Money Guides
The thinking behind the numbers.
Each guide explains one financial decision in plain English — how the rules actually work, a worked example with real figures, and the calculator to run your own numbers. Written and maintained by our editors, not generated at scale.
§ Vehicles & Energy
What an EV really costs to run in Australia (and when petrol still wins)
Charged at home, an EV drives for roughly a third of the per-kilometre fuel cost of a petrol car — but public fast charging, electricity tariffs and purchase price gaps can erase the advantage. The full per-kilometre maths, state by state.
4 min read
Solar payback in 2026: feed-in tariffs are dead — self-consumption is the whole game
With feed-in tariffs at 3–7c and grid power at 21–35c, exporting solar earns a fifth of what avoiding imports saves. How to compute your real payback period, why system size still pays, and when a battery finally makes sense.
4 min read
§ Property
First home buyer stamp duty concessions, state by state (2026)
Every state treats first home buyers differently — full exemptions in NSW and Victoria, a 50% discount in Tasmania, income tests in the ACT. Here is how the thresholds compare and how much they are actually worth.
5 min read
Lenders mortgage insurance: what it costs, who it protects, and five ways around it
LMI protects the bank, not you — yet you pay for it, and on a 90% loan it commonly runs into five figures. How the premium is calculated, why the cost curve is so steep past 85% LVR, and the legitimate ways to avoid it.
4 min read
Negative gearing, explained with an honest worked example
A negatively geared property loses money on purpose — the tax refund covers only part of the loss. Here is the full cash flow of a typical geared property, where depreciation fits, and the capital growth assumption the whole strategy stands on.
4 min read
Offset account vs extra repayments: same interest saving, very different flexibility
Both strategies cut your interest at the same rate — the differences are access to the money, discipline, tax treatment if the home ever becomes a rental, and what the redraw fine print really says.
4 min read
Rent vs buy: compare unrecoverable costs, not repayments against rent
"Rent money is dead money" compares the wrong numbers. The honest comparison is rent against the owner's unrecoverable costs — interest, rates, maintenance and the deposit's opportunity cost — netted against expected price growth. A worked example shows how close the race really is.
4 min read
§ Super & Investing
Franking credits: why a $700 dividend can be worth anything from $530 to $1,000
Australia is one of the only countries that refunds company tax to shareholders in cash. How the gross-up works, what a fully franked dividend is really worth at each tax bracket, and why retirees structure entire portfolios around it.
4 min read
Salary sacrificing into super: the 17-to-30 cent arbitrage
Concessional contributions swap your marginal tax rate for a flat 15% — a guaranteed, legislated return that scales with your income. How the $30,000 cap works with the 12% super guarantee, carry-forward rules, and when not to lock the money away.
4 min read
§ Tax & Income
HECS-HELP in 2026: how the marginal repayment system really works
Since July 2025, HELP repayments are calculated like tax — 15c per dollar above a $67,000 threshold — and June indexation quietly grows the debt each year. Here is the maths of paying it off, and when extra repayments beat investing.
4 min read
How Australian marginal tax rates actually work in 2026–27
The 2026–27 year cuts the lowest tax rate from 16% to 15% — but most people still misread what a marginal rate means for a pay rise, overtime or a second job. A worked example makes it click.
4 min read
The Medicare levy surcharge: the tax cliff that sells health insurance
Cross $101,000 as an uninsured single and the surcharge applies to every dollar you earn — not just the excess. Why the MLS is designed as a cliff, when basic hospital cover is cheaper than the tax, and the June deadline that catches people out.
4 min read