1 Make your loan repayments weekly or fortnightly
Interest is calculated daily so any payments made before your monthly payment is due will reduce the principal amount which will reduce the interest and mean that you’ll pay the loan faster.
It doesn’t have to be much but adding as litter as $20 per week to your repayments will make a difference.
What to do with that tax refund? Put it into your mortgage account to reduce principal and interest charged.
If you struggle to budget, organise a direct deposit from your pay into your loan account with the balance going into your everyday living account. If you don’t see it, you don’t spend it.
If you have a credit card or cards, a personal loan and a car loan, consider consolidating all these into a variable portion of your home loan.
Consider taking advantage of the interest free period on your credit card to pay for your monthly household and living expenses then use your redraw for your loan payment when your credit card statement arrives.
If your circumstances have changed (and whose hasn’t with the interest rate rises?), think about switching your loan to a better option that will work better for you.