Saving money doesn’t mean saying no to dinner dates. It’s totally do-able to dine out without spending big.

Here are eight tips to spending small when dining out:

1. Avoid share plates.

It’s hip to share, right? Well, not when it comes to your wallet. If you’re eating out with a group and everyone is sharing food tapas-style, it’s all too easy to blow out your budget. Those delicious dishes at $15 a pop may seem like a small amount, but the final bill can leave you hyperventilating in your seat. Try to steer the group to eat at a restaurant where everyone can order their own meals, and then you’ll always know what to expect.

2. Cut costs with coupons.

Gone are the days when coupons were cringe-worthy. These days, thanks to Groupon, Cudo, dimmi and endless other reputable discount websites and apps, there are countless offers at top restaurants to choose from. When you’re planning your next meal, simply jump online first to secure a deal.

3. B.Y.O.

Bringing your own bottle of plonk is destined to save you dollars. Make sure you check the corkage cost, though – some restaurants will charge up to $10 a bottle.

4. Make it a market date.

Want a fun date experience without the price tag? Head to one of the many night markets popping up in a region near you, such as Sydney’s Hyde Park night markets or South Melbourne’s night markets. Grab some fresh local food and eat out under the stars – what could be more romantic?

5. Pub grub.

You can’t beat a good old steak-and-chips or burger-with-the-lot. Most pubs offer a cheap eats night mid-week, and you can find a steak dinner for as little as $10.

6. Feed the kids at home.

It doesn’t matter how creative the Kids Menu is; more often than not, kids will end up pushing food around their plate like a Thomas The Tank Engine railway set. To save money – and avoid the arguments – feed the kids at home before you head out to eat. Then, buy them dessert while you and your partner savour your meal.

7. Ditch the water (and wine).

Order tap water instead of sparkling or still. And consider not drinking alcohol at all with dinner (gasp!) – then, all you’ll pay for is your meal.

8. Sign up and save.

Restaurants often give incentives to sign up to their newsletters, like discounts or freebies. Even the top restaurants will email you with specials from time-to-time, and offer you a free meal on your birthday. Happy birthday, indeed!

The post Eight ways to dine out on a budget appeared first on Credit Simple.

Living life large while on holiday doesn’t mean blowing your budget. It’s possible to enjoy every minute of your well-deserved break and possibly come home with cash to spare.

Here are our tips to travelling well while spending less:

1. Package it up

There was a time when the phrase ‘package deal’ made us think of budget airlines, cramped hotel rooms and noisy, sunburnt tourists. Now, thanks to companies like Luxury Escapes, it’s easy to nab a great deal to an even greater location. To save money while you’re away, look for deals that include food, pampering, activities and transfers. A word of caution: if you don’t have an all- inclusive deal, research the hotel and make sure that the dining options suit your budget. There’s no point in paying a cheap rate for a room if you’re only going to spend the equivalent on food every day.

Save: $$$$$

2. Set a budget

It sounds obvious, but set a budget before you go on holiday. Factor in things like food, alcohol, activities, travel (including hotel transfers), souvenirs, gifts and duty-free. Give yourself something like a 10% buffer so that you don’t feel the pinch if you go over. If you stick to your budget, that extra 10% or so will feel like extra money in your wallet – and you can treat yourself to a post- holiday massage as a reward.

Save: $$$

3. Get a travel money card

No one wants to come home from holiday to unexpected bank fees. Before you travel overseas, check with your bank to find out what charges you may be up for. Or consider getting a travel card. They are usually accepted everywhere a credit or debit card is accepted and you load them up with cash before you go so you can only spend what is on the card. The perks are, you avoid substantial bank fees and you can set the budget you want to stick to.

Save: $

4. Dine out

What better way to experience a new destination than to taste local food? Skip expensive hotel restaurants and head out to some local restaurants. Ask around for recommendations – and don’t just ask fellow tourists. Chat to some locals for the down-low on where to go for great cheap eats.

Save: $$

5. Stay in

You don’t have to eat every meal out. Book an apartment or room with a kitchenette and cook your own meals. Even if you just make your own breakfast or lunch a few times, you will save.

Save: $$

6. Research, research, research

Before you travel, read up on all the things you want to see and do. If you have a plan, you’re less likely to waste money on activities that turn out to be, well, a waste of time. Leaving more time –
and money – for you to sit back, have a mojito and think about the next holiday you’ll take with the savings you’ve just made.

