2021 Federal Budget, $345m women’s health funding & 2% home deposits for single parents: This week’s best banking news

• What the 2021 Federal Budget means for you
• Athena drops variable home loan rate down to below 2%
• $345m to be invested in women’s health
• Where to find car loan interest rates for less than 4%
• 55% of BNPL users in Australia are under 40
• New initiative for single parents buying a home

All in this week’s best banking news recap: editor’s pick.

What the 2021 Federal Budget means for you

Did someone say budget? On Tuesday evening, the government dropped the ball on the 2021-2022 Federal Budget, which details spending plans for everything from health to infrastructure to housing plus more. Needless to say, everyone’s going berserk over it.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has donned it the “pandemic budget”, which aims to assist with Australia’s economic recovery, as well as boost productivity and help move the needle down on unemployment to below 5%.

Read the full article: 2021 Federal Budget: What it means for you to find out more about this year’s federal budget and how it affects you.

Athena cuts variable home loan rate to below 2%

Athena (A.K.A. the home loan wrecker) is back at it again with even more killer rates. Athena has just announced numerous rate cuts, one of which has brought its variable rate home loan down to below 2% p.a.

Yep, that’s right! Athena has just shaved off a whopping 20 basis points from its <60% LVR Celebrate Home Loan bringing it down to a super-low 1.99% p.a. (1.99% p.a. comparison rate*).

As Athena put it, this rate is now the “lowest fee-free variable home loan rate in the country.” 

Read the full article: Athena has just dropped a variable home loan rate below 2% and see for yourself!

$345m to be invested in women’s health

One of the more positive things to come out of this year's Federal Budget is a $354 million boost in funding for women’s health.

Over the next four years, the Morrison Government will invest $354 million into women’s health to provide funding for cervical cancer, breast cancer, endometriosis and reproductive health, among other areas.

Read full article: 2021 Federal Budget gives women’s health a $354m funding boost to learn more about this initiative and find out where else funds have been allocated.

Where to find car loan interest rates for less than 4%

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to score a car loan with an interest rate that sits below 4% - so long as you’re eligible and the right type of borrower.

After checking the Mozo database, we found that a total of three car loan providers are currently offering both fixed and variable rate car loan options for under 4% p.a.

Put into perspective, this is quite rare considering that the current average variable car loan rate in the Mozo database across both new and secondhand vehicles sits at 6.68% p.a.

Read the full article: Can I get a car loan rate that starts with a 3? to find out which car loans are offering interest rates for below 4% p.a.

55% of BNPL users in Australia are under 40

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has completely taken the world by storm.

According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the value of BNPL transactions has more than tripled since 2016/17 and that 55% of users are under the age of 40.

So it turns out that some Gen Z’ers and Millennials are switching from credit cards to BNPL.

Read the full article: Under 40s make up over half of Buy Now Pay Later users in Australia, says RBA to get the full scoop.

New initiative lets single parents buy a home with a 2% deposit

Back to the budget: It appears the budget comes bearing support for single parents who are looking to get a leg into the property market.

Upon announcing the 2021-2022 Federal Budget, the government pulled the curtain on a new initiative called the Family Home Guarantee.

Commencing on 1 July 2021, this new program aims to support Aussie single parents specifically, allowing them to build a new or purchase an existing home with just a 2% deposit. The Family Home Guarantee will be available for 10,000 single parents with dependents over a four year period.

Read the full article: Budget 2021: Family Home Guarantee to help single parents to learn more about this new initiative.

Keen to purchase a new home? Then get comparing mortgages with our free home loans comparison tool below: