WEBVTT - How to save for a house in five years 0:00:07.360 --> 0:00:10.360 Hello and welcome to It All Adds Up the podcast 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.850 where we chat about money, how to get it, how 0:00:12.850 --> 0:00:15.640 to spend it, and how to invest it. I'm senior 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:17.410 economics writer Jess Irvine. 0:00:17.650 --> 0:00:19.750 And I'm money at it, dumb pal. And this week 0:00:19.750 --> 0:00:21.910 we're kicking off the first part of our new budgeting 0:00:21.910 --> 0:00:24.580 series where we're looking at your finances and telling you 0:00:24.579 --> 0:00:26.560 how you could be saving some extra dollars. 0:00:26.829 --> 0:00:30.070 Thanks to everyone who has already sent us an email at. 0:00:30.100 --> 0:00:34.120 It all adds up at nine.com.au dot EU showing us 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:37.810 your budgets and asking your questions. And it's lovely to 0:00:37.810 --> 0:00:41.020 see the range of people who are getting in contact. 0:00:41.020 --> 0:00:44.230 So I hope that by listening to this series there'll 0:00:44.229 --> 0:00:47.410 be something in this for everyone, no matter what your 0:00:47.409 --> 0:00:48.370 set up is. 0:00:48.580 --> 0:00:51.310 Yes. And if you missed last week's episode, that was 0:00:51.490 --> 0:00:54.400 my sort of grilling, budget grilling. So if you want 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:56.350 to listen to someone who really doesn't know what they're doing, 0:00:56.350 --> 0:00:59.570 you can go back and see that that you. 0:00:59.590 --> 0:01:00.440 Are not too bad. 0:01:00.940 --> 0:01:03.190 It was alright in the end, I think. But our 0:01:03.190 --> 0:01:06.550 first cab off the rank this week is Jules. She's 0:01:06.550 --> 0:01:09.369 a university student and part time early childhood educator living 0:01:09.370 --> 0:01:12.400 in Melton, Victoria. And just to set the scene, let's 0:01:12.550 --> 0:01:13.810 hear a little word from Jules. 0:01:15.970 --> 0:01:20.290 Hi, Jess and Don. This is Jules from Melton. No, 0:01:20.290 --> 0:01:24.220 I actually dream of Ballarat. I'm a full time university 0:01:24.220 --> 0:01:27.790 student and part time early childhood educator, and I'm currently 0:01:27.790 --> 0:01:32.650 saving for my first home. I'm saving at least $410 0:01:32.650 --> 0:01:34.390 a month, and I'm hoping to have enough for a 0:01:34.390 --> 0:01:36.940 deposit or a 2 to 3 bedroom unit or a 0:01:36.940 --> 0:01:40.760 house in Ballarat. My favourite place within the next 3 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:43.569 to 5 years and while I'm saving, I've moved back 0:01:43.569 --> 0:01:46.750 in with Mum and Dad. But I was wondering if 0:01:46.750 --> 0:01:50.710 you had any extra tips or strategies that I could 0:01:50.710 --> 0:01:54.430 use to be saving a bit more or to help 0:01:54.430 --> 0:01:57.970 me reach my goal faster. As I said, I dream 0:01:57.970 --> 0:02:01.000 of Ballarat and I want to make that dream a reality. 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:03.220 So I'd love to hear what you think. 0:02:05.910 --> 0:02:09.000 I love it. I've been through Ballarat on a holiday. 0:02:09.010 --> 0:02:11.520 I think it's a beautiful little town and I love 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.950 the jewels that she has settled upon wanting to buy 0:02:13.950 --> 0:02:17.430 in a regional part of Australia because it's definitely going 0:02:17.430 --> 0:02:21.209 to be a little bit more affordable compared to to 0:02:21.210 --> 0:02:24.030 say Melbourne. So I think straight off the bat I 0:02:24.030 --> 0:02:26.550 think she's doing really well with having a very clear 0:02:26.550 --> 0:02:29.310 goal in mind of where she wants to live and 0:02:29.310 --> 0:02:31.950 it not being the most expensive place that there is, 0:02:31.950 --> 0:02:34.620 although of course it's it's just such a big challenge 0:02:34.620 --> 0:02:39.149 these days to save up for a first home and just, 0:02:39.150 --> 0:02:42.390 you know, kudos to Jules for putting the flag in 0:02:42.389 --> 0:02:45.540 the sand and saying this is, you know what I want. And, 0:02:45.540 --> 0:02:48.090 you know, so many people are so disconcerted about how 0:02:48.090 --> 0:02:51.330 unaffordable things are to not even try. So I would 0:02:51.330 --> 0:02:53.880 love for us to support Jules to be able to 0:02:54.090 --> 0:02:56.070 achieve that ambition. And I think, you know, over the 0:02:56.070 --> 0:03:00.000 long term, hopefully with enough modest expectations, it's something that 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:01.980 is that can be achievable for people. 