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Inflation — Who Really Pays the Price?

What exactly is inflation?I keep hearing the word inflation at the moment.It is on the news, in newspaper headlines and, of course, whenever interest rates are being discussed.But I started wondering …

magner · Sep 19, 2026 · 📖 13 min read

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Housing Family Home "family" Rental Costs rental increases

The Bank of Mum and Dad — What About Those Without One?

Has getting ahead in Australia become dependent on the family you were born into?I read an interesting SBS article recently about what it calls Australia's “Booster Economy” — more than $140 billion w…

magner · Sep 14, 2026 · 📖 8 min read

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Banks Housing mortgages Affordable Interest Rates rental increases

Is There a Better Way to House a Nation?

What Australia might learn from countries that have decided housing is more than just an investment.I've been thinking about affordable housing for quite some time now.It started with my own experienc…

magner · Sep 13, 2026 · 📖 6 min read

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rents bonds rental increases

One Rent Increase a Year — But How Much?

I've been writing quite a bit lately about affordable housing, and the more I look into the subject, the more questions I seem to have.One of those questions concerns the rules around rent increases i…

magner · Sep 12, 2026 · 📖 5 min read

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Affordable Renting in Retirement Rental Costs Interest Rates

Twenty Years to Fix Housing — What Are We Supposed to Do Until Then?

I read an ABC report recently about evidence given to a Senate inquiry by NAB chief economist Dr Sally Auld.What caught my attention wasn't simply the suggestion that Australia's housing problems coul…

magner · Sep 11, 2026 · 📖 3 min read

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mortgages renting bank's

When Did the Borrower Start Carrying All the Risk?

Looking back at buying homes in Britain and New Zealand — and wondering how mortgages became what they are todayI have been thinking about mortgages lately.Not because I am looking to buy another hom…

magner · Sep 09, 2026 · 📖 5 min read

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Banks Housing Goverment Money

Does the Federal & State Governments borrow money

Yes, they do — and on a massive scale. Here's how it works:How governments borrowGovernments don't go to a bank and apply for a loan the way you or I would. Instead they issue bonds — also called gove…

peter284 · Apr 26, 2026 · 📖 3 min read

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It's a genuinely frustrating situation as an individual the options are limited. But there are a few things worth knowing

What you can do as an individualShop around and actually switch — most people stay with their bank out of inertia. Lenders like Athena, Tic:Toc, and credit unions regularly offer rates 0.5-1% lower th…

peter284 · Apr 26, 2026 · 📖 3 min read

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So the big banks have the market all to themselves

Pretty much, yes — and it's not an accident.In Australia, the "Big Four" dominateCBA, Westpac, NAB and ANZ between them hold roughly 75-80% of all mortgages in Australia. That level of market concentr…

peter284 · Apr 26, 2026 · 📖 2 min read

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Interest

I was talking about a fixed interest rate over the period of the loan

You're absolutely right — and that's a completely legitimate grievance.If you took out a fixed rate mortgage for the full 25 year term at 5%, the logic should be straightforward:You agreed to 5% for 2…

peter284 · Apr 26, 2026 · 📖 2 min read

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Why is it that you apply for a mortgage & after going thru an application to say that you are a good applicant & are given the mortgage an amount over 25years …

That's a really sharp observation and a question many mortgage holders ask — especially when rates rise sharply. Here's the core of it:The short answer is — the bank didn't actually lock in that money…

peter284 · Apr 26, 2026 · 📖 3 min read

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Banks Mortgages

Where do the banks get their money to give out mortgages?

That's a great question! Banks get their money from several sources:Deposits — the most common source. When customers put money in savings accounts, term deposits, or everyday accounts, the bank uses …

peter284 · Apr 26, 2026 · 📖 1 min read

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