How to beat interest rate rises?

All too often people relegate their money affairs to the bottom of their things to do list.

As a consequence they end up losing many thousands of dollars over time or find themselves paying more than they should.

This is especially relevant to interest rate rises - where all that’s needed is some simple ground work which will make a massive difference. If you don’t have time get someone who does. Ask your Lifestyle Money Coach for a referral.

For those with home loans

1. Get a new loan package – Many lenders offer what they call professional packages. These are loans that offer quite significant discounts (up to 0.7%pa off the standard variable interest plus a number of other benefits such as free offset accounts, free loan splits etc.

2. Look into switching - there are more and more deals on the market and if you structure your loan package properly with the help of a mortgage broker you'll save many thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

3. Use a combination of variable and fixed rates for your loan – If you want some certainty for say 3, 5 or even 10 years you can always “lock it in!” But I do suggest that you set up your loan according to your circumstances. This means for example you are someone who needs total certainty like my brother with a set of twins fixing all the loan may suit. Again, it is best to discuss your options with your lender or broker.

For those with personal loans, credit cards and a home loan

1. Consolidate – If you have equity in your home it will definitely be worth your while to consolidate all your debts it all into one loan. As a result you will only have one repayment and chances are that it will be less than all of the repayments put together. Then with the amount that is left over pay make an addition repayment to your home loan as this will literally save you thousands. The key to success here is to look at fixing some of the loan and also back off on the credit card spending!

For those with credit cards

1. Look for a better deal – Credit providers will be all to quick to raise rates on credit cards once rates rise. So do yourself a favour and check out a better deal at  www.infochoice.com.au or ask your current card provider for a better deal - in fact heres' a  secret - find a lower rate. Call your current credit card company and see if they will match the lower rate - chances are they will and you could save yourself up to 5%pa.