It can be hard work to find the right home loan for your circumstances. So where do you start? 1. Firstly, decide what “right” means for you. Do you want flexibility to make additional repayments or security of the same repayment every month? Do you want an offset account or just the bare minimum features at the cheapest rate? 2. Consider your long term [...]
Yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced the third cash rate rise in as many months. Whilst this seems a lot, this is the first of any rate rises we've seen since October 2011 when the rate started dropping from 4.75%. The cash rate is currently sitting at 1.35% and while the actual interest rate charged by lenders is higher, the interest we're paying [...]
Six things that tell you it’s the right time to buy your first home: Buying a home occupies most of your thoughts: You’re ready and you’ve decided it’s what you want to do – 100%. Buying a property is your focus. It’s at the top of your goals list. You’re realistic about your budget: So no water views, no outdoor kitchen or spa. You’re [...]
I don’t know about you, but over the last couple of years there are a couple of things I’ve really missed. Concerts and holidays. The beauty of seeing a live performance has been missing from our lives, which is awful for us and even worse for the performers. But no more! I’m going to shrug off that post pandemic blanket and book some tickets! [...]
There are lots of answers to this question, and I’m a little biased, but the main reason is that we don’t have a preference over where you borrow your money from - we’re more concerned with matching the loan to YOUR needs. When you go to your bank, they have a great knowledge of the products they’re offering. They know their limits, their guidelines [...]
The first thing to do when interest rates rise is to stay calm. It's OK. We've got you. Rates increases are inevitable - especially after over eleven years of status quo with record lows and no increases from the RBA. So yesterday’s increase of 0.5%, taking the base rate to 0.85% is no surprise. Economists are predicting that the cash rate will rise to [...]
One of the first lessons I learnt when I started hiring a team was the importance of clarity. I needed to be really clear on: * the culture I wanted to create * the values of the company * the values of the people I was going to hire * the tasks that I needed to let go of in order to grow and [...]
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in business is that I can’t do it alone. Nor should I. It was a pretty big move for me to hire my first team member. It was a big commitment financially and mentally - but I really had no choice. I couldn’t keep doing everything myself and I really didn’t want to spend 24/7 tied to [...]
Milestones are the little stepping stones along the path of life that let me know that I’m on track to achieve my goals, however big and audacious they are. They’re my little celebratory points that give me a moment to pause, check in, do a little happy dance and then continue with the momentum needed to get to where I’m going. When I work [...]
A few years ago I came across the acronym BHAG and I love it! BHAG is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Doesn’t that paint a beautiful picture? Well maybe not beautiful with all that hair, but it really does conjure up amazing images of something that is compelling yet a little scary. Something that will push me out of my comfort zone and help [...]