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:04.800 Absolutely. And I think this is sort of a great 0:03:05.790 --> 0:03:08.640 sort of case study, I suppose, in in showing the 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:10.800 sort of things that that people do to save for 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.830 the houses, like, you know, living with their parents, that 0:03:13.830 --> 0:03:16.380 sort of thing. Choosing a regional area like these are 0:03:16.380 --> 0:03:18.540 the ways that that this sort of goal of this 0:03:18.540 --> 0:03:21.180 sort of seemingly unachievable goal of home ownership is is 0:03:21.180 --> 0:03:24.450 quite it can become quite achievable. So should we get 0:03:24.450 --> 0:03:24.750 into it? 0:03:25.020 --> 0:03:27.720 Yeah. Look, you were crunching some numbers. I immediately just 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:29.820 jumped on domain dot com and I was looking at 0:03:29.820 --> 0:03:33.750 three lovely beautiful 2 to 3 bedroom homes in Ballarat 0:03:33.750 --> 0:03:36.300 and I want to move there now myself. And I 0:03:36.300 --> 0:03:38.220 was sort of looking at, you know, of course the 0:03:38.220 --> 0:03:40.830 quality of the property can vary, but maybe we're looking 0:03:40.830 --> 0:03:45.360 at sort of a 500 ish thousand dollar purchase price 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:49.410 currently for something in that range. And Dom, you were 0:03:49.410 --> 0:03:51.960 crunching some numbers on what sort of deposit you might 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:53.310 need or how long that might take. 0:03:53.730 --> 0:03:57.560 Yeah, So to do a 22% deposit for something, obviously 20% 0:03:57.570 --> 0:04:01.950 for over 500,000 is 100,000. So that is if you 0:04:01.950 --> 0:04:05.190 do that 20% mark, obviously you can get a home 0:04:05.190 --> 0:04:07.890 loan with, with less than, than 20% of a deposit, 0:04:07.890 --> 0:04:10.290 but you will be paying lender's mortgage insurance which makes 0:04:10.290 --> 0:04:13.710 your repayments a bit more. But you're looking at about 0:04:13.710 --> 0:04:18.870 that $100,000 mark. So with the current rate that you're saving, Jules, 0:04:18.870 --> 0:04:20.950 it's looking like it's going to take quite a while too, 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:23.370 to save up to that mark, obviously. But as Jules 0:04:23.370 --> 0:04:26.040 has mentioned to us, she's currently on a part time 0:04:26.460 --> 0:04:29.460 salary and expects to be working full time in a 0:04:29.460 --> 0:04:31.710 year or two. So that will sort of drastically increase 0:04:31.710 --> 0:04:35.610 the amount that that she's saving. So yeah, and there's 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:37.620 there's a lot of things to think about here, I suppose, 0:04:37.620 --> 0:04:41.400 like you're not necessarily needing that 20%, 20% deposit and 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:43.320 perhaps going a little bit a little lower or doing 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:45.180 a sort of a first home buyers scheme. That's also 0:04:45.180 --> 0:04:47.640 something you can look at as well. I mean, my 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:49.799 sort of initial thoughts when I saw this is that 0:04:50.610 --> 0:04:53.370 considering that Jules says that she wants to buy a 0:04:53.370 --> 0:04:56.430 house in 3 to 5 years, that's a decent timeframe 0:04:56.430 --> 0:05:00.029 away in terms of that money that that she's saving 0:05:00.029 --> 0:05:02.850 this $410 a month that she said that she saves. 0:05:03.150 --> 0:05:05.400 Maybe there's something that she could be doing with that 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:07.620 that's not just putting it into a bank account. Like, 0:05:07.620 --> 0:05:09.210 you know, you could be putting that into a term 0:05:09.210 --> 0:05:12.420 deposit or something like an ETF or some sort of, 0:05:12.900 --> 0:05:16.080 you know, other investment like that which would see your 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.500 money appreciate in a sort of a more significant way 0:05:19.500 --> 0:05:21.210 than than just to sort of leave it in the bank. 