Money
Borrowing
Opinion
Household debt
Don’t panic! Here’s a plan to help keep your finances intact
There is no need for panic. Here’s how to put a clear, calm and conservative plan in place to get through the rest of the year with your finances relatively intact.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Latest
Opinion
Interest rates
Freaking out about interest rate rises? Here are 5 things to do today
It’s becoming clear that people like me – first-home buyers who only shackled themselves to rather large mortgages quite recently – are going to bear the brunt of the interest-rate pain.
- by Jessica Irvine
Analysis
Credit cards
Credit card spending up 12.5 per cent as prices spike
New figures show we splashed out an extra $2.76 billion in spending on credit cards in May.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Opinion
Home loans
What to do if you are about to become a ‘mortgage prisoner’
The upward march of official interest rates might succeed in curbing inflation, but it could also result in collateral damage to young borrowers who purchased property at the peak.
- by Joel Gibson
Analysis
Interest rates
Why banks will likely avoid a big wave of mortgage defaults
Analysts say rising interest rates will squeeze some households and require big spending cuts, but they’re not expecting a large wave of bad debts.
- by Clancy Yeates
Opinion
Home loans
Why I’m happy to no longer be mortgage-free
I find myself, once again, at the beginning of another home loan borrowing cycle, carefully weighing up how I can most effectively get into – then crucially out of – debt.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Analysis
Ethical investing
The green banking trend that could save you $6000
Worried about rising interest rates, record energy prices and worsening climate change? This loan product might help.
- by Charlotte Grieve
Opinion
Ask an expert
Positive or negative gearing: What’s better in today’s market?
The best way to finance an investment property may be to put up a deposit large enough that the net rent covers the outgoings. The property would then be “neutral” geared.
- by Noel Whittaker
Opinion
Ask an expert
How to tap your home equity for an income stream
If you are asset rich but cash poor, what is the better option to generate income: Taking out a reverse mortgage or accessing the federal government’s Home Equity Access Scheme?
- by George Cochrane
Analysis
Banking products
‘No frills’ home loans new bank battleground
Banks are trying to lure new customers with mortgages that lack key features, but have lower interest rates. Are these products a good deal?
- by Clancy Yeates
Opinion
Household debt
Doing it tough? Here’s where you can get genuine financial help
We are contending with a rising cost of living, together with an increase in our mortgage payments. However, those claiming to offer financial help if you are doing it tough are not always legitimate, so it is crucial that you can distinguish between the productive and the predatory.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon