Australia’s housing market might be on a bit of a downward trajectory, but that doesn’t mean the value of your home can’t buck the trend. Here are five ways you can increase the value of your property, without necessarily increasing your monthly mortgage repayments.
It’s no secret that Australians love to travel. The thing is, we also love to own our own home. Can you do both? It turns out most people can!
When it comes to footy, Australians love a punt – of both the kicking and betting varieties. The thing is though, one is great fun, the other can cost you thousands of dollars a year.
As technology continues to evolve, so too do the challenges of keeping your family budget in check. This week we’re going to look at a couple of technological trends that could put your family budget under some real strain in 2019.
There’s been a lot of noise in the home lending and financial space recently, so there’s every chance you may have missed it, but some lenders are starting to cut rates.
Medicare customers are being urged to update their bank account details to see if they’re entitled to a share of more than $110 million in unclaimed rebates. Here’s how to do so online in a few minutes.
Higher interest rates, increased fees, less flexibility and fewer options. That’s how borrowers will lose out if the banking Royal Commission’s recommendations around how mortgage brokers are paid are implemented. Here’s how you can have your say!
More than 1000 pages and 76 recommendations – the Royal Commission final report doesn’t exactly make for light reading. Fortunately, we’ve cut to the chase with the key recommendations and how they’ll affect you.
Once again the Big 4 Banks have escaped major punishment and gotten exactly what they wanted: adding a multi-thousand-dollar tax on borrowing that’ll hit consumers and brokers hardest.
Ahh, the NBN. Depending on where you live it’s either lightening fast, or so agonizingly slow that you want to pull your hair out. Well, the good news is you could be entitled to a refund worth hundreds of dollars.
Sharing is caring, right? However, when it comes to the sharing economy, the ATO is feeling neglected and wants its fair share. Here’s what you need to know if you rent out your property on Airbnb.
Excuse the humble brag, but property buyers are turning to mortgage brokers in record numbers. Here’s why that’s great news for the both of us.
The Productivity Commission has released a major report into Australia’s superannuation system, and in it identified 31 recommendations for overhauling the system. Here’s what you need to know.
It’s the end of the road for 900,000 borrowers on interest-only loans, as they’ll be automatically switched to principal and interest loans this year. Now’s the time to check whether or not you should start considering other options.
We’re midway through January and you’ve managed to stay sane. Well, we hope so anyway! Here are seven budget-friendly ideas that’ll help keep the kids off their screens throughout the last two weeks of school holidays.
Each year we make New Year’s resolutions that focus on our health and wellbeing. But how often do we think about improving our finances? Here are five financial New Year’s resolutions that could help you start 2019 with a bang!
Here’s some good news to kick off 2019: APRA is removing its restrictions on interest-only residential mortgage lending from January 1.
Whether you’re celebrating the festive season with family and friends, or getting away somewhere nice and relaxing, we hope you have a wonderful break over the summer holidays!
Borrowers who don’t shop around due to the banks’ unclear pricing tactics are losing out on an average of $850 a year, an ACCC report has found.
Tipsy topples, scooter smashes, sporting sprains and medical mishaps – before you go jet-setting overseas these holidays we’ll explore the most common ways travel insurance policies are voided.
Every Christmas almost half of the Australian population decides to go swimming in credit card debt to get through the festive season. But there’s two big reasons why you shouldn’t do that this year.
A big four bank almost overhauled its broker remuneration model so that the cost of mortgage broking services would be transferred to the customer, the royal commission heard. Here’s how to prevent that from happening.
Seven in 10 Australian mortgage holders have not stress tested their home loan. But don’t stress, it’s much easier to do than you think.
One in six customers who use payment methods such as Afterpay and Zip Pay run into financial strife – and ASIC is putting the ‘buy now, pay later’ industry under the spotlight.
We thought we’d have a little fun this week and look at how much it costs the average Aussie family to own a pet. After all, two in three households have one and very few budget for them!
One of the biggest milestones you’ll encounter on your climb up the property ladder is becoming a landlord. Which means that one big decision you’ll face is whether to hire the services of a managing agent, or take on the responsibility yourself.
Most of us roll our eyes when we start seeing shopping centres spruik Christmas merchandise in November. While it’s important not to get caught up in the festivities too early, now’s actually a great time to start prepping to ensure your budget doesn’t blow out over the silly season.
There’s been a couple of fairly big property-related announcements recently, including a stamp duty overhaul in NSW and NAB increasing interest rates. Let’s break down what they could mean for you.
Property owners and prospective first home buyers are increasingly in need of clear guidance on home lending as the housing markets in Melbourne and Sydney begin to cool, says the Housing Industry Association.
When it comes to money-saving and budgeting, many of us are in the dark as to where we should be making significant savings. A good place to start? Cutting down on ‘micro-transactions’.
With housing values falling across half of Australia’s capital cities over the past year it can be all too easy to forget many regions are doing well. Here’s where property prices have recently experienced healthy growth.
Business partnerships are a lot like marriages. You map out future goals together, become quite dependent on each other, and shy away from the thought of your partner no longer being around. Here’s how Buy/Sell Insurance can help protect your business.
It’s an unfortunate fact of life: as you grow older, your memory is likely to fade. While you’ll probably be forgiven for forgetting the odd anniversary, the stakes are much higher when it comes to keeping track of your finances.
