To help community members keep a good credit record and stay financially wise, Yaasin Nordien of DirectAxis shared some advice.
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With SA back at work and dealing with the realities of daily life, including load-shedding and another interest-rate hike, it is a good time to reflect and set achievable financial goals for the year.
Studies show that health-related goals, such as exercising more, eating better and losing weight top the list of popular New Year’s resolutions.
With rising food prices, higher interest rates and a constrained economy, financial well-being is likely to feature high on most lists.
Nordien said that even if your resolutions did not include monetary goals, it’s not too late to set some and work toward improving your financial health this year.
However, before doing so, it is crucial to be realistic.
“One of the main reasons that people don’t stick to their resolutions is that they set unrealistic or unachievable goals.
“When it becomes apparent that they’re not going to reach them, they give up,” he said.
“It’s more beneficial to set achievable goals because the sense of fulfilment when you reach them will encourage you to keep going,” he explained.
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Nordien has several tips to help get started.
• Draw up a budget.
Although it might seem hard, it is relatively easy to do and a vital step in taking control of your finances.
It allows you to see where your income goes each month. Importantly, because it breaks down all your income and expenditures, it lets you set other financial goals, such as cutting out unnecessary expenses and saving money each month.
To prepare your budget, draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. List all your income on the left and all your expenses on the right.
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You should be able to get most of the information you need from your bank statements.
• Improve your credit score.
Your credit score is how banks and other financial services providers, retailers and even landlords learn how financially reliable you are.
A poor score will limit your ability to get loans or may mean you pay more interest because you are considered a higher risk.
By law, you are entitled to one free credit report a year from any credit bureau, but many online tools allow you to check it for free as often as you like, simply by registering on the site.
Most people can improve their credit score by 20 points by reducing their number of credit facilities and making payments on time.
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The benefits of a better score include access to more financial-service offerings and potentially saving money on interest.
• Increase your financial knowledge.
Taking control of your finances is your responsibility, and there’s plenty of information available online, although it’s sensible to use credible websites from recognised companies or respected journalists and advisors.
There are so many topics, tips and videos available that you may want to decide on a few subjects you want to know more about and start there.
Compare different websites and news outlets to find the ones that best suit your needs and preferences. Make sure you’re getting sound, accurate information.
“These are three achievable, basic steps, but implementing them will provide a foundation on which you’ll be able to start building a healthy financial future,” Nordien said.
