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6 ways to improve your credit score with minimal effort

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Bessie Hassan | Money expert at finder.com.au

Whether
you have a great credit score, a bad one or you’re confused as to what the
numbers actually mean, improving your credit score will shape your financial
future for the better. A good credit score can help you get a discount on your
home loan or help you secure new finance.

Here
are six ways that you can improve your credit score with minimal effort.

1)  Check
your credit report

Your
credit score is based on the historical borrowing and repayment behaviour
listed in your credit report. Checking your credit report on your own
won’t have any impact on your credit score. However, if a lender requests your
credit report, it may leave a negative mark. This is why you should be careful
of how many lenders you approach for a loan, as it will often prompt them to
check your report.

Checking
your history yourself allows you to see what activities have affected your
credit score, giving you a better understanding of what you should and
shouldn’t be doing. You might also be able to find any mistakes that have been
made by credit reporting bodies and take action to correct them.

2)  Make
sure you have a borrowing and repayment history

Having
debt doesn’t sound like it would improve your credit score but a completely
blank credit report doesn’t assure lenders that you’re a responsible borrower.
If you don’t have any loans, it might be a good idea to start using a credit
card, even if you only use it to pay for petrol.

3)  Pay
your bills on time

Once
you have debt, it’s important to pay it off on time. Missed or late payments on
credit contracts such as credit cards, personal loans and home loans can
negatively affect your credit score. Making the minimum payment on time will
show healthy borrowing behaviour.

To
make this easier on yourself, set calendar reminders on your phone or computer
so that you don’t miss a due date. If you’re sure that you’ll always have
enough in your account to pay your bills, try setting up a direct debit to
automatically pay the bills when they’re due. Also make sure to let any banks
or lenders know your new address if you’re moving. That way, you’ll prevent
yourself from missing your bills and having them listed as defaults.

4)  Lower
your credit limit

A
recent survey from finder.com.au found that two-thirds of Aussies believe that
only your credit utilisation ratio (that is, how much of your credit that
you’ve actually used) affects your credit score. However, in Australia, only
your credit limit is recognised rather than how much you’ve borrowed out of it.

For
instance, if your credit card has a $6,000 credit limit and you’ve only
borrowed $1,400, the only figure affecting your credit score will be the
$6,000. Therefore, it’s a good idea to lower your credit limit to $2,000, or to
whatever credit limit is just enough for you.

5)  Consolidate
your debt

If
you have several loans, consolidating them all into one account can make it
easier to manage your repayments. It will also reduce the risk of any negative
activity on your credit report and it can help you save on fees and get you a
lower interest rate.

6)  Check
your credit score regularly

The
final way you can actively improve your credit score is to check it regularly.
Getting your credit score doesn’t require much effort or time. All you need
to access your credit score for free is your email,
name, sex, date of birth, driver’s licence and your address.

Once
you’ve made an account, checking your credit score is easy. Generally, your
credit score will change every month if there is any new activity on your
credit report.

—

Ultimately,
improving your credit score comes down to proving that you’re a responsible
borrower that can make punctual and regular payments. Ensuring that you borrow
within your means and never miss a due date can almost definitely lead to an
improved credit score.

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

download-raiz-app
Click to download the Raiz app

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

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The Advantages of Dollar Cost Averaging

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Markets
go up and markets go down. This is completely normal, and is known as market
volatility or risk. The Raiz Philosophy is to invest small amounts regularly,
even in falling markets as this can help you to ride out the downturns in the
market and is one of the keys to having a healthier balance over the long run.
This is the well-known principle of Dollar Cost Averaging. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

How
does it work? For example, say you have $1,000 to invest. Instead of investing
it all at once, you could invest $100 each month into the market for 10 months,
despite the changes in the market value.

If
for example the stock of choice was priced at $10 the first month, you would
purchase 10 units. If during the second month the stock was priced at $5, you
would purchase 20 units, and so on.

In the end, you would have purchased more
shares when prices were lower and fewer shares when prices were higher. The
outcome is that you may have invested more prudently than simply investing the
money all at once in a lump sum.

Let’s
look at the other key advantages to sticking with Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA):

Avoids
Bad Timing

Investing in one lump sum and trying to pick the best price to enter the stock is known
as market timing, and is something very difficult to do and get right.

