1. Firstly, look at the reason why you want to switch your home loan
2. Lower interest rate
3. What is the new lender offering that is worth switching
4. Consider the features you’re looking for in your new home loan
5. Weigh up the pros versus cons of switching
6. Look at the costs of switching home loans
Deciding whether to switch your home loan to another lender is an important financial decision.
Here are some factors to consider when making that decision:
1. INTEREST RATES
Compare the interest rates offered by your current lender with those offered by other lenders. If you find significantly lower rates elsewhere, switching may be beneficial. However, consider any additional costs associated with the switch, such as application fees, exit fees, or ongoing charges.
2. LOAN FEATURES
Assess the features and benefits of your current loan and compare them to what other lenders are offering. Look for features like flexible repayment options, offset accounts, redraw facilities, or the ability to make additional repayments. Switching to a loan with better features could save money or provide more financial flexibility.
3. LOAN TERM
Consider the remaining term of your current loan. If you’re already several years into your mortgage, switching to a new lender could potentially reset the loan term, resulting in a longer repayment period. This may not be ideal if your goal is to pay off your mortgage faster.
4. COSTS AND FEES
Determine the costs associated with switching lenders. These may include discharge fees from your current lender, application fees for the new loan, valuation fees, and legal costs. Calculate whether the potential savings from switching outweigh the expenses involved.
5. CUSTOMER SERVICE
Assess the level of customer service offered by your current lender and potential new lenders. Read reviews and talk to others who have experience with the lenders you’re considering. Good customer service can make a significant difference in your overall experience.
6. OVERALL SAVINGS
Calculate the potential savings over the life of the loan by switching to a new lender. Consider factors such as interest rate differentials, ongoing fees, and loan term changes. If the savings are substantial, it may be worth considering the switch.
Remember, before making any decisions, it’s essential to seek advice from a qualified mortgage broker or financial advisor who can provide personalised guidance based on your specific circumstances. They can help you analyse the costs and benefits and determine whether switching lenders is the right choice for you.
At Financial Management 101 – we are committed to providing YOU with excellent financial education, training and support so that you can live the life you truly desire. Join our LEARNING HUB today!
Many people are doing way too much comparing and complaining about their lot in life and not stopping to see the gifts and blessings they really have.
As I share with people often, there is someone doing it tougher than you that would kill to have the life you’re living and not the one they’re currently experiencing themselves.
Why do you feel the need to compare whether someone appears to be doing better than you or has a better life than you?
Unless you’re walking in their shoes you don’t have a clue what’s going on behind closed doors.
I know too often that on the surface things appear for some to be looking really good, but underneath the murky waters, they’re experiencing pain and what we see is really not what’s being reflected.
Often it’s not money issues that are causing them the problem, it’s the way they feel about themselves that’s causing challenges in either their work, relationships or even with their health.
What really makes you happy?
Have you ever just stopped and thought about this?
Most wouldn’t have a clue about what makes them happy, because they’re too busy sticking their noses in other peoples business.
Give yourself the luxury of finding out what makes you happy.
What puts a smile on your face and what would make you want to jump out of bed in the morning instead of hitting the snooze button?
Time is going by so fast. I can’t stress that enough.
Just think back to the last 12 months how quickly that has that flown by. Think back to even last month how fast that’s gone.
Ok so I want you to stop and take a moment to imagine you are turning 80 years of age tomorrow.
Come on really imagine how you would look – grey hair, no grey hair or no hair at all. A little bit more wrinkly now and possibly some of your body parts are heading more south than you would like. Yeah, guys, this doesn’t just apply to us girls. Some of you guys have what was once called pectorals or pecks that are now considered “man boobs” and they’re heading south too.
Ok so getting back to imagining you are 80 years of age and you now have between 8 – 10 years left on this earth. 8 – 10 years to spend doing whatever you choose and with whom ever you choose.
How would you decide to spend the next 8 or so years of the remaining time of your life?
Let’s just say you’re still in reasonably good health.
Would you still be comparing or complaining, or would you just go and enjoy every moment and live the remaining years of your life, making sure they are the best years you’ve ever had?
Would you be worried about making a fool of yourself, or fearful of what others would think of you? I somehow think you wouldn’t and would care less about what people think or do.
So what are you waiting for?
Live your life like that now. Enjoy your time while you are here on earth and do what makes you truly happy inside.
