News Archive for September 2017

Residents in NSW may no longer have to look at their energy bills with one eye open, thanks to the state’s “most comprehensive energy relief package”, which was launched yesterday.

Applying for a student loan may have just got a whole lot easier with a new type of fintech that’s set to shake up the market.

September signalled the start of spring and rather predictably, property news was at the forefront of the month’s financial news. That aside, there was a bunch of consumer-facing news that hit the headlines, Mozo launched its Experts Choice awards for insurance and despite the warmer weather, energy continued to be a contentious topic.

Mozo Experts Choice winner, Newcastle Permanent Building Society have posted higher home loan and customer deposit growth rates than any top four bank, according to its 2017 Annual Report.

Although the Reserve Bank’s October meeting isn’t likely to bring a change in interest rates, things aren’t as cut and dried as they might seem, and an even lower cash rate could still be in our future, according to Mozo Data Manager Peter Marshall.

In a win for an AirBnB host living in an apartment block, the NSW Civil Administration Tribunal (NCAT) has ruled that a strata body was unable to pass by-laws banning short-term lets - including short stays through platforms like AirBnB.

The summer university break is somehow approaching at lightspeed, with less than two months left of term before most Aussie students sit back for a much deserved (well sort of) rest.

Aussies are splurging more on holiday accommodation, food and arts and recreation activities, instead of retail goods, according to recent data from NAB.

Mozo Experts Choice winner, bcu today made wholesale cuts to both fixed and variable home loan rates including a staggering 95 basis point cut to its five year fixed term, making it the outright market-leader by 49 basis points.

Prospective buyers in a number of apartment hubs in both Brisbane and Perth may soon find it harder to get a home loan following reporting from the Australian indicating that a number of postcodes have been ‘red-flagged’ by lender ANZ.

Mozo’s recent Experts Choice Home Insurance Awards have revealed that when it comes to low cost home insurance our major supermarkets are holding their own, with Coles and Woolies taking out two top gongs apiece.

A weekend blitz from the big four banks may have just opened up the way Australians bank, with the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB all announcing that they will cease charging $2 ATM fees for withdrawals from customers of rival banks.

Fairfax Media’s Domain will soon be offering consumers more than just their daily real estate news or housing options.

Mozo’s database has seen seven lenders cut fixed home loan rates over the past few days as spring property season starts to heat up.

A recent Mozo lifestyle habits survey has found that beauty does come at a price - $32.9 billion a year to be exact. And it is one of our fastest growing areas of spending, up 49% on last year.

This week, credit card heavyweight Citi announced a set of new bonus point offers on some of its rewards credit cards - including a 150,000 point offer on the Citi Prestige card, the highest around at the moment.

Apple Pay users can soon add one more card to their digital wallet, with major supermarket Woolworths set to link its rewards card to the mobile platform, reported the Australian Financial Review .

If you’ve got a car insurance policy and are wondering how the quality of cover or value for money stacks up against other insurance, your timing couldn’t be more perfect! Mozo has today announced the 2017 winners of our Experts Choice Awards for Car Insurance.

Today Mozo revealed the results of our inaugural Experts Choice Awards for Home Insurance.

The inaugural Mozo Experts Choice Insurance Award winners have been announced, revealing the best insurance products on the Aussie market today.

“Over-indebted” home loan borrowers could benefit from fiercer competition, after Mozo data showed 31 lenders slashed variable rates in August and September, and 1 in 3 lenders cut fixed rates.

The sometimes laborious process of going to your financial ombudsman when you’ve been shortchanged by your financial provider is set to be replaced by a one-stop complaints shop for Aussie banking consumers.

The recent flood of interest-only rate hikes may be ebbing, as big bank CBA joins a number of lenders reversing current trends to cut fixed rates on interest-only loans.

Gather your friends around because it’s time to take a Welfie!

The Commonwealth Bank has introduced a $1,250 refinance rebate and interest-only rate cuts in a note released to brokers as the spring property season gets under way, reported the Australian Financial Review .

