4 ways to save big bucks on your home loan

A recent uno survey found that 77% of mortgage holders view refinancing as a hassle. uno’s platform removes the hassle and lets you search for a better deal on your mobile phone in 10 minutes.

Refinancing your home loan can be a right pain in the caboose. The process whereby you switch your interest rate – usually to clear your mortgage faster, pay less overall or extract some equity to fund renovations – sounds great in theory, but can end up being a hassle, too hard or overly time-consuming.

If your current home loan is through a bank, refinancing tends to involve standing in line on your lunch break or listening to Greensleeves on the phone while you wait to speak to a broker. Confusion is likely to ensue, followed by tons of paperwork, before you decide the whole thing’s way too difficult and you can’t be bothered.

Well, now you can avoid all of those things by searching for a better deal on your mobile phone using a process that takes around 10 minutes. Here’s how to trial our tech and three other ways you can save on your home loan:

1. Use uno’s tech to find a better rate – it takes 2 minutes

A survey of 1500 mortgage holders by CoreData on behalf of uno found that 74% of Australian mortgage holders are put off switching lenders because of the time involved. Seventy-seven per cent view refinancing as a ‘hassle’.

As an active home loan manager, uno removes the hassle. We scan the market daily using our loanScore technology. Our tech can analyse your loan against thousands of home loan products in the market and see what else is out there.

Once we find a better deal for your circumstances – one that will save you some cash – we send an alert, letting you know it might be time to switch.

With your approval, uno can then act on your behalf – renegotiating with your current lender for a better rate, or switching you over to a new deal with another lender.

Check out loanScore

If you get stuck along the way or have any questions, our qualified team of experts are here to help 7 days a week. Give us a call, send an email or request a call back at a time that suits you.

2. Switch to weekly repayments

Most homeowners will pay off their mortgages monthly, simply because that’s the way their bank or lender set up their home loan. Interest accrues daily, so by moving to weekly repayments, you’ll actually pay off more of your loan each year (without really noticing) and reduce the overall interest you pay.

By way of example, let’s say you’re paying $1,875 each month on a $400,000 home loan, at 3.84%. Over 12 months, you’ll end up paying $22,500 plus $273,616 in interest over the life of the loan. By making weekly repayments, you’ll actually pay $468.75 each week, or $25,311 over the year ($2,811 more than if you were making monthly repayments). In this example, you have reduced the loan term by four whole years and reduced the total interest over the life of the loan to $232,337, which saves you $41,279 over the life of the loan.

While most lenders will allow fortnightly direct debits, not all will allow weekly repayments so speak to your lender about your options. You can generally get around it however by requesting a direct salary credit on your account where your account is suspended and you transfer the funds weekly – meaning the onus is on you to transfer them.

3. Set up your repayment date to be a few days after the day you get paid

If you get paid on the second Thursday of each month, set your home loan repayment date to be the following Monday each month. This leaves some room to extract money for bills, groceries and living expenses but pays off your loan as soon as possible – always the best option when it comes to keeping your interest low.

Mathematically, interest is calculated on the daily balance, meaning every lender does a calculation to say this person just accrued x amount of interest at the end of each day. If you can minimise that balance on that day, you save on interest and pay your debt off sooner.

4**. Increase your payments by as little as $50 a week**

A good way to pay off your mortgage sooner is to pay a little bit extra each time you make a repayment. An easy way to do this is to round up the amount you pay each week. If your weekly repayment is a number like the $468.75 example above, why not round up your repayments to $500 a week? The extra dollars will amount to an extra $1,625 a year on your loan and reduce your overall loan term significantly (by approximately 3.5 years). They’ll also save you $37,000 in interest over the life of the loan.

Doing the four things mentioned above should save you a bucket load of cash, particularly if you’re just haemorrhaging money because your lender is charging a rate that’s too high.


