'I used to worry about death. Now in some ways I look forward to it. I'm going to be reunited with the people I've lost': Jenna Bush shares moving thoughts on dying of George H.W. Bush, 94, after he passes away, eight months after his wife Barbara
Celebrity astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson accused of groping a woman in 2009 and making inappropriate sexual advances toward a female assistant - four years after a former classmate alleges he drugged and raped her
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finally reach a child custody agreement and avoid trial after more than two years of negotiations
'Out of respect for Bush family' Trump cancels his G20 press conference after a summit with little to tout and many questions to answer about his business deals
Michael Cohen 'believed Trump would pardon him in exchange for loyalty' before the president distanced himself from his former personal attorney after the FBI raided his offices
U.S. military warns electromagnetic pulse weapons in Iran, Russia and North Korea could melt down nuclear power plants, shut down the electricity grid for 18 months and WIPE OUT millions of Americans
The love of a lifetime: As George H.W. Bush passes away just eight months after bidding a tearful farewell to his wife Barbara, how their 73-year marriage stayed strong until the very end
George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the US dead at 94: Cold War warrior, who spent a lifetime in high public office and ruled an American political dynasty passes away in Texas eight months after his beloved wife Barbara
George H.W. Bush will have a state funeral that Trump and Melania will attend as White House declares December 5 a National Day of Mourning for the former president
How George HW Bush and Barack Obama formed an unlikely bond: Democrat was one of the last people to see his predecessor before his death
'He was just a high-quality man who truly loved his family': Trump praises George H.W. Bush after calling his sons George W. and Jeb to express 'deepest sympathies'
From Second World War hero to the White House: How George H.W. Bush built a golden political resume through the ranks as a congressman, the U.N. ambassador and the CIA director - before he won the top job
Skydiving three times, throwing out first pitches and tossing the coin at the Super Bowl: How George H.W. Bush's love of adventure began at 80 (and don't forget his crazy sock collection)
'He was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for': George W. Bush and brother Jeb give tributes to their father after his death
The power of Alaska's earthquake: Dramatic aerial images show devastated roads cracked by the two earthquakes that rocked the state and sparked a tsunami warning
'Our family is intact - house is not': Sarah Palin's family compound is damaged in Alaska earthquake
'A part of our ceiling's come down, and our equipment is everywhere!' Dramatic audio from air traffic control tower describes chaos caused by Alaska earthquake
Furious Duchess Kate 'fell out with Meghan Markle before the royal wedding after the former actress 'berated a member of her staff' in a Bridezilla moment
'I'm sure she'll make a movie again': Meghan will return to Hollywood, says her pal and agent (who insists she'll face down hostile royal officials)
Does Kate and Meghan's 'rift' risk splitting apart William and Harry? Fears for brothers bonded by tragedy as they are split by newlyweds' move to Windsor - in echo of Wallis Simpson and Queen Mother row
Meghan kicks up a stink: 'Dictatorial' bride wanted air fresheners for 'musty' 15th-century St George's Chapel... but Buckingham Palace told her no
Smiling Kim Jong Un wraps up warm in a fur-trimmed coat as he walks through a corridor piled high with frozen fish during a trip to a North Korean fishery
Thai cave where 12 boys were trapped for 17 days is now a huge tourist attraction with t-shirts and lottery ticket sellers lining the paths to the entrance
Paris protesters steal a police assault rifle and burn cars and Christmas trees with 80 injured and 183 arrested in clashes as demonstrations spread to Toulouse, Marseille and the Netherlands

New Year's Day isn't just about dealing with a hangover from a night of partying
For Victorian households, it will mean new higher gas and electricity charges
Consumers applying for credit cards will be assessed on how much they can pay
Woman are set to benefit from tampons and sanitary products being GST-free

By Stephen Johnson For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 10:03 EST, 1 December 2018 | Updated: 10:19 EST, 1 December 2018

e-mail

New Year's Day isn't just about nursing a hangover from hard partying the night before.

The first day of 2019 could also mean another kind of ill feeling, at least in the hip pocket.

Daily Mail Australia looks at what January 1 could mean for you, from paying your quarterly electricity bill to applying for a credit card.

There is also some good news if you are a woman, a university student or a baby boomer.

