2021-10-28 05:17:33
We know times may get tough for some of you so a wonderful member Erin has put together a budget calculator (attached to next post) to help you manage through it.
Hints on saving money:
• Check you’re not paying any bank fees – If you are, ask your bank why. If they won’t help you, change banks. There are fee free banks.
• Is that cup of coffee really worth it every day? It does add up.
• Cook larger meals and take leftovers for lunch – saves on buying lunch.
• If you are not using subscriptions, cancel them. If you are without an income for a bit, cancel them too.
• Reduce your phone/internet plan if you can.
• Check your plans for electricity/gas – are there cheaper ones.
• Review your insurances for cars/home etc.
• Spring clean and list unused things on buy/swap sites.
• When shopping, consider going without the luxuries. Can you shop elsewhere for cheaper etc. Aldi vs Woolies.
If you are without income:
Have a mortgage or a personal loan or a credit card? Ring your bank and ask them if you have loan insurance. This usually has a component of income protection for approx. 4 mths, where it covers your home loan repayments.
This insurance would have been set up by your bank when you took out your loan (don’t confuse this with mortgage insurance if you borrowed over 80%). If in doubt, ring your bank and ask. Also, this insurance has TPD (same as your super), so if you are claiming workers compensation, this also may help with an income. This type of insurance was only offered prior to the Royal Commission.
If you were referred to a financial planner when you took out your home loan, they may have also set you up with some insurance. You would likely remember doing this, as it usually cost a bit of money to do.
Also, you can ring your bank and notify them of hardship. They will refer you to their Hardship team to assist you with making payments. They can also amend repayment amounts temporarily too. They are REQUIRED to assist you.
If you don’t have insurance, ask your bank if you can swap to an interest only repayment for a while. It won’t reduce your loan amount but will reduce your loan repayment while you are without an income or on a reduced income.
If you are salary sacrificing to Super, review this.
Check your Super to see if you set up Income Protection when you joined. This usually is a payment of (usually) 75% of your income for a period of time – however is usually only for injuries, not loss of employment. Worth a phone call to confirm. You can also usually check with your Super fund online and under insurances.
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