Personal Credit Awareness

You can make it happen! Managing your money is a possibility and HSBC is here to help you. Know your financial goals and create a plan to forecast your expenses. Develop the discipline of planning and good financial stewardship. Know your limitations and priorities. Be focused.

With these, you can achieve your set financial goals. For other tips, check this guide to help you balance your budget, manage your credit card, and pursue your personal financial health.

A good credit record is very valuable to you as this information is used by banks, finance companies, and credit card companies when they are deciding whether to approve your application for a new loan or card, or when managing existing credit such as increasing your borrowing limit.

It takes time to build up a good credit record. Making all your card payments on time, avoiding defaults on loans, not filing for bankruptcy, or not having any court action taken against you for non-payment of debts all adds to a good credit history. Long years of managing your finances well, builds up and, if you have a record of good repayment, a lender is more likely to offer you credit, and you may find they will also offer it at lower rates of interest.

Treat your credit record like a precious commodity that's hard to replace once you lose it. You need to protect it carefully as it will affect your chances of getting a loan / credit card application approved when you really need it. Credit can help you manage your financial affairs and your ability to fulfill your dreams, and managing your financial affairs well will help you improve your credit record.

Credit

    When you use credit, you get your money or goods immediately. The interest you pay is the cost of being able to get the
    money or goods now. You can buy a car on installment terms, use a credit card to buy clothes, take out a loan to pay for
    a holiday, or a mortgage to buy a house. But never forget: if you borrow money, you have to repay it sooner or later,
    and you will pay back more than you borrowed in the first place.

    Before you borrow, or use your credit card, always ask yourself the following:

        •  Do I really need this item?

        •  How much do I already owe?

        •  How much extra will all of these repayments really cost me?

        •  Can I really afford this?

    Use a budget planner to see how much you are already spending of what you've got coming in. And remember to leave
    a margin for emergencies. Put this in an account where you have easy access to it. If you really can't afford to save, it's
    unlikely that you can afford to repay a new loan.

    Be tough with yourself. You might want a new TV set, but will you really be able to keep up the monthly repayments? Try
    saving the amount of the monthly payment each month for a few months first. If this doesn't cause you any problems, you
    can probably afford the loan.

    Top tips:

1. Always keep track of what you've bought with your credit card. 2. Taking regular cash advances is generally not a good idea - it's still money you will have to repay and, if you use it to repay other loans, or to top up your salary, all you are doing is increasing your debt, which will not help you to get your finances in order.

Always try to have some money set aside for the future. It will help if something unexpected happens. If you only have loans, it will be much harder to manage. If you have money left over each week or month, always aim to put some aside for savings for you and your family future emergencies .Aim for an emergency fund up to 6 months of your salary.

Cost

    The price of the loan is the interest you have to pay on a monthly basis that will affect the amount of money that you have
    available at the end of the day. To compare the cost of different types of loans, look at the annual interest rates and any
    additional fees.

    The annual interest rates - sometimes shown as an APR (annual percentage rate of charge) - are a guide to the cost of the
    credit deal. As a general rule, if the period of the loan is the same, the lower the annual interest rate, the better the deal.

    The longer you take to repay a loan or credit card, the more it will cost you in interest.

   Top tip:

You should always aim to finish repaying a loan before you need to replace or pay again for what you have bought.

    Always look carefully at credit agreements. If you are in any doubt get advice, ask the Bank staff, and do it quickly. You have
    to know

        • How much will the monthly payments be and how long will you have to pay them?

        • Are there any other charges besides the interest?

        • What happens if you can't keep up the repayments?

        • Can you settle an agreement earlier without penalties?

    Top tip:

    The longer you take to repay a loan or credit card, the more it will cost you in interest.

    Top tip:

Make sure that when you take up a loan / credit facility, that you fully understand the charges as well as the terms and conditions. HSBC staff will be able to assist you by working through with you, the amount of money left for your spending after proposed loan / credit card repayments.