- Reviewing finances could save Australians around $7,388 annually
- Most savings are found by reassessing home and car loans
- Switching providers can yield significant savings and better product features
Rising interest rates are putting increasing numbers of households under financial pressure.
However, new analysis reveals that Australians could save as much as $7,388 annually by reviewing their financial situation.
According to Compare Club , Australians could offset the effects of the rising cost of living by reviewing their current insurance policies (health and life), home loan, energy provider, credit cards and car loan.
The annual potential savings of $7,388 is higher than the figure reported by Compare Club in 2022, which revealed that customers could save $6,622 over the course of 12 months.
The analysis found that most of the savings come from reviewing your home loan. By switching to a cheaper loan, the average Australian household could save $2,606 on their home loan repayments.
Customers with a car loan could save around $2,600 by refinancing, while there’s around $713 to be saved on credit card interest repayments annually.
While other savings that could be found include energy bills, up to $274 in NSW, $321 in QLD, $183 in VIC, health insurance (an average of $300 for singles or $375 for couples), and life insurance could save an average of $587.
Australians are missing out
Compare Club CEO Andrew Davis said these kinds of savings are what Australians are missing out on when they stay loyal to lenders and service providers instead of shopping around for a better deal.
“With so many costs going up over the past year, we’re seeing a lot of Australian households increasingly squeezed when it comes to finances, but they’re also able to get a significant reprieve when they switch a major expense such as their mortgage, car loan or health insurance,” said Davis.
“It can seem quite daunting, especially for complicated products such as health cover or a home loan, so it’s understandable that some people feel the effort to switch just isn’t worth it.
“But we often find people are genuinely surprised by how much they can save and how simple it can be.”
More benefits than just savings
Davis says without realising the potential savings, Australians are missing out on thousands of dollars a year – enough to cover school laptops for two or three kids.
“There are also the benefits of improved product features, chosen to be relevant to the lives of customers now, rather than when they originally purchased the product ,” he said.
“With a record ten interest rate hikes in a row – and more predicted – simple switches can be a really big help for the household budget.”
Andrew Davis, Compare Club CEO
Davis said it’s important to look for the biggest savings first.
“You don’t have to overhaul all your finances in one sitting, but there are serious savings to be made even by just reviewing your home loan.”
“How much the cost of loans, energy and insurance will increase over the coming months is somewhat unpredictable but every household has the power to be able to seriously cut their costs with just a few phone calls.”
