Credit Simple
As the long weekend kicks off, it can be all too easy to fill your time with fun and frivolous spending. But before you know it, Monday night rolls around and your bank balance is looking more than a little depleted. Luckily, it doesn’t take much to reset your default setting from ‘spend’ to ‘save’ for a few days, and the savings can be pretty significant. Read on for our tips to boost your savings in just a few days.…
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If the school holidays have you fearing those dreaded words, ‘I’m bored!’ but you know you don’t have cash to spare, never fear – a quick Credit Simple brainstorm is all you need. Check out our top 5 tips to help you survive – and thrive – during these school holidays, with your budget and savings well and truly intact. 1. Get out and about – for free Whether you’re planning a vacation or a staycation, the school holidays are…
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Last week I paid for an upcoming ski holiday in Canada. The trip isn’t until next ski season but it has to be paid in advance. Skiing in Canada is my idea of nirvana, so it wasn’t too painful to see the thousands of dollars flowing out of my account; after all, it’s going to a good cause. But this week, my car decided it needed a wheel bearing replaced plus a wheel alignment and new spark plugs. Then my dentist…
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A personal loan is about as straightforward as it gets when it comes to borrowing money. It can help you pay for something special like a car, holiday or home renovations, or to consolidate debt. With a personal loan, you borrow a specific amount and you make regular payments until it’s paid (along with the interest), usually one to five years. And for a long time personal loans have been in the shadow of credit cards. That’s because credit cards…
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You don’t get much in this life unless you ask. That’s definitely the case with your bank, your insurance company and utility companies. There’s a lot of money to be made there. And if we’re lazy, companies can maximise their profits. Don’t let that be you. By playing hard to get, or by ‘rate tarting’ (that’s shopping around for a better rate), you can have your loyalty rewarded. Understand your spending Before you storm into your bank or phone your…
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We all throw money down the gurgler. But some people have far higher chances of getting a Darwin Award for stupidity by paying too much idiot tax than others. Stop wasting your hard-earned money in these pointless ways: Lottery tax So you think you’re going to get rich quick? If you’re convinced you’re going to win you’ve succumbed to gamblers’ irrationality. Why not be happier with what you’ve got in life already and save that money for your future? If…
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Buying yourself a set of wheels is expensive. If you’ve saved the cash to buy the car, that’s great. But realistically, most young people have to borrow money to buy a car. If that’s you, brush up on a few things before you sign on the dotted line. Save Saving up and paying cash is the cheapest way to buy a car. Ask around and you’ll find friends who have done it. Surprising, huh? Downgrade your expectations We know you…
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Staying on top of your credit report regularly is good practice to keep yourself updated on how you manage your financial responsibilities. But what happens if your credit history isn’t as clean as you want it to be? When it comes to first impressions, the information contained on your credit report can have a massive impact on your future applications for credit. Here are some tips to improve your credit score and take the right steps towards financial responsibility in…
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For most of us, the New Year is a popular time to set personal goals and look back on the what we’ve achieved in the last 12 months. But with all the goodwill in the world, it can be hard to turn resolutions into results. People who study behaviour for a living reckon that for a resolution to actually work, it needs to tick five boxes. Happily, the five boxes spell “SMART,” making them not just easy to remember but…
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How credit card balance transfers work If you find yourself in credit card debt, paying a huge amount of interest every month and never making any reduction in the balance because it’s all going in interest, a balance transfer could be your way out. In a way you would be paying off your credit cards with another credit card, but the crucial difference is that the new credit card may come with an interest rate holiday. (After a basic card?…
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