How JobTrainer could give you skills to let you buy a home

JobTrainer, coming hot on the heels of JobKeeper, JobSeeker and HomeBuilder, is a government program intended to help new school leavers and those out of work to get the training and qualifications needed to find gainful employment. But could this scheme help you to get the skills needed to boost your income and finally achieve the great Australian dream?

The best home loans for July 2020

It’s a new financial year – a time when many Australians re-assess their personal finances. The ongoing effects of the pandemic on our workplaces and economy has left many of us in a much different position to where we were at this time last year.

St.George offers $1 LMI for first home buyers

What can you buy for one dollar? A fun size chocolate bar? A scratchie? Half a kilo of supermarket-brand flour? Now the almighty dollar will also be able to cover the cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) for first home buyers taking out a home loan from St.George Bank with a 15 per cent deposit.

How much could you pay for extending your mortgage freeze?

Australians experiencing financial hardship may welcome the news that the big banks are offering to extend mortgage holidays. But while this could provide welcome relief in the short term, what could freezing your mortgage for longer end up costing you in the longer term?

Super funds that offer income protection

In a (mostly) post-pandemic, pre-recession world, many Australians are thinking about their financial futures. While you may be looking at setting up an emergency savings account, or checking if your superannuation balance will be enough to cover your retirement, these might not be enough if you were to find yourself unable to work for an extended period due to illness or injury.   

How low could home loan rates go?

With Australia entering its first recession in decades, banks and mortgage lenders are eager to sign up new customers, and are making discounted interest rates available to first home buyers and refinancers. Large and small banks have been slashing both fixed and variable interest rates, and may continue to compete by offering further discounts.  

What is Open Banking and what does it mean to me?

One of the first events of the new financial year is the launch of Open Banking, which promises to make it much easier to compare financial offers and switch banks. But what is Open Banking, and does it live up to the hype?

Australian households experience largest wealth decrease in nine years – how to check your own finances

Do you feel like you’re in a tighter financial spot than you were at the start of this year? You’re not alone. New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that in the March quarter 2020, Australia experienced its largest decrease in average household wealth since the September quarter 2011. With this in mind, it could be good to conduct your own financial health check before the end of the financial year.

Five home loans for getting cash out from your equity

With social distancing restrictions affecting many Australian workplaces, a lot of us have had to rethink our personal finances, including our home loans. And with big banks and smaller lenders slashing interest rates to new record lows, it’s no surprise that many Australians are refinancing their mortgages, as shown by recent ABS data.

June 2020’s best home loans from big banks and new lenders

Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have shown that while the number of new home loans has started to fall, refinancing is on the rise, putting pressure on Australia’s banks to remain competitive.