If an investor could have any superpower in the world, it would be to pick the low
points of the market. Many have tried, succeeded and failed but no one knows
exactly when the lows and highs will happen, and no one can stop unwanted
surprises from happening.

Dollar Cost Averaging can provide a disciplined strategy as it ensures you are not too exposed to
falls in the market when you buy at the top; and rewarding you when the market
recovers, for buying when the market was falling.

By not depending on the
timing, DCA can smooth out the market’s ups and downs.

Reduces
Risk

Dollar Cost Averaging is most effective in a long term saving strategy. As the market moves up and
down, dollar-cost averaging over time reduces your risks of trying to pick the
best times to invest from these swings.

By viewing falling markets as buying
opportunities, you can significantly enhance your long-term return potential
when the market rebounds.

Removes
Emotional Investing

People often make decisions based on emotion or loss aversion. Loss aversion refers to
an investor’s tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains.

Studies suggest that losses are twice as powerful, psychologically, as gains,
leading this type of investment mindset to be more likely to make the mistake
of needlessly selling holdings and switching to cash in a down market.

By
avoiding the media hype or fear in picking the ‘right time’, investors can
avoid both the euphoric and depressive investment traps.

A Dollar Cost Averaging strategy is in line with the Raiz’ philosophy and provides a disciplined
strategy.

“We
don’t have to be smarter than the rest, we have to be more disciplined than the
rest.” – Warren Buffett

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

download-raiz-app
Click to download the Raiz app

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

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Back to Uni – Time to get smart about investing

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As summer officially comes to an
end, it is time to go back to University – and we know that whether you are a
first year student or a returning graduate the temptation to spend is
everywhere. 

The harsh reality of returning to
Uni is that it is time to recover from a summer spent emptying your bank
account travelling, shopping and celebrating the festive season. Even if you
spent the summer working, the start of the academic year is the perfect time to
start thinking about the best way to make your hard earned cash last
longer. 

Instead of falling into the trap
of spending all your savings on overpriced but underwhelming lunches on campus,
or unnecessary Tuesday afternoon drinks at the union bar, get smart about
saving and investing – whilst you spend.

 It may seem trivial today,
but these little savings add up and will pleasantly surprise you, helping fund
your next summer activities. Not only is saving a bit of extra cash useful, but
being disciplined with your money is an important life lesson for everyone…

 However, if you cannot
function without three double-shot soy flat whites a day, at-least start
saving whilst you spend. That’s where Raiz comes in!

 Many university students
think that they are not ready to start investing. Whether you think that your
income isn’t big enough, you are too young, or that you are lacking the
financial knowledge, it’s time to stop making excuses because it’s easier than
you think. You can start investing from as little as $5.00.

By rounding-up your purchases, Raiz
links your everyday spending to saving and investing. 

The goal of the round-up is to
allow you to invest small amounts, without even thinking about it! By linking
your spending accounts (EFTPOS, debit and credit cards etc.), the virtual
change from every transaction is invested into your Raiz investment account.
This combined with lump sum investments and automatic deposits gives you an
easy way to effectively develop your first portfolio.  You can get
your money out at any time with a couple of swipes of the app. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

The registration process only
takes a couple of minutes and no previous knowledge of markets is needed to set
up your account.

Whether you are already planning
your mid-year escape, thinking about paying off your University debts or just
feel like your laptop is in need of an upgrade – you are ready to start
investing.  With so much on your mind at the beginning of a university semester
– let Raiz take care of your savings.

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not consider any person’s investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the Raiz product.

The information in this website is confidential. It must not be reproduced, distributed or disclosed to any other person. The information is based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This will impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz.

Past return performance of the Raiz product should not be relied on for deciding to invest in Raiz and is not a good predictor of future performance.

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An introduction to dollar-cost averaging

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We
are very excited about launching Raiz Down Under, giving Australians the chance
to invest their change to build something much bigger. One of the most
important messages we want to spread is that when you invest with Raiz, you
have chosen a smart and secure way to invest. Let’s look at one of the
techniques Raiz utilises to manage and grow your savings effectively-dollar-cost
averaging.

