News Archive for May 2022

Refinancing your home loan could save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan, and with interest rates on the rise, it’s little wonder why so many mortgage holders are looking to switch and save. But before you jump headlong into refinancing, there are some crucial expert tips to know for getting a great refinance deal.

Amazon Mid-Year Sale has officially started! This year's sale will run for a total of 5 days, until 11.59PM (AEST) on Monday 6th June. Unlike Amazon Prime Day, which is exclusively available to Amazon Prime members, this sale is open to everyone.

Sky-high petrol prices have been a major cost of living stress for the past few years. Many Australians have been scrambling for ways to save, and member rewards programs have been a popular choice. After all, if your car insurance provider, grocery store, or local servo offers to shave dollars off your fuel ticket, then it's worth it...right?

Just when you thought the shopping frenzy was over, the eBay Plus Weekend sale has arrived! It’s now live and on until 11.59pm on Friday the 3rd of June.

All in this week’s best banking news recap: editor’s pick.

We know it's fun to do mid-year shopping, but keeping tabs on spending is just as important. If you’re in your twenties and are new to full-time work, it can take a bit of getting used to tracking spending, paying bills and saving.

On the heels of Westpac’s announcement only yesterday, NAB’s fixed home loans have joined the May climb upwards. Both owner-occupier and investment interest rates have been lifted, upticking by 60 basis points on 1-year terms.

With housing affordability on many Aussies’ minds, it’s no surprise that Labor has proposed several housing policies to combat skyrocketing property prices.

Aussies are big Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) users, leading the world in BNPL purchasing. But why? Sure, these services allow you to spread the cost of a purchase over a series of interest-free payments, but is that the real reason?

Today, Westpac announced a series of hikes to its fixed rate Premier Advantage home loans, making it the first Big Four bank to lift fixed interests this month. The changes will affect both owner-occupier and investment products and vary between 80 basis points on 1-year terms and 30 for 5-year terms.

With the cost of living pressures reaching boiling point for many Aussie families, and increases not showing any signs of slowing down; being wiser with the way you shop for your groceries could make a big difference to the amount you spend and how much you could save every week on the essentials.So, just how do families cut costs when all the groceries that have become necessities in many households start increasing? Here are a few tips that could help reign in the spending whilst still enjoying the things you’re used to when it comes to food and household essentials for the family home.

A new Labor government will see a few new proposals that may impact your finances.

As international travel returns to normal, it has been announced that Qantas and Zip Co. have partnered, offering customers the option to pay for international and domestic Qantas flights through the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform.

This just in: Buy Now Pay Later service Klarna is launching a three-day global sale event – Dream Deal Days!

Interest rates are rocketing upwards right now, but if you're looking to refinance and have built up some decent equity in your property, it's still possible to secure a lower home loan rate and cut your repayments back down to size.

More Aussies are looking to buy electric vehicles and now many car loan lenders offer competitive rates.

Australia has voted, and there is now a new Labor government. As childcare is both a critical resource and one of the largest expenses for so many Aussie families, a potential increase to the government childcare subsidy (CCS) was a key talking point in the election.

It's that time of year again, tax season. This time around we also have a change of government, so many of you might be wondering what this will mean for your taxes.

Australian property investors have likely been keeping tabs on the rental market of late, as more people begin to arrive into Australia from overseas.

New research from Commonwealth Bank has found that finding a cheaper Internet offer is the main reason Australian’s switch telecommunications providers, but many people do little research when it comes to choosing which providers to go with.

Ever been so unpopular you straight up took yourself off the market? Turns out this was the case for a startling number of sellers this week, with nearly one in five Sydney properties withdrawn against a middling success rate of only 62%.

Australia’s Click Frenzy is returning next Tuesday, the 24th of May from 7pm AEST for a total of 53 hours. The almost 3-day sale gives you plenty of time to search the web for deals and secure products at a good price.

With global inflation expected to increase the cost of living well into 2023, many Australians with families overseas believe they are worse off and are planning to send them money.

You’re not imagining things. In this post-pandemic world, the list of non-Covid worries seems to be growing everyday.

If you’re one of the many Aussies looking to make their finances green, then you might want to add B Corp certification to your checklist when deciding on a financial provider.

New data by Mozo finds that almost half (44%) of Aussies are concerned about the increasing price of electricity.

Home ownership rates have been falling for decades, especially among younger and poorer Australians. And the latest property boom has made the prospect of buying a home seem even more distant for many.

Well, inflation has officially reached our HECS-HELP debt and on June 1 it is expected to increase to 3.9% from 0.6%.

Term deposit rates are rising faster than high interest savings accounts rates right now, causing fixed deposit rates to hit highs not seen in years and fuelling a surge in consumer demand.

Ubank, an Australian direct bank owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), today unveiled a new look following their absorption of neobank 86 400.

The number of Australian border crossings is going up, which can only mean one thing: international travel is on the rise.

The rising price of fuel has ignited a growing reluctance to commute to work, according to a survey of 1,000 Australian office workers by Citrix Systems, a work-from-anywhere software company.

