This week's top reads

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There are two sides to every cash rate change and while the big four banks were reasonably efficient in letting their mortgage customers know they’ll be passing on Tuesday’s RBA hike, this is pretty much the sum total of what we’ve heard from them on savers:

😶

(Turns out it’s pretty hard to illustrate silence using words, so I’ve had to revert to emojis.)

Thank goodness for challenger banks, ING and Macquarie, which have a) actually told their customers what’s happening to their savings rates and b) are, by and large, passing it on.

Macquarie’s savings and transaction rates are both going up by the full 0.25 (little known fact – it’s one of the few banks that pay interest on money sitting in your regular bank account).

ING is passing on the full hike to the maximum ongoing rate on its Savings Maximiser, taking it to an ultra-competitive 5% and will apply a super-sized 0.40 hike to its Savings Accelerator account. This, however, needs at least a few asterisks because there’s plenty of fine print attached to both of these accounts, and there are much lower savings rates at stake if you don’t clear every one of the hurdles, so tread carefully.

If your bank is staying ‘mum’ on your new savings rate, it’s time to apply the blow torch. A call, email, or any sort of social media post should help remind them you’re watching and that you expect the full hike.

Things just got tougher for Aussies trying to buy into the housing market, with Tuesday’s rate hike shaving roughly $12,000 off the average Australian’s maximum home-buying budget.

We put 5 popular travel tips to the test to see which ones save you cash and which might cost you more in the long run. 

This week’s rate hike has some borrowers weighing up how they’ll pay the mortgage and while something as extreme as accessing your superannuation early is, in theory, possible, it’s incredibly difficult to qualify. Basically, the bank has to be close to taking the keys to your home, which is a process that typically takes years, rather than just one missed repayment. In 2023-24, at the end of the last rate hikes, just 9 per cent of applications were approved. Even if you qualify, you’d want to think about it seriously. Accessing super early can potentially impact support payments, not to mention your tax, and will see your super balance at retirement drop, not just by the amount you take out, but also lost returns from future years of investing.

Term deposit rates are now officially back on the rise. A total of 35 banks increased term deposit rates last month, pushing the highest rate on our site to 4.8 per cent. But with the prospect of at least one, possibly even more cash rate hikes to come, there’s still room to move. Rates could break the 5 per cent barrier in a matter of weeks. So if you’re looking to lock up some cash, make sure you shop around. With the market likely to keep on rising, one option could be to ladder your deposits, so they start and finish at different times, or split it between a handful of different investment options. 

Reports out this week that the government is considering a reduction in the capital gains tax discount, ahead of the May budget, will spark debate. Currently, if an investor sells a property they’ve held for at least 12 months, they can get a 50 per cent discount on the capital gains tax owing. Pairing back the discount would help bolster the Federal Budget and dampen interest from investors, which could help cool property prices. It’s a tricky debate because while property prices are making it difficult for people to enter the market, those who have already invested could potentially see the value of their property drop. The Treasurer hasn’t committed to change yet, but you can be sure it will be a heated one in the weeks leading up to the next Budget.