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.660 Yeah. Although I mean, I was looking at some online 0:05:24.660 --> 0:05:27.810 savings accounts because this is like also a radical thing 0:05:27.810 --> 0:05:31.229 for for younger generations, if I can include myself in that, 0:05:31.230 --> 0:05:33.330 is that you can actually put money in the bank 0:05:33.330 --> 0:05:37.140 and earn interest. You know, look, I just Google canstar 0:05:37.140 --> 0:05:42.060 or finder and best savings accounts, 4% is about the 0:05:42.060 --> 0:05:43.950 interest rate that you can expect to get on your 0:05:43.950 --> 0:05:46.380 savings at the moment. And to get that, sometimes you 0:05:46.380 --> 0:05:50.070 usually have to be making, you know, regular contributions and 0:05:50.070 --> 0:05:53.400 sometimes you have to be contributing $2,000 a month, which 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.580 is going to be ambitious. But there's even like one 0:05:56.580 --> 0:05:59.940 with St George where you just you're popping in $50 0:05:59.940 --> 0:06:03.179 per month. If you're over 21, you can earn a 0:06:03.180 --> 0:06:06.990 bonus total interest rate of 4%, you know, with, with 0:06:06.990 --> 0:06:11.429 I don't think any fees associated. So you know, I 0:06:11.430 --> 0:06:13.680 think people if you are sort of looking at that 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:17.550 five year horizon, maybe you can be looking at shares 0:06:17.550 --> 0:06:20.280 and you can ride out some of those fluctuations in 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.260 values because if you've been trying to save for your 0:06:22.260 --> 0:06:24.930 first home in shares for the last year, you might 0:06:24.930 --> 0:06:29.460 be very disappointed because share returns have been very modest, 0:06:30.029 --> 0:06:33.300 if not negative. So, you know, I'm actually all about 0:06:33.630 --> 0:06:36.870 putting money in the bank. Don't you know, it's guaranteed 0:06:36.870 --> 0:06:39.960 if you have under $250,000, you know, you won't lose 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.540 your money and and you get the interest rates that 0:06:42.540 --> 0:06:45.420 are on offer and rates are still going up. So 0:06:45.420 --> 0:06:47.609 and there's a lot of pressure on banks to be 0:06:47.610 --> 0:06:51.540 passing that on even from here. So maybe four, four 0:06:51.540 --> 0:06:54.539 and a half, will we see a 5%, you know, 0:06:54.750 --> 0:06:58.260 savings rate? Hopefully we will. But as you say, term 0:06:58.260 --> 0:07:00.630 deposits too, could be a good option, although you tend 0:07:00.630 --> 0:07:03.330 to need to have a big whack to sort of 0:07:03.420 --> 0:07:05.539 pop in up. For that. 0:07:06.140 --> 0:07:07.870 Something else I was thinking about is this that at 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:11.239 the first home super saver scheme, which the government has, 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.480 where you can put additional sort of contributions into your 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.120 super and then take them out as sort of like 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.840 a tax free sort of savings for a house and 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:22.700 use that that sort of additional money that you put 0:07:22.700 --> 0:07:25.070 in as a deposit and you get all obviously all 0:07:25.070 --> 0:07:28.220 the gains of all the, you know, hopefully gains that 0:07:28.220 --> 0:07:29.870 you would have gotten on your on your super. But 0:07:29.870 --> 0:07:31.790 you were mentioning just that that might not be so 0:07:31.970 --> 0:07:34.820 applicable because that some sort of not so much of 0:07:34.820 --> 0:07:36.740 a tax break when you got a lower income. 