Bonus and Overtime Income: How Banks Shade Your Home Loan
Most lenders count 80% of bonus and overtime income on a home loan, some none at all. See how one ICU nurse's payslip swings $168,000 in borrowing power.
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Financial Wellness
Content about managing your money
22 articles
Bridging Loan Australia: Buying Before You Sell, Explained
Bridging loan Australia, explained: peak debt, end debt and capitalised interest in plain English, plus the two-speed 2026 maths on whether to sell first.
How Dependants Affect Your Home Loan Borrowing Power
Dependants can cut home loan borrowing power by about $50,000 each at a 9% assessment rate. See why the hit varies by lender and how families claw it back.
Break Costs on Fixed Loans: What to Expect If You Exit Early
Thinking of breaking your fixed rate? Break costs aren't a penalty — they're maths. How they're calculated, when they fall near zero and when paying wins.
How to Pay Off Your Home Loan Faster in Australia
Pay off your home loan faster in Australia: five tactics ranked, and the $151-a-fortnight change that cuts nine years and $260,000 off a $650K loan at 6.00%.
Offset Account vs Extra Repayments: Which Works Harder?
Offset account vs extra repayments on your home loan: the interest saved is identical. Fees, fixed caps and discipline decide it. See the $69,000 fork.
Home Loan Features Explained: What's Worth Paying For?
Offset, redraw, split, fixed, variable: home loan features explained for Australian buyers, plus the behaviour test behind a $12,000 five-year saving gap.
How to Negotiate a Better Home Loan Rate (Without Switching)
Your bank's best rate isn't on the website. How to negotiate a lower home loan rate with evidence: five competing offers can turn 0.12% off into 0.60%.
Are Home Loan Cashback Offers Worth It?
Is a home loan cashback offer worth it? Around 10 lenders pay $1,000–$4,000 to switch, but the rate underneath decides. See the break-even maths first.
Interest Only vs Principal and Interest: Which Wins?
Interest only vs principal and interest: same $600,000 loan, a $45,000 gap. The deciding factor is whose debt it is. See the full maths before you pick.
Mortgage Prison: Why You're Stuck — and Six Ways Out
Making every repayment but new lenders keep saying no? That's mortgage prison. What causes it, and six proven exits that can save about $8,400 a year.
Offset Account Home Loan Explained: Save Interest Daily
Offset account home loan explained: how your savings cancel loan interest daily, tax-free, and what $60,000 in offset could save at 2026 rates: $3,600 a year.
APRA DTI Limit 2026: What the Home Loan Caps Mean for You
APRA's first DTI limit is live: from 1 February 2026, home loans at 6x income are rationed. Who's caught, who's exempt, and what to do before 11 August.
Offset vs Redraw Home Loan: Which Saves You More?
Offset vs redraw home loan: the interest maths is identical. Ownership, fees and the ATO decide the real winner. See the $8,900 gap in one worked example.
APRA's Serviceability Buffer: Your Rate Isn't Your Rate
APRA held the 3% serviceability buffer in May 2026, so lenders now test your home loan at rates above 9%. What it does to your borrowing power, in real dollars.
How Banks Calculate Your Borrowing Capacity (HEM Explained)
How banks assess borrowing capacity: HEM, the 3% buffer, new DTI caps and HELP debt, and why one bank's calculator can undersell you by $100,000 or more.
What Is a Debt-to-Income Ratio? APRA's New Cap Explained
Debt-to-income ratio explained: how APRA's 6x DTI cap from 1 February 2026 affects your home loan, why lenders count income differently, how to stay under.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance Explained: Australia's $20K Fee
Lenders mortgage insurance explained for Australia: what LMI costs in 2026, who it really protects, and how to buy with under 20% deposit and skip it.
Should I Fix My Home Loan Rate in 2026? The Two-Way Bet
Should I fix my home loan rate in 2026? Westpac tips more hikes to a 4.85% peak, the other majors tip 2027 cuts. How to price the bet before 11 August.
Comparison Rate Explained: The Real Cost of Your Home Loan
Comparison rate explained for Australian home loans: what the number includes, why the $150,000 formula misleads, and how to read a loan's true cost in 2026.
Fixed vs Variable Rate Home Loan 2026: How to Decide
Fixed vs variable rate home loan 2026: what three RBA hikes mean, what fixing really costs, and the numbers to run before the RBA meets on 11 August 2026.
Should You Refinance Your Home Loan? The Loyalty Tax Is Real
Should you refinance your home loan? The loyalty tax could cost you $4,000 a year. Run the break-even test and see when switching pays, and when it doesn't.
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