact details”.

News

Woman left $2,500 out of pocket over a broken nail on US holiday

A Sydney woman has been left with a shocking bill that has left insurance companies warning travellers about the costs of getting injured in the United States. Rachael Minaway, 32, arrived with her friend in Honolulu and hadn’t checked into their hotel before breaking her acrylic nail in a glovebox. “We had a late check-in, so we headed straight for the beach, and we were so excited to run out of the car and get into the water,” Ms Minaway told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/travellers-stories/aussie-tourist-forced-to-fork-out-2500-after-breaking-a-nail-on-american-holiday/news-story/513292ca5fe39393de734dfd34117743">news.com.au</a>. “We were packing away the GPS in the glovebox, and I was being too quick and smashed my fingernail between the dashboard and the glovebox, and it cracked. “I didn’t think it was a big deal at all, it’s happened to all of us before.” Her and her friend searched for medical centres to help them out with the issue. “We typed in ‘medical centre’ in the GPS and I guess in Hawaii they call hospitals ‘medical centres’ because it directed us to the closest emergency room,” she said. “At that point my hand was really hurting, and we thought, OK, they’ll just tell us what to do. “We just wanted to get back to our trip. And I was wasting my friend’s time for a fingernail, it was so silly.” The doctor at the hospital said that it would be best to remove the fingernail, which she agreed to if she could undergo a local anaesthetic. “It was so painful, I did not want to feel him ripping it off,” she said. “But we were taking photos and laughing through it, I honestly did not expect it to be a big deal.” It was all fun and games until the pair were presented with the bill of $1,200. “I had to pay it on the spot,” she said. “I told them we’d only just landed, I hadn’t even checked in my luggage at the hotel. But they wouldn’t let us leave without paying it.” However, she was inundated with more bills from the hospital after returning home to Sydney. “I remember emailing them after the first one and saying, ‘No, sorry, I’ve already paid for this’, but the invoices were for different things. They kept finding new things to bill me for. After a few months I regretted giving them my real address. “It was pretty upsetting. I was six months pregnant at that point, and I kept thinking, imagine if didn’t have insurance and actually had to pay for all this myself.” She was telling her story to warn other travellers about heading to the United States. “I’d heard about how in America they don’t have Medicare like us, but I never expected (the cost) to be this outrageous for something this tiny,” she said. “I feel so sorry for those people who go over there (to the US) and wind up with massive medical bills,” she said. “You have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Travel Trouble

Elderly couple left $55,000 out of pocket after disastrous cruise

An elderly couple who were preparing for an experience of a lifetime have been left devastated after their dream holiday ended in disaster after their cruise ship left them stranded in Dubai. Arthur and Pamela Wynne from Beaudesert in Queensland began their 106-day cruise journey on May 16, boarding the ship from Melbourne. Making pit stops in Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Oman, the pair were on board for 19 days before Mrs Wynne needed antibiotics for a urinary tract infection while they were in Dubai. According to the Wynnes, staff picked up their bags and escorted them off the ship, before the cruise left them stranded. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7827662/14672584-7130881-image-m-20_1560302768755.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/7f1acab5202f40b5b7b8f431def9de98" /> <img style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="/umbraco/nothing.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/7f1acab5202f40b5b7b8f431def9de98" />Photo: Seven News “We were immediately followed by our luggage … they knew they were not going to let us back on the ship,” Mr Wynne told Seven News. “It was a total disaster … [we’re] exhausted … no guidance.” The company informed the two that they could jump on board at a different location. “It was explained that once fully recovered and with correct medical clearance, the guests could re-join the ship in Malta, Barcelona or another port in the forward itinerary, but they chose not to do so,” said a spokesperson for the cruise line. “I haven’t got the money to sit in a hotel for 16 days and then buy two tickets to Malta, Barcelona. Nobody even said to us ‘have you got the ability to pay?’” said Mr Wynne. Together, the couple forked out $46,000 for the cruise with Mr Wynne having to pay an extra $90,000 for hospital bills, hotels, taxis and flights back to Australia. Their travel insurer has refused to compensate the couple for their expenses, and they will not be receiving a refund.

