Easter finance bootcamp: 4 days, 4 ways to get your finances in shape!

We all need a little Easter motivation to get in shape with the excess consumption of chocolate and lazy days spent with family. But, why not use this time wisely to slap your finances into shape?

Here are four finance tasks to tackle this Easter weekend:

Day 1: Do some strength training on your savings stash! 

Rather than treating your time off like a month of Sundays, why not strengthen up your savings stash by switching to a savings account with a higher interest rate?

Whether you signed up to your savings account last month or last year, chances are it’s no longer giving you the most competitive interest rate. In fact, the most competitive savings rates available in the Mozo database are substantially higher than the average ongoing savings rate.

So why settle for an interest rate that's below par? Use our comparison table to find the best savings account to get you on the right track.

Day 2: Crunch some numbers and tone your credit card debt 

In these days of forced penny pinching and home-cooked meals, now could be the perfect time to banish your credit card debt!

Why not use the money you usually spend on transport and cafe food and put it towards paying off your debt. To get you started on your way to a clean finance slate, the first thing might be to consider transferring your outstanding credit card balance to a balance transfer credit card. Usually with this type of card you will be able to benefit from a 0% annual interest rate offer on your transferred balance, meaning that your interest payments will be reduced considerably.

Of course there are a few things you might to want to do make the most of your card:

• Do NOT make any new purchases with your balance transfer card. While balance transfer cards come with a much lower interest rate for outstanding balances transferred from other credit cards, you will most certainly be hit with a much higher interest rate for any new purchases you make.
• Be realistic about how many interest free months you need. The lower interest rate offered with balance transfer cards is usually only for a limited amount of time. So be smart about how many months you need realistically to pay off your debt before the higher interest rate kicks in. You can use our credit card debt repayments calculator to figure out how long and how much you will need to pay off each month, to clear your debt within the allotted time.
• Watch out for fees! While a balance transfer card could save you money on interest payments, one thing to watch out for is fees. Possible fees to look out for include an annual fee for the card and a fee to transfer your outstanding balance onto it.

Day 3: Burn kilowatts on your energy bill and re-energise your plan

Well the first thing you could think about doing is reviewing your energy plan. Reviewing an energy plan is something that often falls by the wayside for many, but by having a look at what you’re spending and switching providers, you could save yourself some serious dollars. In fact, comparing energy plans has managed to save Aussies hundreds of dollars, and while it may seem complicated, it's something that most new energy providers will take care of.

You can compare plans on Mozo’s compare electricity plans page, just enter your postcode to get started.

Day 4: Regulate your routine by refinancing your home loan 

Home loan rates seemed to have reached their peak and are plateaued at a steady high, which mean it's more important than ever to make sure you have the best rate. 

So if you're coming of a fixed rate mortgage cliff or if you think you could be paying too much on your mortgage repayment, now might be the time to give it a rethink. Could you be getting a better interest rate? Are you making use of all the features that come with your home loan? 

You might have thought that an offset account option was a good idea five years ago, but if you haven’t used it and you don’t intend to then you might even want to find a simpler home loan with less fancy features. Or, if you originally signed up to a nothing-but-the-basics sort of loan and now you’re keen to have access to some handy features, such as a free redraw facility, then you might want to see what other home loan options are out there.

Keen to get started? Why not check out the refinance home loan deals below or head to our refinance home loans hub for a longer list of home loans on the market right now.You could even use Mozo’s home loan comparison calculator to compare rates and figure out how much you might save. 

Finally, once you’ve done all that feel free to crack into an Easter egg, you deserve it!