If you run a company, the money in it might feel like yours, but the ATO doesn't always see it that way. Just ask the plumber who took a million out of his business, missed one piece of paperwork, and lost $470,000 to tax. Today we walk through what he did, the rule that caught him out, and what every business owner needs to know before touching company money.

On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(00:20) A plumber, a million dollars, and one costly mistake
(01:33) Inside the Battaglia tribunal case
(02:31) $1M taken, $470K lost to tax
(04:11) Bucket company owners, this affects you
(05:21) Why the ATO's penalty stings more than the tax
(07:00) What the ATO now checks on your tax return
(08:32) Accountant or business owner, who carries the blame?
(10:44) Doing it properly: the right way to use company money
(12:14) Big bucket company changes coming July 2028
(13:29) Real reasons business owners take these loans
(15:43) Lodgement date, the deadline that trips people up
(18:35) Restructure gone wrong, another $470K down
(21:39) Three tests to stay on the ATO's good side

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every parent wants to give their kid a head start, but most don't realise one of the best ways to do it is inside superannuation. Today we're looking at a strategy that turns small yearly contributions into hundreds of thousands for your child by the time they retire, using rules the government has quietly left on the table.

On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(00:47) Two Super Strategies Most Aussies Don't Use
(01:55) Helping Your Kids Get a Leg Up via Super
(02:47) The Government's Super Co-Contribution Scheme
(04:02) $1,000 a Year Into Your Kid's Super
(05:23) The Balance After 5 Years in Super
(06:13) The Balance After 10 Years in Super
(07:32) Turning $23,675 Into $354,000 for Your Kid
(08:16) The $193K Cost of Starting Late
(09:40) Pulling Super Out for a First Home
(12:58) Moving a Lump Sum Into Super
(13:57) Concessional vs Non-Concessional Contributions
(16:54) How the Bring Forward Rule Works
(18:00) $520K Into Super in Six Weeks
(18:47) The $1.6 Million Couple With Downsizer Option
(21:34) Why Super Beats a Personal Share Portfolio

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every pay rise feels smaller than it should. That's because when your income goes up but the tax brackets don't move, you quietly pay more tax at higher rates. It's called bracket creep, and it's why your pay never quite catches up. Today we run through what your pay rise is really worth after tax, and the one change every other developed country makes that Australia doesn't.

On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(00:49) The Viral Max Harris Bracket Creep Clip
(02:24) Why Australia Won't Index Its Tax Brackets
(03:14) How the Government Profits From Bracket Creep
(04:30) The Minimum Wage Win Chalmers Is Selling
(05:51) Why Wages Aren't Keeping Up With Prices
(06:49) The $3,100 a Year You're Falling Behind
(07:59) What a Pay Rise Really Leaves You
(09:29) What a $190K Earner Really Loses
(11:11) A $190K Family Living Week to Week
(13:29) Why the Government Is Your Biggest Expense
(15:34) Personal Tax Hits 54% of Revenue
(16:47) The Fix: Lower Income Tax, Higher GST
(17:26) The Payroll Tax Killing Small Business Hiring
(18:12) Why We Need to Index Tax Brackets
(21:03) Why Young Australians Get Hit Hardest

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The doom and gloom online is loud, but what never changes is young people wanting to get ahead. Today we're looking back on the choices we made in our 20s to see what we would do differently now.
On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(01:00) What We'd Change at 25 Again
(01:43) The One Property Choice Nick Would Undo
(04:54) Why We Wasted Every Paycheck at 15
(06:23) How Jase Lost on Hills Hoist Shares
(07:41) How $50 a Week Becomes $294K
(10:10) Why Nick Started His Business at 25
(13:05) Failing at 27 Costs Less Than 45
(13:28) Your Network Is Your Net Worth
(14:38) Why Every 25-Year-Old Needs a Mentor
(16:44) Why We'd Skip Extra Super at 25
(18:01) When First Home Super Saver Works
(19:04) Why We Wouldn't Rush HECS
(21:20) The Second Job Tax Myth Explained
(24:23) Why Insurance at 25 Costs 3x Less

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

1.3 million Aussie small businesses are owned by baby boomers, and in the next few years we’ll see the biggest handover of small business ownership in a generation. For anyone thinking of starting one, today's ep looks at what it means to buy an existing business rather than build from scratch.

