How one simple change saved Australian woman over $12,000 per year

With interest rates and the cost of living hurting our hip pockets, Aussies are making this easy change – and it could end up saving you a stack of cash.

It’s a simple change that could end up saving you a stack of cash. And one thing’s for sure, with interest rates and the cost of living on the rise, many of us could use the bank balance boost.

For Emma Bowdler, from Toowoomba, Queensland, making one phone call to her bank requesting a simple change ended up saving her a whopping $12,677 per year.

The 38-year-old accountant requested a rate reduction after learning about the tactic from a finance course she had undertaken.

She said while it’s a simple step, she first needed to find out what rates other banks were offering, and it took some time to find out that information.

“Do the research, what are other banks offering,” Emma told news.com.au. “I have multiple investments, with multiple banks and one was very competitive.

“I simply called up the one that wasn’t competitive and said, ‘This is what x can do, can you match it?’”

At first, her bank played hardball, but when she persisted she was rewarded with a lower rate.

“Initially they said I was on the lowest rate, but when I said I’d talk again to the other bank, they backflipped.

“If you know they aren’t competitive, don’t take no for an answer. If it means shopping around, then do it.”

Ultimately, it pays to make the call, which was one of the financial strategies Emma learnt when she attended a course by author and ex-financial advisor Melissa Browne, founder of My Financial Adulting Plan.

Emma said make sure to be persistent.

“Make the time to make the call. If it means booking out some time in the diary, then do it. The savings are worth the ugly hold music.”

Let’s break down Emma’s savings:

• Home loan 1: $99,000. Was 5.36 per cent reduced to 3.39 per cent. Saving 1.97 per cent

• Home Loan 2: $269,000. Was 5.36 per cent reduced to 3.39 per cent. Saving 1.97 per cent

• Investment Loan: $249,000. Was 5.87 per cent reduced to 3.69 per cent. Saving 2.18 per cent

So what has Emma, who is also the director at The Women’s Accountant, done with the money she’s saved?

“I’ve continued to pay the mortgage at the higher rate meaning I’m paying more towards principal payments,” she said.

Melissa Browne is a finance coach.

Here are finance coach Melissa’s top three tips on how to cut costs:

1. House or pet sit: If renting is your biggest cost, why not eliminate this entirely by choosing to house sit for a year. Yes, it might mean incurring some storage costs but the savings you would have at the end of the 12 months would be worth it.

2. Reduce, swap and pause expenses: Take a look through six months’ worth of spending and challenge whether you really need to be incurring that cost, whether you’re still using that service or whether you can get a cheaper alternative. It might mean cancelling one of your streaming services or simply swapping your insurance to a cheaper policy.

3. Lodge your tax return: With the average Australian getting a bump in their tax refunds for 2022 through working from home claims, lodging your tax return might be an easy way to find some extra income. Of course, when you receive that refund, it’s being smart with what you do with it.