Where To Invest $100k After The 2026 Budget

If you had $100,000 after the 2026 Budget, where would it actually make the biggest difference?

The annoying answer is that it depends. ETFs are simple, property gives you leverage, new builds may get better tax treatment, commercial property can produce stronger income, offset accounts can quietly save a ridiculous amount of interest, and your own home has a stability benefit that doesn’t always show up neatly on a spreadsheet.

This video is a simplified comparison model, not financial or tax advice. The Budget changes are still proposed, the final rules still need to properly flow through, and the exact numbers will depend on your own tax rate, loan structure, asset choice, and holding period.

But as a rough framework, this is how I’d think about it: don’t just chase the biggest number. Look at what it costs to hold, how much stress it creates, and whether you can actually stay invested long enough for the result to matter.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:31 Disclaimers & Assumptions
01:40 ETFs (no leverage)
02:32 ETFs (with leverage)
03:49 Established Residential Property
04:52 New Residential Property
05:57 Commercial Property
06:50 Owner Occupied Property
07:31 Offset Account
08:01 Final Scoreboard!
09:02 Takeaways

How I got the numbers

These are simplified comparison numbers, not financial or tax advice. I used $100,000, a 30-year timeframe, 30% tax, and 2.5% inflation/indexation.

Normal ETFs:
Assumed 8% p.a. return, split into 5% growth + 3% income. After tax on income each year, that compounds at roughly 7.1% p.a. Final estimate after simplified sale tax: about $690K.

Leveraged ETFs:
At 70% LVR, $100K controls about $333K of ETFs, with $233K borrowed. Interest at 7% costs about $16.3K p.a. After ETF growth, income, interest, debt repayment and simplified tax: about $1.1M.

Established property:
Assumed a $500K property, $100K deposit, $400K loan, 5% growth, 4% rent, and 6% interest. Rent starts around $20K, interest is $24K, plus costs of about $7.5K p.a. After debt, cash-flow losses and simplified tax: about $1.3M.

New build:
Same $500K property and $400K loan, but with better tax treatment and example depreciation of $8K p.a. for 10 years. This reduces the early after-tax holding loss. Final rounded estimate: about $1.4M.

Commercial property:
At 70% LVR, $100K controls about $333K of commercial property. Assumed 4% growth, 6% net yield, and 6.5% interest. After debt, cash flow and simplified tax: about $1.0M.

Own home:
Assumed a $500K apartment, $400K loan, and 4% growth. After 30 years, the property is about $1.62M, leaving roughly $1.2M equity, assuming the main residence CGT exemption applies.

Offset:
Assumed an $800K home loan at 6% over 30 years, with $100K in offset from day one and repayments unchanged. Estimated saving: about $369K interest, and the loan paid off about 6 years and 4 months earlier.

I excluded stamp duty, LMI, selling costs, land tax, ETF fees, franking credits, principal repayments, changing rates and personal tax differences. This is comparison modelling, not a perfect tax calculator.

⚠️ Important:
Everything shared on this channel is for general education around money in Australia. It isn’t tailored to your personal situation and shouldn’t be taken as individual financial advice. Your circumstances, goals, and risk tolerance are unique, so it’s worth speaking with a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. Aussie Wealth with Finn is not a licensed financial adviser and doesn’t hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL)… maybe one day!

✉️ A note from me:
I’ve made this channel to break down money in a way that actually makes sense day to day. The information in each video is based on research and publicly available data at the time of creation, which means some details may change over time.

I’m using AI tools to help with the production side of things like voice and visuals, but the ideas, structure, and explanations are thought through with the goal of making finance clearer and more practical to understand for everyday Aussies.

I’ve spent close to a decade working in finance, dealing with people across all walks of life, from those just getting by to others building serious wealth. A lot of what I share comes from seeing how money actually plays out in the real world, not just in theory.

The aim is to take those insights and break them down in a way that helps everyday Australians make better decisions and move forward with more confidence.