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personal finance

Here are some of the best credit card strategies to help pay down your debt

If you’ve bitten off a little more credit card debt than you can chew, there are a number of tried and true credit card strategies you can use to whittle your debt down to nothing, or at least to more manageable levels.   First, we’ll look at some ways you can keep the debt from growing, and then we’ll look at how you can reduce it.  Credit card strategies to keep your debt from growing  The first step is to become…

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The secret to your budget? Buckets.

If you’ve never had a budget, or if you’ve tried and given up on one before, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Visions of complicated spreadsheets and living on nothing but 2 minute noodles make the idea seem at best, snore-inducing and at worst, overly restrictive. But the truth is it takes very little effort to get a basic system – ‘money buckets’ – in place. This is great news, as it can mean the difference between major savings…

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7 tips to save money in 10 minutes
7 money saving tips you can complete in 10 minutes each

It can be all to easy to chuck anything money or finance related in the too-hard basket. But the truth is, spending a few minutes sorting out just one aspect of your finances can make a big difference. If you’ve got 10 minutes to spare, complete one of these money saving tips and you could see instant financial results. Empty your spare change into a jar Then pop on the lid. Now every time you’ve got a few bits of…

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How to enjoy a low-spend long weekend

As the long weekend kicks off, it can be all too easy to fill your time with fun and frivolous spending. But before you know it, Monday night rolls around and your bank balance is looking more than a little depleted. Luckily, it doesn’t take much to reset your default setting from ‘spend’ to ‘save’ for a few days, and the savings can be pretty significant. Read on for our tips to boost your savings in just a few days.…

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Using a credit card for everything? There are other ways to pay

Don’t believe you have to have a credit card. Paying interest sucks. It sucks the lifeblood out of your finances. That’s because unless you clear your entire bill within the interest free days, you pay interest. That interest means you’re paying as much as 22.95% more than your mates at the mainstream banks for the same things, which has a detrimental effect on your finances over time. Other (cheaper) ways to pay Thankfully there are way more credit-free ways to…

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Why being a credit ‘deadbeat’ is actually a good thing

Are you a deadbeat? When it comes to credit cards, that’s actually a good thing. Yep, a ‘deadbeat’ is a term for someone who pays off their credit card in full and on time every month. Why a deadbeat? Well, if you pay off your card each month, the credit card company doesn’t charge you interest  –  so they won’t make any money off you. (Credit card companies also use the much more polite terms ‘non-revolver’ and ‘transactor’.) As a…

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Man breaks ceiling drywall while doing DIY
Insurance own-goals: Mistakes that lead to declined claims

We love to hate insurance companies. But they do pay most claims. The trouble is that a lot of us don’t understand the basic concepts of how insurance works and we get caught by some mighty expensive fishhooks. Imagine this scenario. You borrow mum’s car, but crash it while dropping a mate home. “No worries”, you say, “mum’s insurance will pay the claim”. The claim is declined because you breached your restricted licence by carrying a passenger. What are you…

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Female cutting her fringe
I cut my own hair for seven years (and saved nearly $4,000)

Yep, you read that heading right. (Welcome to the Credit Simple blog, where I confess all my deepest, darkest money secrets.) For seven years, I cut my own hair. Of course, it’s not as drastic as it sounds, but the end savings result is rather gobsmacking. For seven years when I was in my twenties, I DIY’ed my tresses. Why? Well, I’m slightly introverted and I hate the small talk you have to engage in at the hairdresser. I’ve also got…

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Man using ATM outdoors
Does your bank reckon you should have your KiwiSaver with them, all under one roof? Read this first

I banked a cheque the other day (yes, I know! Some people are still using cheques) and as I stood there at the counter, the teller asked me if I had my KiwiSaver with the bank. “No, it’s elsewhere,” I said. “Why don’t you bring it to us?” he asked. “Because I’m with Simplicity and their fees are lower,” I said. (More on that here.) “But you should have your KiwiSaver with your everyday bank,” he argued. Now this made…

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Drones flying
Five ways technology can save you money

Robots – artificial intelligence, chatbots, robo-advisors and the rest – are big news in the banking and finance industry. Packaging financial smarts into a programme or algorithm looks like a great way for big banks, insurance companies and airlines to help guide customers through complicated decisions and save (the company) money along the way. It’s early days though, and chatting with a robot can sometimes feel a bit like, well, chatting with a robot. Take this experience I had the…

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