Hi everyone - looking for help with two questions (or any opinions on either):
Can I use offset to pay bills? As in, should I put 100% of funds into that account and use the same account to pay normal bills, groceries etc? I've got an offset with one of the big 4 banks.
If I wanted to, am I able to use the offset account funds for future house deposit?
Thanks for the help!
Yes to both, for all banks I've dealt with anyway.
FYI - With our bank, the offset account attracts higher fees for bpay and external transfers, so we have a transaction account also. We have to transfer from offset to transaction account then pay from that to avoid the fees.
I guess just check on that first.
Might have to turn in your OzBargain membership if you are using multiple accounts which charge bpay/transfer fees.
But I'm not paying any fees because of the process I've described…which they recommended in the first place.
Sorry, you said offset had 'higher fees' so sounded like you were paying some fees (albeit lower) on the other account as well.
Our offset account is just a normal savings account. It is our cash in it, it doesn't belong to the mortgage.
Why not use your credit card to pay for stuff?
Everything in the offset account is yours, you can do whatever you want with it.
Keep all savings in offset account. Pay for all bills with credit card. Pay off credit card at end of month with money from offset, meaning savings work harder for longer
A lot of my bills don't accept credit card :(
Do those ones accept PayPal?
A lot of my bills don't accept credit card :(
direct debit from your offset account on the due date then. Or to save extra interest for those that don't penalise on time paying wait a few days after the due date (but before any reminder) and then pay.
Cheers - thanks guys :)
Yes, you can.