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Making it through to payday

I do the best I can with the money we earn, but sometimes it just doesn't make it through to payday. If you don't have a great credit history, it can be hard to make a successful application for a credit card or personal loan. Unfortunately, my partner has a really poor credit history, so we struggle to get loans through traditional paths. Instead, we rely on loans from friends and family as well as payday loans. This blog is all about the ways to make it through to the next pay if you have a bad credit rating like us.

Making it through to payday

Getting financial advice before buying a new house

by Rose Davis

Many Australians rely on their family home to generate wealth for the family. The fact that the family home, or primary residence, is tax fee capital gains means that it can be a very effective way of building wealth. If you are looking to buy a new home, it can often be a good idea to get some financial advice. 

Budget capacity

It can be a good idea to revise your budget to ensure that you can make the payments on the house, but also extra payments associated with a house such as rates, home maintenance and insurances. These costs all go up when you upgrade your home so it's a good idea to make sure that your budget has enough flexibility to cover any of these extra costs. If you are not comfortable estimating these costs, it can be useful to get financial advice from a professional. 

Diversification

Many people have most of their wealth in their home but this can leave them very vulnerable to falling house prices. If you are relying on your home value to keep increasing to help fund your retirement, it can be well worth getting financial advice on how you can diversify your wealth and invest in a range of asset classes including shares and cash. This can help you to increase your wealth longer term and reduce the risk of losing money if one asset class fails.

Stress testing

If you are about to make a large purchase that is partially on credit, then it's always a good idea to review if you can still make the payments if interests rates rise or if you have a dip in income, such as losing your job. By understanding under which circumstances you won't be able to make payments, you can make plans to deal with any issues that may arise and put plans in place if you job seems unstable or interest rates start rising.  

Long term plans

It can be a good idea to review how long you are likely to stay in the area. If you are likely to move for work or personal reasons, it's a good idea to review whether you could easily sell or rent out the house. 

Before making a large purchase, such as buy a new house, is a good time to review your financial situation and get some professional advice. This can help to increase your wealth longer term. 

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