How to Read a Credit Report

credit loans

The credit score is a vital requirement when applying for a loan, finance, or credit. However, most people don’t actually know how to interpret their credit score. The only thing they know is it helps them obtain loans, as well as the idea that the greater the credit score, the better. In this article, everything you need to know about the credit score will be explained. This article is brought to you by Perfect Payday, a payday loan company in Australia.

Getting to know Credit Score

In the simplest sense, a credit score is a number that will tell how creditworthy you are as a borrower. Lenders and banks also determine your risk level based on your credit score. Generally, credit score ranges between 0-1,200. Whenever you apply for loans and you get approved or rejected, or default on a loan contract, it will be recorded on your credit report. This could lower your credit score and damage your creditworthiness.

If you want to build your credit report, you simply need to apply for a loan. It can be an initial loan, credit card, rental lease contract, or phone contract. Whatever it is, your credit report will soon start taking its form the moment you established a borrowing history. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to go all out and begin applying for various credit in order to improve your score. You can have a maximum of two credit accounts and that would be enough to maintain an ideal score.

What is an ideal credit score? Basically, there are three major credit reporting agencies that collect your borrowing details to find out your credit score. For them, healthy credit scores look like this:

  • Excellent – 833 – 1,200
  • Very good – 726 – 832
  • Good – 622 – 725
  • Average – 510 621
  • Below average: 0 – 509

Ideally, you should always maintain a credit score of 621 or higher if you want to avail of the cheapest loan.

What are the factors that affect your credit score?

There are a lot of factors that can affect your credit score. Typically, it all comes down to how responsible and trustworthy you are as a borrower. Below is the breakdown of the factors that can negatively affect your credit score:

1. Late or missed payments
2. Securing too many loans, finances, credit cards, and another line of credit
3. Performing numerous balance transfer cards in a short period of time
4. Being declined for loan or credit card
5. Obtaining a balance transfer credit card but doesn’t repay the outstanding balance when the promotional interest rate period ends.
6. Have poor credit diversity
7. Having greater credit balances

Now that you are aware of the financial activities that could hurt your credit score, it’s time to look for ways on how you could do to enhance your credit history?

Maintaining a Healthy Credit Score

Before anything else, secure a copy of your credit file to determine your current credit score. The process is simple – you just need to contact one of the major credit reporting agencies and request a copy of your credit file. You can reach out to Experian, Equifax, or Dun and Bradstreet. Get a payday loan from Perfect Payday today.

You are eligible to one free credit report every year and you can secure it online. Now that you already have a copy of your credit report, you want to examine it carefully from cover to cover to guarantee that all the information recorded is true. Look for late-payments and outstanding debts that are listed inaccurately on your credit report. Make sure you settle them with the credit agency that you obtained it from.

Ways to improve your credit score

Once you got hold of your credit score and determined the areas that you need to improve on, here are several ways on how you can improve your score:

1. Find out what makes a healthy credit score

You already know the number that you need to aim for in order to achieve a healthy credit score, but it is also very important to know how these numbers are calculated. Generally, there are five key factors that impact the calculation of your score: credit age, payment history, a combination of credit, level of debt, and present credit. Understanding these factors will help you become more aware of how to handle your credit accounts.

2. Pay your bills right on schedule

All your bills, credit cards, and loans should be paid in full on the exact due date, every single time. You can schedule automatic payments to ensure that you are always on time or set reminders when you need to pay your bills.

3. Maintain low credit balance

You should keep your mixed credit card balance within 30% of your merged credit limit. Make sure that you always track your accounts and pay a sufficient amount to decrease your balance. If you need a payday loan and you reside in Australia, apply with Perfect Payday today.

Cost of Private Health Insurance

Gone are the days when your only responsibility is completing a single house chore to get $5 of extra money from your parents. Now, you are a full-grown adult with lots of expenses and financial responsibilities to think about, including private health insurance. Basically, private health insurance is something that you shouldn’t overlook. The same with any insurance, this one is designed to secure you and your finances when life gets hard.

This article will discuss the importance of having private health insurance and how you can select a plan with the most bang for your buck. It’s brought to you by Perfect Payday, a payday loan company that can help you get an emergency loan.

Exploring the importance of private health insurance

Access to proper health care is one thing all people should strive to achieve. Though you can obtain some cover from Medicare, nothing beats the security offered by private health insurance in case you get sick or suffer from injuries. If you can’t imagine yourself traveling abroad or driving a vehicle without insurance, then you shouldn’t allow yourself to live each day without having proper insurance. But what’s really with private health insurance that makes it essential to everyone’s life?

It offers you peace of mind

As you get older, you start to realize that life is packed with the unexpected and this is why insurance is introduced. They will shoulder your expenses in case you lose your valuables in one of your trips abroad or your house gets flooded. Unfortunate events are unforeseen and you don’t have any idea where they will strike. But, having private health insurance will provide you peace of mind amidst this emergency situation.

