Care ContinuityFree practical toolkit

The Three Prices

ENGLISH LEARNING PAGE · UPDATED 4 NOVEMBER 2026

Look at what you pay today, any payments still to come, and the people and materials involved.

Compare ways to pay for a purchase you’re considering.

Open the payment calculator Print or share the card

Start with the example amounts or change the purchase price. These are simplified estimates, so a lender’s figures may differ. There is no score or best answer for everyone.

Three questions about a purchase

Now: the price today

Check the full price, what is included and any cost of getting the item ready to use. Consider what you need and how much money would be left for other needs.

Later: payments still to come

Look at repayments, interest, fees and ongoing costs. Money committed to a payment will be less available for other things. The calculator lets you explore this timing with example amounts you can change.

Elsewhere: people, materials and repair

Making and maintaining things takes resources and people's work. Look for information about where an item comes from, how long it may last, and whether it can be repaired or reused. Skilled work, including teaching, care and repair, also takes time and attention.

Where information is available, ask who is paid for the work and who handles waste or repairs. A low advertised price, or a business earning more, does not by itself tell you whether the service is better. Check what is included, what it is like to use, and what happens when something needs fixing.

Other ways to meet the need

When practical, consider keeping an item you already have, repairing it, borrowing, sharing, buying second-hand or waiting. Urgent needs, access requirements, money, time and local services can limit the options. You do not need a perfect answer. Borrowing for something necessary or urgent is not a personal failure.

How the calculator works

The calculator compares six ways of paying for a purchase over time, including what happens when an unexpected expense comes up. It uses simplified payment rules for adults in Australia, with amounts in Australian dollars. A lender’s figures may differ. Credit is assumed to be available; approval, age and eligibility are not checked. It cannot predict your finances or choose a financial product for you.

This financial-learning project is separate from Care Continuity's disability and care information. The public exercise is English-only. Arabic, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese exercise drafts remain private: they need to be reconciled with the current English model and reviewed before release. The official MoneySmart language resources below are separate from those drafts.

Read a short piece in Money's voice

This passage adapts earlier AI-assisted drafts from Money as Energy. Money speaks as an imagined character.

I can help people pay, save and exchange. My numbers do not tell you what a person is worth. Look at the work, time and materials behind a purchase too.

Independent financial information

You can use free public information alongside this lesson. These external services have their own privacy terms and accessibility arrangements; they do not endorse this project.

The English card edition dated 4 November 2026 has a QR code for this introduction, with a choice to continue to the payment calculator. The same address is printed on the card for people who cannot or prefer not to scan.

For the A4 cut sheet, print landscape at 100% actual size and choose short-edge duplex. Print one test sheet first, check the fronts and backs, and scan the printed QR with a phone before a batch run. The finished files have passed software decoding checks; a physical print and phone scan has not been completed.

The card and QR destinations

The original The Three Prices card, dated 19 October 2026, has a QR code for ASIC MoneySmart's credit and debt guide. Its companion lesson was a separate file, and the printed QR did not open that lesson.

The separate information-card files prepared on 27 October point to this project page. The calculator-card files point to the payment exercise linked above. Calculator-card artwork remains on hold for physical distribution until the final print and destination are checked on real phones. These historical editions have different destinations. The 4 November 2026 information-card edition is available above.

Review status and corrections

The English exercise has completed AI-assisted arithmetic, source and bounded browser checks. Independent human financial review, disability-led comprehension testing and actual screen-reader testing have not been completed. Publication does not establish financial suitability, user understanding, ASIC endorsement or WCAG conformance.

You can keep the example amounts and stop whenever you choose. Do not rely on these estimates to decide whether to borrow. The Care Continuity project owner maintains this release. For project corrections or review enquiries, Email Care Continuity. This is not a staffed financial-support service.

No independent review, participant session or testing funding is confirmed. Future testing must be voluntary, use made-up amounts and allow chosen support. People must not have to disclose real income, banking details or credit problems. Stop, skip or disagree without losing an agreed session payment. The project is not currently recruiting participants.

Help review the project

The first useful contribution is a small, defined review with declared conflicts, costs, qualifications and permission to publish adverse findings. Review of this financial-learning project is a separate optional scope; it does not replace the legal, clinical or disability-led review of Care Continuity.

Independent review and paid testing Research releases and review status

Read the transparency journal · Return to Care Continuity