How to save on your mortgage

[padding] [If you are unable to view this message correctly, click here]( [padding] [stuff header] [spacer] [padding] Hi {NAME}, I spoke with Hutt Valley-based mortgage broker Ash Shergill a few weeks ago, about the ways folks can mitigate [the cost-of-living rise and boiling interest rates]( on their mortgages. I was shocked to hear that interest rates have already risen above test rates - the rates banks use for deciding if you can handle mortgage repayments. Those were set at about 5.5% by some banks, when interest rates were around the 3% mark. But real-world interest rates are now around 7.2%. It's hoped that [interest-rate pressure will ease a little as the year goes on]( in the meantime, Shergill and brokers like him have some good tips for folks worried about managing a bigger mortgage repayment. Money-saving advice might be a bitter pill - I love Netflix and Amazon Prime as much as the next household - but it could be the medication we need to help us through the coming months. Shave a little off here and there now, and we’ll make 2023 a great year. Interested in having New Zealand's cutest pets delivered straight to your inbox each week? You want the [Furry Friday Newsletter]( . Editor Nick Barnett serves up the finest photos of your domestic friends, as well as giveaways, extra pet stories and photos and updates on the life of Riley, Nick's dog. Check it out. Have a great weekend! [padding] [user profile pic] [padding] Kylie Klein Nixon [padding] Senior Homed Reporter [padding] [spacer] [padding] Enjoying this email? [Check out Stuff's other daily and weekly newsletters.]( [spacer] # [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][separator] [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Farmhouse defies the developers [spacer] Intensification is the way in Auckland, but this 140-year-old villa is not for moving, or knocking down. It’s been in the same family for 40+ years, now it’s looking for a new caretaker. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Block winners battle burn-out [spacer] Winners of 2014’s The Block NZ Alex and Corban Walls have sold their homewares business, A&C Homestore, citing burn-out and a need to spend more time with the children as the reason. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [Privacy Info]( [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Wairarapa classic for under $600,000 [spacer] It’s not quite the quarter-acre dream – it’s 400m² short of it – but 70 Bell Street in Featherston, Wairarapa, comes pretty close. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][hot take]( [spacer] Romance lures couple to Greytown [spacer] Country House Hunters New Zealand Review: They met in a bakery - a sweet start to their hunt for a home they can share in the Wairarapa. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Privacy Info]( [spacer] [Privacy Info]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][hot take]( [spacer] Goodwill fuels epic home makeover [spacer] There are few corners of this three-bedroom house in Takaro that haven’t been touched by a spectacular home makeover that snowballed from a child’s wish for mum and dad to have a proper bedroom again. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [spacer][Homed]( [spacer] Inside restaurateurs' chic 70s bolthole [spacer] The coffee machine is the heart of Dariush Lolaiy and Rebecca Smidt’s kitchen. It’s the one piece of kitchen tech that gets the most use in their Auckland home. [spacer] [read more]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [Privacy Info]( [padding] [spacer] [padding] [padding] [spacer][Support Stuff]( [Discover more at Homed]( [padding] [spacer] You are receiving this email because you are a opted in to receive the Stuff Homed newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( [Manage your profile]( [Privacy Policy]( Did a friend forward you this email? [Sign up to get the Stuff Homed newsletter in your inbox]( Stuff, 4 Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1021, New Zealand [spacer] [padding]