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Just like with any relationship, your partnership with your home loan lender may see its honeymoon stage come to an end and those promises that once swept you off your feet no longer appeal to you. If you’ve been on the fence about whether or not your bank is still your true borrowing love, here are signs to consider before calling it quits.

1. They’ve Changed

At the start, your bank enticed you with a great interest rate and low fees but when you take a closer look at your home loan statement, your ongoing repayments seem to quickly creep up. Is it time to check out if the grass is greener on the other side? Find out what other deals home loan lenders are offering that can bring down your repayments and save you interest along the way.

2. You’ve Changed

Did your situation change? Your family might have grown, you might have received a promotion at work or you might have reduced your hours. Whether your household income or situation has taken a hit or improved significantly, it’s a chance that could necessitate a mortgage refinance. If you’re earning more, you can afford to up your repayments, however, you might wish to refinance if you’re earning less than before to decrease your mortgage repayments and ease any financial burden.

3. You Want Faster Result

A home loan is an incredibly serious affair. Though the term of a property loan isn’t with you your entire life, it’s there for a large portion of it. If you desire to get rid of your debt faster, you can shorten the term of your loan with a mortgage refinance. You may have to cough up more when it comes to repayments if you choose to cut your mortgage term from 25 to 20 years, but you’ll end up paying less in interest.

4. You Want Security

If you’re tired of the changing nature of variable rates, then it could be high time to refinance to a fixed interest rate loan where your repayments remain the same over the fixed term. Just keep in mind that often fixed interest rate loan come with break cost fees. So, only make this move if you’re 100% sure you’ll be sticking with the new loan for the entire fixed term, that usually takes 1-7 years.

5. You Want To Change Lenders

Perhaps your current lender just isn’t working for you — like limited mortgage products or you’re feeling neglected with the level of service you’re receiving — it might make sense to refinance. Check out other lenders’ product offerings to see if they have an extensive range of features. Visit their review section so you could have a feel of their customer service.

Feels like you’re stuck in a never-ending spiral of debts? While there’s a good case for borrowing money, there are also cases where it could spell trouble. Bad debt is a big trouble for everyone involved, well except the bank. And getting out of the debt pit could be frustrating and mentally degrading. Here are some tips to help you shift your thinking and gear up to building wealth for yourself.

1. Look Back A Month

In order to dig yourself out of the debt pit, you have to start with an honest assessment of what you’re doing with your money. Have a look at your credit card and account statements for the last month and take note of every transaction you regret or don’t remember. Go through it again and take note of every item you can do without for the next month.

2. Learn The Art Of Delayed Gratification

Learn to distinguish between your “needs” and “wants.” Take care of the things that you need while saving up for what you want. Start by setting a small goal and work out how much you want to spend as well as what your savings timeframe is. At the end of your savings period, get that item you’ve been saving for and enjoy the process. Enjoy the time spent looking for the perfect item and think about the fact that you’ve saved up for it. You’ll find a sense of fulfilment and will be far more considerate about your spending habits.

3. Create A Budget

You may have probably read this a thousand times but it’s everywhere for a good reason. If you want any chance at building wealth as well as saving and reducing debt, then you ultimately need to know where your money is coming and going. Track your spending by writing down what you get paid every paycheque (plus other source of income) and jotting down all your expenses up to the last cent. Subtract all your expenses from your income to work out what is left over. This difference is what you can start using to save or to pay off your debt.

4. Stop Spending And Smash That Debt

Review your budget and cut out anything that you can do without and apply that surplus money directly to your credit. If you may, cut out the card too, so you won’t have any way to keep spending on it. If you have multiple cards, then work out which one has the highest rate of interest and apply the bulk of your surplus to that card while making only the minimum repayments for your other cards. Once the first card is paid off, you can then apply the same repayment strategy to the one with the next highest interest rate, and so on and so forth. You may also want to consider a low interest or no interest balance transfers to get your cards paid off faster.

“Spend less than what you earn.” You’ve probably heard or read this money saving advice gazillion times. It’s better said than done especially of you have an unstable job, are saving for something big, or you just have a penchant for spending money. But no matter how impossible it may seem, it can be done. Here’s how to get by on spending less, no matter what situation you’re in.