If you knew that life was going to be shorter than expected….I bet you would be looking at life in a whole different way.
You would stop concerning yourself about whether this person texted you back, whether this person is gossiping about you, whether this person likes you and so on.
When you stop and appreciate all that you have in your life right here right now – you become happier and grateful that you’ve got it better than you thought.
I often remind my daughter that we live in one of the best counties in the world. We have an abundance of food, sunshine and freedom.
We are able to go outside without the fear of a bomb hitting us. We can go outside and see how green the grass is, how tall the trees are growing, how free birds fly and chirp around us. How we can go to the supermarket and get every conceivable food or beverage we choose.
We have a choice.
You have a choice to live your life the way you want.
For most of us we were born with free will but the sad part is that a lot of us are choosing to be victims – trapped in our own head by our own thoughts.
Every choice you make will either enhance your spirit and self worth or drain it.
When you’re not happy living the life you so desire you’re actually betraying yourself. And it’s no wonder you bitch and complain and pick holes in other people. It’s why you’re so quick and easy to bring other people down.
Because you’re not happy and you’re letting yourself down – nobody else.
We all have free will.
We all have choices that we can make about the kind of life we want to live.
One with misery or one with absolute joy.
Are you making everyday choices that are harming you?
I believe we create the path we choose to live. Some of us have decided to start living with more joy and love in our heart.
The worst betrayal by not living this way is to yourself!
What I’ve observed is that it’s not until someone reaches that certain age in life that they start to question their existence. They question the choices they’ve made. They question the things they did or didn’t do.
The power of choice!
The most powerful choice you make in life is not the house you buy, how many children you have, the partner you choose or don’t choose or what type of work you do.
The most powerful choice of all is the life you choose to live. How you treat your mind, how you treat your health and how you treat other people. These to me are the most powerful choices you can make in your every day life.
Why, because it determines the kind of life you live and how truly happy you are and this determines the quality of your life and your health.
If you choose to live a life of misery, always comparing or gossiping about other people – you are living a very short and limited life.
So do yourself a favour and stop comparing or complaining about your lot in life and look around to discover how good you have it compared to other people.
Learn to be gracious and grateful for the wonderful gifts you have in your life whether it’s your health, your relationships, your family, your work or the very place you’re fortunate to live in.
When you’re grateful, you become a happier and healthier person.
If you’re looking to discover how you can become happier and compare less then I have a worksheet that can assist you in living a happier life. Download your worksheet HERE
If you’re looking for more support and assistance then there are a couple ways for you to stay in touch.
1 Leave me a comment here;
2 Head over to my FB group where you can access more financial and emotional support at Official Karen G
Putting things off is one of life’s not so guilty pleasures.
So many people say that they don’t do it but we know we all do it whether it be in our work or something we need to work on in our relationships or in achieving good health.
When we want to put off doing something we are pretty dam good at coming up with a whole bunch of reasons and excuses why we can’t.
We try so hard to convince ourselves why we can’t do it today and why we should put it off for another day.
While we all procrastinate from time to time, it’s all too easy to fall into the habit and never move past the procrastination phase.
And in the end, we feel miserable and beat ourselves up why we delayed doing the thing that we know we should be doing.
This podcast provides some practical quick and easy tips you can put in place today to take the overwhelm when dealing with the procrastination of managing your money.
Looking for more support in understanding how money can work to your advantage, then join my MONTHLY COACHING PROGRAM for a fraction of the cost coaching can provide at $37 per month.
Oh my gosh, can you believe it we’re now halfway through the year?
HELLO JULY! I feel like I only just came back from the January holidays.
Before we know it Christmas will be here and the stresses of having to make our money stretch that little bit further will be upon us.
So today, I feel it’s time to share some tips on preparing yourself before the year is out and having your money work a little smarter for you by looking at ways you can spend less and save more.
In this blog post, I’m going to share with you my top 10 tips on how you can spend less without feeling like you’re missing out.
So let’s dive into it.
No 1. Check Your Bank Accounts Regularly
First thing you need to do is check your bank accounts regularly. This first tip will save you a lot of money from extra charges and online fraud that seems to be happening more and more today because we’re buying more online.
Go online to your banking app or if you receive bank statements via post then check them. Look down at the debit column and make sure what’s coming out is what you’ve authorised.