On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(00:24) 1.3 Million Aussie Businesses Owned by Boomers
(00:52) Why Boomers Haven't Planned Their Exit
(01:51) Why Buying an Existing Business Wins
(03:23) Why an Accountant Would Buy in 2026
(04:42) A Hairdressing Supplier Buys a Salon
(05:47) How to Build a Sellable Business Asset
(06:58) Why Banks Won't Fund Business Buyers
(07:45) How the US Funds Business Buyers
(10:18) How Government-Backed Loans Would Pay Off
(13:06) $31 Billion Sent to US Business Buyers
(14:45) Buying the Business You Already Work In
(18:32) Why Business Sellers Take Less Than Expected

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nothing on the news feels like good news. Wages under pressure, taxes up, housing broken. But there's another story if you go looking for it. Today we lay out the bullish case for Australia in 2026: why we're still the third-richest country per household, and the business, property and tech plays going for anyone paying attention.

On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(01:20) Voice Note From the Former Co-Host
(04:23) Boomer Businesses Ripe for a Takeover
(07:07) Tax Workarounds for Business Owners in 2026
(08:19) Third-Richest Country Per Household
(10:33) Why the $4.4 Trillion Super Pool Matters
(12:39) Why Homeownership Still Wins in Australia
(14:34) Renters Buying With 10% of the Deposit
(15:47) Why 147,000 New Jobs Beat the Headlines
(19:10) Why We Won't See a Housing Crash
(21:29) Buying Property Without Negative Gearing
(23:47) $15,000 Per Aussie From Mining Exports Alone
(27:40) Why Big Tech Is Building Data Centres In Australia

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is there a case to ditch super in Australia? A clip doing the rounds by Senator Gerard Rennick says yes, and it turns out the argument is stronger than most people would think. Nick walks through why it stacks up on paper but breaks down in reality, from the fund returns and tax breaks people would give up, to what actually happens to money the second it lands in their pocket.

On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(02:56) The Full 'Scrap Super' Clip Played
(05:48) Why 40% Retire With a Mortgage
(06:50) The $80K Earner's Super Squeeze
(08:12) Why Most People Wouldn't Save the Money
(10:57) What Small Business Debt Says About Habits
(13:29) Why More Retirees Now Live Off Super
(15:36) What KiwiSaver Shows About Voluntary Super
(18:43) How Much Super Funds Actually Return
(20:07) Why Super Taxes You Less Than Investing
(21:24) Why the Wealthy Top Up Their Super
(22:27) How One Couple Saved $90K in Tax
(23:18) What Would Change if Super Went Voluntary
(27:13) Why Super Should Stay Compulsory

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pokemon cards are being treated as a serious investment by some Aussies right now, with collectors sitting on multi-million dollar portfolios. But do the numbers actually stack up as a solid investment? Jase has run the comparison of investing $10k in a vintage Pokemon collection against the ASX, gold and Bitcoin over the last 25 years.

On this episode, we discuss:

(00:00) Intro
(02:26) A Living Room Full Of Pokemon Cards
(04:24) $10K In Pokemon Vs Gold And ASX
(05:31) From $10K To $2.5 Million In Pokemon
(06:56) The 10,000% Charizard Card Return
(08:10) When COVID Sparked The Pokemon Hype
(09:25) Bitcoin's 800% Return Since 2020
(11:11) The 9.7 Billion Card Print Problem
(13:39) When $10K In Modern Pokemon Becomes $3K
(15:23) Logan Paul's $16.5 Million Pokemon Sale
(16:02) The Tax Side Of Pokemon Collectibles
(16:57) The $500 Rule That Saves You Tax
(19:25) Why Pokemon Losses Only Offset Pokemon Gains
(22:15) Why You Should Take Wins And Diversify

Check out the free resources from Inovayt here.

Send us an email: hello@thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au

The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt.

Hosts:
Nick Reilly
Jason Robinson

This podcast is produced by VIDPOD.

Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.