Travel Trouble

Huge financial blowout: MKR's Ibby and Romel thousands of dollars out of pocket after losing

<div> <div class="replay"> <div class="reply_body body linkify"> <div class="reply_body"> <div class="body_text "> My Kitchen Rules runners-up Ibby and Romel have revealed that they were thousands of dollars out of pocket after losing to Luke and Matt in the cooking competition’s grand finale. The Sydney team told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/my-kitchen-rules-ibby-and-romel-thousands-of-dollars-out-of-pocket/news-story/7b6344ea770b98891a3a05b45089ddda" target="_blank">news.com.au</a> that they spent their own money to maximise their chances at winning the reality show and the $250,000 prize. “Give or take we put in $30,000 combined,” said Romel. Romel said most of the costs went to practising their dishes at their apartment with the help of a kitchen hand. “The majority of the other contestants had either left their jobs or they came in unemployed, whereas Ibby and I both run businesses,” said Romel. “At first we didn’t have a kitchen hand at all, so what we found was chopping up, cleaning up, running to Coles a gazillion times a day, it was just consuming all our time. “We had a meeting and asked ourselves, how can we work smarter rather than working overtime and not having any time for our businesses? So, we thought why don’t we just hire a kitchen hand to clean after us … It was basically to save time. Romel said the massive expenses were due to their decision to fully emulate the challenges from the show. “When we were practising it wasn’t as if we were just making one dish,” he said. “This is where the other money went. The majority of our ingredients, they’re f***ing expensive. We weren’t just making one dish. If we were serving 23 people, we were making 23 dishes.” Romel also denied the accusations from other contestants that the hired staff helped them create any menu or recipe. “At no point had we broken any rules … And as far as creating dishes for us, that absolutely never happened. They didn’t create menus, they just cleaned and chopped up.” Apart from the kitchen hand, the pair also spent a significant amount on a stylist, a graphic designer and flowers for their instant restaurant round. Ibby and Romel lost the grand final episode by four points to the winning pair Matt and Luke, who received 92 points out of a possible 100 from the 10 judges. The loss shocked many viewers, including fellow contestant Josh Bonwick. “I can say with a clean conscience after eating both team’s dishes tonight, I believe Ibby and Romel should have won as their food to me was superior in flavour,” he wrote on a Twitter post. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> I can say with a clean conscience after eating both team's dishes tonight, I believe Ibby and Romel should have won as their food to me was superior in flavour<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MKR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MKR</a> — Joshua Bonwick (@JoshuaBonwick) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaBonwick/status/1122474022338318336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2019</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> I'm happy for Matt and Luke, but Ibby and Romel certainly deserved to win. Their menu was far more technical, not to mention they performed consistently well throughout the whole competition. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ibby?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ibby</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Romel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Romel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MKR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MKR</a> — Rose Davies (@DaviesRose46) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaviesRose46/status/1122672813167349761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2019</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> I knew this would be the outcome the minute that team made into the finals. It's clear <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MKR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MKR</a> had an agenda with the edit of the other team all season. We were supposed to root for the winning team, but it's a no for me . Other team were clearly better cooks. — Jerrica Tisdale (@jtwritergirl) <a href="https://twitter.com/jtwritergirl/status/1122525041344884743?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2019</a></blockquote> Ibby and Romel were first criticised after Ibby revealed that he is a restaurant and café owner, which other participants saw as giving the team an unfair advantage. What do you think of Ibby and Romel’s loss? Share your thoughts in the comments. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Money & Banking

Is this fair? Greens Senator pockets $285 travel allowance – only spends $25 a night

Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon’s travel allowance has been placed under the microscope, after a report published in the Daily Telegraph alleges the pollie is pocketing generous weekly travel entitlements on top of her $200,000 salary. <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank">The Daily Telegraph</a> reports Senator Rhiannon spends just $25 a night on accommodation when Parliament sits in Canberra, but claims a $285 nightly allowance. The report notes she is perfectly entitled to do so. <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank">The Daily Telegraph</a> says this arrangement means Ms Rhiannon takes home an additional $1,040 every week on top of her salary, close to national average weekly earnings of $1,191. Ms Rhiannon has said the practice is “acceptable”. “Any of my travel allowance that has not been used I have spent on carrying out other parliamentary work-related duties and other expenses arising from being an MP,” she said. “A reimbursement model would be fine too.” <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank">The Daily Telegraph</a> states there is no suggestion Senator Rhiannon is breaking any rules, and published an additional statement from Greens leader Richard Di Natale who said, “all of our members undertake official travel in accordance with the guidelines set out for parliamentarians”. What are your thoughts? Do you think the travel allowance is exorbitant?