It helps you save money for the future

When paying for private health insurance, the only picture that most people see is the initial monthly expense. Due to this, they often seek out short-term loans to settle the cost of the insurance for that month. Good thing you are about to see the bigger picture. By the time that you reach the age of 30, health care offered to you will be much more affordable. The catch? The earlier you secure private health insurance, the more health coverage you’ll enjoy. Moreover, in case you need daily treatments such as chiropractic, physio, cardiac, or optical, you get to save money each time that you avail of these services, and some of them are completely covered under your private health insurance. Basically, if you regularly need health treatment, you would have to chance to save up a lot of money by simply utilizing your health care to shoulder a percentage of these medical expenses.

You can access the proper health care that you need

Another importance of having private health insurance is you will have the power to look for medical treatment that isn’t shouldered by the public system. For instance, in the case that you want your wisdom teeth extracted. This particular procedure is beyond the coverage of Medicare and it usually costs around $200 to $400 per tooth, alongside the price of general anesthesia and sedatives. Basically, you will have to pay around $1, 500 to $3, 000.

Private Health Insurance Coverage

If you are not someone who needs daily medical treatment, private health insurance also cover other aspects of medical expenses, including the following:

Ambulance cover

In several states, ambulance cover is considered free, no matter what health care plan you have. But, in other states, ambulance cost starts at approximately $350 and can reach up to $6, 000, together with a per kilometer rate for the overall distance the ambulance needs to travel to and fro the hospital and your location. This is a huge addition to your medical expenses and a painful financial responsibility to deal with. With this, it pays to secure private health insurance since it covers all ambulance fees.

Hospital cover

One advantage of hospital expenses is they are generally free in most states, provided that the patient go to a public hospital. However, Medicare doesn’t shoulder medical expenses from private hospitals. This is where private health insurance gets in the picture. It covers all public and private medical fees, giving you nothing but peace of mind while you are recovering from your health complication.

Shopping for the most affordable health insurance

You can research the best and cheapest private health insurance online and take your pick from there, or you could visit a comparison site and let them do the rigorous job for you. Ideally, your plan will vary according to your gender, age, present health care needs, and the number of family members you want to be covered.

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Conclusion

Private health insurance is the perfect insurance you need in case of unfortunate health incidents. It will save you from worrying about the expensive medical costs while also giving you the chance to seek the best health care for you and your loved ones.

Saving Money in Winter

Winter often means layers of clothing, hot water bottles, and taking advantage of the sun as a natural source of heat. Here are a few money-saving tips on how you can stay warm in winter without damaging your budget.

1. Invite Mr. Sun into your house

This first tip is pretty much a basic concept but it can save you a lot of money when the colder season kicks in. Instead of switching on the reverse-cycle of your air conditioning, open your curtains during the day, specifically those that are in your north-facing windows. This will bring the heat inside your house and give you more warmth. When the sun sets, close the curtains to trap the heat inside.

Not everyone is able to save an adequate amount of money to hedge themselves against financial crisis. If you find yourself needing a loan until payday, consider getting one from Perfect Payday.

2. Reduce your heating system

In the middle of winter, this might seem a little odd, but, as much as possible, you don’t want to spend all your monthly budget on excess heating. Reducing the heat is a more affordable and less demanding approach compared to completely shutting it off. Basically, you have to turn it off when there’s no one in your home. But when you’re back, reduce your heating system down to a few degrees, especially during the night.

3. Invest in rugs, literally

If your house has tiles or timber floors, hit the mall and find some chic rugs that you can lay down for extra insulation. Despite having carpeted flooring, you still need a rug to provide warmth to the rooms in your house. Invest in rugs with greater stitch count and select wool rugs that are denser and more heavy-duty.

4. Take advantage of your ceiling fan

Some might not know this but you can use your ceiling fan to provide heat inside your house. Typically, ceiling fans are utilized during the summer season to give cool and fresh air. But this summer essential can also be used to warm up your house. It has a switch that activates the blade to spin in a clockwise direction, pushing hot air at the top of your house downwards to the ground.

5. Eliminate comfort food from your grocery list

Though winter is for eating delicious, comfort food, you might want to pass on it this time. Don’t purchase freshly baked brownies and other products that are influenced by your impulsive way of shopping. Create a budget for how much you just need to spend each week, write down all the things that you need, and stick to it. You can also cut down on grocery expenses during the winter season by preparing bulk meals and refrigerating the leftovers. Defrosting home-cooked meals is more economical compared to ordering food for takeout. Plus, you’ll be much healthier, as well as your budget.

6. Layers, layers, layers

Rather than blasting your heater and chilling on your couch in a t-shirt and shorts, why don’t you try the art of layering? Layering your clothes and blankets is a great way to provide insulation to your body. Turn off your heater, get some blankets, prepare a soup or tea, and enjoy the comfiest and warmest time of your life – at least during the winter.

