So you can actually get access to your credit report for free once every three months. The important thing to know is your credit report provides a really important insight into your credit accounts and your performance in respect to those accounts. To check your credit report, you can go to each of the three credit reporting bodies, who are Equifax, Illion, and Experian, and go directly to their websites and fill in the forms.

Or what we can also do is go to creditsmart.org.au and on that website we have a link to checking the free credit report. So it will actually help you find those pages on each of those websites. The important thing to know is when you do check your credit report, it's not going to impact your credit score.

So you can check as often as you want. It's not going to impact your score, but it's really important to do because if you are checking your credit report regularly, you can identify any errors when they come up, get on top of those errors and fix them. You can fix those for free by either contacting the credit reporting bodies or any of the lenders who you deal with.

And once they're fixed, it also then helps if you want to apply for credit in the future, which is pretty important.

When this scheme was originally introduced, it only allowed citizens to be able to buy and you had to either be an individual or in a de facto relationship or married.

Now, what the first Home Guarantee allows is individuals, siblings, friends, all more than two people to come in together and purchase a property with just a 5% deposit.

Now, why the 5% deposit part is important is in previous years, if you had less than a 20% deposit, you would have to pay something called lenders mortgage insurance when purchasing your first home, which is an insurance that protects the bank because these types of loans were considered risky.

You were able to avoid this insurance if you had a parent or a sibling come in as a family guarantor and allow you to purchase a property, meaning that the property would be used to guarantee the mortgage. Instead, now the federal government comes in to make the home loan less risky and allows the borrowers to get  into the market sooner.

Did you know your job could save you tens of thousands on a home loan?

Many banks now waive lenders mortgage insurance - often called LMI - for a wide range of professions.

LMI is a fee that usually applies when you have less than a 20% deposit, and it can add thousands of dollars to your upfront costs.

So, is your job on the list?

If you're a doctor, nurse, teacher, police officer, paramedic, engineer, lawyer, accountant, pharmacist, banker or magistrate, you might be in luck.

These roles are seen as low risk, with stable income and strong long-term prospects.

Some lenders also offer higher borrowing limits or better interest rates, though the deals vary.

If you're in one of these professions, it's worth checking - because your job might not just help you save for a deposit, it could make buying a home much more affordable.

We'd encourage Aussies to first check if there's a better deal out there first before downgrading their level of cover or getting rid of it altogether.

So another tip, review your policy just in general because our health needs and our financial circumstances change all the time and you could be paying for cover you don't need, or indeed not paying for things that you do need. check for a higher excess.

So consider whether your fund will offer you lower premiums if you do pay a higher excess. check for offers, deals and freebies at the moment. So some funds may actually be offering deals and incentives around this time of the year.

But remember that a good deal, it's not necessarily the cheapest.

Make sure that policy is still suited to your needs.

And also some providers may actually allow you to prepay your annual premiums up front. So if you're able to pay a lump sum before that premium price rise kicks in, that could be a way to lock in your current rate for a further 12 months.

And finally, the extras. If you're not using them, then why pay for them?

Well, an audit is when the ATO isn't satisfied with, some or all of the figures in your tax return, and they ask you to provide proof, evidence to back up those figures.

It can be a simple request, outlining, some additional information requirements for a specific number, for a specific, possibly a tax deduction that you've claimed.

Or it can be a comprehensive audit [where] the ATO could basically go through your tax return with a fine tooth comb, checking all of the numbers.

So there are two key reasons why you might consider refinancing.

The first is that you want to lower the monthly repayment amount, so looking for a lower interest rate can reduce the amount that you're paying monthly.

The second reason is if you want to get ahead on your loan and you want to pay off that loan faster, you might keep your repayments the same.

When you get a lower rate, if you kind of make those repayments at the same amount, you can reduce the amount of time you're paying off your loan and therefore reduce that overall interest you're paying over the loan term.

"At the beginning I was pretty suspicious. I was like, what's the catch here? Why are you just going to be given money back on your purchases? But I've been using them for a few years now, and I have been able to save quite a lot of money," says Queenie Tan, licenced finance content creator.

So why are shoppers given money back at all? As Tan explains, retailers essentially give cashback platforms a cut of the sales, which then flows through to customers.

"The way that it works is that a lot of these cashback websites - whether it's ShopBack, Cashrewards, TopCashback, or whichever one you choose - have relationships with brands.

"And because these cashback apps refer customers to these brands, the brands share commission from the revenue with them, and some of it is then passed down to consumers."

Elsa Markula, chief executive at the Australian Retail Credit Association, says that the government's decision was a welcome development.

"The regulation of buy now pay later is just about adding to the clarification that buy now pay later is a form of credit where a form of responsible lending obligations will apply. It also means that we will see other features like credit checks become standard for buy now, pay later products."

So where are we at in terms of regulation actually taking effect? Markula says that the passing of legislation needed to regulate buy now pay later is imminent.

"The legislation was actually listed to go to the Senate this week, but I think consumers can expect to see something come through - probably by the end of the year, and the legislation will take effect six months from then."

Read more: What are the main buy now, pay later apps in 2024?

"We've seen the upswing in national home prices continue in September, although growth has slowed in most markets with buyers enjoying a lot more choice during this busier spring selling period.

"We actually saw that in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, buyers enjoyed the most new listings for an August in over a decade.

"So a continued uplift in the number of new properties hitting the market in those capital cities during September has really provided much more choice for buyers and contributed to the slowing pace of high price growth."

Read more: Property price rises ease as new listings hit the market

Erica Hall, the director of strategy and distribution at U Ethical Investors, looks at the three concepts and why they matter to investors.

Read more: ESG vs DEI vs CSR.

"If someone is purchasing a unit for $850,000, then in order to avoid LMI they would normally need to have savings of 20% of the purchase price ($170,000), plus the stamp duty ($9000) and other costs ($3000).

"So, in total, they would need $182,000 in savings. Not many first home buyers have this level of savings, which is why they utilise either the First Home Guarantee Scheme or a guarantor to assist them.

"Using the Scheme they could purchase the property with savings of 5% ($42,500) plus stamp duty and costs of $12,000. So $54,500 in savings all up, which is a much more realistic position for young people."

Read more: The scheme that could make you a homeowner sooner

For those who are satisfied with their current lender but are after a better interest rate, attempting to renegotiate could be the first move to make.

Borrowers who are either unable to negotiate a satisfactory rate reduction with their current bank, or who are just wanting to move on, may want to think about refinancing to a new lender. Though it's worth noting that some mortgage holders won't be in a position to refinance.

Read more: What is the home loan loyalty tax?

That 1% increase in the June quarter is the same as it was in the March quarter, but as Michelle Marquardt, the ABS's head of prices statistics notes, the annual rate of inflation has risen slightly higher.

"The annual rise of 3.8% for the June quarter is up from 3.6% in the March quarter. This is the first increase in annual CPI inflation since the December 2022 quarter."

Read more: Annual inflation rises to 3.8%

Travel insurance is generally available with premium or rewards credit cards, so it's not exactly free if you're paying an annual fee to access it. But given that it can provide cover for cancellations, medical expenses and more, it may be an option that saves travellers from having to take out a standalone policy.

There are a few caveats. First of all, credit card travel insurance may not provide the level of cover that everyone requires. For instance, if extensive medical cover or cover for certain extreme sports is needed, a standalone travel insurance policy may be more appropriate.

Secondly, credit card providers typically require their customers to spend a certain amount of money on flights or accommodation related to the trip with the card before the insurance is actually activated. In some cases customers will also have to contact their card provider to confirm the insurance.

Read more: Six banking features to make your overseas trip easier