Money & Banking

Melbourne mum pockets $150,000 from Centrelink after error

A Melbourne mum who pocketed $150,000 in Centrelink payments after the government department incorrectly assessed her income, has reportedly been using the cash to fund a lavish lifestyle, and is yet to pay back the debt. <a href="https://www.9now.com.au/a-current-affair/2017" target="_blank">A Current Affair reports</a> Fatma Sleiman, from Melbourne, now owes the federal government $147,629, after a mistake was made assessing her property portfolio. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FACurrentAffair9%2Fvideos%2F1450533628386343%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe> Ms Sleiman reportedly owns two homes and is self-employed, yet still received $107,000 in childcare assistance and over $40,000 in carer payment from Centrelink. <a href="https://www.9now.com.au/a-current-affair/2017" target="_blank">A Current Affair reporters</a> ambushed Ms Sleiman in her driveway and asked if she intends to pay back the outstanding amount, to which she replied, “You don't know, I am.” This comes a month after it was revealed <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/money-banking/2018/01/welfare-cheats-rake-in-millions-thanks-to-huge-blunder/" target="_blank">Centrelink had overpaid welfare recipients</a> a sum to the tune of $2.84 billion, and the Turnbull government wants that cash back. Incoming Humans Services Minister Michael Keenan has commented on these kind of errors before, saying more often than not they’re caused by human error or fraud. “It is important that system operates with integrity, that people are not overpaid more than they are entitled to,” he said. “If you have been defrauding the system, you can expect us to come down on you like a tonne of bricks.” What are your thoughts? Do you think Centrelink is doing enough? Hero image credit: Facebook / A Current Affair

Caring

Passengers stunning discovery in plane seat pocket

From used tissues to the discarded remains of an inflight meal to pretty much anything that had something to do with the person sitting there before you got in, the list of things you never want to find in your plane seat pocket is long. But we think the item featured in today’s story of a mid-air mishap might just take the cake. <a href="http://www.news.com.au/" target="_blank">News.com.au</a> reports a passenger on a recent flight stumbled across top-secret US government documents marked “for official use only” and “important for homeland security”. The passenger, who incredibly happened to be a CNN reporter, found the documents which were believed to contain sensitive anti-terrorism information about the Super Bowl. <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/" target="_blank">CNN reports</a> the documents, which dated back to December 2017, criticised the planned response to a potential anthrax attack on the US Bank Stadium, and made a range of recommendations to handle and assess the situation. <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/" target="_blank">CNN also reportedly claims</a> they waited until after the game to report on the discovery of the papers, due to concerns expressed by officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). What are your thoughts?

International Travel

Company leaves hundreds of Aussie seniors out of pocket

Groupon Australia is in the crosshairs of consumers around the country who claim they’ve been “ripped off” by the online discount voucher provider, after purchasing vouchers that turned out to be unredeemable and non-refundable. <a href="http://www.News.com.au" target="_blank">News.com.au</a> reports hundreds of consumers nationwide are furious with the daily deal site when, after purchasing their voucher from the online marketplace, they got into contact with the merchants who claimed there was no availability. The report highlights the story of Carly Randle, a 33-year-old single mother from New South Wales, who bought a $89 Groupon voucher for a salon hair treatment. But when she was unable to make an appointment her voucher expired. “I could never use the voucher when it suited me,” Ms Randle told <a href="http://www.News.com.au" target="_blank">News.com.au</a>. “They would always say that they were booked out and didn’t have the timeslots for Groupon vouchers.” “I reported the issue to Groupon but no refund was given even though it was requested,” she added. “It was a waste of money, time and effort.” A Groupon spokesperson responded to the <a href="http://www.News.com.au" target="_blank">News.com.au</a> report, saying the company was “continually monitoring feedback”. “We will always assist customers with any redemption or booking issues they have as best we can. “To be able to do this, we need to be contacted prior to the voucher expiring. “The expiry date is clearly marked on the voucher, and we urge customers to check and make note of this as validity periods can vary.” Consumer Affairs Victoria also weighed in. “We receive inquiries and complaints about group buying, particularly in areas such as hair, beauty and personal care services, restaurants and cleaning services,” according to Consumer Affairs Victoria’s site. “Common complaints include non-supply and incomplete supply of products or services, and difficulty in booking services and redeeming vouchers.” What are your thoughts? Do you bother with daily deal sites?

