With just over a week to Christmas, Australia’s streets are filled with homes brilliantly decorated with festoons of lights. Hopefully, a lot of those lights will be solar-powered LED globes. According to energy provider Ausgrid, the cost of running 32…
Read moreAuthor: Adam Nobel
Give indoor plants a drink these holidays
If you have plans to go away over the holidays, you might be wondering how to keep your treasured indoor plants watered and healthy. An easy way is to fill a large container with water and place the pots around…
Read moreBah humbug, says bank
No Christmas gift for borrowers from the Reserve Bank of Australia this week, with the Board again lifting the official cash rate, this time by 0.25 basis points to 3.10%. It was the eighth straight rate rise since May, when…
Read moreFOGO, for goodness’ sake
Is your local council dragging its heels on introducing the FOGO system? Figures released this week have revealed that only one in four Australian councils allow residents to mix food and garden waste for kerbside collection, despite the significant environmental…
Read moreLending stays high
Like home values, lending remains high despite data indicating ongoing falls. New figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that the value of all new loans for housing fell 2.7% in October 2022 (seasonally adjusted),…
Read moreHouse good enough to eat
It’s that time of the year, when houses and neighbourhoods are covered in lights and colour. But a UK woman has gone a little further, transforming the front of her home into a life-size gingerbread house. According to the Manchester…
Read moreBeauty and function
If you’re looking to add new furniture to your family room, consider options that work in more ways than one. An ottoman can be multifunctional, offering seating as well as storage for remotes, throws, gaming consoles. Likewise, the coffee table…
Read moreOops sorry, says RBA
In a surprise move this week, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe has apologised to Australians for giving ‘unclear’ guidance that led to thousands of borrowers taking out mortgages in the expectation that interest rates would stay low. Throughout 2021, Dr…
Read moreBrokers lift market share
With rising interest rates and many different loans on offer from a wide range of lenders, it is no great surprise that borrowers are flocking in record numbers to mortgage brokers, away from dealing directly with the lenders themselves. A…
Read morePaint a new bathroom
With Christmas bearing down on us, this might be the perfect time to make some quick changes to your home before the partying begins. Unless there is a major problem with the plumbing or tiles, one of the quickest ways…
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