0:07:36.770 --> 0:07:40.850 Yeah, well, contributions to super are taxed at $0.15 in 0:07:40.850 --> 0:07:43.220 the dollar. So if you are on a lower income 0:07:43.220 --> 0:07:46.190 and you maybe most of your income is, you know, 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:49.970 zero tax, you pay zero tax up to your first 0:07:49.970 --> 0:07:54.200 $18,000 of income and then you get popped on the 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:58.070 19th century marginal rate. So, you know, it's a saving 0:07:58.070 --> 0:08:02.510 $0.15 in the dollar versus $0.19. But what I think, 0:08:02.510 --> 0:08:06.020 you know, when Jules is in that full time position 0:08:06.020 --> 0:08:09.440 and her annual income is going up, and I think 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:11.660 she said she is going to or interested in being 0:08:11.660 --> 0:08:14.570 a kindergarten teacher. I'm not sure what the salaries are 0:08:14.570 --> 0:08:16.460 actually for that at the moment. But if you're getting 0:08:16.460 --> 0:08:21.410 to the point where you're over the threshold for the 32.5% 0:08:21.410 --> 0:08:24.739 tax rate, then you're popping your money straight into your 0:08:24.740 --> 0:08:28.490 super and paying $0.15 in the dollar rather than taking 0:08:28.490 --> 0:08:32.540 it home and having the tax man take 32.5 cents 0:08:32.540 --> 0:08:35.089 in the dollar can be a great way to turbocharge 0:08:35.090 --> 0:08:37.940 your savings, and yet you're allowed to pop money into 0:08:37.940 --> 0:08:40.790 your super account and withdraw it later on. As long 0:08:40.790 --> 0:08:42.710 as you've checked with your super fund that they will 0:08:42.710 --> 0:08:44.780 let you do this and actually release the funds to you. 0:08:45.020 --> 0:08:49.220 You can save up to $50,000 in total split across 0:08:49.220 --> 0:08:52.699 a number of years and withdraw that to use as 0:08:52.700 --> 0:08:56.720 your first home deposit. So possibly something worth checking out 0:08:56.720 --> 0:09:00.500 there or having a Google first home super saver scheme. 0:09:02.290 --> 0:09:05.590 So we've probably covered off on some ways or places 0:09:05.590 --> 0:09:10.060 to put Jules's savings once she has diligently accumulated them. 0:09:10.059 --> 0:09:12.940 And it does look like she is regularly saving, which 0:09:12.940 --> 0:09:16.800 is fantastic. She did provide us with some of her figures, 0:09:16.809 --> 0:09:20.679 so she's on a roughly a monthly income take home 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:24.880 of of 1950. So as we said, she's studying and 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.489 so this is a part time income and that's sort 0:09:27.490 --> 0:09:29.770 of the the base amount that she expects to get 0:09:29.770 --> 0:09:33.939 from her regular part time job as an early childhood educator. 0:09:33.940 --> 0:09:37.569 And big shout out to the early childhood educators out there. 0:09:38.290 --> 0:09:41.530 It's amazing. Absolutely. It's often you should be paid double 0:09:41.530 --> 0:09:45.189 what you're paid, but thank you for the wonderful work. 0:09:45.730 --> 0:09:49.240 So of that she's tallied up that she's got monthly bills, 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:53.709 probably of about 821 per month. And so she's got 0:09:53.710 --> 0:09:55.900 that savings she wants to make. And it does look 0:09:55.900 --> 0:09:58.359 like she is in a bit of a surplus after that. 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.250 But let's have a look at some of her major costs, 0:10:00.250 --> 0:10:01.600 because I was wondering if we could save you money. 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:03.400 One of the best ways to save money is to 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:07.390 reduce your expenditures. We did identify that there's a big 0:10:07.390 --> 0:10:12.370 monthly direct debit for a phone, her phone plan and 0:10:12.370 --> 0:10:17.980 the the handset, which is $174 per month, that's already 0:10:17.980 --> 0:10:20.470 sort of locked in for the next 23 months. But 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:22.000 can you talk us through is it is it a 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.190 good idea to buy the handset and sort of be 0:10:24.190 --> 0:10:28.030 paying that off monthly or, you know, what's the best 0:10:28.030 --> 0:10:29.770 way for people to save on a phone plan if 0:10:29.770 --> 0:10:30.970 they haven't already locked in? 0:10:31.510 --> 0:10:33.189 Yeah, it's a bit tough once you've already sort of 0:10:33.429 --> 0:10:35.260 committed to it. But yeah, I mean, I've always been 0:10:35.260 --> 0:10:38.199 a big believer in the buy a phone outright and 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:41.380 go on a prepaid plan. Obviously, buying a phone outright 0:10:41.380 --> 0:10:45.250 is a significant outlay and this is why these plans exist, 0:10:45.250 --> 0:10:47.050 because it means you don't have to pay anything upfront, 0:10:47.890 --> 0:10:51.520 but you end up paying, you know, the full market 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:53.920 value of the phone and then some of the sort 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:56.290 of 12 to 24 months that you've got onto these plans. 