As technology continues to evolve, so too do the challenges of keeping your family budget in check. This week we're going to look at a couple of technological trends that could put your family budget under some real strain in 2019. Sure, having everything there at the click of a button these days is convenient.…

There's been a lot of noise in the home lending and financial space recently, so there's every chance you may have missed it, but some lenders are starting to cut rates. The RBA may have kept rates on hold for 30 consecutive months, but that hasn't stopped lenders from making cuts (or increases) on their…

Higher interest rates, increased fees, less flexibility and fewer options. That's how borrowers will lose out if the banking Royal Commission's recommendations around how mortgage brokers are paid are implemented. Here's how you can have your say! You may have seen in the news that the banking Royal Commission recently recommended that the cost of…

Medicare customers are being urged to update their bank account details to see if they're entitled to a share of more than $110 million in unclaimed rebates. Here's how to do so online in a few minutes. And no, this is not one of those pesky scams doing the rounds! But we'll touch upon that…

Once again the Big 4 Banks have escaped major punishment and gotten exactly what they wanted: adding a multi-thousand-dollar tax on borrowing that'll hit consumers and brokers hardest. By now you might have seen some of the Royal Commission recommendations in their final report. All in all, the banks got off with a very light…

Ahh, the NBN. Depending on where you live it's either lightening fast, or so agonizingly slow that you want to pull your hair out. Well, the good news is you could be entitled to a refund worth hundreds of dollars. Over the last 15 months the ACCC has been negotiating with internet service providers to…

Sharing is caring, right? However, when it comes to the sharing economy, the ATO is feeling neglected and wants its fair share. Here's what you need to know if you rent out your property on Airbnb. If you need any more convincing that the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will be cracking down on undeclared income…

Excuse the humble brag, but property buyers are turning to mortgage brokers in record numbers. Here's why that's great news for the both of us. Ok, ok, sure, we know we're beating our own drum a little here. But there's a good reason why, we promise. Firstly, it's fantastic to see that at a time…

It's the end of the road for 900,000 borrowers on interest-only loans, as they'll be automatically switched to principal and interest loans this year. Now's the time to check whether or not you should start considering other options. Back in 2014-15 – at the height of the property boom – some 900,000 interest-only loans were…

We're midway through January and you've managed to stay sane. Well, we hope so anyway! Here are seven budget-friendly ideas that'll help keep the kids off their screens throughout the last two weeks of school holidays. If you're increasingly tempted to preserve your sanity by caving in and allowing your kids more screen time, then…