The simple trick that could save you over $1,600 a year
When it comes to haggling, there are those who are born to do and those who’d rather sit through a root canal at the dentist.
According to recent Mozo research, Aussies are more willing to haggle with retailers on appliances than on their biggest household expenses, like their energy plans, home and car insurance bills or their mortgages.
In fact, more than half don’t bother to ask for discounts despite potential savings of up to $1,608.
For instance, while those that did haggle on their mortgage were only successful 67% of the time, they were able to cut 50 basis points from their home loan rate, saving around $1,218 in interest each year.
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“Our analysis shows home loan hagglers could save around 12 times the typical discount from haggling on home appliances over the course of a year,” said Kirsty Lamont, Mozo Director.
“Unlike the one-off discount you receive on an appliance purchase, haggling across your major household expenses could see you continue to reap savings years into the future.”
The research found that Aussies were least prepared to haggle on their car insurance, with only one fifth of respondents having asked their insurer for a better deal in the last two years.
Ironically, haggling on car insurance had the highest success rate - 78% of those who haggled with their car insurer received a discount.
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“The majority of Australians would rather settle for an okay deal because they think it’s too time consuming or uncomfortable to negotiate with their providers, yet our results show haggling carries a high possibility of success. If you push for a discount, three out of four times it’s likely you’ll get one,” says Lamont.
While women were more likely to negotiate - haggling more than men in three of the four categories - men still had the higher success rate.
Men were able to snag bigger discounts on their home and car insurance and knock 65 basis points off their mortgage, compared to 59 basis points for women.
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The research also revealed that New South Wales was home to the country’s best hagglers - managing to slash the most off their annual energy and insurance bills. However, South Australians came out on top when haggling on their home loans, scoring the biggest rate discount compared to other states.
So if you’re an Aussie who thinks it’s time to start negotiating on your home loan, the first step is to scope out the competition. Our home loan comparison tool can help you compare some of the current home loan deals on offer.