Debts to take Centrelink bonuses

Mon, 10 Nov 08

Half of all Australians who are eligible for bonus payments from Centrelink in the second week of December are planning to save the money or pay down bills according to a survey from the Australian Retailers Association. Parents who receive family tax benefit part A will get $1000 per child. Carers will also get $1000 for each person they care for. Age pensioners will get $1400 for singles and $2100 for a couple. Experts say the best use of the bonus payment is to pay down credit card debts, with average interest rates still around 20 per cent on most cards. If your lender does not penalise extra mortgage repayments, putting one thousand dollars on a $300,000 mortgage in the first year would save more than $6500 in interest over the life of the loan. Analysts said people wanting good term deposit rates should act as soon as they can as rates are falling rapidly.