Retirement Income

Melbourne family pockets $1,000 a week from Centrelink and still can’t make ends meet

Australia’s welfare crisis has found its way back into the national debate, after a report on A Current Affair shone a light on the Bramsteads, a family-of-seven that pockets over $1,000 a week from Centrelink but still can’t make ends meet. According to the report, 63-year-old Dianne Bramstead lives with her 34-year-old daughter Alana Perry, and five of her six grandchildren in Melbourne’s western outskirts and the family has been dependent on welfare for four generations. <blockquote class="twitter-video"> All it takes is a quick trip to the supermarket for your weekly budget to be blown out completely… <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9ACA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9ACA</a> <a href="https://t.co/Uyzuc2Qzcg">https://t.co/Uyzuc2Qzcg</a> <a href="https://t.co/HZFsK7UF5f">pic.twitter.com/HZFsK7UF5f</a> — A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) <a href="https://twitter.com/ACurrentAffair9/status/922380225832411136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2017</a></blockquote> The family receives combined welfare payments of over $1,000 a week but are still struggling to make ends meet with rising food, rent and utility costs taking a toll. "It isn't a lot of money, because by the time you buy your food, your fares, your power, it doesn't go very far," Dianne, 63, told A Current Affair. This report comes as a <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/publications/working-papers/search/result?paper=2514135" target="_blank">revealing new study</a> from the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne found 58 per cent of young people who grew up with parents on benefits, were also on some form of welfare by the time they hit their early 20s. "I don't want all the grandkids to have to go through that same cycle of being on benefits," Dianne added. <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/warning-over-booming-australian-welfare-bill/news-story/d22bc6018dee2a751f01f271343d94c6" target="_blank">News Corp reports</a><a href="https://myaccount.news.com.au/heraldsun/subscribe?pkgDef=HS_SDO_DIG17AM01&directSubscribe=true&b=true&sourceCode=HSWEB_WRE170_a&mode=premium&dest=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/warning-over-booming-australian-welfare-bill/news-story/d22bc6018dee2a751f01f271343d94c6&memtype=anonymous" target="_blank"></a> Australia’s welfare bill has skyrocketed in the last 10 years, increasing by $40 billion to be $157 billion today. Human Services Minister Alan Tudge says this is a cause for concern. "(Our welfare bill) is about a third of the budget, and that means unless we get this under control, we'll never get the budget back into surplus," he said. "It's really concerning that we're now seeing intergenerational welfare dependants. "We've got to break this cycle, because it's in their interest as much as it's in the community's, to do so." What are your thoughts on welfare provisions in this country? Image credit: Facebook / Channel 9

News

68-year-old man finds winning $30 million lottery ticket in shirt pocket

A 68-year-old man in the US has made an incredible discovery in his shirt pocket, finding a winning US $24 million (NZ $30.3 million) lottery ticket, days before the deadline. New Jersey resident Jimmie Smith reportedly often bought tickets without closely checking the results, stashing them in his shirt pocket out of habit. The New York Lottery gives winners 12 months to claim their prize, and had Smith waited another 48 hours the winning ticket would’ve expired for good. The gaming commission knew the winning ticket was out there, and had put the call out on social media to make sure entrants had checked all their tickets. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Play <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LOTTO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LOTTO</a>, been to TriBeCa? Check your tickets to see if you’re a $24M winner! Your winnings expire on 5/25/17! <a href="https://t.co/jMAy3GYlmi">https://t.co/jMAy3GYlmi</a> <a href="https://t.co/qtC0tJcS4c">pic.twitter.com/qtC0tJcS4c</a> — New York Lottery (@newyorklottery) <a href="https://twitter.com/newyorklottery/status/865668290143596545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2017</a></blockquote> Smith, a retired security officer, reportedly noticed the story in the local news and then went through his shirt to see if his tickets matched up. When they did, he didn’t know what to say. “I had to stick my head out the window and breathe in some fresh air,” he said. “I was in serious doubt. I really had to convince myself this was real.” Smith will receive the winnings in instalments over the next 26 years. What are your thoughts?

