Guides
In-depth, plain-English guides to help you compare and choose home loans, savings accounts, term deposits, credit cards, personal and car loans, energy plans and superannuation. New to all this? Start with the jargon.
Finance Jargon, Explained
Comparison rate, LVR, offset, bonus rate, balloon payment, supply charge. Every term we use, defined in plain English and grouped by the product it belongs to. Start here if the words are the thing in the way.
Australian Finance and Energy Statistics
Live rates across Home Loans, Savings Accounts, Term Deposits, Credit Cards, Personal and Car Loans and energy, alongside the official ABS, RBA and AER benchmarks. Live figures refresh daily.
Home Loans
First home buyer guide
Almost every first home buyer question comes back to one number, the deposit. Here is how much you need, what changes when you have less than 20%, and what the purchase costs in total before anyone hands you the keys.
How to refinance your home loan
For many Australian borrowers, refinancing is one of the larger savings available, and one that often gets put off. Here is the whole process, what it actually costs, and how to tell whether switching leaves you ahead.
Home loan cashback offers explained
A plain-language guide to home loan cashback offers: what they are, when the cash beats a lower rate, and the eligibility and clawback fine print.
Savings Accounts
How savings interest is calculated, paid and taxed
A savings rate is quoted per year but earned per day, which is why the interest that lands in your account rarely matches the number you expected. Here is the calculation, the tax treatment, and the guarantee that sits behind the balance.
Bonus savings rates explained
Most high-interest savings accounts in Australia advertise one rate and often pay another. Here is exactly how the conditions work, what it costs when you miss them, and how to choose an account you will actually earn on.
Term Deposits
Breaking a term deposit early
A term deposit trades access for certainty, and the cost of changing your mind is charged in interest rather than fees. Here is exactly how the penalty is worked out, and the simple structure that makes it unnecessary.
Term deposit or savings account?
These two products look interchangeable on a rate table and behave completely differently in practice. The right choice depends far less on which pays more today than on when you will need the money.
Credit Cards
How credit card interest works
Interest-free days are the most misunderstood feature in Australian banking. They are not a grace period on every purchase, they are a reward for clearing the balance in full, and the month you do not, the rules change entirely.
Balance transfer credit cards explained
A balance transfer can stop interest dead while you repay, or it can move a debt sideways and cost you more. The difference comes down to three numbers and one habit.
Personal Loans
How your credit score sets your personal loan rate
Personal loans are advertised as a range for a reason. The rate you are offered is set by what the credit bureaus hold about you, and most of what sits in that file is fixable, given a few months of notice.
Debt consolidation loans explained
Combining several debts into one loan can cut both your interest bill and the mental load of managing them. It can also increase what you pay in total. The difference is almost always the term, not the rate.
Car Loans
Balloon payments on a car loan explained
A balloon payment makes a car loan look cheaper every month and cost more overall. It is not a trap in itself, but it moves a large debt to a date most buyers have not planned for, so it is worth understanding before you sign.
Car loan or dealer finance?
Dealer finance is convenient and it is priced accordingly. Understanding how the dealership earns from it, and arriving with your own approval, changes both the rate you pay and the price you pay for the car.
Energy
Solar feed-in tariffs explained
The feed-in tariff is the number solar households look at first and the one that decides the least. What you are paid for exports matters far less than what you are charged for the power you still buy.
How to switch energy providers
Switching energy retailers takes about fifteen minutes, involves no interruption to your supply, and is one of the few household savings available without changing anything you actually do.
Superannuation
How to combine multiple super accounts
Combining super accounts takes about ten minutes online, which is exactly the problem. The checks that matter all belong before you start, and one of them cannot be undone afterwards.
How to choose and compare super funds
If your employer has asked you to nominate a fund, the decision is narrower than it looks. Here is what you are actually choosing, and then what each published figure measures, which ones compare across funds and which ones do not.