Time to read : 6 Minutes

The start of a new year is often a time to look back on the past year and make positive changes. And the way you approach your personal finances can play a big role on how things take shape. 

With the cost of living crisis here to stay (for now), we turned to our in-house experts to share their top tips for taking control of your finances.

From hacks and little known tricks to timely reminders, here are some ways you can make better money decisions in 2025… and slow down the financial roller coaster. 

Reduce your energy and keep cool this summer

Paul Coughran

Did you know that running your air-conditioner on cooling in summer chews up more energy than the heating function in winter? With the hot weather here to stay for the next few months here’s a smart way to use your cooling that hopefully won’t burn a hole in your energy bill. 

Rather than using the ‘cooling’ mode, run your unit on ‘dry’ mode. This will still keep your home cool, but without that super icy feeling. It will also take out any humidity in the air. 

Another tip which you can put into action immediately is to keep the heat out of your home. This simply means getting into good habits like keeping doors and windows closed and using blinds or furnishing to block out the sun. 

Small changes like these will allow your unit to work more efficiently and that means lower energy bills. 

While it may be too late to install solar this summer, it’s never too late to get value from a solar system. Check out our free solar comparison service.

Paul Coughran is General Manager of Utilities at Compare Club.  

Use this health insurance hack to save money for the whole family

Chris Stanley

Many mums and dads we speak to are still surprised to learn that their adult children can stay on the family health insurance cover until the age of 31.

As long as they aren’t married or living in a de facto relationship, or have children of their own, adult children can go as a dependent on their parent’s policy. And it doesn’t matter if they’re living with you, flatting with friends or living interstate. 

But… what you need to know is there’s a loading fee of 25% that will be charged to the premiums. 

The good news is that the 25% loading fee applies whether you have one child or a tribe. Now, if you were to ask your children to split the loading fee costs between each other, this works out a lot less than each of them taking out individual policies. Check out an example of the cost savings. 

So if you have adult children under the age of 31 that are not married, living with a partner or have kids, it may be a way for them to enjoy the benefits of your health insurance policy at a fraction of the cost.

Chris Stanley is the Health Insurance Sales & Operations Manager at Compare Club. 

Get ahead of the home loan market with a pre-approval

Anton Stevenson

As a home loan expert I know how exciting it can be to buy a property, but it can take lots of inspections week in, week out until finding the right one within your budget. 

If you’re thinking 2025 is the year you’d like to invest in a property, before starting the process get your finance pre-approved. 

Not only will you find out exactly what your budget is and what you’re working with, but if you do find a property you’d like to buy, you can put your offer in straight away – and with confidence. And being finance pre-approved hopefully means you don’t miss out which can be very disappointing. 

The other important tip I have is for anyone who’s already servicing a mortgage. If you have been putting off looking at home loan rates for a year or two… or longer, why not see if you can get a better deal? 

You really have nothing to lose by doing a bit of homework. At Compare Club we have some great rates and our experts can do the hard work for you. The sooner you change, the more you can potentially keep in your pocket.

Anton Stevenson is Head of Home Loans at Compare Club.

Offset your home loan to pay it off faster

Gillian Clive

So once you’ve acted on Anton’s tip and shopped around for a better home loan rate (which is commendable) there is one extra tip I could add from all my years of working as a mortgage broker: set up an offset. 

Linking an offset account to your home loan means that the more funds you have sitting in the offset – and the longer they sit there – the quicker you can pay off your mortgage. 

How an offset account works is that the principal amount you owe is offset by the money in the offset account. And when this happens you pay less in interest. 

Banks calculate your home loan interest daily, so the longer you leave money in your offset account – and the more money you put in – the more you save on interest charges, even if you have to take some of the money out again later.

Note: your mortgage repayments stay the same but because you’re paying less interest, more of your repayments go towards the amount you owe, the principal. 

So like I said, the more money you pump into an offset account – think tax return, work bonus, inheritance – the more you can shave off your loan.

Gillian Clive is a personal finance writer at Compare Club and a former mortgage broker. 

Give your life insurance a going over 

Lisa Varker

I can’t stress enough how life never stands still which is why when you have life insurance, it  should never be a set and forget policy. 

With that said, here are my five tips.  

1. Check all your policies are paid to date. You never want your claim to be made void because you’re behind in your payments. If it helps, set up a direct debit and that way you can set and forget the payments bit. 

2. Review your beneficiaries to make sure they are up to date. This is important because death, divorce or separation can mean you may need to update or choose new beneficiaries. 

3. Refresh your memory about what exactly you’re insured for and think about whether your cover is still relevant to you. 

4. Did you receive a pay rise? If you have income protection you may need to increase your cover. Keep in mind that income protection pays up to 70% of your taxable income so you could be short-changing yourself if you don’t update your policy to reflect pay increases.

5. Do these checks now. Don’t let next week become last month. 

Lisa Varker is a Senior Financial Advisor at Compare Club who specialises in life insurance.

Save money on clothes and flights

Kate Browne

To get the year off to a great start I feel it’s important to set yourself some money saving goals and really own it. There are lots of ways you can make change for the better. Here are a couple of ways I plan to tackle it. 

I love buying new outfits – especially when the summer sales are on – but my financial resolution is to stop buying new clothes for three months.

Inspired by podcaster and Compare Club contributor Emma Edwards, instead I am going to try embracing creativity with my existing wardrobe. I’ll find different ways to wear the clothes, shoes and accessories I already own rather than being tempted to "add to cart" every time I see something new online.

Next, I’ll get a frequent flyer credit card to pair with my offset account to get maximum value from my mortgage and points. This sets the stage for planning my next overseas holiday, and having something exciting to look forward to is a wonderful way to start the year right! 

Kate Browne is Compare Club’s Head of Research & Insights.

Bottom line

Now that our experts have given you some ideas on how you could approach your finances with a fresh perspective, we hope you’re inspired to find ways you can make savings and slow down the financial roller coaster in the new year.  

And if you have a personal finance question we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email and we’ll see if one of our experts can help answer it in our Expert Analysis newsletter. 

Financial disclaimer

The information contained on this web page is of general nature only and has been prepared without taking into consideration your objectives, needs and financial situation. You should check with a financial professional before making any decisions. Any opinions expressed within an article are those of the author and do not specifically reflect the views of Compare Club Australia Pty Ltd.