Money & Banking

Tuna and olive pizza pockets

These are very portable and perfect for picnics that involve a bit of a hike. You can also make them in advance and freeze them, then they'll defrost while you're climbing up the hill or waiting to get into the cricket. Makes: 10 Ingredients: For the dough <ul> <li>1 ⅔ cups warm water</li> <li>2 teaspoons dried yeast</li> <li>1 tablespoon caster sugar</li> <li>4 ¾ cups high grade or 'strong' flour</li> <li>2 teaspoons salt</li> <li>2 tablespoons soft butter</li> </ul> For the filling <ul> <li>1 tablespoon tomato paste</li> <li>½ tin of chopped tomatoes</li> <li>1 tablespoon capers, roughly chopped</li> <li>1 ½ cups grated tasty cheese</li> <li>1 x 180g tin line-caught tuna in oil, drained</li> <li>Salt and pepper</li> </ul> To finish <ul> <li>4 tablespoon coarse dried breadcrumbs</li> <li>1 egg, lightly beaten</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Make the dough first. Put half the water and the sugar in a small bowl. Stir well, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Leave it to sponge for five minutes.</li> <li>Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, then stir in the yeast mixture and the remaining water. Mix to form a soft dough, then knead in the butter. Turn out on to the bench and knead for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is springy.</li> <li>Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside for an hour.</li> <li>While the dough is rising, put the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, capers, cheese, and tuna in a small bowl. Stir to combine and taste for seasoning.</li> <li>Heat the oven to 210 degrees Celsius, and line two trays with baking paper.</li> <li>Divide the dough into 10 pieces and flatten each one with your hands into a roughly circular shape. Divide the tuna and tomato mixture between each one, then fold the dough up and over the filling, pinching the ends in. Put the dough parcel on the prepared tray, seam side down. Brush each one with a little of the beaten egg, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top.</li> <li>Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and risen. Cool on a rack before packing in your picnic basket. If planning to make them ahead, wrap in foil when cool and freeze.</li> </ol> Written by Lucy Corry. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/">Stuff.co.nz</a>. Image credit: Ross Giblin Have you ordered your copy of the Over60 cookbook, The Way Mum Made It, yet? Featuring 178 delicious tried-and-true recipes from you, the Over60 community, and your favourites that have appeared on the Over60 website, <a href="https://shop.abc.net.au/products/way-mum-made-it-pbk" target="_blank">head to the abcshop.com.au to order your copy now</a>. Related links: <a href="/%20http:/www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/food-wine/2016/12/gluten-free-pizza-with-a-cauliflower-base/">Gluten-free pizza with a cauliflower base</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/food-wine/2016/08/pizza-scrolls/">Pizza scrolls</a> <a href="/%20http:/www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/food-wine/2016/06/pizza-risotto/">Pizza risotto</a>

Food & Wine

9-year-old spends pocket money to buy books for prisoners

For most people thinking about making a charitable donation, our first port of call is usually a children’s home, a hospital or school. One incredibly generous boy in the US has forgone these traditional charities and turned to an unlikely recipient: the local prison. Tyler Fugett of Clarksville, Tennessee had been saving his pocket money to buy hundreds of books for inmates at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office. Fugett, who has had a family member in jail before, decided to donate the reading material after learning no taxpayer money was used to purchase books. “I don’t want people to think bad things while they are in jail,” the sweet nine-year-old told the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/boy-donates-hundreds-of-books-to-inmates_us_5775355de4b0bd4b0b13ba44?section=australia" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a>. “I want people to get out and not do bad things again.” Since the jail relies completely on book donations from the community, the massive contribution was very welcome indeed. “Tyler’s generosity is truly appreciated,” said Sandra Brandon, the jail’s public information officer. Fugett was rewarded for his generosity with a Sheriff’s pin, Sheriff’s challenge coin and a personal thank you from the Sheriff himself. Well done, Tyler! Related links: <a href="/news/news/2016/06/cat-tracks-down-owner-sent-to-nursing-home/">Cat tracks down owner sent to nursing home</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/06/11-year-old-knits-50-hats-for-kids-with-cancer/">11-year-old knits 50 hats for kids with cancer</a> <a href="/news/news/2016/06/jon-bon-jovi-surprises-terminally-ill-fan/">Jon Bon Jovi surprises terminally ill fan</a>