It was a good time to be an international traveller (or an online shopper) on Friday, as the Aussie dollar jumped to a two-year high against the greenback, bagging a cool 81 US cents.

With interest rates at rock bottom for more than 12 months now, things are tough for Aussies trying to build up their savings stash.

Aussie banks are on notice after news that global investment bank Goldman Sachs is planning to enter the UK market with a high-interest online savings account next year.

Despite possible savings of hundreds of dollars a year, Aussie consumers aren’t shopping around when it comes to their general insurance policies, according to Roy Morgan’s General Insurance Industry Currency Report.

Victorian home and business owners will be paid to cut their energy use during times of peak demand this summer in order to avoid statewide blackouts.

Australian small business owners without brick-and-mortar assets are being held back from accessing much needed funding, but that could be about to change, as the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has thrown its support behind proposed changes to the Banking Act.

It’s not news that house prices are skyrocketing in some of Australia’s capital cities, and recent Mozo research into the Bank of Mum and Dad has revealed just how hard it is for young home buyers to get a foot on the property ladder these days - especially when compared to thirty years ago.

Aussies are more likely to splash their cash on a hot coffee than a cold beer, according to Mozo’s 2017 Cost of Lifestyle Report.

The weather is warming up now that spring has arrived, and so is competition in the home loan market!

The number of Australians making renovations to their homes during the June quarter grew by 2.2 per cent according to the Housing Industry Association, while new dwelling construction declined.

Mozo’s annual Cost of Lifestyle report has revealed some sobering truths when it comes to the superfluous spending habits of Aussies in 2017.

The way Australians renters pay their bonds might be about to change, with the emergence of a number of insurtech companies that are offering to cover rental bonds for them - in exchange for a fee that is.

American Express credit card customers have only eight days left to receive up to $60 back from over 100 of their favourite retailers , including David Jones, Country Road and Nespresso as part of VAEFNO 2017.

Recent Mozo research has revealed that first home-buyers are increasingly turning to the Bank of Mum and Dad to secure funding for their property purchase, making Aussie parents the fifth biggest lender in the country, behind the big four banks.

Spring is here and with it a brand new crop of great value money deals. So it's out with the old and in with the new - time to freshen up your finances!

Mozo research has found that the “Bank of Mum and Dad” is now the fifth biggest lender in Australia, as young home-buyers turn to their parents for help getting into a red hot property market.

Experimentational, adventurous and keen to shop around for the most competitive interest rates, are you one of Australia’s newest breed of banking consumers?

The Reserve Bank has left interest rates on hold at 1.50% again this month, a move anticipated by the vast majority of analysts.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m no finance aficionado (yet). What I am good at, however, is finding the perfect podcast to help kill my commute time. So, what better challenge than to hunt down podcasts about finance and money matters? Join me as I trawl through the podcast sphere and share my insights one podcast at a time, starting with The Rentvesting Podcast.

According to a recent study by Westpac, one third of Aussie kids and adults get a little shaky when it comes to maths.

Small business owners could soon be interacting with NAB’s Aussie-first virtual chatbot bankers, as the bank continues to cut the time customers spend on tedious admin tasks.

A host of lenders have cut the headline home loan rates of fixed and variable loans for owner occupiers ahead of what is expected to be a busy spring property season, according to Mozo’s Banking Roundup for August.

The RBA is set to meet next Tuesday, and the chances of a rate rise to 1.75% seem to be ‘slim to none’ according to the majority of experts.

Ideally, we all know that everyone would like to be in shape, but with the average gym membership costing what feels like, an arm and a leg, many of us feel we might be better off just throwing in the towel. But with summer being only three months away, now is the time where fitness goals come alive. Getting fit for summer doesn’t mean you have to blow your budget and we’ve got 9 tips to prove it.

Our final winter month saw many of the money trends of the season continue with savings interest rates continuing to slide, energy expenses taking centre stage and property price talk ramping up with spring selling season upon us.