Save: $$$

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Technology has become a crucial part of our everyday lives. Whether it’s talking, texting, catching up with family on social media or searching for the latest recipe to cook for dinner. However technology is increasingly becoming more expensive.

Here are some tips to save money.

1. Understand your bills

Understand the plan you are currently on. What are the fees and charges?

Go through your bills and make sure you understand what the items are you are being charged for. If you don’t understand a line item on the bill call up your provider to get clarification or consider if you could remove any features. Alternatively, it might be time to switch providers altogether. See some telco and technology providers on credit simple here.

2. Research and Negotiate Your bill

Once you understand your bill, research other plans on the market. Are there better deals out there where you could be saving?

We have great offers on in your Credit Simple dashboard that might save you money. You can see them here. You can also try to negotiate with your current provider. Even if there isn’t another ISP in your area, it may be possible to ask for a bill reduction by citing your excellent payment history and complaining about service failures and slow speeds, if relevant. If they won’t meet your demands, go ahead and consider if a switch is right for you.

3. Avoid Late Fees (or call to cancel them)

All those little fees do add up. So it’s important that you pay your bills on time. However, we understand that from time to time life happens to get in the way and you may miss a payment deadline. You may be able to call your provider and request to have that late fee forgiven in certain circumstances. Another tip to avoid late fees is to set up a direct deposit.

4. Free calls – VoIP Services

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a fancy term for the type of online services that allow you to make phone calls through an internet connection, such as Facetime, Whatsapp or Skype.  Sometimes, you can even chat for free using these services—especially if it’s a local call. All three services have an application you can download on your mobile phones.

The post Tips to save everyday on technology appeared first on Credit Simple.

A home loan is the biggest financial commitment most Australians ever take on, yet too many have a set-and-forget approach that can cost us tens of thousands of dollars. Research from RateCity.com.au shows that many Australians stick with their initial lender – usually one of the big four banks – for way too long and for all the wrong reasons.

“It’s too much effort,” we tell ourselves. “Paperwork is boring. It’s probably too expensive. I like having an ATM on the corner. I’d have to fiddle around with my direct debits. I’ve banked with these guys since I was a kid.” Do any of these excuses sound familiar?

The truth is that refinancing is simpler, faster and cheaper than most people realise. Since interest is by far the biggest single cost of a home loan, the potential savings far outweigh the effort involved. For example: Let’s say you have a $600,000 home loan with a term of 30 years and an interest rate of 4.50 per cent. If you refinance on a rate of 3.90 per cent, you stand to save $210 a month.

If you’re considering the idea, but are still daunted by the practicalities, this seven-step refinancing guide can help you streamline the process:

1. Define your refinancing goal

One main reason why you might want to refinance is to save money on your mortgage through a lower interest rate. Other common reasons are to access the equity in your home, and to get more flexible mortgage features that can help you pay off the loan more quickly.

You may also want to consolidate other debts into your home loan. The main advantage here is that your home loan’s interest rate is typically lower than the rates charged on unsecured loans, such as personal loans and credit card debts.

2. Compare the alternatives

Use RateCity.com.au to find an ideal home loan, based on your current loan amount and other criteria, such as whether you want a fixed or variable interest rate.

You’ll then need to compare how your finances would turn out under each scenario. Be careful to compare apples with apples. For example, if your new loan has an offset account, the interest rate might be slightly higher than that on a basic loan.

3. Calculate switch costs

You’ll need to work out the immediate cost of switching loans. Home lenders typically charge a discharge fee when you pay out your current home loan in full, but discharge fees average only $250 across all mortgages on the RateCity.com.au database.

Your current lender may also charge other exit fees. These have been banned on home loans taken out after 1 July 2011, but if you signed your current loan before then, you could still be charged exit fees.

If you currently have a fixed-rate loan, you’ll need to pay a break fee, which can be substantial. You may also need to pay upfront fees on a new loan.  The average start-up fee on a new home loan is around $400. However, there are more than 1200 loans on RateCity.com.au with no upfront fees at all.

4. Calculate the break even point

Once you work out your switching costs, you will be able to calculate how long it would take to recoup these costs. It may take one year or just a few months, and if you have to pay high break costs to get out of a fixed loan, you may not break even at all. Every case is different, so check out all the numbers and make the decision that’s right for you alone.