News

The reason why there’s a tiny pocket in your jeans

It's long been the black hole of mankind's favourite bottoms. A place where you can store minuscule items – spare coins, chewed gum, tiny wrappers - only to never retrieve them unless you have fingers with the circumference of a match stick. However, it turns out that the pointless-looking pocket on a pair of jeans does in fact have a purpose. It all stems back to the 1800s, when denim jeans first arrived on the scene and wearers needed a place to stash their – wait for it – pocket watches. Yes, that small space was designed to keep timepieces safe from getting smashed during the day's activities. The issue came to the forefront of fashion quandaries this week after a <a href="https://www.quora.com/Why-do-our-jeans-have-a-tiny-pocket-just-above-the-front-pocket-Was-it-something-useful-that-was-added-or-it-is-just-a-fashion-thing" target="_blank">Quora thread</a> asking the very same question was rediscovered. "To keep [the pocket watches] from getting broken, Levi's introduced this small pocket where they could keep their watch," wrote the knowledgeable Nitin Achdev on the forum. Levi's backed up the fact in 2014, including the thinking behind the small storage space in a feature about<a href="http://www.levistrauss.com/unzipped-blog/2014/04/those-oft-forgotten-pant-parts/" target="_blank"> oft-forgotten pant parts.</a> "The first blue jeans had four pockets – only one in back and, in the front, two plus the small, watch pocket," the brand revealed. "Originally included as protection for pocket watches, thus the name, this extra pouch has served many functions, evident in its many titles: frontier pocket, condom pocket, coin pocket, match pocket and ticket pocket, to name a few. "Not only is the pocket extremely useful for holding tiny trinkets, it is also is loved by denim heads for the faded and worn nature it takes on over time." So there you have it folks, now you can strut around feeling like a real jeans genius. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a> Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/beauty-style/2016/02/perfumes-that-defined-a-decade/">The most popular perfumes that defined a decade</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/beauty-style/2016/01/100-years-wedding-dress-video/">100 years of wedding dress styles in 3 minutes</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/beauty-style/2016/01/tips-for-dressing-for-a-summer-holiday/">5 tips for dressing for a summer holiday</a>

Beauty & Style

Dad’s hilarious response to kid’s pocket money demands

After six-year-old Auren’s repeated demands for a $20 advance on his allowance, his dad came up with a hilariously creative way to response. In a very official letter from the bank of DAD Savings and Loan, with an apt tagline of “Because, apparently I look like I'm made of money”, Auren’s loan was unfortunately denied. The letter reads: “We regret to inform you at this time that we are unable to provide a loan in the amount requested of $20.00. After reviewing your account, we have find you have insufficient funds, and a history of not doing your chores. Furthermore, over $80.00 has been spent on discretionary entertainment expenses since Christmas. This is an unsustainable amount of expenditure, and we cannot further compound the problem by financially assisting with occurring further debt at this point. If you would like to refute this decision, you can contact our complaint department at (Mum's number.) Our dispute manager at this number may be able to persuade us to reverse our decision. Thank you for choosing DAD Savings and Loan, we appreciate the chance to serve your financial needs.” <img src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/3891482/thumbs/o-DAD-BANK-LETTER-570.jpg?16" alt="dad bank letter"/> Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/01/best-advice-ever-received-video/">People aged 5 to 105 reveal the best advice they’ve ever received</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/01/photos-of-animals-hitchhiking/">Hilarious photos of animals hitchhiking</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/12/cheap-school-holiday-activities/">30 cheap – or free – holiday activities to do with grandkids</a>

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Tuna and olive pizza pockets

9-year-old spends pocket money to buy books for prisoners

The reason why there’s a tiny pocket in your jeans

Dad’s hilarious response to kid’s pocket money demands

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