Kochie answers more questions from the comments left below.

We have a mortgage with FirstMac, not a bank. We have the majority of our money in an offset account with them. Do they come under the umbrella of financial institutions that the government are going to guarantee deposits with? andipalmer2002 - Oct 12 10:13pm

Non-bank lenders are intermediaries between financiers and you the borrower. This means in effect you borrowed, the money’s yours and it’s managed by an independent trustee. It's unlikely you would be asked to pay the money back immediately if FirstMac got into trouble.

The list of institutions covered is on the Australian Government Treasury website

Why can't our super be paid into our home loan? Wouldn't be a safer investment? njba1234 - Oct 13 07:27am

Super is purely to fund your retirement. You can't pay off debts with super. If this was allowed people would keep raiding it all the time. The trade-off is the big tax deductions you get on super is why you can't touch it.

My hubby salary sacrifices $70 per week. Should he continue to do this or should he put that $70 into our mortgage. Going on this year's performance he may as well as flushed it down the loo!! wfm000 - Oct 13 08:34am

It depends on the size of your mortgage. If your mortgage is more than 50% of the equity in your home, then it's better to put this money against your mortgage. If it's less than 50%, I would still salary sacrifice,and use any spare savings to pay off the mortgage (as 9% salary goes into your super anyway).

I have a Term Deposit with ANZ Royal in Cambodia. I believe it is a subsidiary of ANZ in Australia. Will ANZ in Australia secure these deposits? kerryncarter - Oct 13 09:01am

The guarantee will not apply to deposits held in the foreign subsidiaries of Australian ADIs (authorised deposit taking instituitions), so you would need to check this with ANZ. It's deposits here in Australia of not only Australian banks but overseas banks offering money to Australian savers.

The list of institutions covered is on the Australian Government Treasury website

What shares should I buy? I have been told BHP or Rio Tinto could be good?
Get individual advice – don’t get carried away thinking this is the bottom of the share market – it could be a false dawn. 

Why is the Australian dollar so low if our economy is so strong?

The second reason is overseas investors are pulling their money out.  This is because of the drop in interest rates, which means investor money is getting a lower rate of return sitting in Australia.  It's also because they're probably facing a bit of financial pressure at home, so they're moving their money home to help prop themselves up.

 
Why hasn’t the price of petrol dropped with the price of oil?
When you're looking at the price of petrol it's important to always look at the oil price, plus the state of the currency.  These are the two things that combine to influence petrol.  While the oil price has dropped, the Aussie dollar has taken a hammering, so the price of importing has gone up.  This has wiped out any gains with the oil price drop.

 
Are our bank accounts safe?  Should I take my money out?
Don't take your money out.  You are more likely to get robbed at home than to have your bank go bust; your bank accounts are safe.  Of the 18 banks in the world that have a AA credit rating, four of them are the 'Big 4' Aussie banks.  Australian banks are as safe as any bank in the world.

 
Where is the money for the US bailout coming from?
The money is coming from the US government – so from US taxpayers.  The $800 billion that has been poured in is actually not as big as it sounds terms of the size of the US.  Behind the scenes in Australia our Reserve Bank is actually pumping a lot of money into Aussie bank system, so our banks can keep lending us money.

Watch videos

• Minding your money: Employment
• Minding your money: Kevin Rudd
• Minding your money: Your super
• Minding your money: Malcolm Turnbull
• Minding your money: Your home

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