Should I keep all my pay in an offset account or move it as needed?

Hi, I’m looking for some advice. I recently bought my first home with my partner, and the mortgage is about $585k. I’m still trying to understand how it all works. At the moment, I put most of my pay into my offset account each pay cylce. Should I put all of it in there and then take it out as I need? Do you run separate accounts for bills and so on? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I’m interested in starting to invest some spare income. I’m on a very good wicket at work, earning $300k–$320k a year, and I’d like to set some aside each week to invest. I have no idea where to start. Thanks.

If you can control your spending, just dump it all in your offset until you've got enough to cover the whole mortgage, so you're not paying any interest

After that, invest

Everyone's gonna say investing returns can be higher than your mortgage interest, but investing carries risk… reducing your mortgage interest is GUARANTEED

I mean, CBA actually lets you nominate which account(s) you want to set as offset. In my case I've got three accounts: one where wages roll in, one where all the bill money gets pooled together and all the direct debits/bills are paid from, and one savings account. Now get this all three are set up as offsets of the mortgage account. So no matter where money comes out from, I've got clear transparency on the budget, yet all accounts contribute to offset.

Pour everything you have into it, but please, watch your spending with real care. Make a budget and stick to it truly stick to it.

Best practice for money management is to have your whole pay put into the offset. It helps to work out your minimum weekly needs for groceries and necessities and automatically transfer that amount to your spending bank on the day of the week that makes most sense, e.g., $250 on Thursdays. Then consider giving yourself a monthly top up into a savings account with?your spending bank to cover all other variable spending, like gifts, clothes, hair & beauty, entertainment, gadgets, and make the transfer monthly on the 1st, e.g., $800 starting May 1st. Paying all your bills directly from the offset is a good option, or the riskier choice is a credit card. If you use a credit card, it’s best to never have it physically on you, on your phone, or on any internet accounts maybe leave the card in the car for petrol payments and emergencies. If your bank allows multiple offsets, set up another for holidays and to save for a car; otherwise, use separate accounts so you’re never dipping into the main offset for discretionary spending on those things. I’ve written a whole book on this, but that’s the short version!