{"id":101268,"date":"2025-02-11T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T02:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=101268"},"modified":"2025-02-11T13:28:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T02:28:06","slug":"millions-of-australians-are-missing-out-on-13722-heres-how-to-claim-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/millions-of-australians-are-missing-out-on-13722-heres-how-to-claim-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions of Australians Are Missing Out on $13,722\u2014Here\u2019s How to Claim It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Millions of Australians are <strong>throwing away thousands of dollars each year<\/strong> just by staying with their current providers. Whether it\u2019s electricity, home loans, or health insurance, new research reveals that sticking to the same company could be a <strong>costly mistake<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Hidden Cost of Loyalty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A study by <strong>Finder<\/strong>, shared exclusively with Yahoo Finance, found that <strong>60% of Australians<\/strong> feel \u201coverwhelmed\u201d by the idea of switching providers. The biggest financial headaches come from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Electricity plans<\/strong> \u2013 13% of Aussies find it stressful<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Home loans<\/strong> \u2013 10%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health insurance<\/strong> \u2013 8%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Superannuation<\/strong> \u2013 5%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But here\u2019s the real kicker: <strong>the average renter could save $3,810 a year, while homeowners <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/struggling-aussie-families-pocket-thousands-in-childcare-savings-find-out-if-youre-eligible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">could pocket <\/a>an extra $13,722<\/strong>\u2014just by switching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Decision Fatigue Trap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, why aren\u2019t more people making the switch? <strong>Sarah Megginson<\/strong>, a personal finance expert at Finder, says the problem is <strong>decision fatigue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re suffering from fatigue from making way too many small decisions every day \u2013 so this extra bit of life admin leads to paralysis.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, we know switching could save us money, but <strong>the effort seems overwhelming<\/strong>, so we procrastinate. And that procrastination? It\u2019s costing Australians <strong>thousands<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Providers Reward New Customers, Not Loyal Ones<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sticking with the same provider <strong>rarely pays off<\/strong>. In fact, businesses <strong>save the best deals for new customers<\/strong>. From cashback offers to gift cards and discount incentives, companies are constantly luring fresh customers\u2014while <strong>long-term customers unknowingly overpay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take electricity plans as an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Households that <strong>haven\u2019t switched in a year<\/strong> are paying <strong>$238 more annually<\/strong> than those on newer deals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If your plan is <strong>two years old or more<\/strong>, you could be <strong>losing $318 per year<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s just electricity. The same trend applies to <strong>home loans, insurance, and even mobile phone plans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Make Switching Easy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re one of the millions of Australians <strong>feeling overwhelmed<\/strong>, here\u2019s the trick: <strong>break it down into small steps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Megginson suggests setting a goal to <strong>tackle one bill at a time<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cYou could tick one thing off per fortnight to make it more achievable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news? <strong>Switching providers is easier than ever<\/strong>\u2014and in many cases, it takes <strong>less than 10 minutes online<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you haven\u2019t checked your bills lately, it might be time to start. The savings could be bigger than you think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Millions of Australians are losing $13,722 a year without realizing it. Sticking with the same provider for too long is quietly draining their wallets. A simple switch could unlock massive savings with minimal effort. Yet, most people are too overwhelmed to take action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101268"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101272,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101268\/revisions\/101272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}