Fair shake of the sauce for Aussies Don't just eat snags, use Australia Day as investment inspiration. CELEBRATE Australia Day by supporting local businesses and investments Our land abounds in nature's gifts, of beauty rich and rare, so why not invest in Australian assets, instead of foreign shares? Not exactly Dorothea Mackellar, but as patriotic celebrations light up the nation this weekend, financial nerds might find themselves wondering about the best ways to bring some Aussie pride into financial decision making. And with good reason too, because there are some fantastic investment options that can benefit both an investor's wallet and our wide brown land. National infrastructure, to keep the country running The trucks, trains and planes that keep our economy connected make a pretty patriotic investment, and with a lot of Australia's big infrastructure operators listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, it's an easy one to make too. The country's big rail outfits Aurizon and Asciano are publicly listed, as is Melbourne-based Toll Holdings, Australia's largest transport company. Of course we'd have to throw Qantas in the mix as our national airline, and Telstra, who are rolling out high-speed internet infrastructure across the country. These five stocks stack up too, with an average return of 20 per cent last year (not including dividends), which goes up to 24 per cent if Qantas was jettisoned. Aussie inventions, for job creation and the economy Given the opportunity, investing in local inventions and start-ups is a great way to support the local economy. Too often great Australian ideas end up getting funded offshore (usually in the US) so the more investor interest at home, the better. If you don't have the opportunity or required capital to invest in a new start-up business, there are some fantastic Aussie inventions that have grown into great listed business, such as Cochlear and ResMed, which offer an opportunity to lend your support. While Cochlear shares had a poor year in 2013, down 25 per cent on some soft sales numbers, analysts say the company still has a bright future. On the other side of the innovative coin, ResMed put in a solid year, up 15 per cent even before dividends. For braver and more sophisticated cashed-up investors, approach one of the more reputable venture capital funds which try and identify promising start-up companies. Home solar panels, in the interest of the environment There are plenty of carbon conscious investments you can make, but perhaps the best are those you can see and benefit from every day - solar panels. You'll be doing your bit for the environment by cutting your carbon footprint, save heaps on energy bills and even kick power back into the grid. And with some of the government incentives on offer, you might even get a hand with the investment. Now it's not a purchase that will shoot the lights out with returns, but it will pay itself off over time, add value to your property and keep the power bill right down. Government bonds, if you back what they're doing If you like what the government's up to, why not lend them a bit of your money? This is easily done these days with exchange-traded Treasury Bonds that can be bought and sold on the ASX like shares. They're a bit more complicated than a simple shareholding, but essentially involve lending your money in exchange for interest payments. These bonds are usually sought after by investors looking for a steady income stream from a safe investment. Again, like the solar panels, this is a steady investment for the bottom draw. Defence housing, to accommodate the country's troops If property investment's on your radar, there's no more patriotic investment than defence housing. Defence Housing Australia sell a portion of their properties to investors under a leaseback arrangement, where the property is managed and maintained on your behalf through the lease term. While there are still the usual property risks and transaction costs, the arrangement means investors have no tenanting obligations and the rental income is backed by the government. It's like letting the lodge to Tony Abbott - a tidy tenant who will definitely pay up. Of course, all these investments have to stack up individually and be a fit in your portfolio, but in the right mix could provide some patriotic profits and help advance Australia at the same time. A BIG thank you to National Australia Bank for lowering its fixed-rate home loans to the lowest level in years and starting a rate war with the "Big Four" banks. Home loans are among the most profitable parts of the big banks and are unreasonably high when compared with the official cash rate. Remember when they refused to pass on the full rate cuts the year before last but promised to make up for it when times got better? Well, they haven't. So hopefully NAB breaking ranks on fixed rates will spill over to a war on variable home loans too. While that could be wishful thinking, you're a mug if you are paying the advertised variable home loan rate because all banks will discount the variable rate if customers ask for it. The more business you have with the bank (credit cards, savings, loans etc), the bigger the discount. Remember there are a lot of alternative lenders to the "Big Four" banks offering much better loan deals so go to the comparative websites to find out who they are. While you may not be familiar with the smaller lenders, they are regulated just as closely as the big banks. Plus you are borrowing their money, not investing in them. So shop around. Follow David Koch on twitter twitter.com/kochie_online