The
market will go up, the market will go down, being able to pick the low point
and see your portfolio grow in value is the dream, but is unlikely when acting
on intuition alone. Dollar-cost averaging involves regular investment over
time, regardless of movements in the market. This aims to reduce the need for
intuition in picking highs and lows in the market.

For
example, say you have $1,000 to invest. Instead of investing it all at once,
you could invest $100 each month into the market for 10 months, despite the
changes in the market value. If for example the stock of choice was priced at
$10 the first month, you would purchase 10 units. If during the second month
the stock was priced at $5, you would purchase 20 units, and so on. In the end,
you would have purchased more shares when prices were lower and fewer shares
when prices were higher, having invested more prudently than simply investing
the money all at once in a lump sum.

This
strategy has the potential to give you a low cost per share relative to the
overall average price per share – as you buy more units when the price is low,
and less when the price is high. This disciplined strategy is important,
ensuring you are not too exposed to falls in the market when you buy at the
top; and rewarding you when the market recovers, for buying when the market was
falling.

Dollar-cost
averaging is most effective in a long term saving strategy. As the market moves
up and down, dollar-cost averaging over time reduces your risks of trying to
pick the best times to invest from these swings, trending your portfolio
towards profitability.

You
can utilise Raiz to implement dollar-cost averaging at your own pace by
selecting another key feature, recurring deposits.  Raiz will manage your
investment, all while saving you time, energy and uncertainty. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

For
more information and to register for our beta testing due in November 2015,
make sure you visit www.Raizinvest.com.au and sign up!

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

download-raiz-app
Click to download the Raiz app

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

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Time is Money: So Why Do Most Apps Steal Your Time?

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The number one metric for most
apps is user engagement. The more time you spend using the app; flinging birds,
playing words with friends or updating your whereabouts, the more opportunity
the producer of that app has to monetize you.

That’s ok if you are getting good
value, like Google. Their search engine is very efficient, takes little time,
and usually delivers information you want. But most apps aren’t that way. Have
you ever found yourself spending a few hours with an app when you only planned
to check in? Many apps take more than they give. Their success is dependent on
getting more and more of your attention.

At Raiz we think it should be the
opposite. Apps should free you to do more of what you really love to do. So
instead of trying to increase “user engagement” we have features like automatic
round ups, which allow you to save and invest in tiny increments without ever
checking the app.

As a popular investing tool when
you do engage with Raiz you can see how your portfolio has performed;
understand how changes in market affect the value of your investing; and also
learn about the power of regular savings and compounding. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

image

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

download-raiz-app
Click to download the Raiz app

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

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RAIZ: A NATURAL WAY TO INVEST

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Hello and thanks for visiting our
blog. We want to make your financial life a little easier by offering a simple
new way to save and invest, but first let us tell you a bit about ourselves.

Raiz is a group of
mathematicians, software engineers, behaviourists and financial professionals
who all need to save and invest, and we believe this should be something that
happens in the background of life and be as natural and without effort as
possible. So we built Raiz as much for ourselves as for you. The idea is to
harmonize with human nature. We link something we need to do, investing, with
something we do all the time, spending. In this way saving and investing
happens automatically, in small increments with ease.

As you may know there are
millions of people with – “saving more for their financial future” – high on
their “to-do” list. Many are waiting to accumulate a lump sum before they
start, and missing out on years of compounding, or they believe they can’t
afford to take money out of their pay check, or can’t quite muster the
discipline to invest often enough to make a difference. But by breaking the
investment process into little pieces and finding creative ways to funnel money
into an investment account, more people can invest more often and worry less.

Behind our app is a micro
investing engine that rounds up your credit and debit card purchases to the
nearest dollar, and steers these micro-monies into your own investment account
of diversified index funds. Over time your account builds while the financial
engine does all the investing, rebalancing and instantly communicating results
to the app on your smartphone. For more information on Raiz fees, click here.

By making the increments small,
frequent and automatic, the process is easy. The registration process does take
a couple of minutes because you do have to link your bank account debit card or
credit card, and set up your investment account parameters, but after that it
just happens.

Investing small dollars may seem
insignificant at first, but it is a start.

Our commitment to our users is to
keep thinking of ways to make the savings and investment process as fun,
simple, natural and effective as possible.

Make sure you get on the list
at www.Raizinvest.com.au !

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

download-raiz-app
Click to download the Raiz app

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.

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