finance

How to give yourself a few thousand dollar 'pay rise' by doing one simple thing.

When your boss has run through all of the excuses about why he can’t boost your pay packet, what should you do? The government is promising tax cuts that will give most of us an extra $10 a week, but let’s be honest that’s not going to change your life.

The extra funds that you’re after could be right under your nose.

If you have a home loan, you have options. And the answer could be refinancing. Making this move in the current climate could free up anywhere between $7,000 and $26,000 in your pocket.

Here’s how it works.

Let’s say you have a $400,000 principal and interest home loan with one of the major banks. By renegotiating your loan or refinancing to a lower cost lender, incorporating offset accounts, weekly repayments and credit consolidation, it is easy to reduce your costs from by up to $350 a week.

To earn this amount in your hand, with average tax at 32.5 per cent added back in, your gross income would go up by the equivalent of over $7,000 up to $26,000 a year. Boom! That’s an extra boost to your bank balance, and most don’t know it’s possible.

This extra money gives you options – you can take your partner out for dinner every week, you could upgrade your car, send your kids to a better school or take an extra holiday with the family. Or you could use it as an opportunity to set up your future.

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The savings you’ve made through refinancing could help you shave years off your home loan. If structured the right way, that extra $100 to $350 a week will save you $130,000 to $152,000 in interest and you’ll pay off your home loan 10 to 17 years earlier.

You can put your savings together with home equity and start building your investment property portfolio. This can be easily achieved without sacrificing your lifestyle. It will build your wealth and replace your income so you can work less, live more and secure your family’s future.

Freeing up cash through refinancing could change your financial future. So what’s holding you back? If you don’t know where to start, don’t have time and are a bit daunted staring down the big banks, talk to a savvy finance broker who will help you weigh up the options and find the best deal for you.

Bushy Martin and his wife Sonya have built an international portfolio of 12 properties that afford them a great lifestyle. Bushy is also the author of the new book, The Freedom Formula.