With Australia currently enduring its worst bushfire season on record, we all want to do our little bit to help out, so today we thought we'd discuss the important topic of underinsurance. Indeed, researchers are warning that the nation is facing an underinsurance crisis, according to a recent report by the ABC, with the Insurance…
Applications for the new First Home Loan Deposit Scheme are now open, with 10,000 guarantees available to first home buyers looking to get a leg up into the property market. Now, with 10,000 spots it might sound like you've got plenty of time up your sleeve to take advantage of the new scheme, but consider…
With 2019 drawing to a close, we hope you're shifting into holiday mode and getting ready to relax and unwind (or, at least, looking forward to a few public holidays!). Hasn’t the year just flown by? It only seems like only yesterday that the RBA cut the official cash rate for the first time in…
Did you know there’s around $1.1 billion owed to Aussie families in unclaimed shares, bank accounts and life insurance? With the festive season just around the corner, here’s how to find some long lost funds for you and your family in less than one minute. They say Christmas is a time for giving. But let’s…
Could you say goodbye to Netflix to take out a loan? That’s one example corporate watchdog ASIC has included in its responsible lending update. Now, rest assured that you don’t actually have to say goodbye to Netflix to take out a loan. It’s just a “non-essential” expenses example ASIC has provided in its updated Regulatory…
A new web platform described as a ‘dating app but for home-ownership’ says it can help users enter the property market in half the time it usually takes. Mortgage Mates - the brainchild of Perth-based mates Daisy Ashworth and Jess Vesely - uses algorithms to match you with like-minded individuals who share similar housing preferences…
The country's top financial regulators are concerned banks are ‘too cautious’ when it comes to loans for small business borrowers. The Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) - which is chaired by RBA governor Philip Lowe and includes APRA, ASIC and federal Treasury - met to discuss the tight credit conditions for small businesses and the…
Small business owners experiencing financial difficulties are often leaving it too late to seek help from a trusted adviser before going bust. That’s one of the key factors contributing to small business insolvencies being explored by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman’s Insolvency Practices Inquiry. Ombudsman Kate Carnell says it’s vital for small…
Borrowers struggling to stay afloat will be offered greater protection from debt collection agencies under new guidelines being applied by Australian banks. As recently reported by the ABC, debt collectors can legally sue to recover debts as little as $5,000, with one debt collection agency suing hundreds of people for bankruptcy to recover debts. “Consumer…
Predatory payday lenders are profiting from vulnerable Australians and trapping them in spiralling debt, according to a collaborative report by 20 consumer advocacy bodies. The report, The Debt Trap: How payday lending is costing Australians, projects that by the end of the year there will be $1.7 billion worth of payday loans lent out in…
