This Diwali, focus on enjoying and celebrating without compromising your financial future. To achieve the same, you must be careful about your repayment integrity and overall credit profile.
You can accomplish this by properly planning your budget, wisely using credit, and clearing your pending personal loan EMIs, home loan EMIs, and credit card bills on time.
Let’s examine three key ways to help aspiring borrowers maintain a healthy credit profile, a solid credit score and enhance their festive celebrations even further.
Three smart ways to maintain a healthy credit profile
I. Set festive budgets separately
- Write down and design separate budgets for gifts, decorations and other essential purchases. Define a clear limit for each purchase to avoid blurring the lines between necessities and desires. Your purchases should be driven by meeting necessary expenses, not emotional spending to fulfil desires.
- Plan purchases well in advance before Diwali so that everything can be put in proper order for the auspicious occasion. This will also prevent you from making any last-minute, impulsive spending decisions.
- Try to use a mix of cash, debit cards, UPI, and your credit card to meet essential expenses. This will help ensure that you do not exhaust your credit card limit.
II. Shop smart, not just big
- In this festive exuberance, you must value your funds. Even if a purchase looks easy to secure and you have the required funds, still focus on discounts for items and make only essential purchases. Do not purchase unnecessary products and services.
- Cross-check prices across different platforms before making big-ticket deals on mobile phones, laptops, or similar electronic devices.
- Ensure that you keep your credit utilisation ratio in check and never overextend your credit, i.e., borrowing. Use credit cards only for making high-end purchases, not for every single purchase.
III. Prioritise repayments and monitor credit
- Always pay your credit card dues in full and on time, not just the minimum payment-enable auto-debit if needed.
- Missing an EMI or card payment, even once, can have a lasting negative effect on your credit record.
- Regularly review your credit report during the season to spot any discrepancies or fraudulent spending early.
- Report any errors or mistakes in your credit report promptly and have them rectified to maintain a clean record.
By approaching Diwali shopping with this discipline, you can celebrate lavishly now without sacrificing your future credit prospects.