It may seem as though every time you open a newspaper there’s another story about the sky falling in on the property market. But here’s why it’s being labelled the “house price fall we had to have”.
Buying a house by the sea in a little known coastal town is no longer reserved for retirees. New research shows that those flocking to coastal towns are now predominately young families.
Just like a Melbourne Cup winner tearing down the outside, the October 31 tax deadline can quickly rush up on you. As the Australian Tax Office can fine those who fail to get theirs in on time, it might be time to get cracking.
Sticking to a financial plan – such as paying off a mortgage – can be a long journey that’s punctuated by high highs and low lows. Here are some tips to get you through the tougher times.
You’ve probably seen ‘negative gearing’ and ‘capital gains tax’ in the news recently. That’s because they’re set to become hot topics ahead of the next federal election. Today we’ll take a look at both.
We all know that choosing the perfect investment and getting the timing right are both critical. What people often overlook, however, is selecting the right investment ownership model.
A question we often get goes something along the lines of: ‘I make all my repayments on time, and I save $1,000 per month, why is the bank saying I can’t service a loan?’ Here’s how banks conduct loan serviceability.
Information is power. Knowing how much a property is worth can help you secure a great price during negotiations.
Many people only pay their bills on time to avoid being slugged with late fees and a bad credit rating. But a big change this month means that you can now be rewarded for timely repayments.
Whether it’s unrequited love, or an unsuccessful home loan application, getting your heart broken is never easy. Here are five common reasons home loan applications are rejected.
It’s a morbid thought that many of us tend to shy away from, but end-of-life financial planning is a crucial stage in any successful financial management plan.
Just as every great movie is carried by a star performance, so too do most small businesses rely on a key performer. Here’s how to protect your business from bombing at the box office with key person insurance.
With some of the major lenders recently lifting interest rates on variable home loans, we’ve had a number of enquiries this week as to whether now is a good time to lock in an interest rate.
When one bank hikes its interest rates, the rest usually follow one after the other like dominos. Here’s how to avoid getting caught up in the chain reaction.
We all want what’s best for our children. So while investing in their name from an early stage might sound like a great idea, you need to tread as carefully as you would around an abandoned lego construction site.
You’ve probably heard of The Barefoot Investor before. Pre-sales for his upcoming book have already surpassed the final instalment of the Harry Potter series. But here’s why you don’t have to tread down the tricky path towards financial independence barefoot and all by yourself.
With a reverse mortgage you can unlock nest egg funds without having to sell your whole nest. Here’s how we can help in the process.
Sydney? Melbourne? Perth? Find out which of Australia’s capital cities have performed best in the property market over the past two decades.
We all experience times in life when we just can’t wait to get our hands on that shiny new item. But as the old saying goes: good things come to those who wait.
Credit card providers love to use all kinds of incentives to get you to put that shiny piece of plastic into your wallet, ripe for usage at your weaker moments. Here’s how to avoid getting snared in credit card debt.
It’s one thing to be ready to pay off a mortgage. It’s entirely another to convince lenders that you’re ready to do so, especially in the current environment of tighter lending standards. Here’s how.
We all know that recycling is great for the environment. But debt recycling? Well, if done right, that could be great for your own little patch of planet earth.
Want to avoid sinking your entire savings balance into your mortgage? An offset account could be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Most Australians grow up with the dream of buying and living in their own home. But, given the difficulty of cracking into the market in trendy locations, another option has emerged.
We’re pretty proud of the work we do. Every day we get to help Aussie families secure finance for the home of their dreams and set up their financial future. Here’s why we’ll always put you first.
Most Australians receive a tax refund, but not all spend it wisely. Here’s how to make the most of your tax windfall – and not blow it all in Bali.
Back-breaking furniture, perilously narrow staircases and chipped crockery – the idea of moving house strikes fear into the hearts of most. But with careful planning it doesn’t have to be a nightmare.
So your friend just gave you a hot share tip at the weekend barbecue? Before you jump straight on your computer and blow the kids’ education fund, it pays to do a bit of research.
Shopping, watching a movie, catching up on the news – there are many things that are cheaper and easier to do online these days. But obtaining a quality home loan? Well, the only time you’ll want to use the internet for that is connecting with an expert.
Everyone dreams of investing in a home or business that will fetch them more money than they originally bought it for. Here’s how to roll-up your sleeves and get started.
It’s no secret that the banking royal commission has shone a light on serious misconduct and poor lending standards by some of Australia’s biggest banks. So we thought it was a good time to address the proverbial elephant in the room and set the record straight.
Rings? Check. Dress? Check. Prenup…? We make the case for and against this most maligned of agreements.
Keen for a new laptop, car, or even an airport lounge membership? Sick of putting your hand in your pocket for school fees, the rent or your mortgage? All of these things could be paid for through a salary sacrifice arrangement.
Every year thousands of Aussie families flush their hard earned dollars down the gurgler because they put off the simple act of refinancing their mortgage. If you’re overdue, rest assured that it’s much easier than you may think!
Family Tax Benefit changes came into effect this week. How do they affect you and your family?
Sure, the value of the average Australian home may have fallen for nine consecutive months, but it’s far from doom and gloom. Let’s put it all in a bit of perspective.
There are two kinds of debt in this world: the kind that is tax deductible and the kind that isn’t. Knowing the difference, and planning your purchases accordingly, can significantly improve your cashflow, opportunities and overall financial position.
