• Has your lender reviewed your mortgage or financial position recently?
• How long since you have checked to see if you have the best deal deal for your circumstances?
• Do you think your lender is likely to suggest a better, cheaper way  to structure deal with them?
• Do you think they would be objective in their offering when they only represent one brand, Theirs?

If you think the answers to any of the above is ‘No’, then HAVE YOU CONSIDERED A FINANCE BROKER?

• They will have access to numerous lenders in addition to major banks!
• being able to provide options that would take you hours to research. There are always ‘Specials’ being run by lenders , which can change weekly.
• Can advise of costs & pricing & provide various options
• Assist with developing a strategy to meet your goals like reducing number of payts & amount
• In a lot instances, present options for lower interest rates and costs
• Generally free to you as in most cases they are paid by the lender that you choose
• Brokers must be licenced

Some of the articles that have been posted to the site effectively preach ‘DRAMA’. It’s not like we don’t already know what is going on! Drama is ok in a newspaper but it doesn’t get the job done for the everyday Joe!

The way to overcome financial dome & gloom is to have a goal, and a plan to achieve it. Most importantly make a habit of it!

There is an opportunity coming over the next 6-10 weeks for some- TAX REFUNDS! – Yeah!  With the new financial year upon us perhaps there are a few New Financial Year resolutions we could put into our physcie?

A key component to all this is to understand your cash flow. What comes in & what to go out, more importantly when it has to go out. Budgeting becomes an important part of this.

Budgeting needs to be thorough. It has to include annual needs like House insurance, cars through to white good replacements and alike. There are several software packages available which can assist in this area. And if you would like to be pointed in a direction I can suggest you contact me & I would be more than happy to assist. However budgeting is only the start of the process.

Once you have an idea on how and what monies are available you can start to build on a strategy to get yourself in order or ahead. It might be to make sure you have got Xmas & school holidays covered.

Then you need to make sure you have automatic payments organized where practical. So that you can’t forget to make payments. Have them set up around you pay cycle.

However if the numbers don’t add up and there is more going out than coming in, (not just now but perhaps in the next month or two) then there are a few different strategies that can be opted for. Some involve insolvency processes, not all do & there are approaches which help re-engineer debt and reduce repayments for the longer term.

In a lot of instances, it will not be just one approach that will help you through these tougher times but a combination.