Spring is traditionally known as a time to spring clean. The time of year when we dust off winter blues, clear out clutter, and deep-clean our homes to prepare for warmer days ahead. Spring is also the perfect time to make some important changes to our financial situation: fine-tune our savings, reassess financial goals, and review the home loan. It’s time to spring clean your finances!

It’s no secret that good financial habits are an essential part of financial success. Learning to spend and save mindfully not only improves a financial situation, but could help you reach your financial goals sooner while avoiding unnecessary debt. If bad money habits are holding you back from achieving financial success, try kicking these five bad money habits to start.

Many aspiring first home buyers have a hard time saving a big enough deposit to buy a first home in Australia. One way around this problem is to get financial support from their parents, who can act as a guarantor for their home loan. If you’d like to help your children buy a first home, before deciding to become a guarantor, it’s important to think about these 5 things.

Talking to young children about money may seem a waste of time, but many of the lessons we learn as children stay with us as adults and can have a lasting impact on our lives. The more we talk about money with our children, the more chance they have to learn how to manage money properly when they’re older. Help shape your children’s future and get them thinking about the value of money, by teaching them financial literacy from an early age.

With higher interest rates than everyday transactional accounts, and the ability to withdraw funds when needed, a savings account is a good way to grow your savings faster and reach your savings goals sooner. But, just as it’s important to research and compare home loans, it makes good financial sense to do the same when considering savings accounts. Here’s a handy guide for all you need to know about savings accounts in Australia.

It’s not hard to imagine how far reaching the effects of global warming are on our natural environment. Just consider for a moment some of the recent extreme weather events here in Australia: from heat waves and droughts to flash flooding and bush fires, Australia has certainly experienced some of the worst. It’s hardly surprising then that environmental concerns are fast becoming a key factor for homebuyers in Australia, as they consider how to minimise the risk of climate change hazards.

Skeletons in the closet? Ghosts in the attic? How would you feel if you found out your prospective new home had a sinister past? Would it influence your decision to go ahead with the sale? When it comes to buying property, Australian law is quite clear: real estate agents and vendors are required to disclose any “material facts” that could impact the home buyer’s decision. And, surprisingly, that includes the suspected presence of ghosts!

Each year in Australia more than 5.3 million tonnes of edible food is wasted from households and the commercial sector. At the same time, millions of Australians experience food insecurity, many of those receiving much-needed food relief each month, according to the FoodBank Hunger Report. With a national target of halving food waste by 2030, the Federal Government is calling on all Australians to do their bit to cut food waste in the home. To help you get started, try these simple changes to habits from food rescue organisation, OzHarvest.

As the number of unfilled staffing positions continue to grow in the wake of “The Great Resignation”, across Australia, employers are scrambling to offer up “mega-perks” in a bid to retain existing employees and attract new talent. Everything from “heartbreak leave” and extended parental leave, to wellbeing allowances, free cookery classes and time off for life’s big events; businesses are having to get creative when it comes to enticing and holding onto staff. Here’s a closer look.

As Australia moves into a new way of life post-pandemic and lockdowns become a thing of the past, there’s one area of our lives that continues to be impacted by COVID-19: Housing. Post-pandemic, house prices have continued to rise across Australia, making it harder for first home buyers to enter the market. And rent costs haven’t escaped either, as both houses and units in capital cities and regional areas experience the highest growth rate in rent costs since 2007.