May financial wrap up

May wasn’t just any ordinary month when it came to covering finance news over here at Mozo.

We wrote up a host of seriously surprising headlines on topics ranging from millennial home buying habits to new term deposit rates and also covered the ever-controversial Federal Budget announcement.

Been living under a rock over the past month? Here is what you MAY have missed… (I’ll see myself out).

Millennial home buying habits

Millennials get a bad wrap as the avocado-eating, coffee-slurping, brunch-guzzling generation incapable of saving for their first home. But ING’s new Millennial Homeownership Report, released midway through May, revealed that 57% of this demographic are willing to forgo little luxuries like eating out if it means getting their foot in the door of their first home.

On that topic, it turns out that the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme unveiled by the Government during last year’s budget has a bit of a PR problem. According to research from Gateway Bank, half of us haven’t even heard of the FHSS despite it being a savvy way to save a first home deposit.

And while first home buyers may not be helping themselves by keeping themselves in the dark, their parents are certainly keen to lend a hand. Research conducted by Mozo found that close to 30% of stay-at-home adults are using their parent’s digs to help them save and despite costing Australian mums and dads a collective $235 million each week, they don’t seem to mind with just one in 10 reporting these ‘kidults’ to be a strain on the household budget.

RELATED: 2018 report: what stay-at-home adult children cost Aussie parents

May was also the month that saw the eagerly-awaited Federal Budget announcement take place and ScoMo was in fine form. The Treasurer delivered a comprehensive, multi-year plan to slash tax across a range of income brackets and as we do over here at Mozo, we crunched the numbers on what ‘hamburger and milkshake’ tax cut could mean for your home loan.

How to save over winter

Winter is officially here now, Australia and if May’s headlines are to be believed, there are a few simple ways you can save your dollars throughout the coldest months of the year. First of all, there are some bad energy habits worth ditching this winter if you’d like to save some precious pennies. Spend extra time under the hot water during your morning shower? That’ll add $81 onto your energy bill. Leave the heater on for a furry friend? That’s another $263 you’ll have to pay.

Now that you’re in the energy saving groove, it’s time to tackle your disposables. Mozo’s May research revealed that Australians could save in excess of $1,000 every year simply by switching to reusable alternatives. Young families can save $510 by ditching disposable nappies for their reusable cousins and eco-conscious Australians will save $309 if they ditch one-time baby wipes for cloth wipes that can be used again and again.

But what to do with all of these winter savings, I hear you ask. Stash them in a term deposit  perhaps? The rates on these drop-and-lock deposit accounts have actually been on the up recently with analysis of Mozo’s database revealing that 25 providers have hiked savings rates since the start of March. Find out why these rates are climbing, and what they’re looking like now, right here.

Kicking off winter with new wheels?

We’re getting precariously close to the end of the financial year and with it, a swathe of retail sales that will entice customers to whip out their credit cards at the checkout. But EOFYS is also renowned as the best time of year to bag a bargain on a new car and a bunch of car loan lenders know it.

We kicked off the month by reporting that the Mozo database now has 16 lenders offering a car loan under the competitive 6.00% benchmark and finished it by wrapping up the host of changes that had occurred throughout the month.

It’s awards season at Mozo

This month, Mozo’s money experts have been super busy with two rounds of the Mozo Experts Choice Awards and the coveted Mozo People’s Choice Awards taking place.

We started the month by revealing the best value travel money options on the market for a range of product types including travel credit cards, travel debit cards and prepaid travel cards. Spoiler alert: HSBC wins Travel Money Bank of the Year, Bankwest wins Travel Credit Card Provider of the Year and the HSBC Everyday Global Account takes out Travel Innovation of the Year.

Now, moving onto our mid-month announcement of the Mozo’s People Choice Awards based solely on customer feedback across the banking, insurance and electricity industries. There’s no real way to turn this long story short, so instead of read these ramblings why not check out the winners and their categories for yourself.

And finally, our money experts rounded out the month by turning their attention to the hotly-contested and inaugural NBN edition of the Mozo Experts Choice Awards. They took into account plans at the 25, 50 and 100 Mbps speeds, awarding winners for each in both Contract and No Lock-in categories as well as for TV bundled plans. But who took out the major gong? Well, that honour fell to Exetel for winning Awards in multiple categories.


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