Firstly, regardless of your credit score, you can take control of your finances and improve your score - starting now.
The best way to build and protect your credit score is to responsibly manage your finances and debt.
Here are a few things you can do:
- Always pay your bills on time and in full each month. If you can’t make a payment, talk to your lender and make alternative arrangements to pay back what you owe.
- Make sure you can afford the repayments when you take out credit.
- Some lenders suggest that you should try to keep credit repayments between 20% and 30% of your income. So if you earn R5000 per month, you should try to keep your payments between R1 000 and R1 500 per month.
- Avoid multiple applications for credit in a short space of time, as this will make you appear overly reliant on credit.
- Regularly check your credit report to make sure it’s accurate and up to date. If you manage your finances sensibly and only borrow what you can afford to repay, you’ll be in a good position to access credit at the best rates.
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