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The temperature was nearing 40°C at the Greenwich Village Games last month (the WHAT? Not wallet-related but worth a google anyway) and my very practical sister-in-law pulled out a stack of frozen face washers in zip lock bags. In a hot and sweaty tent full of competitors, she was the coolest in there.

With heatwaves becoming more common, get your freezer to do some of the heavy lifting. Frozen poppers to keep the lunchboxes from baking, home-made ice packs using zip lock bags, even a frozen water bottle in a sock can help get you off to sleep on these long summer nights.

School is back from next week 😅 and while some costs are unavoidable, you can still keep a lid on expenses. My biggest beef is with the over-priced, over-hyped $70 water bottles, when a dupe or a less trendy but reputable brand can quarter the cost. Uniforms can also get exxy but luckily for me, my kids' $25 school shorts can be bought at Kmart for $7 – that’s a 72% saving. Worth a hunt through the department catalogues for savings of that proportion.

Thousands of dollars in concessions and payments go unclaimed every year. We’ve rounded up the latest programs, the eligibility rules and how to apply. 

If you’re sick of being slugged with fees, here are three of the most common–and what you can do to avoid them.

I almost choked on my cereal, much like Wallet Wins reader Peter did, when I went to buy a box of Uncle Toby’s Plus for $9.50! (Turns out Peter and I have the same taste at breakfast 👏). From 1 July, new government rules ban Coles and Woolies from putting on an excessive mark-up on groceries compared to the cost of supply, however, there’s no guarantee this will result in a lower total at the checkout. The supply chain can be complex and susceptible to variations, so it could well be that it just costs more to get that box of cereal onto the supermarket shelves. There are also fears the new rules will lead to more conservative prices and less opportunity for things to go on special, which is my shopping go-to. Until then, Peter, clear out the cupboard and get down to Woolies–our cereal is finally on sale for half price!

Competition in the variable rate mortgage market is heating up, but lenders often reserve their lowest rates for those with a decent amount of equity. What’s that? Equity is the portion of your home you own outright and with property prices rising like a rocket, it might be larger than you think. To check, work out how much your house is worth and subtract how much you still owe the bank. That’s your equity. Turn it into a percentage by dividing it by the value of your home.

(Property value - amount owing) / property value

If it’s over 30%, you could well be in for a sharper rate, provided you shop around, that is. 

If you’re shopping for a big-ticket item, know that buying an extended warranty can often be an unnecessary expense. Most electronics should be reliable enough that they last a reasonable amount of time. In fact, if they don’t, you should still be entitled to a repair. Under Australian Consumer Law, which states products must be of acceptable quality, that includes lasting for a ‘reasonable’ period of time. You have these rights, regardless of any extended warranty you did or didn’t take. Some credit cards also include purchase protection insurance as part of their offering. Don’t be fooled into thinking that’s free though–you pay for it in your annual fee–but if you have it, it’s worth understanding when it might come in handy.