Skip to main content

Use your credit card right

Buy Gold Mutual Funds

Invest Mutual Funds Online

Download Mutual Fund Application Forms

Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Your credit card can be the single most important factor in improving and increasing your credit score. On the other hand it can also plummet your score to dark depths if you are not careful. Think smart and use your credit cards to your advantage. Here are some pointers on what to do and what not to do in order to achieve this reality.

1. No debts so far. Opting for a brand new credit card for the first time.

This makes sense for your credit score. Making use of a credit card judiciously will help you improve your credit score. Just make sure you open your credit card with a respected and popular brand name.

2. Opening a new credit card account.

When you already have a couple of credit cards, opening a brand new credit card account can cause a dip in scores. By all means obtain a new credit card if you are not planning to get into more debt, else think several times before opting for one.

3. Low credit limit.

Keep a tab on the credit limit of your credit card. Open a credit card account with a company that will provide you with the highest credit limit possible. High credit limits, even if they are not used will add merit to your credit score and improve it.

4. Closing credit card accounts.

Even if you do not use your credit cards, don't rush to close them. Keep them as long as you can. If you must close them, then do that over a period of time. Closing too many too quickly will harm your credit score significantly.

5. Choosing the ideal credit card to close.

The number of years you hold a credit card account has an impact on your credit scores. Hence, let your oldest credit card be, if you must close a card opt for the most recent cards and close them one at a time, maybe once a month over a period of time.

6. Rotate usage of multiple credit cards.

It is a smart move if you utilise different credit cards for your various different expenses instead of constantly using only one credit card for most of your purchases. Make it a point to use each credit card you have once in six months. Some credit card companies might even close your account if they feel you don't use the card at all. In such instances, it affects your credit score. To be on the safer side, try and use every card from time to time.

7. Bargain for a lower interest rate

If you have never defaulted on a payment for a few years, make use of your good repayment track record and speak to the bank officials for a better bargain. Request them to lower your interest rate citing the good track record you hold with them. Keep following up with your bank from time to time and you may just get your wish!

8. Request for an increase in credit limit

You may have purchased your most recent card because of the higher credit limit. If at a later date you wish to close some of your cards and you know it makes better sense to close the most recent card, you have a dilemma. The most recent card has the highest credit limit. The oldest card has the lowest credit limit. What do you do? In such instances, if you have a good repayment track record, approach the bank and negotiate for a higher credit limit especially since you have been their customer for quite a few years. Most banks will oblige and you can then proceed to close the most recent card if you absolutely must do so.

9. Keep a self-imposed credit limit, which is much lower than the actual credit limit

Never exceeding 40% of your credit limit has a very beneficial effect on your credit score. This shows your credit limit is high but you have not burnt it up and have plenty in reserve. This logic helps you attain a much higher credit score. This is the same logic that suggests you should not close any credit card accounts, as they collectively will provide you a high credit limit, which is good for the score.

10. Paying off credit card dues quickly will dramatically improve your credit score.

Try not to encourage too much credit card debt. Be wise and pay the dues quickly and keep rotating your cards. Paying off dues will cause a spike in your credit score, which is highly favourable.

Happy Investing!!

 

We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

 

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

                        OR

You can write back to us at prajnacapital [at] gmail [dot] com

---------------------------------------------

Invest Mutual Funds Online

Transact Mutual Fund Online

Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Mutual Fund Application Forms

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds        Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
    2. Large and Midcap Funds     Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
    1. Mid and SmallCap Funds    Invest Online
      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
    1. Small and MicroCap Funds             Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
    1. Sector Funds              Invest Online
      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
    1. Gold Mutual Funds             Invest Online
      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund

Popular posts from this blog

Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund

Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund Online One of the key developments that the Street is keenly waiting for is a cut in interest rates by Reserve Bank of India . With demand rising gradually, a rate cut is expected to boost earnings growth for companies. In such a situation, schemes which invest in high growth companies are best suited, especially when seen from a long-term perspective. One such scheme is Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund. Fund managers Anand Radhakrishnan, Roshi Jain and Srikesh Nair strictly follow valuation parameters when it comes to choosing stocks.Valuation parameters, such as enterprise value, price-to-earnings growth ratio, forward price-to-sales ratio and discounted earnings per share, play a critical role in selecting companies for investments. Taking into account these parameters, the fund managers invest in companies which are poised for high growth in their respective sectors. This approach has been in favour of the scheme and it has perform...

Atal Pension Yojana contribution Tax Benefit for spouse

Contributions to Atal Pension Yojana (APY) are eligible for the same tax benefits as the NPS. This means that the contributions can be claimed under Section 80CCD (1B). The current limit for Section 80CCD (1B) is   Rs   50,000, over and above the   Rs   1.5 lakh limit under Section 80C. Section 80 CCD (1) is a different one, meant to cover employers' contribution towards NPS . You cannot get tax benefit by investing in the name of your spouse under Section 80 CCD . ------------------------------ ----------------- Invest Rs 1,50,000 and Save Tax under Section 80C. Get Great Returns by Investing in Best Performing ELSS Mutual Funds Top 10 Tax Saver Mutual Funds to invest in India for 2016 Best 10 ELSS Mutual Funds in India for 2016 1. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund 2. Axis Tax Saver Fund 3. Religare Tax Plan 4. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund 5. Franklin India TaxShield 6. ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund 7. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund 8. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96 9. ...

Avoid NFOs

  Don't get taken in by the flurry of new fund offers. You will be better off sticking to the tried and tested schemes.   For the past one year, to cash in on the bull run in equities, mutual fund houses have gone on a new fund offer (NFO) overdrive. But experts are unanimous in their advice: avoid NFOs . While past performance is not an indicator of how a fund will fare in the future, it does tell the investor how skilful the fund manager is. This crucial information is missing in an NFO. Not only is there no track record to judge an NFO by, many NFOs are similar to funds that already exist. If the new fund is similar to existing funds, you are better off investing in the latter. Around 67% of the new launches in 2014 were closed-end products. Investing in the NFO of a closed-end fund is doubly risky. In case the fund's performance is lacklustre, a closed-end fund does not allow you to exit. Even though closed-end funds are listed on the stock...

Debt Mutual Fund Dividends are Taxable

DDT is deducted when a non-equity fund declares dividends. Equity and balanced fund dividends are tax-free The AMC is correct to deduct the dividend distribution tax (DDT) as it is mandated by tax laws. DDT in mutual funds is deducted every time a non-equity fund declares dividends. Equity fund and balanced fund dividends are tax-free . It is possible that you have invested in a non-equity fund for the first time or have received the dividend under a non-equity fund for the first time. That is why this is the first occasion when you have come across DDT.   The rate at which non-equity schemes deduct DDT has also gone up after the July 2014 budget. This is due to a change in calculation methodology. Earlier, if the fund has to declare a dividend of R 100, it used to make a provision for R 128.3, paying R 28.3 to the taxman and distributing the balance to the investor. This allowed the investor to bear less tax since the effective tax rate was 22.07 per ce...

Mutual Fund Exit Load Changes

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300 Mutual Fund Exit Load Changes AMCs don't communicate about any change in exit load directly with investors, but do update on their website   The exit load applicable to your investments is the load which existed at the time when you invested in the particular fund. Any subsequent changes in the exit load will not be applicable to your investments.   However, Asset Management Companies ( AMCs ) periodically publish addendums in the newspapers, which state any change in exit loads of specific schemes managed by them. Such changes are also posted on their websites. However, a direct communication to an investor is not made, considering the costs involved in doing so. In their own interests, investors should not only track the performance of the funds they i...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now