Berni Dymet of A Different Perspective was talking with Ross Buttenshaw of Christians Against Poverty on VisionFM radio Friday July 15th. The topic of focus was improving one’s financial situation.
Making Use of that Spare Room
Buttenshaw suggested that there are many people in Australia (and around the world) who have a spare bedroom or two. For those where the situation may be fitting, Buttenshaw suggested the possibility of acquiring a house mate to bring additional income to the household.
The pair also discussed the idea of parents receiving board from their adult children. Dymet indicated that his 20 year old daughter who was earning an income had to pay board from the day she started earning a wage. Buttenshaw agreed that such a move helped to teach young adults the values and responsibility of money, whilst also helping out the household financially.
7 Million Empty Bedrooms
As the talk focused on renting out a room, Dymet mentioned having read somewhere that in Australia each night, there was an astronomical amount of bedrooms that weren’t being put to use. Perhaps the three bedroom house was bought by the individual wanting to be able to have friends over, or maybe the couple who are planning to start a family. Whatever the reason, there appears to be a lot of unused excess when it comes to bedrooms in Australia.
For those who are in this boat and keen on the idea of generating further finances, the idea of renting out a room can be beneficial. Another possibility rather than taking on a housemate is to make the room available for people who may be attending events or taking a holiday in the area and needing somewhere to sleep. The larger extent of this is to rent the whole house out at certain times of the year as a holiday house and earn extra income this way.
For the compassionate soul, it would be worth considering other ways in which the spare room or rooms can be of benefit to another. Perhaps a warm bed and roof over the head of someone who’s been sleeping on the streets may be appealing. Another option is to provide free board to someone who’s struggling so that they can be given the chance to:
- Get that job without having to worry about financial expenses
- Save enough to have a bond to rent a house
- Study to gain a qualification that will lead to a chance for an income
Whatever the incentive, the stark reality is that in today’s society, Australia has 7,000,000 vacant bedrooms and many people that could no doubt make use of them. Whether driven by finances, compassion or both, it may be possible to change the room from being vacant 365 days of the year and in the process, change one’s financial outlook or someone else’s life.
Sources: A Different Perspective with Berni Dymet, 15/07/2011; Homelessness Australia, 2011.
Chris Thomas - C. Thomas has studied and worked with horses since 2001. She teaches horse studies part time and is undertaking an Equine Science ...
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