One in six customers who use payment methods such as Afterpay and Zip Pay run into financial strife – and ASIC is putting the ‘buy now, pay later’ industry under the spotlight.

We thought we’d have a little fun this week and look at how much it costs the average Aussie family to own a pet. After all, two in three households have one and very few budget for them!

One of the biggest milestones you’ll encounter on your climb up the property ladder is becoming a landlord. Which means that one big decision you’ll face is whether to hire the services of a managing agent, or take on the responsibility yourself.

There’s been a couple of fairly big property-related announcements recently, including a stamp duty overhaul in NSW and NAB increasing interest rates. Let’s break down what they could mean for you.

Most of us roll our eyes when we start seeing shopping centres spruik Christmas merchandise in November. While it’s important not to get caught up in the festivities too early, now’s actually a great time to start prepping to ensure a budget blow-out doesn’t derail your mortgage repayments over the silly season.

When it comes to paying off your mortgage, many of us are in the dark as to where we should be making significant savings. A good place to start? Cutting down on ‘micro-transactions’.

Property owners and prospective first home buyers are increasingly in need of clear guidance on home lending as the housing markets in Melbourne and Sydney begin to cool, says the Housing Industry Association.