Money hacks to save up to $3,600 in 2025
Don't donate your money to big businesses by paying more than you need to for your everyday bills. Instead, take some inspo from these Aussies, who share how they're saving money in their household as the new year kicks off:
Car insurance premiums – Adam, Melbourne
"We got a Tesla last year and I took out insurance with my previous insurer. It was $540 per month – over $6k per year! Over the Christmas period I compared and got a policy with a different company for $3,000 a year. It's less than half price for the exact same cover."
Total annual saving: $3,000
Energy bills on fire – Courtney, Sydney
"I called AGL about my expiring energy plan. It would have cost me something like $300 more for the same usage had I let the contract rollover to their standard new rate. Instead, they agreed to keep me on the same plan I was on. That's a great saving for one 10-minute phone call!"
Total annual saving: $300
Saving on streaming services – Kate, Brisbane
"My audible automatically renews. I'd reviewed my spending and decided to cancel it, but when you go through the process of cancelling your membership you're offered an enticing payment discount to remain a member. When you cancel, select 'too expensive' as the reason and they usually give up a deal, like $7.95/month for 3 months instead of $16.45 per month, or an annual saving of something like $50."
Total annual saving: $50
Home loan savings – Tash, Sydney
"We are saving $303 per month on our home loan, thanks to finding a better home loan rate. Our mortgage broker wanted us to sign up to a home loan around 6.12%, but I found one for 5.69%."
Total annual saving: $3,636
TV time discount – Taylor, Sydney
I went online to cancel my Foxtel, which is a $54 monthly package, and they immediately offered me $10 off per month for the next 6 months to keep me as a customer."
Total annual saving: $60
Home internet hack – Jennifer, Sydney
"We moved house a couple of months ago. I checked how much roll-over data I had accrued on my mobile plan – a cheap sim-only 5G plan, nothing fancy! – and I had over 280GB and my partner was similar. As a result, we haven't yet connected broadband and instead we're just hotspotting. We will get broadband at a cost of around $100 per month once we've used up our data banks in 6-12 months, but for now, there's no need. We need to be conscious of the telco fair use policies as some don't allow you to use it as a broadband substitute, but it's made me realise that sometimes the best way to save money is to assess if you need the product at all."
Total annual saving: $1,200
Start saving money on your household bills today with Finder's Financial Fitness Challenge – a free set of modules to help you save thousands of dollars.