5 stars for our service reviews from clients

Book Call Now

UNO home loans

Try Plans, by UNO
Mortgage calculators completely reimagined
Get Started
Considering a purchase or refinance?

Try Plans by UNO

Mortgage calculators completely reimagined
Get Started
☎️ 🚫 No cold call promise

Related Articles

TESTIMONIALS

What our customers are saying

Eden Harris
August 20, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Paul was awesome and handled my 1000 questions and follow ups like a pro. Happy with our home and loan :)
Read more
Liam Johnson
August 9, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Fantastic service and great outcome. I have used Scott Wilkinson twice (initial finance and a subsequent refinance) and have found him to be responsive, reliable and knowledgeable - secured me a circa 1% rate reduction with minimal work involved from my end. Highly recommend.
Read more
Birgit-Katja
August 7, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
What a smooth, hassle free and stress free refinance with Jake. He took a very complicated loan from one bank to the other and not only saved us a lot of money but we basically also didn’t have to lift a finger in the entire process (apart from the basic paperwork needed). I am extremely impressed with Jakes knowledge and how he was able to answer questions and explain complications. Thank you Jake and the entire staff at UNO :)
Read more
Justin Butcher
July 28, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
PROFESSIONALISM PLUS Jake was very helpful in helping us achieve our dream. He is a very professional and informative person who goes out of his way to help his clients through a stressful time whilst making the whole process seamless. On top of this he can also help get better Insurances and is happy to assist where he can. We would absolutely recommend choosing Jake to help you! Thanks for everything it was a pleasure dealing with you.
Read more
Aurora Tang
July 21, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Had a fantastic experience with Paul. He was knowledgeable, responsive, and made the whole process smooth and stress-free. Highly recommended.
Read more
Just Abby
July 18, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
My dealings with Scott Wilkinson at UNO, have been nothing short of exemplary. My refinance involved a bunch of moving parts due to a business debt, and Scott didn't stop until we got an excellent result! Great communication, easy online portals for data collection and, from all accounts, a great team working together to get results for their clients. I really can't thank Scott enough, for going the extra mile(s) to make this happen for me. 10/10 would recommend his services to anyone looking at a restructure, and I won't hesitate to reach out again, should I be in the position in the future.
Read more
Matt Rose
July 11, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
We’re incredibly grateful to Mike Parsons for his outstanding support and expertise. Mike took the time to genuinely understand our unique situation and demonstrated a deep level of knowledge and insight throughout the process. His ability to assess our needs and apply tailored solutions made all the difference. Thanks to his thoughtful approach and professionalism, we were able to achieve an ideal outcome that perfectly suited our circumstances. We highly recommend Mike to anyone looking for a knowledgeable and client-focused professional who truly goes the extra mile.
Read more
Get About Guy
July 10, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
The UNO Home Loans team provided a great experience. I'm an expat Aussie living in the UK who was looking for an investment property back home in Australia. Mike and the team guided me through the whole process from giving me an initial indication of how much I could borrow, to finding me a lender with an appropriate loan that met my needs, and finally through the settlement process with the bank. The team were always available to answer my questions very promptly. The whole experience was very easy and hassle free.
Read more
Kylie Morgan
July 8, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Scott and the team were amazing. The entire process was so simple and so fast! Thank you!
Read more
Gillian Kearon
July 6, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
I highly recommend Mike Parsons as a mortgage broker. I couldn't fault the service provided by UNO. Thanks Mike!
Read more
John Carlo Penaflor
June 24, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Amazing service from Scott. Efficient, clear and fast. Got my homeloan refinanced in record time.
Read more
Rebekah Tolmachoff
June 24, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
We had a fantastic experience working with Paul at Uno. From start to finish, he was professional, attentive, and genuinely cared about us and our situation. He kept in touch throughout the entire process, always keeping us informed and making everything feel simple and stress-free. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and his support made a big difference. Highly recommend Paul to anyone looking for a reliable and caring broker!
Read more