0:10:56.290 --> 0:10:59.650 So I mean, hundred $74 a month for your phone 0:10:59.650 --> 0:11:02.770 and handset is is quite a lot of money. But 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:05.109 so this is where it's always a good idea to 0:11:05.110 --> 0:11:07.870 look at sort of second hand phones unlocked, phones, all 0:11:07.870 --> 0:11:09.339 that sort of stuff. Like that's how you sort of 0:11:09.340 --> 0:11:10.990 save a bit of money on these on these big 0:11:10.990 --> 0:11:14.110 direct debits every month because you get prepaid plans like 0:11:14.110 --> 0:11:17.530 30 bucks, like 30 bucks a month. That's that's cheap chips. 0:11:17.860 --> 0:11:20.200 So this is definitely sort of an area, I think that, 0:11:20.530 --> 0:11:22.510 you know, Jill's if you had your time again, maybe 0:11:22.510 --> 0:11:25.150 that's something that you could could look at. But obviously 0:11:25.150 --> 0:11:27.100 that's locked in now. So this there's not a great deal. 0:11:27.309 --> 0:11:30.460 I also want to talk about the $60 of guinea 0:11:30.460 --> 0:11:34.239 pig expenditure a month, because Jill's very kindly also send 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:36.280 us in some lovely photos of her pet guinea pigs, 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.160 which I wish we could show you on the pod, 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.860 but obviously we can't. But it's imagine some very cute 0:11:41.860 --> 0:11:42.520 guinea pigs. 0:11:42.700 --> 0:11:46.360 Two beautiful girls called Billie and Zita, and they're very 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.130 cute guinea pigs. And I didn't know how much guinea 0:11:48.130 --> 0:11:50.679 pigs cost to feed, but apparently they eat a lot 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:55.450 of hay socials and spending about $30 per month on hay. 0:11:55.450 --> 0:11:58.750 And then they get pellets and also fresh fruit, fruit 0:11:58.750 --> 0:12:01.690 and vegetables as well, which is adding up to $60 0:12:01.690 --> 0:12:02.920 per month, 60. 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:05.020 Bucks a month. Not that bad. You know, other pets 0:12:05.020 --> 0:12:07.720 cost a lot more. So, look, 60 I think there's 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:10.030 no issue there with the guinea pig expenditure. I just 0:12:10.030 --> 0:12:11.200 wanted to point it out because it was. 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:11.490 Just. 0:12:11.770 --> 0:12:12.520 Unusual. 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:17.980 It's so cute. And she's also paying $390 a month aboard. 0:12:17.980 --> 0:12:20.800 So that's a payment to her parents to sort of 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.530 cover some of the costs. And so I think that 0:12:23.530 --> 0:12:25.719 is a great you know, not everyone can live at 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:28.900 home completely rent free with the with the parents. So 0:12:29.140 --> 0:12:32.740 wonderful that she's contributing. And that's, you know, building discipline 0:12:32.740 --> 0:12:35.290 as well of sort of paying for those housing costs, 0:12:35.290 --> 0:12:38.230 which will be much higher. Yeah. If she's successful in 0:12:38.230 --> 0:12:42.070 getting into home ownership, I also see there's there's $12 0:12:42.070 --> 0:12:46.030 for Google, a slash YouTube monthly direct debit. So that's 0:12:46.030 --> 0:12:48.839 the kind of thing you could maybe look at is 0:12:49.179 --> 0:12:52.179 axing that kind of thing unless, you know, you know, 0:12:52.270 --> 0:12:56.440 everyone needs a streaming service or two. So, you know, 0:12:56.590 --> 0:12:59.740 if it's only the $12, that's pretty good. And $30 0:12:59.740 --> 0:13:02.290 for the gym per month, which which sounds like a 0:13:02.290 --> 0:13:03.880 good investment to me. 0:13:03.940 --> 0:13:06.430 That sounds super cheap. I wish I could pay $30 0:13:06.429 --> 0:13:08.350 for the gym each month. Yeah. Yeah. 0:13:08.350 --> 0:13:10.599 So there's not you know, there's not it doesn't appear 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:12.850 to be a lot of frivolous spending going on. And 0:13:12.850 --> 0:13:17.020 just to say that she tracks her spending using my worksheet. 