Having recently changed my employment status I have had occasion to review my superannuation situation. I always knew that fees differed between funds and this could impact on final payout, but I didn't realise how large this factor was until I did my sums.

The bulk of my super is in an industry fund which provides services for employees in education sector. Let's call them Super Fund A. They have above average returns and very low returns. On few occasions I have had to deal with them staff were courteous and efficient.

I have had some money in another fund, Super Fund B, for quite a number of years. I accumulated some funds in it while I was at a previous employer. The fees were high but I was locked into fund because of high exit fees until I turned 55.

I decided to consolidate my funds in preparation for developing a comprehensive retirement plan. So I decided to roll my money over from Super Fund B into Super Fund A. I have done similar things in past with minimal fuss. You just fill in a standard form and send it to fund where you want money to end up. They contact other fund and it's all fixed in a couple of days. Well that's how it works in most cases.

But this didn't happen with my ex friends at Super Fund B. They received my request to roll over my money and decided to milk me one more time.

First step was to ignore request for a few days. Then General Manager Advisor and Customer Service, let's call him Chuck Berry, wrote a letter full of spurious and irrelevant information. I received it six days after date on letter even though I live in same city. The letter says some forms are being prepared and will be sent in a few days, meantime I could consult my financial advisor.

I decided enough was enough and rang Customer Service. Where are "forms"? Other companies don't have forms they just comply with instructions of their clients, why can't Super Fund B?

This was a very enlightening experience. After speaking to several drones and drongos I demanded to speak to Chuck Berry, author of letter so I could explain that it was my money, Super Fund B was being paid to manage it, not to obstruct my written instructions and, if necessary, to comment on his parentage.

We have become an impatient society, we want it right now. We have lost ethic of working for what we want.

It is not how much money you make; it is what you do with it. By living without debt you can actually have a higher income since you are not paying out interest, you are actually getting paid interest on invested money.

All debt is not created equal. We will classify them as good debt and bad debt.

To simplify classification we will say that good debt is a loan for something that you could sell at any time and repay debt. This narrows down good debt to a home loan and possibly a home equity loan.

A bad debt, of course, is a loan on anything that will lose value.

Let's take a look at some debts that we would consider bad debt.

Home equity loans are in gray area. They could be considered good debt if they are used to repair or improve your home, but you would be a lot better off to just save up money for project. Home equity loans become bad debt when used for purposes other than home improvement or maintenance. In other words a bad home equity loan is for anything that does not add to value of your house. Do not jeopardize your home by taking out a home equity loan on unnecessary items.