Refresh Your Finances in 2018: Home loans, credit cards, superannuation and more!
09 Feb 2018
Home Loans
If you’re a home owner looking to make extra savings, it’s a good idea to start with what could well be your biggest and most important expense: your home loan.
Even if you shave just half a percent off your interest rate, you could still be looking at significant savings over the life of your home loan.
Try negotiating with your current lender to secure a rate cut for yourself. If you have no luck there, consider refinancing to a new home loan.
Here are some of the lowest rate home loans on Canstar’s database with links to providers’ websites.
Low Rate Variable Home Loans
The table below displays a snapshot of variable rate residential home loan products available on Canstar’s database, sorted by the advertised interest rate (lowest-highest). The products displayed are based on a loan amount of $350,000 at 80% LVR for a property in New South Wales.
*Comparison rate based on loan amount of $150,000 over 25 years.
Low Rate 1 Year Fixed Loans
The table below displays a snapshot of 1-year fixed home loan products available on Canstar’s database, sorted by the advertised interest rate (lowest-highest). The products displayed are based on a loan amount of $350,000 at 80% LVR for a property in New South Wales.
*Comparison rate based on loan amount of $150,000 over 25 years.
Low Rate 2 Year Fixed Home Loans
The table below displays a snapshot of 2-year fixed home loan products available on Canstar’s database, sorted by the advertised interest rate (lowest-highest). The products displayed are based on a loan amount of $350,000 at 80% LVR for a property in New South Wales.
*Comparison rate based on loan amount of $150,000 over 25 years.
Low Rate 3 Year Fixed Home Loans
The table below displays a snapshot of 3-year fixed home loan products available on Canstar’s database, sorted by the advertised interest rate (lowest-highest). The products displayed are based on a loan amount of $350,000 at 80% LVR for a property in New South Wales.
*Comparison rate based on loan amount of $150,000 over 25 years.
Low Rate 5 Year Fixed Home Loans
The table below displays a snapshot of 5-year fixed home loan products available on Canstar’s database, sorted by the advertised interest rate (lowest-highest). The products displayed are based on a loan amount of $350,000 at 80% LVR for a property in New South Wales.
*Comparison rate based on loan amount of $150,000 over 25 years.
Compare Home Loans with Canstar
Credit Card Rewards Sign-up Bonuses
If you’re after a new credit card, check out some of the sign-up bonuses on offer.
In Australia’s competitive credit card market, it’s not uncommon for credit card providers to entice new customers with gift cards, cashback or up to 100,000 membership rewards points (which could earn you travel perks such as return flights, or upgrades to business class).
If you’re a fan of rewards points, Canstar’s credit card research team has picked out four sign-up offers for frequent flyer cards which could be worth considering based on the points and conditions attached. Each of these cards provides you with frequent flyer points directly when you use it to make a purchase. Selection is based on the number of frequent flyer points offered as a sign-up bonus.
The results in the table above are sorted by provider name (alphabetically).
Balance Transfer Offers
Spent too much on your credit card over the festive period? If you don’t want to pay interest on that debt, you may want to consider ‘balance transferring’ it onto a new card which has a 0% introductory period, then ensuring that you pay it off before the 0% period ends. Just be careful not to spend with that new card because you could be facing interest rates of up to 25.99% p.a. on those purchases from day one.
The table below displays some of the longest 0% balance transfer offers on Canstar’s database, with links to providers’ websites. These results are sorted by the length of the 0% introductory period (longest to shortest), then provider name (alphabetically).
Superannuation
Don’t neglect the future you. Ensure that your super fund has you well set up on the path towards retirement.
Ask yourself if you’re happy with your fund’s investment returns and whether you’re willing to take on higher risk in the hope of higher long-term gains. You should also consider your dependents (e.g. spouse, children) and assess if you have adequate life insurance cover. If you’re not working or don’t have any dependents, perhaps you should consider whether you really need this insurance coverage.
Top performing super funds: three year returns
The following table contains details of some of the superannuation funds rated by Canstar, sorted by three-year performance (highest to lowest).
Please note the performance information shown in the table is for the investment option used by Canstar in rating of the superannuation product.
Performance is based on the investment option considered in the 2016 Superannuation Star Ratings, which is the option with 60-80% in growth assets; where multiple options satisfy this criteria, the option with 60-80% in growth assets with the greatest funds under management is selected. Returns reflect average annual return of the investment option up until 31/12/2017.
Savings Accounts
Savings accounts might not necessarily offer the greatest returns these days, but you should still try to make your spare cash earn as much as it can. $5,000 in a 3.00% bonus savings account could earn you an extra $150 a year.
The table below displays a snapshot of savings accounts on Canstar’s database with links to providers websites, sorted by the total interest rate (including bonus).
Health Insurance
Are you satisfied with your health fund and its coverage? See if your health fund is a Canstar award winner for your state.
These were the national award winners from Canstar’s most recent Health Insurance Star Ratings Report:
Canstar’s Outstanding Value Health Insurers offer value for money across all life stages in every state and territory. Products are assessed on both the premium and excesses charged and the policy cover, with different procedures emphasised depending on life stage.
The table below features a snapshot of hospital and extras policies on Canstar’s database, with links direct to providers’ websites. Please note the products and Star Ratings are based on couples seeking cover in NSW, with no pregnancy cover.
Data correct as at 6 March 2018
Home and Contents Insurance
Don’t just blindly pay your home and contents insurance renewal each year. Shop around for quotes to check if you’re still getting good value for money.
These were the national award winners from Canstar’s latest Home and Contents Insurance Star Ratings:
| Canstar National Award Winners – Home and Contents Insurance |
|---|
| ANZ |
| CommInsure |
| Suncorp Insurance |
Canstar rates home and contents products for “outstanding value” – placing equal importance on the premiums charged as well as how extensive the coverage is within the policy. The winners of the awards will have competitive policies across the country for both standalone and packaged building and contents cover
The table below displays a snapshot of 5-Star home & contents insurance policies on Canstar’s database, with links to providers’ websites and sorted by provider name (alphabetically). These results are based on a policy holder under 50 years old in New South Wales and ACT for building & contents worth less than $550,000.
Data correct as at 6 March 2018
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$0 ANZ set up or ongoing fees
Competitive interest rates
Try our Home Loans comparison tool to instantly compare Canstar expert rated options.
