Best of the Best 2021 – 126 gold-winning products

PREPARE TO BE IMPRESSED. This year’s winners have been stress-tested by a pandemic and passed. They were prudent where they needed to be and spotted the opportunities where they could be found.

There are three ways we recommend you use this guide. First, check out our banking and spending categories to find the best-value products. Thousands of dollars can be saved by choosing the right home loan.

Second, if you are looking to invest, get to know our category winners. Particularly in view of the early access to super, make sure you are with the right fund and that your other savings are invested wisely.

Finally, make sure you’re not paying too much for your internet and mobile phone plan. Thank you to Kenny McGilvary and WhistleOut (see page 130) for its verdict this year.

Next to your home, your car is your second biggest purchase and we want to thank carsales.com.au for helping us present a list for you, regardless of your budget and preferences.

A big thank you to Alex Dunnin and the Rainmaker research team; it is through their rigorous analysis of financial data across thousands of products that we’re able to deliver this year’s guide (see our methodology on page 56). We also want to thank Vadim Taube, chief executive of comparison site InfoChoice, for providing us with the financial data behind many of the categories.

Finally, thanks to the Money team, writers and production. Special thanks go to Money’s managing editor, Darren Snyder, who will be leaving us to take on a new challenge. We wish him all the very best. His “how to” article on page 58 – something new this year – will help you navigate this bumper issue.

After all that, check out the best wines to drink, courtesy of wine author Peter Forrestal (page 140). To borrow an oft-quoted phrase, stressed grapes produce the best wine. May this guide inspire you to make 2021 a vintage year for your financial goals.