New Year's Day isn't just about nursing a hangover from hard partying the night before (pictured is Sydney Harbour's famous fireworks display)

The first day of 2019 will also mean pain of another kind of ill feeling, at least in the hip pocket (stock image)

Higher electricity and gas bills

If you live in Victoria, you're more likely to be stung with higher energy tariffs.

The Australian Energy Regulator has received applications from gas and electricity companies applying to increase their charges from January 1.

They are required by law inform the energy regulator of their intentions to raise costs 50 business days before they come into effect.

CitiPower, which provides electricity to 333,0000 Melbourne homes, has indicated average residential power bills in 2019 of $1,351, with distribution and metering to make up 27 per cent of the charge.

AusNet Services has indicated gas distribution fees would increase by 1.32 per cent.

It has also proposed a basic annual gas distribution tariff for domestic consumers of $129.58 with additional peak charges of up to $89.47.

With different peak and off-peak charges added together, it proposed annual gas bills of $323.48 for 2019.

Consumers in other states and territories will see their gas and electricity charges increase from July 1, 2019, when the new financial year begins.

From the start of next year, new credit card limits will be based on what a customer is able to pay off over a three-year period (stock image)

New credit card rules

From the start of next year, new credit card limits will be based on what a customer is able to pay off over a three-year period.

Banks and finance providers will be required, under new Australian Securities and Investments Commission rules, to factor in how a consumer would be able to handle paying off the highest applicable interest rate, along with potential cash rate increases from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

In September, ASIC introduced new regulations designed to 'strike an appropriate balance' to stop 'unsuitable' credit card contracts and ensuring consumers had 'reasonable' access to credit.

Mortgage comparison website finder.com.au said that under the new rules, a consumer who could afford to pay off $250 a month off their credit card, with an interest rate of 19.99 per cent per annum, would get a credit limit of $6,720 based on the calculation this debt would take 36 months, or three years, to pay off.

If the card had an annual fee, or a consumer had other debts, the limit would be lower.

Consumers who could afford to pay off more each month would be allowed a higher credit card limit from January 1.

Tampons will be exempt from the 10 per cent GST from the start of next year, thanks to a deal struck last month between federal and state treasurers (Libra stock image)

Tampons to be GST free

Tampons and women's sanitary products will be exempt from the 10 per cent Goods and Services Tax from the start of next year, thanks to a deal struck last month between federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and his state and territory counterparts.

This will be the first major new GST exemption since fresh fruit and vegetables and bread were exempted under a 1999 Senate deal struck between John Howard's Coalition government and the Australian Democrats.

Ahead of that October announcement, Queensland's Jackie Trad, Australia's only female state treasurer, told Daily Mail Australia scrapping the GST on tampons had her '100 per cent support'.

The plan also has the support of Northern Territory Labor Treasurer Nicole Manison, the only other female treasurer at the Melbourne meeting where the deal was sealed.

Australians under 24 who are studying or completing an apprenticeship will be the big winners from January 1 (pictured are students at the University of New South Wales in Sydney)

Youth allowance eligibility criteria changes

Australians under 24 who are studying or completing an apprenticeship will be the big winners from January 1.

Eligibility criteria for Youth Allowance recipients will change, meaning their parents will be able to earn up to $160,000 a year, up from $150,000, to qualify for up to $541.70 a fortnight.

The same rules will apply for indigenous youth receiving Abstudy, who can take home up to $550.20 if they live away from home.

For both Youth Allowance and Abstudy recipient, the parental income limit will increase by $10,000 for each additional child in a family who is younger than 22.

Baby boomers going into a nursing home or a retirement village are set to be the big beneficiaries of a new independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (stock image)

New aged care watchdog

Baby boomers going into a nursing home or a retirement village are set to be the big beneficiaries of a new independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

Following a damning ABC Four Corners report on Australian Aged Care providers, and cases of elder abuse in nursing homes, Prime Minister Scott Morrison last month announced a royal commission into the sector.

With submissions yet to all be received, Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt this week announced a new commission would begin on January 1, 2019.

The government has given it funding of almost $300 million over four years, including an extra $48.2 million to expand monitoring with new compliance officers.

The Commission have a new aged care charter of rights, marking the biggest changes to the sector since the late 1990s.