7. Indoor movie nights

Movies are timeless winter activity but they can get a little expensive too. Instead of exposing yourself to the extreme freezing weather outside while trying to get to the cinema, gather everyone in the living room and have an indoor movie night instead. This one won’t cost you anything. You just need to prepare some blankets, great movie selection, and of course, popcorns! And you are all set.

8. Cut down expenses on petrol

Petrol is costly and that doesn’t require a lot of summation to figure out. During winter, your car consumes a lot of it since you need to switch on the heater while you are driving – you need warmth too, totally understandable. Knowing this, make an effort to cut down your expenses on petrol. You can do this by riding public transportation instead of using your personal or family car. Other than this, try to carpool with your friends on your way to work and home, then divide the petrol expenses.

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9. Maintain cleanliness in your vents

To stop dirt and dust from accumulating in your vents and radiators, make it a habit to regularly vacuum and clean them. Dust can prevent the heat from efficiently moving into your rooms and it can trigger your heater to operate harder than it normally does, which means additional electricity expenses for you.

These are all the top money-saving tips that you can religiously practice this winter.

How to Approach Personal Finance

Take Baby Steps

Not all people are blessed with good money habits – or great sources of income. For most, the money that they earned always ends up being spent without them knowing how leaving them with zero finance to keep for future emergency expenses. This usually happens to people who live paycheck after paycheck. If you are one of these people, then you should start revamping your financial habits now.

These personal finance tips are brought to you by Perfect Payday. If you are in need of a payday loan, look no further. We provide loans to people who need immediate funding. Apply today for your loan.

Try out these minimalist approaches to succeed in managing your personal finance:

Educate Yourself About Personal Finance

No matter how easy it might seem, if you put it into practice, spending less than what you make isn’t easy. Money nowadays just slips right through your fingers. One of the primary reasons why people are bad at handling their finances is due to the fact that money is a fragile topic. You can’t comfortably talk about it with your family or co-workers without feeling offended or judged. With this, people should begin having a genuine conversation about money in order to improve their finances. You need to set aside your ego and make an effort to learn deeper about it. One of the best methods to educate yourself about personal finance is by reading books.

Don’t be a slave to your lifestyle

When you start earning more money or receive a pay rise, the first thing that you think about is upgrading your apartment, purchasing a new car, or improving your lifestyle. This is usually your way of rewarding yourself for all the hard work you’ve done. However, if you want to win against your personal finance, you need to be aware of your spending, examine your lifestyle, and don’t blow it as your salary increases. If you practice this kind of thinking when dealing with your finances, 5 to 10 years from now, you’ll be able to live a more comfortable and financially secure life.

Stop keeping up with everyone’s life

There’s a reason why they call it keeping up with the Kardashians because these kids of people are definitely follow-worthy. However, if you are not particular and cautious about your social media accounts, keeping up with these multimillion celebrities is totally bad for your personal finance. Having access to their lavish lifestyle will only tempt you to buy the things that are way beyond your financial capacity. The reality is, rich people became rich since they make intelligent decisions when it comes to their money. They don’t lease brand new car or rent an apartment that they know they can’t afford – and that is a financial habit you should keep up.

‘The myth of I don’t have’

Sometimes, the problem isn’t about the financial temptations you face around you, but the pressure that you keep putting on yourself. There’s this idea called ‘the myth of I don’t have,’ which is something that you tell yourself so you can shop and purchase a certain item. For instance, you want to workout but you tell yourself that you can’t start unless you buy that cute gym outfit at the mall. The truth is, it’s only impeding you to start achieving your goals and dreams. No matter how much you think that purchasing that additional item will solve everything, unfortunately, it won’t. Most of the time, you have to make certain sacrifices and be completely clear why you need to do achieve a particular goal.

Sweet Taste of Financial Freedom

Once you already grasp the idea as to why you need to stop living from a paycheck after paycheck, the next thing that you wanted to do is to free yourself from any debt. Think about how great it is to have financial safety and security that you can depend on during financial emergencies. Think about how good it feels to have zero debt to think about when you receive your paycheck. So take the risk and challenge yourself. Get out of your comfort zone and try out things you never imagine you will do.

For starters, spend less than what you earn. However, there is a lot of pressure that you will face on a daily basis that will tempt you to do the complete opposite. But, if you can fight off these financial urges, you can create a healthy relationship with your finances and build an effective spending habit that you can follow. Once you do this, financial freedom will be all yours.

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Conclusion

People need to start having healthy and honest conversations about money. Apart from the minimalist approach aforementioned, nothing beats encouragement from a friend or family member when you are going through tough financial times. Never feel discouraged or threatened if you talk about your financial situation with a colleague and they have a much better situation than you. Instead, use that as an inspiration to improve your personal finance.

About the Author

Lucy has over a decade of experience in finance. She is currently the content curator here at Perfect Payday.

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