Cut calories, increase your steps, abstain from alcohol: each year we set ourselves some pretty lofty New Year's resolutions, most of which are doomed to fail. So why not add a nice straightforward financial goal to the list this year? Here are three to get you started.
Ambition is an admirable quality, but somewhere between the Christmas pudding and the "three, two, one, Happy New Year!" we tend to overcommit.
So this year, we're encouraging you to add a financial goal to your list of New Year's resolutions.
Here are three to get you started.
1. Set yourself a finance or property goal
Perhaps you've reached a point in your life where you can start making additional payments on your mortgage each month.
Or, you might have saved up enough money to buy your first investment property, or upgrade from an apartment to a house.
Or maybe the thought of owning your first home still feels a long way off, but you haven't yet heard about the federal government's First Home Loan Deposit scheme, which helps first home buyers crack the market four years sooner, on average.
Whatever your position, consider taking stock of what you want to achieve in 2022 so that you can work out a plan to achieve it.
And when you narrow in on what it is you to achieve, get in touch with us to explore some funding options that can help turn your goal from pipe dream to reality.
2. Call us for a home loan health check
Do you know the interest rate on your home loan?
Don't fret if you don't, about half of mortgage holders can't recall it.
But not knowing the rate is usually a good sign that it's time for a home loan health check.
That's because an RBA study found that for loans written four years ago, borrowers are charged an average of 40 basis points higher interest than new loans.
For a loan balance of $250,000, that equates to an extra $1,000 in interest payments per year.
Other good reasons for a home loan health check could include seeing whether locking in a fixed rate might suit you better over the next few years, or switching to a home loan that has extra features, such as an offset account.
Rest assured we'll make it all very quick and painless. Simply get the ball rolling by giving us a call today.
3. Go through your bank statements and trim the fat!
When was the last time you had a thorough look through your spending account?
Subscription services have taken off in recent years in Australia, so much so that the average Australian household pays $42 per month for their streaming service.
If you can halve that, you can save between $200-$300 per year.
Other micro-transactions that most families can cut back on include food delivery services such as Uber Eats, as well as alcohol, and takeaway coffees.
In fact, buying a $4 takeaway coffee each day costs you a whopping $1460 per year, whereas making it yourself using a french press or Aeropress costs just $260.
That's another $1200 in savings each year. And for two family members, you can save $2400.
Take steps to achieve your goals today
Resolution inertia can be a real thing - it sets in when once you've set your goals, and when you realise now you've actually got to start taking steps to achieve them.
That's where we come in - get in touch today for resolutions one and two: setting yourself a property/finance goal and getting a home loan health check.
And by getting the ball rolling on these resolutions you can be well on your way to resolution three: saving money!
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