Refinancing

PUT UP OR SHUT UP:

Ah the sounds of summer.  The sound of willow on bat at the cricket, waves lapping at the beach or sausages sizzling on the BBQ.  And what are the favourite topics of conversation at a BBQ?  Sport, politics and banks!!

As I write this, the Fed Express has just won the Australian Open, the Scorchers are now the reigning BBL champions and congratulations to the Wildcats on going back to back so that’s sport covered.

The WA election has been run and won by Mark McGowan.  More and more people are becoming disenchanted with politics full stop and either don’t vote or elect to give their vote to one of the minority parties, the result being a dysfunctional parliament where nothing gets done because everyone fights for their own vested interests.  Then everyone complains about how bad our pollies are but we are part of the problem because the government can’t legislate its agenda due to being stymied by minority parties who were elected on the strength of maybe only a handful of votes.  Hardly a ringing endorsement.  Bring in 4 year terms so the government has the opportunity to do something and then if we don’t like it, we can vote for someone else at the next election.  If you don’t vote then you relinquish your right to complain about the government.  Put up or shut up.

In the same vein, most Australians dislike their bank as much as they dislike politicians.  We all grumble and complain that the banks are ripping us off and making obscene profits but very few of us do anything about it.  What can we do?  Well vote with our feet for one thing but very few of us do that and the banks are very happy for our apathy to continue.  A good example is home loans.  Why would you go directly to your bank, the bank you have been with for the past 20 years in the mistaken belief they will give you a good deal?  Why wouldn’t you contact a broker to research the market for you and give you a range of options to choose from?  Similarly it makes sense to check in every 3 years or so to make sure that your existing home loan is still serving your best interests  At Gomm Finance, we have been actively contacting clients advising them of several specials available in the market place and yet even though we do all the work for you, some of our clients have decided against making the move because it’s too hard.  In one case, the client was going to save $18,000pa in interest which in pre-tax dollars equated to around $35,000pa but they couldn’t be bothered moving banks.  When I asked them if they would be pleased if their boss gave them a $35,000pa pay rise, they said yes of course but that didn’t require any personal exertion on their part.  I respected the clients’ decision to stay put but to my mind they just relinquished any future right to criticise the banks for making obscene profits because they are part of the problem.  Put up or shut up.

If you would like to review your home loan to see if there is a better deal out there, please call us any time or visit www.gommfinance.com.au and click on the home loan health check button.