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Comparing credit cards the right way can be rewarding, because there’s a credit card that can cater to almost every lifestyle and financial need.

When you compare, you’ll be looking at everything from interest rates, to reward programs to promotional offers to fees.

Compare credit cards by type of card

Since you probably already know that closing your accounts too often can hurt your credit score, we hope you’ll keep your card for some time. That’s why it’s important to choose the type of card that’s right for you – so you can enjoy its lifestyle benefits for time to come.

Here are the main types of cards:

• Reward credit cards. Cards that let you earn points you can redeem for gift vouchers, merchandise, travel, cash and more. These are great for people who pay off their credit card every month (so as to avoid interest).
• Frequent flyer credit cards. A type of rewards card that works with your airline’s frequent flyer programs to supercharge your points accumulation. These are great for people who fly a lot and who pay off their cards every month.
• Low-rate credit cards. Cards that charge a lower interest rate on purchases compared to most other cards. These are great for people who occasionally carry a balance, such as at Christmas time.
• No annual fee credit cards. Cards that don’t charge a yearly fee just to carry them. These are great for people who don’t use their card a lot or who keep their card mainly for emergencies.

Compare cards by interest rate and fees

Once you know what kind of card you want, you’ll want to find out how much it will cost you. Costs usually come from:

• Interest rate. The percentage your debt or balance will grow per year. Go for a lower interest rate if you think you’ll often carry a balance from one month to the next.
• Fees. These may include annual fees, cash advance fees, international transaction fees, additional cardholder fees and late payment fees. The fewer fees the better, although annual fees are sometimes unavoidable for certain types of cards like rewards cards.

Compare by the promotional offer

Depending on how you want to use the card, you may want to consider any introductory offer that comes with a credit card. Here are some of the most common:

• 0% purchase rate. These cards charge 0% interest on purchases for a limited time, such as 6 months or a year. This might be a good option if you plan to make a lot of purchases at once, such as at Christmas time or before a holiday, and could use a few months to pay it off.
• 0% balance transfer. These cards charge 0% interest, up to a certain amount and for a limited time, on existing debt you transfer over from other cards. These are good for people who want to consolidate debt from multiple cards and have a plan to pay it all off by the end of the promotional period.
• Extra rewards or points. Some rewards cards will offer extra rewards or points just for signing up. For example, a travel card or frequent flyer card could offer a free domestic flight or a rewards card could offer 10,000 free bonus points.
• Waived annual fees. Some cards will temporarily waive the annual fee, such as for the first year.

Compare credit cards by their perks

Many cards will come with additional perks that are also worth keeping your eye out for. These can include:

• Free travel and medical insurance
• 0% foreign transaction fees
• Airport lounge access
• Concierge services
• Purchase protection and extended warranty
• Retail partner discounts
• Hotel status credits
• Event tickets

Bottom line

Conducting your credit card comparison the right way is important for a number of reasons. It can keep you from paying too much for your card and it can ensure that you enjoy valued perks, rewards and lifestyle benefits on an ongoing basis.

The information in this blog post is general in nature and does not constitute personal financial or professional advice. It is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual. We do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information and you should not rely on it. Before making any decisions, it is important for you to consider your personal situation, make independent enquiries and seek appropriate tax, legal and other professional advice.

The post How to compare credit cards the right way appeared first on Credit Simple NZ.

Here are a few tips to help you ring in the new decade with as little debt as possible.

1. Reconsider whom you need to shop for

At different points in our lives, it makes sense to shop for certain people and not for others. For example, when our nieces and nephews are young, gifts are appropriate but when they’re adults, maybe a heartfelt card is enough.

Go through your list and decide whom you really need to shop for and who can make do with a heartfelt holiday wish.

2. Set yourself a limit – and stick to it

Now that you know who you need to shop for, set yourself a budget based on what you can reasonably afford. Set aside one “money bucket” for gifts, remembering to factor in the cost of wrapping paper, tape, greeting cards and the like.

Consider a separate money bucket for food, drinks and entertainment. This includes eating out, coffees, treats, parties, costumes and movie outings.

Once you have your budget, stick to it. The whole point is to spend only what you can afford to spend.

3. Consider what people actually need

It’s often the case that people don’t really need, or even want, new expensive gadgets in their lives. If you consider what each person really needs, you may uncover creative and inexpensive ways to fill their holidays with cheer.

Maybe you can surprise your nostalgic mother by transforming all your old childhood photos into a digital scrapbook, or give your achy partner a massage based on a technique you learned from YouTube.

