Inherited grocery habits cost Aussies $2400 a year

Our parents' supermarket habits could be costing us thousands each year, a home loan with a side of holidays, and London hotel rates soar 60% ahead of coronation. Here are five things you may have missed this week.

Could mum and dad's grocery habits be costing you $2400 annually?

It's no secret our money habits in adulthood are often forged by what we learned from our parents.

In a new twist to the parent trap, it seems many of us follow in our parents footsteps when it comes to supermarket shopping.

Research by ALDI Australia shows as many as 8.8 million Aussies (45%) say they have inherited their parents' grocery shopping behaviours, especially when it comes to their preferred choice of supermarket.

No matter whether your family favours Woolies, Coles or IGA, research by ALDI shows shoppers following a 'set and forget' approach could end up paying a lot extra.

The study shows that while 78% of Australians have changed how they shop in the last 12 months, just one in ten have switched where they shop, with 19% of consumers reluctant to change supermarkets believing the savings aren't worth the switch.

However, ALDI's recent Price Report shows the average family can save up to $2,400 per year by shopping at ALDI.

Jordan Lack, Managing Director of ALDI Australia, says, "We are all creatures of habit but changing where you do the bulk of your weekly shop to ALDI will have a meaningful impact on your back pocket."

Like a holiday with your home loan?

If you're a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you may be interested in a Qantas Money Home Loan. It puts 100,000 Qantas Points in your account annually - potentially enough to take off to Hawaii or New Zealand each year. Some conditions apply.

Qantas Money Home Loans are available for sums between $300,000 and $3 million.

For home loans below $2 million you'll need at least 10% deposit or equity. For larger loans, a minimum 25% deposit or equity applies.

The owner-occupied variable rate is 4.89% p.a. The Qantas Money Home Loan is only available to Qantas Frequent Flyer members - and all parties to the loan must be a member.

Coronation drives up London hotels prices 60%

It seems Harry and Megan have been invited to the coronation of King Charles, but news that the couple have been asked to vacate their UK pad - Frogmore Cottage, means the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk will need to act fast to secure affordable accommodation if they plan to attend.

Hotel booking platform Trivago reports a 60% jump in hotel rates across London for the first weekend in May, when King Charles will be officially crowned King of England (and Australia).

Some hotels closest to the centre of London have ramped up their rates by far more. The Grand Hotel at Trafalgar, for instance, is asking $815 per night for a single twin share room over the coronation weekend, up from $442 the week before - a jump of 84%.

When Money checked listings on Trivago, even modest hotels an hours' drive out of London had lifted their rates by around 20% for the coronation weekend.

Westpac backs girl power

Women represent around one in three (36%) Australian small businesses owners. But it's not always easy for women to access the capital needed to start a new venture.

Westpac is out to change this with initiatives to back more women business leaders.

The roll out includes:

Start-up loans - Unsecured loans between $10,000 and $50,000 with terms of up to 3 years to help new businesses get started.

Scale-up loans - Secured or unsecured loans between $10,000 and $1 million with terms of up to three years, designed to grow businesses less than three years old.

Westpac Group Chief Executive, Consumer & Business Banking, Chris de Bruin, says businesses established by women are still underrepresented in Australia.

"Access to capital is not a level playing field, so we're committing to supporting more businesses led by women.

"This is about backing early-stage businesses with great ideas and providing opportunity so they can succeed."

The start-up and scale-up loans will be available in the coming weeks.

Refinancing tidal wave looms

A total of $17.8 billion worth of home loans have been refinanced over the past 12 months according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). And plenty more could follow.

Richard Whitten, home loan expert at Finder, said lenders should expect an influx of borrowers looking to refinance for lower interest rates.

A Finder survey shows around 594,000 mortgagors are planning to refinance their home loan by July.

While the average variable rate is currently 5.61% p.a., Finder says rates as low as 4.74% p.a. are available to refinancers. It could mean slashing around 0.87% p.a. off your home loan rate, potentially reversing the clock on at least three Reserve Bank rate hikes.

If you're thinking of making a move, Mortgage Choice data shows that fixed rates have fallen out of favour with 94% of borrowers opting for a variable rate.

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