Many years ago I was a fan of a regular column that appeared in The Australian called ‘The Pitch’. I remember that on one particular day, instead of discussing his usual subject matter – advertising and marketing – the columnist wrote about his personal journey in bringing to fruition his dream of being an author.

He was in the process of completing his first novel. As much as anything else, I remember the article as a call to arms – to have a go and to not die wondering. Follow your dreams and all that.

The author was none other than Bryce Courtenay, who is now much more famous as a best-selling novelist than he ever was for ‘Louis the Fly’ (he was the ad guru behind that campaign).

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Young Australians put their dreams of buying property at risk if they skip payments on telecommunications and utilities bills, according to Mortgage Choice chief executive Michael Russell says.

Many people don’t realise the lasting impact a default or two on a standard monthly bill can have on their credit rating, Russell says.

While borrowers with less-than-stellar credit histories may once have been able to turn to secondary lenders for finance approval, these days it’s very difficult to obtain a home loan if you have a poor credit rating, he adds.

“If you’ve got a blemish on your credit report, forget about it,” Russell says.

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The science is in and it’s scary. Sitting down is bad for you – very bad. So much so that some workplaces are starting to act. Lissa Christopher, who wrote this story standing up, reports.

The time has come for office chairs to come with a health warning and ”upholstered, height-adjustable weapons of mass destruction” might not be too much an exaggeration.

Sitting for prolonged periods – and, let’s face it, few places compete with the office when it comes to opportunities to park one’s behind – is now linked to increased risk of premature death, particularly from cardiovascular disease. It is also associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cancer.

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It’s a figure to break the hearts of first home buyers: Sydney’s median house price is inching towards $600,000 – almost double what it was a decade ago.

Naturally, that sum will stretch much further in some suburbs than others.

In trendy Potts Point it will net you an unrenovated and original 57 square metre, two-bedroom terrace, while 30 kilometres to the west it buys a top-end, four-bedroom modern brick house in Blacktown on a huge block.

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The marketing departments at the retail banks are working overtime at the moment to get your business. But do they really want it? This question is the reason why the marketing battle that is now so visible on our TVs, bus shelters and everywhere else is so fascinating.

Tighter credit conditions prevail, and the banks are much pickier about who they will actually lend to. So they are all fighting over a diminished pool of ‘eligible’ banking prospects.

Let’s line up a few of the suspects. We have Barbara – the banker pilloried in the ANZ ad. We have Westpac and all those bank managers – aren’t those ‘out-takes‘ at the end of the ad so cute? Then there’s NAB, who wants you to “sign up to fight unfair banking”

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