Extra payments a winner

Consumers are being pulled in two directions at once. The Reserve Bank's decision to cut the cash rate by 50 basis points will make home loans more affordable and encourage buyers.

What the great credit card con could cost you

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon The average credit card holder will be in debt until 2056 - but you can lessen the plastic pain.

Play your cards right to minimise interest

A swift transfer to a low-interest option offers a solution, writes Penny Pryor.

Credit card requests down at Xmas

A weak Christmas for credit cards suggests the end-of-year spending malaise may have extended beyond retail stores.

Amex cuts penalty fee

Ben Butler Credit regulator has forced American Express to stop charging punitive interest rates.

Mortgage rates best at mutuals

Mutuals are trumpeting official statistics that they say show they are growing faster than the big four banks.

Hardship angst

The head of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Shane Tregillis, says he's confident a big spike in disputes between lenders and people who've found themselves in financial hardship doesn't point...

Cash is king this Christmas

Australians will choose cash over their credit cards to pay for Christmas gifts this year, a survey has found.

Store credit: buy now, pain later

Shoppers are being warned that some flexible payment options offered by major retailers could end up costing them almost twice as much as the original item in hidden fees.

Bank customers act against St George, Bank SA

St George and Bank SA are the latest Australian banks to be taken to court by customers angry at the fees they are charged.

Return of traditional mortgages

Volatile investment markets and question marks over property values are making line-of-credit loans less popular and potentially harder to unwind for those who have one.

Plastic debt swells to record $50 billion

Clancy Yeates Australian credit card debt has struck a new record high of $50 billion, ballooning by almost a third in the past five years.

Customers not happy with banks

Eric Johnston Disputes between borrowers and their banks surged nearly 30 per cent last financial year.

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Season credit card offers all about the bottom line

Bina Brown Financial institutions have emerged with some of the most aggressive credit card offers seen.

Finding favour on the fringes

UNEXPECTED expenses can come from anywhere: dentists, schools, telephone companies. And at any time.

In shadow of debt, debit reigns

Peter Martin We are abandoning credit cards but embracing plastic as never before.

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A bridging loan can sink you

Barbara Drury Wayne's* problem with payday lenders began 12 months ago. He and his wife had just finished building a new house, costs had blown out and the mortgage was in arrears.

Balancing the fees and the frees

THERE are few things in life more convenient than a piece of plastic with which to shop or pay bills.

More hoops for older buyers

I Can Do That The strategy: To get a home loan if I'm in my 50s.