We’re just days away from 35,000 first home buyer scheme spots becoming available on July 1. If you’re keen to snare a place in the scheme - and buy your first home sooner - here’s how to get ahead of the pack. Have you heard about the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme? (previously called the…

Tax time is just around the corner and the ATO has sent out a warning to businesses around the country that owe it money: the COVID-19 moratorium on debt collection has come to an end. Rest assured though, you’ve got some options. During the early days of the pandemic, the ATO says it deliberately shifted…

Rising interest rates got you feeling a little vulnerable? It might be time to take some control back by refinancing or asking for a rate review. Here’s why we’re seeing refinancing numbers surge across the country. In just two months we’ve seen the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) increase the cash rate from a record-low…

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has increased the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 0.85%. How much extra should you expect to pay on your home loan? Today’s cash rate hike is the second in as many months, with the RBA last month increasing the official cash rate from a record-low 0.10%…

Some of Australia’s biggest banks have tightened their mortgage lending criteria, meaning you might not be able to borrow as much from them. How might this affect your next purchase? This week ANZ lowered a key lending cap, indicating it will no longer lend to borrowers with a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio above 7.5 (meaning people…

Small businesses around the nation are once again confident about their future and ready to start driving toward their next phase of growth, according to new research. The research, carried out by small business lender Prospa, found that 81% of Aussie SMEs expect their businesses to grow over the next 12 months. This is despite…

Property investors beware: the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has revealed the four key areas it will be targeting this tax year, and rental property income/deductions and capital gains are high on the hit list. Tax office Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh says this tax season the ATO will be targeting four key problem areas where it…

Housing affordability is one of the key battlegrounds ahead of the federal election this Saturday. So what is each of the two major parties proposing to help first home buyers crack the market? Let’s take a look. Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty, we’d like to stress that we’ll be doing our darndest to…

Small business owners wanting to buy a vehicle, asset or important piece of equipment and immediately write off the cost have just over a month to act this financial year. There’s nothing like an impending deadline to get you moving. And with June 30 now just over a month away (didn’t that sneak up on…

Rate rises are a bit like taking off in a plane. Sure, it's a bit nervy, but so long as you’ve run through your pre-flight check, have a well-serviced aircraft, built-in some contingencies (a buffer!), and have a handy co-pilot (us!), you should reach your destination no worries. As you’re likely aware, earlier this month…