We spoke with resident finance journalist Harry O'Sullivan on Queensland's Boost 2 Buy scheme, a new shared equity program that chips in for your first home in exchange for the equivalent share of equity. We discussed if this could actually be a secret money maker for the government, leveraging capital gains and potentially tipping more first home buyers beyond the stamp duty threshold. 00:00 - Intro and savings tip. don't drink alcopops 02:30 - B2B explained 03:23 - What the experts think 04:09...
Jun 29, 2025•11 min
On this week's episode we're talking about end of financial year, especially when it comes to cars. So we had Peter Willis on, the director of buying at used car marketplace Carma. We discussed how to spot a deal, the tactics that dealers use, and all the due diligence you need to do before taking the plunge. Plus, his savings tip is wheely pertinent and unlike any other we've had on the pod! 00:00 - Intro and savings tip, put air in your tyres 02:34 - How to get an EOFY bargain 04:11 - Dealersh...
Jun 27, 2025•9 min
On this week's episode we're talking about end of financial year, especially when it comes to cars. So we had Peter Willis on, the director of buying at used car marketplace Carma. We discussed how to spot a deal, the tactics that dealers use, and all the due diligence you need to do before taking the plunge. Plus, his savings tip is wheely pertinent and unlike any other we've had on the pod! Plus we spoke with resident finance journalist Harry O'Sullivan on Queensland's Boost 2 Buy scheme, a ne...
Jun 25, 2025•40 min•Season 4Ep. 111
We spoke to resident finance journalist and editor of Your Mortgage, Brooke Cooper on why brokers are falling out of favour, according to S&P research. Many banks are seeing the commissions they are paying to brokers and finding it more cost effective to go directly to customer. Does this mean brokers are done? Not by a long shot, as they service up to 805 of the mortgage market and many customers prefer the convenience. Brooke's piece https://www.yourmortgage.com.au/mortgage-news/love-hate-...
Jun 23, 2025•14 min
We spoke to resident finance journalist Denise Raward on the benefits and drawbacks of lenders mortgage insurance, or LMI. It's a necessary evil if you have less than a 20% deposit for a home loan. As Denise explains, however, you'll have to weigh up the cost versus waiting longer outside the market to save up the 20%. 00:00 - Intro and savings tip, learn how to cook 01:35 - LMI costs explained 03:44 - LMI waivers 08:27 - Better to wait to save or just pay LMI 12:00 - Outro...
Jun 22, 2025•13 min
On this week's podcast episode, Haz was away! So Brooke Cooper, editor at Your Mortgage, stepped in to co-host alongside Dom. Thanks, Brooke, for your very capable stewardship. As a special guest, we spoke to Denjola Bhutia the director of mortgage brokers Nine Ten Finance about the benefits of non-bank lenders in this current environment. He said there tends to be more flexibility around serviceability buffers, which can be especially useful if you have multiple properties or are looking to gro...
Jun 20, 2025•13 min
On this week's podcast episode, Haz was away! So Brooke Cooper, editor at Your Mortgage, stepped in to co-host alongside Dom. Thanks, Brooke, for your very capable stewardship. As a special guest, we spoke to Denjola Bhutia the director of mortgage brokers Nine Ten Finance about the benefits of non-bank lenders in this current environment. He said there tends to be more flexibility around serviceability buffers, which can be especially useful if you have multiple properties or are looking to gro...
Jun 18, 2025•43 min•Season 4Ep. 110
On this week's show, our special guest star is Jim Penman, the co-founder and director of Jim's Group. This is probably better known for Jim's Mowing, as well as a litany of other franchises from cleaning to life coaching. We had a pretty insightful chat about Jim's take on the current state of Australia's economy, the productivity issue and what can be done about it all. 00:00-00:34 - Intro 00:34-01:51 - Jim's Savings Tip, wear cheap clothes 01:51-03:31 - Government inefficiency 03:31-04:58 - T...
Jun 13, 2025•12 min
On this week's show, our special guest star is Jim Penman, the co-founder and director of Jim's Group. This is probably better known for Jim's Mowing, as well as a litany of other franchises from cleaning to life coaching. We had a pretty insightful chat about Jim's take on the current state of Australia's economy, the productivity issue and what can be done about it all. Plus we spoke to resident finance journalist and editor of Your Mortgage, Brooke Cooper on why brokers are falling out of fav...
Jun 11, 2025•41 min•Season 4Ep. 109
We spoke to resident finance journalist Denise Raward on non-recourse lending and if it applies to Australia. In some US states you can just hand back the house keys to your lender and walk away scot-free but in Australia it's a lot harder to do that. Denise's article: https://www.yourmortgage.com.au/compare-home-loans/surrender-home-australia 00:00-00:54 - Intro 00:54-02:05 - Savings tip, 50c fares 02:05-04:07 - Possible to hand back the home? 04:07-05:53 - The default process 05:53-08:39 - Fac...
