When you’re looking for a new home loan, the question is not, ‘How much can I borrow?’ Instead you should be asking, ‘How much can I afford to repay?’ This key factor is one of the ways lenders work out the size of your loan, and it’s called ‘serviceability.’ Everyone would love to have no […]
Bushfires have devastated communities across Australia, but help is flooding in from business, government and individuals. Big banks and small lenders have been quick to step up with a raft of measures to ease the pressure on affected customers, from waiving fees and deferring repayments to fast-tracking low-interest rebuilding loans. The company that my business
Saving can be simple when you know how. Yes, sacrifice is needed to get ahead but you can also be frugal without being a total scrooge. Follow our 50 tips to sneak more savings into your life. Talk to me to see if you can save on one of your biggest outlays – your home
The festive season might be a distant memory but many of us will still be paying for it well into the future. According to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), more than a third of us put our Christmas gifts on plastic, racking up an average individual debt of $1,6661. The Christmas splurge adds
Owning your own business can free you from the nine-to-five grind, help you fulfil your passion, create financial opportunities and give you more control over your life. It can also keep you awake at night. Just ask the two million or so Australians running small businesses1. So what are some of the traps and trials
Taking on a mortgage means taking control of your finances. Adding an investment property to your loan portfolio requires additional discipline and planning. With interest rates lingering at record lows, it’s important those taking on another mortgage look beyond the here and now and invest in some long-term thinking. Positive or negative? Positive gearing means
Despite regulatory attempts to cool their heels, property investors still account for nearly one in three1 residential loans. Even first-time home buyers, who may not be able to own where they want to live, are dipping their toe in the investment market. With many Australians still eyeing property as part of their wealth and retirement strategy,
The countdown to Christmas seems an unlikely time to suggest ways to save. But why wait for the New Year to make financial resolutions? We’re tipping the spending season on its head to get your money working harder for you over Christmas and into 2018. Where does it all go? Keep tabs on your spending
Small business lending is set for a shake-up that will make terms fairer for the little guys if recommendations by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) are introduced. The Carnell Report, released in February following an inquiry into bank lending for small-to-medium enterprises, has made 15 recommendations designed to address regulatory gaps
If you have seen the movie Money Pit, in which Tom Hanks and Shelley Long play a hapless couple whose home renovations plummet from bad to disastrous with every swing of the hammer, it’s easy to see why buyers should be beware. But it’s not just hidden and costly repairs that can snag home owners