By Erica Fountain
Helping people reach a goal is one of the more satisfying parts of my job. Saving money is an integral component in achieving many goals, so my goal is to help people save as much as possible year-on-year.
I recently met Jack and Megan, a young couple, Megan is on maternity leave and Jack is working full-time. They have a beautiful young family, their youngest, Henry, is just 6 months old and Zack is a lively 3 year old.
Jack and Megan are hoping to get away on a family holiday together before Megan returns to work mid-year.
To help them save for their holiday, I had a look at their loans and repayments.
They had a home loan of $606,000, paying P&I at an interest rate of 4.50% ($3,071p/m). They also had a credit card balance of $10,000 with an interest rate of 19.90% ($250p/m), and a personal loan of $24,000 with an interest rate of 8.2% ($376p/m). These loans totaled to a monthly repayment amount of $3,697.
With equity in their home, Jack and Megan were able to consolidate their loans, bringing them to the one loan balance of $640,000. This exercise alone saved them $454 per month.
Further to this, Jack and Megan decided to have me refinance their consolidated debts to a more competitive interest rate (3.86%), saving a further $239 per month.
With this savings of nearly $700 a month, they were able to book their trip to Fiji. They are so excited about it, and I’m so pleased I was able to help make this happen for them.
What is your goal? I would love to help you achieve it!