Jun 08, 2025•15 min
On this week's chat we had Jenneke Mills, the head of technical services at MLC, here to talk to us about financial confidence and some of the super fund's recent survey results showing very few of us are financially confident! MLC has developed an interesting new Money View tool that shows insights into your financial position and what you can do about it. Jenneke was last on in episode 83. MLC Money View https://www.mlc.com.au/personal/mlcmoneyview? 00:00-00:38 - Intro 00:38-02:54 - Savings Ti...
Jun 06, 2025•12 min
On this week's chat we had Jenneke Mills, the head of technical services at MLC, here to talk to us about financial confidence and some of the super fund's recent survey results showing very few of us are financially confident! MLC has developed an interesting new Money View tool that shows insights into your financial position and what you can do about it. Jenneke was last on in episode 83. Plus we spoke to resident finance journalist Denise Raward on non-recourse lending and if it applies to A...
Jun 04, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 108
We spoke to resident finance journalist Harry O'Sullivan on the common credit card scams and how to avoid them. A pretty good reminder heading into end of financial year! We started off with a rant about the price of cafe breakfasts, so funny how it turns around. 00:00-00:33 - Intro 00:33-01:55 - Harry's savings tip: avoid cafe breakfasts 01:55-03:28 - Common card frauds 03:38-04:32 - What about debit cards 04:32-06:06 - Dom's scam story 06:06-08:24 - Card not arrived fraud 08:24-09:59 - How to ...
Jun 01, 2025•12 min
We spoke with Dr. Simone Maher, Chief Veterinary Officer at PetSure, about the rising cost of pet healthcare and how owners can avoid bill shock. From breed-specific risks to unexpected vet bills, we unpack the insights from PetSure’s 2025 Pet Health Monitor, an annual deep dive into what Aussie pet owners are really spending. We spoke about the costs of dog breeds - who are the most expensive? Maybe your lab has eaten something they shouldn't have, or maybe your greyhound has a twisted stomach....
May 30, 2025•14 min
We spoke with Dr. Simone Maher, Chief Veterinary Officer at PetSure, about the rising cost of pet healthcare and how owners can avoid bill shock. From breed-specific risks to unexpected vet bills, we unpack the insights from PetSure’s 2025 Pet Health Monitor, an annual deep dive into what Aussie pet owners are really spending. We spoke about the costs of dog breeds - who are the most expensive? Maybe your lab has eaten something they shouldn't have, or maybe your greyhound has a twisted stomach....
May 28, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 107
We spoke with resident finance journalist Bernadette Lunas about her latest article on InfoChoice discussing how renters are getting creative amid the ongoing rental crisis. Think pet sitting, co-operative living and so on. Bern's article https://www.infochoice.com.au/home-loans/how-are-people-avoiding-the-rent-crisis-in-australia 00:00-02:46 - Intro and Savings Tip, fee-free bank accounts 02:46-04:54 - Ways to avoid the rent crisis 04:54-06:17 - Long-term pet sitting 06:17-08:20 - Security conc...
May 25, 2025•13 min
This week we addressed the big elephant in the room - Tuesday's RBA rate cut - with Shane Oliver, the chief economist at AMP Capital. We talked about what it means for homeowners - potential and existing - borrowing power, savers, and the outlook on the economy. It's always great talking to Shane! Head to savings.com.au to stay abreast of what all the banks and lenders are doing, and when, in the wake of this cut. Lender rate cutshttps://www.savings.com.au/news/rba-rate-cut-may-2025 Savings rate...
May 22, 2025•13 min
This week we addressed the big elephant in the room - Tuesday's RBA rate cut - with Shane Oliver, the chief economist at AMP Capital. We talked about what it means for homeowners - potential and existing - borrowing power, savers, and the outlook on the economy. It's always great talking to Shane! Head to savings.com.au to stay abreast of what all the banks and lenders are doing, and when, in the wake of this cut. And we spoke with resident finance journalist Bernadette Lunas about her latest ar...
May 21, 2025•38 min•Season 4Ep. 106
We had Alexi Falson on for his monthly automotive update. As our resident auto journalist, he chatted to us about the best sellers of the past month, as well as the rise of the Chinese manufacturers. Think BYD, MG, GWM and Chery to name a few. We also talked about the fall of Tesla, and the fall of the big Yank Tanks - the RAM 1500 and Chevy Silverado in particular, plus where to get a good deal on a vehicle right now. We also learned to avoid the roads when Dom is driving. Great chat as always....
