In this insightful article, originally published by Investors Direct, Tim Riley examines the fallout from the overseas credit crisis and how it is impacting on Aussie borrowers.

Read on to find out how to protect yourself...

Multiple interest rate rises, combined with a general increase in the cost of living, have made it more and more difficult to manage household and personal expenses. In Part One of our two part series on how to maintain a successful budget, we offer some ideas about how you can make every dollar stretch that little bit further to meet various day to day costs.

Get you finances in order and make your money go further...

There is no doubt that 2007 marked a watershed for Australian property and the economy. After years of steady and sometimes spectacular growth, the US sub-prime crisis of mid 2007 has had a profound impact on the world's financial markets and the future of the Australian housing market.

But what does it all mean for investors?

Many people are very focused on repaying their home loan. In fact, some people will put off borrowing any other funds (to invest) until their home loan balance is zero. Is that the best thing to do? Or is there some middle ground that may allow you to borrow to invest and repay your home loan?

With so much in th news about the American sub-prime crisis, many Australian investors are wondering what it means for them.

The fall out is clearly being noticed here with changes in lending practices affecting home owners and investors.

So what exactly does this crisis mean for Australian investors? Read on as finance strategist Rolf Schaefer explores the implications of this........

As mortgage broker & director of ProSolution, Stuart Wemyss rarely encounters people who are happy with the service their bank provides.

Customer satisfaction level generally ranges from totally unhappy to 'barely satisfied'. It is a common and ongoing problem for both the banks and their customers. So how can you get better service?

Read on to find out...

There has been considerable media coverage of late dedicated to the US subprime mortgage market and the subsequent "credit crunch" we are witnessing in the world financial markets. The effects of which are being felt by Australian lenders.

With all of this attention on credit, we thought it was a good time to explain to you exactly what it is that Australian lenders look for when assessing you for finance...

Before you apply for finance and the lenders look at your credit files, why don't you? This simple advice could save you a lot of trouble down the track.

 

Here's why ...

Our popular Ask the Experts segment sees many readers send in queries regarding their investment endeavours. We received a question from Jenny and in this in-depth article, Lee Dittmer and Regina Looi from Investor's Direct provide a detailed response...

"How do people finance so many investment properties and service the shortfall of the loans? Example if a person has 10 properties even with the rental income you would need to service the shortfall for 10 properties."

To fix or not to fix ... is that the question?

Pardon my variation on Shakespeare but the impact of the latest increase in interest rates, and what to do about it, is on many of our lips at present.

After meeting on Melbourne Cup Day, the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia announced on 7 November another 0.25% increase in official rates. So is it much ado about nothing or hubble, bubble, toil and trouble?  Read on to find out.