5. Apply for a loan

Once you’ve found the home loan that best suits you, it’s time to apply. Typically, a home lender will assess your income and mortgage repayment history, as well as your current financial commitments. It might be time to cancel any unnecessary credit cards and pay off as many of your other debts as possible, as these will reduce your borrowing power.

Your new lender will probably want to conduct a property valuation to work out how much your home is worth. You may need to pay a fee for this, though you can often negotiate to get it waived.

Once your application is approved, the lender will send you a letter of offer and a contract to sign.

6. Transfer your loan

After your loan has been finalised, you will need to sign some paperwork to discharge your old loan. Your new lender will use your new home loan to pay out your old loan. This process can take up to two weeks.

7. Settlement

The final stage of your refinancing, the settlement, involves paying your upfront fees and setting up your new loan facilities and direct debits to make loan repayments.

After this, you begin making repayments on the new loan. Your contract should specify when you need to start making repayments.

Your new lender should submit a ‘discharge of mortgage’ form to the Land Titles Office in your state or territory to notify the government that you have closed your old home loan account.

This post was supplied by our friends at RateCity.com.au.

The post How to refinance your home loan and get greater value (yes please) appeared first on Credit Simple.

Most Australians stick with the major banks when they have a home loan, even though switching to a non-major lender could take years off their mortgage and save them tens of thousands of dollars.

Home buyers cite a range of reasons why they don’t take advantage of better rates. These include dislike of paperwork, the perceived costs of refinancing, the effort of changing direct debits and the imagined inconvenience of dealing with more than one financial institution.

But these concerns are often based on misconceptions. The reality is that interest is by far the largest single cost of a home loan, and the effort and costs of switching are minimal when stacked up against the savings to be made by switching to a lower-rate loan.

Just how much is this costing?

A recent check of the RateCity.com.au database shows a gap of nearly 1 percentage point between the average standard variable rate charged by bank lenders (5.28 per cent) and the average rate charged by all home lenders (4.40 per cent). On a 30-year loan of $350,000, this difference would save the borrower a massive $67,161.

There are plenty of alternatives to banks, with credit unions, building societies and non-bank lenders offering dozens of cheaper home loans. So why don’t borrowers refinance to cheaper loans?

According to a consumer survey conducted by RateCity.com.au, these reasons include perceived good value on interest rates and fees, keeping financial products together, lack of time for paperwork and a feeling that their lender makes it too hard.

The survey also found that about one third of Australians haven’t changed banks since their first bank as a child.

The truth is that the standard refinancing process isn’t a big deal and can be quite quick. It usually takes from two to four weeks, though some lenders offer a fast-track process that can complete the entire change-over within three days.

Costs of refinancing – are they really that high?

A common misconception among borrowers is that refinancing costs can be high. But this isn’t necessarily the case.

Most lenders charge a discharge fee. But with average discharge fees at $250, this isn’t a big bar to switching lenders, compared to the savings in interest charges.

The new lender may require you to pay upfront fees.  The average start-up fee on a new home loan is around $400, but RateCity.com.au has identified more than 1200 loans with no upfront fees at all.

Even if a new lender does charge such a fee, you can ask to have it waived. Many lenders will do exactly that to win your business.

If your existing loan is on a fixed rate, there may also be a break fee. This amount is determined at the time you break the contract and is based on how much your bank stands to lose in interest repayments.

As a general rule, the more the variable rate has dropped since you first took out your loan, the higher the break fee will be. This can be the biggest cost of moving, so it pays to check first.

Are banks safer?

Many Australians assume major banks are safer than non-majors because they are cashed-up and secure. In fact, building societies and credit unions are just as highly regulated as banks.

Mortgages are long-term financial products, but there is no need to feel you are locked in for life. Refinancing is easier than many people think, and it is not uncommon for borrowers to switch lenders several times over the course of their loan.

While factors such as tradition and perceived convenience may seem persuasive, in the end it’s the total amount of interest you pay that makes the crucial difference. It’s well worth making the effort to be sure you’re getting the best value from your mortgage.

This post was supplied by our friends at RateCity.com.au.

The post Why we don’t refinance our home loans (and why you should) appeared first on Credit Simple.