May 18, 2025•14 min
This week we had Daniel Sciberras on, the points expert at pay.com.au - the website that allows small businesses to maximise their credit card points. Daniel was last on way back on episode 8, so probably don't listen to that one. We discussed how small businesses can best use a credit card, which points accrual method is better, plus good general advice for business credit cards (read: pay off your statement in-full every month!). 00:00-00:58 - Intro 00:58-01:37 - Daniel's savings tip, dollar c...
May 18, 2025•16 min
This week we had Daniel Sciberras on, the points expert at pay.com.au - the website that allows small businesses to maximise their credit card points. Daniel was last on way back on episode 8, so probably don't listen to that one. We discussed how small businesses can best use a credit card, which points accrual method is better, plus good general advice for business credit cards (read: pay off your statement in-full every month!). We also had Alexi Falson on for his monthly automotive update. A...
May 14, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 105
We also spoke to Brooke Cooper, editor at Your Mortgage, about tax deductibility on owner occupier mortgages. Investors can do it so why can't regular homeowners? It was a policy brought forth by the Coalition, and is probably long dead and buried, but it's still some good food for thought. Brooke said the argument for it is it helps boost retirement security, similar to concessional super contributions.00:00-00:47 - Intro 00:47-02:26 - Brooke's savings tip - DIY 02:26-05:49 - Arguments for inte...
May 11, 2025•12 min
The election is done and dusted, and with a resounding victory by Labor, this week we unpacked all the cost of living policies, the sugar hits, with Joel Gibson. He's the consumer finance expert for Zyft. You've probably seen him around the traps by now, on the Today Show and numerous other media. He spoke to us about why COL issues still remain and that cheap (actually expensive) handouts don't go a long way in addressing the core issues. 00:00-00:39 - Intro 00:39-01:50 - Joel's Savings Tip - g...
May 08, 2025•12 min
The election is done and dusted, and with a resounding victory by Labor, this week we unpacked all the cost of living policies, the sugar hits, with Joel Gibson. He's the consumer finance expert for Zyft. You've probably seen him around the traps by now, on the Today Show and numerous other media. He spoke to us about why COL issues still remain and that cheap (actually expensive) handouts don't go a long way in addressing the core issues. We also spoke to Brooke Cooper, editor at Your Mortgage,...
May 06, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 104
We were joined by resident finance journalist Denise Raward to talk about productivity. It's easy to discuss in the abstract, but what does it actually mean? People are employed, earning cash, and putting it back into the economy, so who cares? Well as Denise explains, it can be a big hit to your living standards, and the ability to produce more for less, which allows you to earn more. We've been going backwards in this regard for over a decade.00:00-01:35 - Intro and Savings Tip - late meat mar...
May 04, 2025•14 min
With a federal election looming at the end of the week, we thought we'd get Peter Tulip on again (previously on episode 27), the chief economist at thinktank Centre for Independent Studies. We got his broadbrushed take on the housing election policies bandied about. Peter is a fan of some, but not others. He thinks the mortgage interest deduction policy from the Coalition stinks while at the same time praising its $5b to ease infrastructure bottlenecks in new estates. He also said the government...
May 01, 2025•20 min
With a federal election looming at the end of the week, we thought we'd get Peter Tulip on again (previously on episode 27), the chief economist at thinktank Centre for Independent Studies. We got his broadbrushed take on the housing election policies bandied about. Peter is a fan of some, but not others. He thinks the mortgage interest deduction policy from the Coalition stinks while at the same time praising its $5b to ease infrastructure bottlenecks in new estates. He also said the government...
Apr 29, 2025•50 min•Season 4Ep. 103
This week we had Bernadette Lunas, resident finance journalist, on to talk about home loans for students - is it possible? Well the short answer is yes but like any customer, the bank will want to see a good income, good savings history, and stable employment. These are three ingredients that might prove difficult if you're a full-time student. This is where you'll need to get creative, like potentially getting a guarantor, or using the government's Home Guarantee Scheme. And as always, buy with...
Apr 27, 2025•7 min
On this week's episode we were joined by Mark Chapman, the director of tax communications at H&R Block, to discuss what each political parties are doing for tax in the lead up to this year's election. It's just over a week away, early votes and postal votes are being cast. Each side has automatic tax offsets promised, as well as a few other core policies of WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME... GIMME THE MONEY. Mark joined us to discuss all that and give us his 2 cents from an accountant's perspective. 00:...
Apr 24, 2025•18 min
On this week's episode we were joined by Mark Chapman, the director of tax communications at H&R Block, to discuss what each political parties are doing for tax in the lead up to this year's election. It's just over a week away, early votes and postal votes are being cast. Each side has automatic tax offsets promised, as well as a few other core policies of WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME... GIMME THE MONEY. Mark joined us to discuss all that and give us his 2 cents from an accountant's perspective. Plu...
Apr 23, 2025•43 min•Season 4Ep. 102
