Starting over with your debt

[HR Solutions]

Unfortunately having a bad credit rating also affects your chances of getting a new job. A lot of companies nowadays require people with clean credit history.

[ians]

Something to add about credit/HP/ bonds, no matter how clean your credit rating is or how good the deal, the bank will always look at income/turnover etc. I found a house a couple years back at a really good price almost half the value, bank was not interested in giving me a bond. I ended up having to borrow an additional R200k from a trustworthy source which I used as a deposit. the person owns a small percentage of my house, but hey it is going to take another 25 years before I own it so, hopefully Julius or the like doesn't come into power in the next 25 years otherwise I loose everything regards and the property value will fall through its own a$$ in any case.

[league_of_ordinary_men]

Something to add about credit/HP/ bonds, no matter how clean your credit rating is or how good the deal, the bank will always look at income/turnover etc. I found a house a couple years back at a really good price almost half the value, bank was not interested in giving me a bond. I ended up having to borrow an additional R200k from a trustworthy source which I used as a deposit. the person owns a small percentage of my house, but hey it is going to take another 25 years before I own it so, hopefully Julius or the like doesn't come into power in the next 25 years otherwise I loose everything regards and the property value will fall through its own a$$ in any case.

Good tip to remember, I was thinking someone should mention it, thank you for that.

[Dave A]

I'd suggest the way to go is a credit card, but you've got to settle the balance every month. If you can have and use a credit card without incurring interest charges over a reasonable period of time, it's a pretty clear signal you've got solid financial discipline.

Apart from the obvious credit scoring side, I also like the fact that it's one line of credit to manage instead of a whole bunch of store accounts - where I'd argue it's much easier to get out of your depth just because it's harder to keep track of your total debt.

Bearing in mind you're trying to build for a big purchase (car and/or house), the other thing that makes a big difference is saving. Being able to show you are able to save under your current budget not only improves the "affordability" calculation, having a 20% deposit also makes a huge difference to the interest rate you'll get charged.

[league_of_ordinary_men]

I'd suggest the way to go is a credit card, but you've got to settle the balance every month. If you can have and use a credit card without incurring interest charges over a reasonable period of time, it's a pretty clear signal you've got solid financial discipline.

Apart from the obvious credit scoring side, I also like the fact that it's one line of credit to manage instead of a whole bunch of store accounts - where I'd argue it's much easier to get out of your depth just because it's harder to keep track of your total debt.

Bearing in mind you're trying to build for a big purchase (car and/or house), the other thing that makes a big difference is saving. Being able to show you are able to save under your current budget not only improves the "affordability" calculation, having a 20% deposit also makes a huge difference to the interest rate you'll get charged.

Very sound advise thank you Dave.

[pmbguy]

I still think a credit card in the hands of most youngsters is not a good idea.