Ep 385: Should you fix your mortgage - If not now, when?

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In this episode, Stuart tackles the perennial question: should you fix your mortgage rate—if not now, when? He reframes “normal” using the RBA’s neutral rate (roughly 3–3.5%) and shows why today’s home loan ranges of ~5–6% (P&I) and ~5.5–6.5% (IO) are sustainable. Drawing on three decades of data, he explains why fixing has left borrowers worse off about two-thirds of the time, and why flexibility (offsets, extra repayments, refinancing, equity access) usually beats chasing a small rate win. He outlines the two defensible reasons to fix when a deal is clearly in your favour (think 2021-style anomalies) and when cash-flow protection matters more than optimisation, and why “right now” doesn’t meet that bar. In the Q&A, Stuart helps “Sam” frame a conversation with his dad about super “inheritance tax” on benefits to non-dependants, covering death-benefit tax, nominations, liquidity, and practical ways to reduce the taxable component over time. He then maps a blueprint for Lauren, who’s inheriting $3 million: building a safety bucket, buying a live-in home near Melbourne, and deploying the remainder via low-cost, rules-based investing and smart ownership structures to target ~$100k p.a. income. A grounded, evidence-first guide to rates, risk, and real-world decisions.

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