Check to see if there’s been no internet fraud on your account, any subscriptions that you thought were cancelled that haven’t been and make sure there are no unauthorised amounts. If something doesn’t look right or you don’t recognise that transaction on your statement then call your bank immediately to get more information on what that debt is for.
Today with the click of a button via our fingerprint on our smartphones we approve new apps and before we know it we’ve subscribed to something that we hadn’t intended on having long term but have forgotten to cancel the subscription.
So make sure you go through regularly your bank account statements. This is the first step to keeping more money in your pocket.
No 2. List Your Debts Down
Listing your debts down will give you an idea how much you’re throwing away on interest payments that could be better used for growing your nest egg.
Look at your current debts, whether they be personal loans, credit cards, store cards or interest-free loans. Grab a piece of paper and at the top label it “Debts”. Then make 4 columns.
The first column you’re going to call it “name of debt” this is where the debt came from ie; the bank, company or person you took the loan out with
Next column you’re going to call “amount owed”
Then column 3 will be named “minimum monthly repayments” and
The last column you will label “interest rate”.
I’ve already prepared a worksheet that’s available in the resource area which you’re more than welcome to download to make it simpler and easier for you to get your debts down on paper.
Next, I want you to take a good look at what’s going out every month from the “minimum monthly payment section”. Add that column up to see how much you are giving away to the banking institution every month on your debts.
Ok so you may be going into heart failure right now and need resuscitating or you might be feeling ok realising that you don’t have as much debt as you had thought.
So what I want you to look at is whether there are any debts you can quickly pay off.
When it comes to your credit card call your bank or credit provider and negotiate with them for a reduced interest rate. If they’re not willing to look after you, research other providers who are more than happy to offer you a 0% interest rate on balance transfers for a specified period of time.
Banks are more than happy to talk to you about transferring your credit as they know secretly that you’ll never pay the card off before the free interest expires. But because you’re super smart – you will be paying down as much as you can on your credit card debt before the time comes due, so you’ll end up with a zero credit card balance in the end thus saving you hundreds and I mean hundreds of dollars in interest payments!
This is definitely one way of putting more money back into your pocket and seeing you spend less on monthly bad debt interest payments.
No 3. Start Using Cash
While you’re enjoying your interest-free credit card for the next 6 or so months make sure you leave your credit card at home and take cash with you. This will stop you from spending on purchases that you can’t afford and will also give you the chance to clear the current debt away.
Using good old fashion cash instead of using credit as this will see you spending less money because you’ll become more aware of what you’re spending your hard earned money on.
No 4. Your Small Change Adding Up Big
Save your coins!
How many times do you pay for things with cash and end up with small change and coins in your wallet or purse?
Go back to what your grandparents did and keep a jar in the kitchen cupboard and every time you get coins, add them into the jar. You’ll be surprised at how quickly it adds up to some decent dollars, which you can then use to pay off your credit card debt faster, or put towards your savings account.
No 5. Zero Monthly Bank Account Fees
Next, look for a bank account that has zero bank account fees.
Did you know you could save in excess of $500 per year just by banking with a bank that doesn’t charge monthly account keeping fees? There are plenty so shop around.
I recently did this with my personal banking accounts and I now have no monthly account keeping fees which add up to more savings and less spending.
No 6. Lookout For Foreign Transaction Fees
When shopping for a bank with zero monthly account keeping fees I want you to keep in mind whether they offer a visa debit or credit card with no foreign transaction fees.
Why is this important? Well, every time you use your credit card to buy things online whether it be via PayPal or using your credit card, you sometimes are buying in a different currency and when it converts back you may be paying a foreign transaction fee.
These are hidden fees that most consumers aren’t aware of.
In my business I use a range of apps and services that are generally from the US. When I had my previous visa debit card/credit card to pay for them – I was often slogged a foreign transaction fee and because I checked my accounts regularly started seeing this increase.
So I rang around to find out which bank or financial institution offered a card with no foreign transaction fees and luckily when I moved my personal and business banking halfway through last year I was able to take advantage of a card that offered “no foreign transaction fees”. This has seen me save hundreds of dollars a month.
I honestly hated seeing money disappear on fees, especially given I’m a money person who loathes having money come out of my account that I didn’t use or intentionally spend on. This has given me more back into my pocket, which I love.
No 7. Preloved Items
An area often overlooked is buying items second hand.