0:13:17.500 --> 0:13:21.760 So that's that's amazing to hear. And just having that visibility, 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.219 she's going to be seeing it. Any of the unexpected 0:13:24.820 --> 0:13:27.130 expenses that come up. And I just in general, I 0:13:27.130 --> 0:13:30.250 was going to caution jewels and just everyone, you know, 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.910 unexpected things come up in life. And there's a very 0:13:33.910 --> 0:13:37.240 ambitious savings goal here to get the deposit within the 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.689 3 to 5 year time frame. And I just, you know, 0:13:41.020 --> 0:13:44.290 urge everyone to just just be aware that life happens. 0:13:44.290 --> 0:13:47.020 And sometimes there is the big expense that's going to 0:13:47.020 --> 0:13:49.390 come you know, maybe there's no mention of a car. 0:13:49.390 --> 0:13:51.219 You know, if you moving to Ballarat, you might you're 0:13:51.220 --> 0:13:54.310 going to probably need a car as well. So there's 0:13:54.309 --> 0:13:56.980 all sorts of expenses that come up. But I just 0:13:56.980 --> 0:13:59.860 love the commitment that we're seeing to sort of have 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:03.750 start doing the savings. But just being aware that, you know, 0:14:03.870 --> 0:14:06.450 life does throw things at you. And one of the 0:14:06.450 --> 0:14:08.040 things Jules is doing is trying to build up an 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.360 emergency fund, which I think is a fantastic goal, which 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:15.180 can just help you cover some of those unforeseen expenses. 0:14:15.390 --> 0:14:18.239 And there's also the $50 a month going in each 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:22.860 fortnight to its label, as is Future Jules. But it's Rize, 0:14:22.860 --> 0:14:25.980 which is the micro investment app, I believe. So it's 0:14:25.980 --> 0:14:28.350 good to see that. You know, Jules is also sort of, 0:14:28.350 --> 0:14:30.210 you know, she is doing a bit of investing on 0:14:30.210 --> 0:14:32.520 the side, which is, I think, a wise thing to 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:34.200 do if you can afford it. But, you know, that 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.510 is also money that that you could just put straight 0:14:36.510 --> 0:14:38.760 into savings. So that's sort of a decision to make 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:40.830 as well. Like you could be putting another hundred bucks 0:14:40.830 --> 0:14:43.800 a month directly into a house saving. So it's sort 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:45.000 of a toss up to think if you're going to 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.970 get a better return for that hundred dollars every month 0:14:48.090 --> 0:14:50.130 through micro investing or if you're going to get it 0:14:50.130 --> 0:14:52.470 through just putting the cash in the bank. 0:14:53.190 --> 0:14:56.580 And I would just say to check the monthly fees 0:14:56.580 --> 0:14:59.130 that apply to some of those micro investing apps and 0:14:59.130 --> 0:15:01.680 just make sure, you know, add up how much that's 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.530 going to be over the year. Depends how much you're 0:15:04.530 --> 0:15:06.840 putting in there as to whether those fees are worth it. 0:15:07.710 --> 0:15:10.380 So that's just something to to watch out and check for. 0:15:11.100 --> 0:15:13.200 I mean, all in all, it's great that Jules is 0:15:13.290 --> 0:15:15.690 tracking your spending in this way. I also think it's 0:15:15.690 --> 0:15:17.340 great that she has the opportunity to stay at home 0:15:17.340 --> 0:15:20.010 and live with their parents. You know, not everyone can 0:15:20.010 --> 0:15:23.310 do that. And it's a great way to save, obviously. 