Important update: As of 8 April 2024, Unloan products are now available to new borrowers, removing the previous refinance-only restriction.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has begun unwinding its pandemic-era interest rate cuts, leading many to wonder what this will mean for households, businesses and, of course, shares.

Commbank has found that the overall household spending intentions of Australians has fallen in April. The latest data shows that the Commbank Household Spending Intentions Index (HSI) fell by 3.8% to 112.3% for the month.

Two years of lockdowns and closed borders have given many insatiable wanderlust. So if you find yourself scrolling holiday inspo or wistfully comparing travel insurance policies, let’s explore how to make your dream a reality.

With all the talk about the cost of living rising, I've been looking into the simple act of saving money. It's not something that comes as naturally in 2022, when the emphasis on spending feels well ingrained.

Share trading and superannuation platform, Superhero, says that women have been investing for a longer time than men.

Dollarydoos don’t stretch as far as they used to, hey? With cost of living and inflation rapidly on the rise, grocery shopping has become one of 2022's biggest expenses.

The Reserve Bank’s latest rate hike has galvanised Australia’s home borrowers into action, with thousands flocking to comparison sites to hunt down lower rate home loan deals.

Waiting for your online orders to arrive can be frustrating, especially when you need your purchases by a certain date. Here are some of the shops offering the fastest delivery in Australia.

Online lender Nano, a two-time award winner in this year’s Mozo Experts Choice Awards, has extended its refinance home loan product to include new purchases.

If you’re looking to move Down Under chances are that you’ll need to open an Australian bank account.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services allow users to purchase a product or service at a shop or online and pay it back in interest free instalments. In addition to a form of payment, BNPL can also be used as a money management and budgeting tool.

Following the RBA’s decision to increase the cash rate by 25 basis points to 0.35%, many banks have begun to increase their variable home loan rates.

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment. Rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia have dominated home loan news for the last year, with much of the chatter hingeing on how this will impact variable interest home loans – and by extension, mortgage repayments.

As it gets cooler you may find yourself tempted to turn on a heater - probably the quickest and easiest way to heat your home. But using a heater takes a lot of electricity and if you use it too often, a nasty surprise might arrive on your next energy bill.

Virgin Money has introduced a new mobile app feature to help Australians reach their savings goal quicker.

Having delivered seven consecutive hikes since May, the Reserve Bank of Australia has well and truly unwound its pandemic-era interest rate cuts. But just how high is the central bank willing to go to contain inflation?

All in this week’s best banking news recap: editor’s pick.

If you are planning on taking a long awaited holiday this winter as international borders open, I am very jealous! If your luggage is looking a bit old and dusty after being out of use for the last couple of years, you might want to invest in a new suitcase or bag.

Yes, the RBA has increased the cash rate by 0.25% and banks are already responding by passing on the rate hike to variable home loans.

If you’ve got a subscription to Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime, Binge or one of the other major streaming platforms, you’ll know the feeling of being overwhelmed by the endless range of content available. Stuck on what to watch next? Here is what the team at Mozo has been watching and enjoying lately.

Recently, term deposit providers have turned away from higher interest rates for longer terms and are instead focusing on shorter term rates. So, if you’re looking to lock your cash up for a short while, then some of the current term deposit rates on the market could be worth considering.

Interest rates and property prices are closely related. This is because the cost of financing a home loan greatly impacts whether people can afford to buy property: more buyers, more competition, which means higher prices. While the Australian property market can be hard to predict, watching interest rates can give us a good idea of where it may be going.

As low interest rate deals continue to disappear, demand for refinancing is expected to grow as many banks begin to repay the $188 billion borrowed through the Reserve Bank’s Term Fund Facility (TFF) and pass the fees on to their customers.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has finally decided to bring down the monetary hammer, announcing that it will increase official interest rates from 0.1% to 0.35%.

Last updated: 10:29 am 10 May 2022

The Reserve Bank of Australia has delivered another aggressive 0.25% rate hike to the economy, bringing the official cash rate to 4.35%.

With inflation still much too high, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has hit the cash rate with its thirteenth hike, hammering in another 0.25%. Official interest rates now sit at a lofty 4.35%.

Australians might have gotten accustomed to low interest rates during the pandemic, but that changed after the Reserve Bank of Australia started tightening monetary policy last year.

We can officially say goodbye to most of the fixed rates below a 2% p.a. in our database. Last week, G&C Mutual Bank’s ultra-low 1-year fixed rate of 1.98% p.a. (1.99% p.a. comparison rate*) jumped to 2.89% p.a. (2.94% p.a. comparison rate*).

Rate rise pain is setting in for millions of Aussie home borrowers, and the Reserve Bank is forecast to continue raising rates in coming month. While the golden era of record low home loan rates is well and truly over, the good news is that it’s still possible to find super-low variable home loans under 4.00%.

Home loan owners have been feeling the squeeze lately. In the past few months alone, rising inflation, cost of living pressures, and a long awaited RBA cash rate decision have been fuelling a fixed-rate hike scramble.