Don’t be too proud to buy something second hand online from companies like Gumtree or eBay – as you can pick up some awesome bargains. I also encourage you to go for a clean out around your home and look to earn some extra cash with items you can move on through the use of these free online selling sites.
For anyone struggling to get an emergency fund up to $2000, this is a great way to de-clutter while earning money on stuff around your house that is just gathering dust.
No 8. Bargain Shop & Shopping Online
Look for specials. Again don’t be too proud to get a bargain or special when you can.
Here in Australia, there is an app called “Fuel Watch” that lets you know the cheapest fuel for the day.
Filling up your car on the day that fuel is between 10- 15 cents cheaper will save you loads at the bowser.
There are other ways you can spend less and that’s by doing your shopping online.
We save hundreds of dollars by doing our shopping online and retailers encourage you by offering specials throughout your online shopping experience.
No 9. Discounts & Special Offers
Number 9 on my list is using Entertainment Cards & Discounts.
I wanted to share this one with you especially, as the other day my parents were buying their great nephew a 21st birthday present at BCF which is a camping and fishing store.
When they went to purchase his $300 gift card – they presented a card called The Entertainment Card.
This card offers many discounts and specials on things like dining out, shopping, travel & leisure to name a few.
So when they got to the checkout they received a 10% discount which meant our nephew is going to receive a $300 gift card that only cost my parents $270.
Bargain! Not just for my retiree parents but for anyone who loves to grab a bargain and save money.
When you start adding up the savings and discounts you can receive, it adds up to the hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars depending on what you’re buying.
So don’t be too proud to check out where you may be able to get a discount – as essentially you’re leaving good money on the table.
And lastly, another way for you to look at spending less and having more money is to…
No 10. Make Your Own Coffee
Yep, I know you love to go out and have someone make your coffee on a daily basis – I get it – coz I do too.
Why not look to invest in a coffee machine where you can buy good quality coffee beans or pods and then treat yourself once or twice a week to a takeaway coffee.
Today it appears that everyone I visit has their very own coffee machine at home.
Australians love entertaining and part of this is serving good coffee to our guests.
We are no longer happy with just servicing up our guest Moccona – we want to impress them with a good cup of coffee.
When you do the numbers – coffee machines depending on the type will pay for itself in no time.
An example of this is if you were to look at the upper end of a pod machine by DeLonghi – that’s fully automated you can pick them up new for under $350 – $400.
I’ve seen this fully automated pod machine come down to as low as $250 during sale times.
Now if you’re really clever like my husband he used points that accumulated on his credit card linking his spending to a points system and got our machine for zero dollars yep zero!
Now there are of course cheaper machines but for this example, I’m using the one we got for our camping travels as we have another bigger machine on the kitchen bench.
If you are purchasing 1, 2 or 3 coffees a day which I know a lot of people do it could be costing you around $10 – $15 + a day per person depending on what type of coffee you order and what size AND don’t forget to add in the sweet treat that normally goes with it!
We save hundreds of dollars when we travel around Western Australia because we take our little portable fully automated DeLonghi pod machine and we use the money we save paying for sightseeing instead.
So how long do you think it would take for your $200 – $300 coffee machine to earn its keep?
Well, it would take just on a month before it would have paid for itself and even less if you look at cheaper one.
Don’t believe me then do the numbers yourself – as you may be surprised at how much you are spending daily if not weekly on coffee.
Today there are so many ways to put more money back into your pocket while spending less and without having to cut costs or stick to a budget that most of us struggle to work with.
I trust this has given you some inspiration on how you can look at ways you could spend less, put more money back into your pocket and start feeling good about the way you can manage money better.
Where are the ways you could spend less while enjoying more money in your pocket?
Leave me a comment below as I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time here’s to your financial health, wealth & happiness.
Overwhelm comes in many different forms whether it be from our work, family pressures, money stress or just not being able to figure out how to stay true to ourselves with the many pressures life has upon us.
This podcast is about offering some simple tips and strategies to help you deal with overwhelm.
In this podcast, I share my own story on how I felt completely overwhelmed a few months back and how I dealt with it.
SUBSCRIBE to hear more tips and information on areas relating to financial and mindset.
There is a resource to download over on the RESOURCES PAGE on my website, if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed from money stress and how I help people with become better money managers:
