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Cape Town - It is a good thing for consumers to take a long, hard look at their current financial situation and make goals for where they want to be in a few months' time.
That’s according to Tersia van Rooyen, manager responsible for consumer education at South Africa’s largest credit bureau, TransUnion.
She said that it was important that consumers start to work now to achieve their financial goals for this year.
Making financial resolutions is one thing. Sticking to them is another, as a recent Google Consumer Survey commissioned by TransUnion in the United States showed.
The survey of over 1 500 Americans revealed that that twice as many (40.2%) did not reach their financial goal in 2013 compared to those who did (19.5%).
“There is no reason to believe that South Africans are any different,” Van Rooyen said.
Nevertheless, a good proportion of those surveyed (37.8%), said they planned to commit to at least one financial resolution this year.
Nearly a third (32.1%) said they planned to save more money. More than a quarter (27.29%) said they planned to pay down existing debt; and more than a quarter (27.7 percent) said they planned to spend less money on unnecessary expenses.
Van Rooyen said TransUnion has come up with five easy-to-follow tips to help consumers get financially fit:
Check your credit reports frequently
The first step to robust credit health is to recognise which bad financial habits, such as late payments, you may have and how they are represented on your credit report.
Regular check-ups may also help you guard against identity theft.
You are entitled to one free credit report from every credit bureau every year.
Know your score
Understand what affects your credit score and take the necessary steps to reaching healthier credit.
The higher your score, the better rate you are likely to receive.
Create a monthly spending plan and stick to it
Determine your current spending habits and set a monthly budget. This will determine just how much disposable income you have so you can manage it wisely.
File a dispute
It is your right to question information on your credit report that you don’t recognise or that may not accurately reflect your credit history.
Guard against identity theft
To help minimise your risk against it, sign up for a credit monitoring service that will quickly alert you to any changes in your report.
That’s according to Tersia van Rooyen, manager responsible for consumer education at South Africa’s largest credit bureau, TransUnion.
She said that it was important that consumers start to work now to achieve their financial goals for this year.
Making financial resolutions is one thing. Sticking to them is another, as a recent Google Consumer Survey commissioned by TransUnion in the United States showed.
The survey of over 1 500 Americans revealed that that twice as many (40.2%) did not reach their financial goal in 2013 compared to those who did (19.5%).
“There is no reason to believe that South Africans are any different,” Van Rooyen said.
Nevertheless, a good proportion of those surveyed (37.8%), said they planned to commit to at least one financial resolution this year.
Nearly a third (32.1%) said they planned to save more money. More than a quarter (27.29%) said they planned to pay down existing debt; and more than a quarter (27.7 percent) said they planned to spend less money on unnecessary expenses.
Van Rooyen said TransUnion has come up with five easy-to-follow tips to help consumers get financially fit:
Check your credit reports frequently
The first step to robust credit health is to recognise which bad financial habits, such as late payments, you may have and how they are represented on your credit report.
Regular check-ups may also help you guard against identity theft.
You are entitled to one free credit report from every credit bureau every year.
Know your score
Understand what affects your credit score and take the necessary steps to reaching healthier credit.
The higher your score, the better rate you are likely to receive.
Create a monthly spending plan and stick to it
Determine your current spending habits and set a monthly budget. This will determine just how much disposable income you have so you can manage it wisely.
File a dispute
It is your right to question information on your credit report that you don’t recognise or that may not accurately reflect your credit history.
Guard against identity theft
To help minimise your risk against it, sign up for a credit monitoring service that will quickly alert you to any changes in your report.