0:15:23.310 --> 0:15:25.590 And it's a way that so many people say for 0:15:25.590 --> 0:15:28.380 for that first time deposit. So it's also really good 0:15:28.380 --> 0:15:30.270 to think about other ways to get into the housing 0:15:30.270 --> 0:15:33.180 market without having to sort of go for that really 0:15:33.180 --> 0:15:37.140 onerous 20% deposit. Even in a place like Ballarat where 0:15:37.140 --> 0:15:39.660 you can get lovely houses for, you know, way cheaper 0:15:39.660 --> 0:15:41.340 than you get them in Melbourne, you're still looking at 0:15:41.340 --> 0:15:43.890 a fairly sizable deposit. So I mean just what sort 0:15:43.890 --> 0:15:45.570 of screams out there and like is there anyone that 0:15:45.570 --> 0:15:46.950 you can sort of go to to help sort of 0:15:46.950 --> 0:15:48.000 talk about this sort of stuff with? 0:15:48.540 --> 0:15:51.360 Yeah, Look, I mean, I think for Jules, the priority 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:53.670 now is heads down, bums up, get through, study, get 0:15:53.670 --> 0:15:56.190 into your full time job that's going to really turbocharge 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.760 what you're going to be able to save when you know, 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:02.910 she is hopefully working in that full time job and 0:16:02.910 --> 0:16:05.760 earning that full time income. I would just encourage you 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.750 to go to speak to a mortgage broker as soon 0:16:09.750 --> 0:16:12.930 as you feel like you're really serious about wanting to 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:14.940 to say, you know, not you don't wait till you've 0:16:14.940 --> 0:16:17.490 got your whole deposit, You go and have a chat. 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:20.010 Mortgage brokers don't charge you anything upfront, you know, if 0:16:20.010 --> 0:16:22.320 you then do get a loan through them, there can 0:16:22.380 --> 0:16:26.130 be commissions that they receive in the background. But you know, 0:16:26.130 --> 0:16:29.729 mostly they're very open to to helping you, to talking 0:16:29.730 --> 0:16:31.740 to you, and they can talk you through that. There 0:16:31.740 --> 0:16:35.430 are various strategies that can enable you to purchase if 0:16:35.430 --> 0:16:39.940 you don't even have that 20% deposit. The Government has 0:16:39.940 --> 0:16:44.340 the first home deposit scheme where you only need 5% 0:16:44.340 --> 0:16:46.500 of the purchase price and there's a limited number of 0:16:46.500 --> 0:16:50.220 spots available each year under that scheme. But that can 0:16:50.220 --> 0:16:53.370 be something that you get. The you only put down 0:16:53.370 --> 0:16:57.960 the 5% the Government sort of agrees to essentially go 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.080 guarantor so you don't have to pay the lender's mortgage insurance, 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:04.530 which can be a large cost. And yet many lenders 0:17:04.530 --> 0:17:09.570 are actually quite willing to write home loans to people 0:17:09.570 --> 0:17:12.240 who don't have the 20% deposit anymore. So if that's 0:17:12.510 --> 0:17:15.000 what's in people's heads to think, I have to wait 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.940 until I get that. It's not necessarily true. I think 0:17:17.940 --> 0:17:21.750 once Jules has the regular income coming in and she's 0:17:21.750 --> 0:17:25.500 got this demonstrated history of of saving regularly, that's going 0:17:25.500 --> 0:17:28.080 to be more than enough to sort of think that's 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:30.420 the time to go and talk to a mortgage broker about, 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:33.060 you know, how realistic is this? How long do I 0:17:33.060 --> 0:17:36.780 need to save for? And I think, you know, mortgage brokers, 0:17:36.780 --> 0:17:39.300 you know, can can give you a really good steer 0:17:39.300 --> 0:17:41.640 on what where you might need to. And they even 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:44.520 look at your expenses and ask you and sort of say, well, look, 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:47.730 that does look high