1. Keep Track Of Your Money

Keeping track of your money may be easier to do if you only spend cash. Try to save the majority of your paycheque and only take out a certain amount each week to live on. Having a physical amount of cash to keep track of will prevent you from making unnecessary purchases. You must also remember to avoid using your credit card/s for a certain period of time. You’ll be surprised at how much you can save. It should also keep your online shopping addiction at bay for a while, or better, put an end to it.

2. Identify What You Need

By nature, we all have our own weaknesses. But try to think about whether we really need something or we just want to have it for the sake of having it. Instead of spending money on purchases you can live without such as monthly fitness club membership, hard bound copy of the latest best seller novels, or designer clothes, look for alternatives that cost less or nothing at all.

3. Look After What You Have

You’ve probably have a bunch of stuff that you don’t need. Instead of shelling out money to replace everyday items every few months or years, it doesn’t hurt much to take care of what you already have. A little effort can help you keep your household appliances and electronic devices running smoothly and looking great. Wash your clothes as stated on their labels. Use protector spray on leather shoes. Do regular maintenance checks on whitegoods. A little care goes a long way.

4. Stop Comparing

If your neighbour have a new car, designer items or just booked for an awesome Eurotrip, it doesn’t mean that you need to as well. There’s no point in keeping up with anyone specially if you can’t afford to do so. It might take a little practice and a lot of self-control, but once you stop comparing yourself and your situation to people around you, you’ll see that it’s easier to make do with a little less. Appreciate what you’ve got and accept the fact that there’s always someone who is going to do more and have more than you. Think about the people with a lot less than you if you’re feeling miserable about someone else’s new possession.

Your phone is a powerful tool to make your everyday life easy. It’s your personal shopping assistant, your matchmaker as well as personal trainer and fitness companion. So, why not make it your own financial advisor as well? Here are some apps to help you save money, avoid unnecessary fees, and give you total control of your finances straight from your home screen.

1. Mint

This all-around finance app takes the hassle out of making a budget. Connect it to your bank and the app can use your details to help create a personalised budget with numerous categories. It also provides credit score access, giving you a comprehensive look at your investments, bank accounts, credit card statements and more. Stay on top of your bills by setting up due dates reminders and paying your bills directly through your Mint account. It will also alert you of unusual charges and helps identify tips tailored to your spending to help you reduce the money your spend on fees and other bills. It’s a great tool if you want to pay all your bills in one place.

2. Spendee

Similar to Mint, but a bit easier to navigate with its user-friendly interface. It comes with great budgeting tracking tools both for free users and subscribers. It is equipped with useful infographics that let you visualise exactly where you’re spending all your hard-earned cash. Expenses are easily logged into categories, with the option of snapping photos of bills and receipts for easy storage. This tool helps you see where your money is going.

3. PocketGuard

Connects directly to your bank account giving you all time access to your current transactions and balance. PocketGuard lets you see money in simple terms. The home screen shows you how much money is in your pocket, your income and how much you have spent. Aside from identifying your income to give you an idea of your cash flow, it also analyses your spending to recognise recurring payments you need to plan for. Its simple charts outlines where you spend your money and a tap shows what you’re spending in each category. If you want to cut back and optimise your purchases, then this is an essential tool for you.

4. You Need A Budget (YNAB)

A budget system that helps you create a budget that you can follow. It focuses on four rules to help you get your life in order: 1) Give every dollar a job, 2) Plan for infrequent expenses, 3) Roll with the punches, 4) Learn how to live on last month’s income. YNAB allows you to quickly refer to your accounts, budget categories, enter new transactions and modify your budget categories. It also contains a variety of educational tools and guides to help you  build good budgeting habits and financial discipline.

5. GoodBudget

This digital envelope budget system recreates envelope budgeting of yesteryears. You can set a budget for each category and spend from that designated category forcing you to stop spending when the money for that category runs out. This can help you learn how to save for big purchases and put the plan into place in order for you to save for a vacation or new car.