Property Valuations: Maximizing Your Property’s Worth Refinancing your mortgage to get a better deal or to use the equity in your property means arranging a valuation of your property to determine its value. Getting a lower-than-expected valuation can affect the interest rate your lender offers and the amount of equity you can tap into. Here’s how…
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First Tier Lenders vs. Second Tier Lenders Stricter lending conditions across Australia have led to a rise in the number of borrowers turning to second-tier lenders for finance. Second-tier lenders – who can be smaller banks or non-bank lenders – whilst also tightly regulated, can often have more flexibility in the rates and fees they…
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How to Navigate Interest Rate Rises As Australian household budgets are stretched further by yet another interest rate rise, some homeowners are looking at ways to cut discretionary spending, while others are considering refinancing their home loans and shifting to lenders offering better deals. With further rate rises likely, now may be the right time…
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3 Practical Tips For Getting Your Finances Back on Track A staggering 7.2 million Australians are said to be starting the New Year with a Christmas debt hangover. According to research, one in four Aussies could take up until May to pay back their Christmas debt! If your big Christmas blow-out hit hard in January, it’s…
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Big Banks, Small Banks, Non-Banks When deciding on a home loan provider, many people choose to approach their own bank in the first instance, believing it makes sense to work with a lender already managing their everyday banking. This is not always the best option however, and it could mean missing out on better deals.…
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Curing Your Christmas Debt Hangover While you won’t find this expression in a mainstream dictionary, it’s a feeling that’s all too real for anyone who’s overspent at Christmas. A Christmas Debt Hangover usually kicks in around the middle of January when the credit card bills start rolling in. Symptoms include stress, trouble sleeping, and an…
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Be Financially Fit this 2024 The beginning of a new year is a good time to get your finances in order and establish some financial goals for the year ahead. By making just a few small changes to how you spend and save, you could set yourself up for the best year ever when it…
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How Creditworthy Are You? Every time you apply for credit, spend using credit or make (or miss) a repayment on a loan or a utility bill, you influence your credit score. In turn, your credit score is used by lenders to determine whether or not to give you more credit. That’s why keeping a good…
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Beat the Cost-of-Living Tips The rising cost of living has hit Aussies hard, with higher prices at the supermarket, petrol pump, and utility bills stretching already tight budgets to breaking point. Keeping up with price rises is challenging when your income does not move in the same direction, and thousands of Aussies are potentially…
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3 Financial Rules of Thumb Worth Following Personal finance is full of rules of thumb about saving, spending, paying off debt, and budgeting. These well-known financial guidelines help us apply proven methods for saving, investing, buying a home and even planning for retirement. They can be useful shortcuts for making quick calculations and decisions about…
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