Rate Detective Articles

The Reserve Bank (RBA) has stated that they feel that the Federal Government's fiscal stimulus package and the large interest rate cuts will flow through to the economy, although it will take sometime for the full effect to be felt.

Update: Check up-to-date Home Loan Interest Rates after RBA meeting in April 2009.

It is essential to be insured when you're on the road. Of course, 99 out of 100 times you won't need it at all, but if something serious should happen to you in a far away country, you will be ever so glad that you got some decent travel insurance.

It is important for all Australians to remember that many problems encountered overseas can be avoided if some simple precautions are taken. Follow our overseas travel tips to be well on your way to having a hassle-free journey.

It's important to know what to do with life insurance claim money should you be forced to make a claim.

Insurance policies may exist for long periods of time before a claim is made. The original reason and the original amount of cover may no longer stand relevant to the situation of the claimant and their dependents, even if it does what is the money meant for.

Think you're invincible? Think again...

You're in your twenties. You're fit. You eat healthy... well healthy enough... You don't really get struck by any illnesses. Except for that occasional yearly cold or weekly hangover. You're invincible.

It's a natural desire to want to wrap your child in a safety blanket and protect them from harm. Unfortunately we know this is not possible around the clock and for the unfortunate children and parents in Australia a visit to hospital may ensue. In 2002/2003 12 month period, 66,000 children were admitted to hospital. I would guess most of them thought "it would never happen to me".

Within the life insurance world, Zurich insurance company had checked out a niche position for clients who want to consider their life insurance products as being a long-term lifestyle ownership commitment.

What is Salary Continuance Insurance?

Salary Continuance Insurance as well as Income Protection and, Sickness and Accident Insurance are all names for insurance and policies that try to pay you an income if you can’t earn yours due to being sick or injured.

RAMS have today announced a new product that will be available to consumers from the 25^th of August. Here at Rate Detective we have taken the time out to review this much talked about new product.

Key features:

Rate of 8.54% for first 2 years of your loan (discount of 1.00% from Standard Variable rate)

With petrol at the moment about $1.50 per litre, any fuel that can be saved starts adding up. So here are some suggestions to get more for your money.

Individuals have often questioned the validity of having income protection insurance, especially if their employer provides Workers Compensation cover.

The City of Adelaide offers all the amenities of a big city, but is still small enough to reflect a rural charm due to its close proximity to surrounding farmlands, wine regions and the Adelaide Hills.

No need to feel reluctant if you’re a first time investor, as we have the necessary skills and resources to gently guide you through each step of the process. We will endeavour to make it as easiest as possible in establishing the most appropriate home loan for you.

Top 10 tips for first time investors:

1) Stay up to date with the latest property trends.

The credit card market today offers the most diverse range of products ever seen in terms of flexibility, diversity of reward programs and other perks and benefits. However, the common feature is still the same – customers who cannot pay their balance in full at the end of the month are penalised heavily.

The busy day to day activities of running a small to medium enterprise or company (from a one man show to an organization with multiple employees), can often leave the business owner(s) or management, little time to focus on the importance of establishing or fine tuning the nuances of a financial plan for their business.  

The below case study is just how important it can be to be set up correctly with your home loan.

Case study

Though the end of the tax year passed already, I thought that I would begin my series with a run through of some of the tax planning opportunities that you can go through to legally reduce the amount of tax that you have to pay. There is no use waiting to next June – do it now.

10 tips to making your dollar go further:

1) Shop around for cheaper insurances.

2) Plan your holidays in advance to take up airfare specials.

3) Pay off your mortgage fortnightly rather than monthly.

4) Use an online savings account and cut back on fees.

1) House prices will never fall.

2) Because current demand exceeds new supply house prices will continue rising.

The truth is incorrect in both instances.