compared to other applicants that I've 0:17:47.730 --> 0:17:51.300 got and ways to save. So I think, yeah, heads down, 0:17:51.300 --> 0:17:53.970 bumps up with the savings now for Jules and I 0:17:53.970 --> 0:17:57.450 think she's doing a great job have having a budget 0:17:57.450 --> 0:18:00.180 on paper and and really it's just writing down She's 0:18:00.180 --> 0:18:03.420 estimated her income and expenses and she's tracking a spending 0:18:03.420 --> 0:18:04.980 that's going to evolve over time. She's going to get 0:18:04.980 --> 0:18:06.810 a better view of a budget and it's going to 0:18:06.810 --> 0:18:09.760 change when you start working the full time. And, you know, 0:18:09.780 --> 0:18:11.820 it's and it changes again when you're a homeowner because 0:18:11.820 --> 0:18:15.659 there's lots of other costs of home ownership to consider. 0:18:15.660 --> 0:18:18.150 And it's really cute. She's the 3 to 5 year 0:18:18.150 --> 0:18:20.460 time frame that she's mentioned is because she would love 0:18:20.460 --> 0:18:23.400 to move into the dream home in Ballarat while she 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.189 still has her current guinea pigs. And I'm devastated to 0:18:26.190 --> 0:18:28.290 learn that guinea pigs don't actually live for much longer 0:18:28.290 --> 0:18:31.020 than eight years, 5 to 8 years, and they're already 0:18:31.020 --> 0:18:34.050 two years old. So you know that that is the pressure. 0:18:34.350 --> 0:18:36.060 That's the dream. As to why I would like to 0:18:36.060 --> 0:18:39.689 get into the dream Ballarat Palace. She described in an 0:18:39.690 --> 0:18:41.820 email to us and lived there with the guinea pig. 0:18:41.830 --> 0:18:44.400 So I think that's a wonderful dream board to have. 0:18:45.030 --> 0:18:47.640 Life might get a little bit more messy and be 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.380 a little bit more challenging, but I think with the 0:18:49.530 --> 0:18:53.460 commitment to making regular savings and finding a good, you know, 0:18:53.730 --> 0:18:56.880 if it is the online savings account or if it's, 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:01.800 you know, another method of saving, just starting to build that. Supplied. 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:06.630 That's a fantastic base for building the financial future going forward. 0:19:07.230 --> 0:19:09.929 Yeah, absolutely. And look, I think big thanks to Jules 0:19:09.930 --> 0:19:13.170 for submitting her expenses and letting us have a look 0:19:13.170 --> 0:19:16.650 and and calling into the podcast, so to speak. We 0:19:16.650 --> 0:19:18.120 love how we look at it. We love we love 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:21.750 giving you our thoughts and we'll be doing it again 0:19:21.930 --> 0:19:25.460 next week with with someone new and some some new scenarios. 0:19:25.470 --> 0:19:29.160 So hope you enjoyed hearing all about Jewel and Billy 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:31.709 and Zetta and thanks very much for listening. 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:35.040 Thanks everyone for listening. And yes, do keep the voice 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:37.980 memos coming. If you just record it on your iPhone 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:40.859 and email it to us that it all adds up 0:19:40.859 --> 0:19:43.409 at nine dot com today, you and we are listening 0:19:43.410 --> 0:19:46.199 to those and very much enjoying hearing of our own stories. 0:19:46.770 --> 0:19:52.620 See you next week. This episode of It All Adds 0:19:52.619 --> 0:19:56.190 Up was produced by Chee Wong. The information discussed is 0:19:56.190 --> 0:19:58.830 general in nature and does not take into account your 0:19:58.830 --> 0:20:03.120 personal financial situation, goals or objectives. You should always do 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:06.570 your own research or get professional advice before making any 0:20:06.570 --> 0:20:10.860 major financial decisions. If you like today's episode, hit follow 0:20:10.859 --> 0:20:14.010 in your podcast app, leave a review and recommend it 0:20:14.010 --> 0:20:17.490 to all your friends. You can submit your listener questions 0:20:17.490 --> 0:20:20.670 in text or audio format at it all adds up 0:20:20.670 --> 0:20:22.740 at nine dot com you.