4. Shop online

If you do end up with a few physical goods on your to-buy list, consider buying them online. Not only can you often find better deals, but you’re also less likely to incur unexpected or hidden expenses like petrol, parking, eating out, that special gift to yourself and all those pumpkin gingerbread lattes.

But online shops want your dough just as much as brick and mortar shops do, so make sure you don’t get sucked into all the online sales and marketing gimmicks. Make sure you shop around for the best deals and buy only what’s on your list.

5. Do a Secret Santa

Secret Santas aren’t just for the office and the school yard; they’re great for families too. So if you really want to save money this holiday season, and help others do the same, consider a great big Secret Santa.

Ask everyone to write down their name on a slip of paper, along with two or three items they need (or they can simply write “surprise me!”) and throw those into a hat. This way, everyone can save a little money and no one is left with a useless gift they’ll just toss later.

6. Go potluck

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to entertain guests at your home over Christmas or New Year’s. However, there’s no reason to splurge on all the food yourself. If you decide to throw a party, go ahead and cook a couple of your specialty dishes, but ask all your guests to bring something too.

7. Spend New Years in

You don’t need us to tell you how expensive it can be to pay for food, drinks and cover charges just to attend a fancy New Year’s party. Why not hang some mistletoe at home and have your party there?

You won’t have to put up with obnoxious strangers and you won’t have to stand on milk crates to see the fireworks on your big screen and most importantly food and drinks will be a fraction of the price.

Eat, save and be merry!

With some foresight and a little self-control, you can get through these holidays without burying yourself into a pile of debt you’d otherwise spend the next year digging yourself out of.

The information in this blog post is general in nature and does not constitute personal financial or professional advice. It is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual. We do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information and you should not rely on it. Before making any decisions, it is important for you to consider your personal situation, make independent enquiries and seek appropriate tax, legal and other professional advice.

The post 7 ways to save money this holiday season appeared first on Credit Simple NZ.

So you’ve been sifting around on CreditSimple.co.nz and seen some sweet deals, but you’re thinking it’s wayyyyy too hard to switch banks, right? Errr, pull up a chair and sit down for a moment. Actually, switching banks is easier than ever.

Thanks to internet banking, our bank accounts capture loads of information – think about how many automatic payments or preloaded payees you have on your account (mum, dad, utilities, the local pie shop and so on) – and having to reload all of that is a major barrier. Or at least it used to be.

In 2010, New Zealand banks agreed on a set of rules about how they would co-operate when a customer was lured by a rival. They tweaked those rules in 2012 and now it’s easy as … well, it’s easy as.

Banks now co-operate freely with each other when customers switch. An organisation called Payments NZ governs this, and sets and oversees the rules and standards around payments to enable innovation as well as strong self-regulation. (Payments NZ is owned by eight New Zealand banks.)

As a customer, all you have to do is tell your new bank that you want to switch information from your old one, fill out a form and sign it, and your old bank has to hand over all your details to help your new bank set you up. You (almost) don’t have to do a thing.

The information in this blog post is general in nature and does not constitute personal financial or professional advice. It is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual. We do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information and you should not rely on it. Before making any decisions, it is important for you to consider your personal situation, make independent enquiries and seek appropriate tax, legal and other professional advice.

The post Flipping the switch: Why it’s easier than ever to switch banks appeared first on Credit Simple NZ.

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Do you get worried when you receive your monthly power bill? Electricity and gas prices can be eye-wateringly expensive for some people. What’s more, the big companies want, naturally, to make as much profit as they can.

There are alternatives.  In fact 48 brands from 32 parent companies are vying to offer their service to you. Some have quite different business models to the big incumbents.

Did you know, for example, you can sign up to a power company that sells to you at cost? Yep. Some smaller providers aren’t looking to pay profits back to shareholders.

New concepts – doing it differently

A lot of smart people are looking for new ways to offer power. There are many smaller for-profit power companies that their users swear by. And there are larger ones that work hard for their money. I decided to take a look at one of the offers. Armed with my bill I ran the numbers through the calculation and it said I would save $11 a month, which is $132 per year. Not bad for a few minutes work.

Pros and cons of using a small power company

The upsides include:

• Cheap power. You know that you’ll never pay for big salaries, expensive advertising, door-to-door sales people and so on.
• No fixed-term contracts. If you’ve ever shopped around for power you’ll know they sign you up for one- or two-year fixed deals with pricey break fees.
• Big power users bonus. With some companies you pay the same fee whether you’re a big user or a tiny user of power. That really benefits big households who are paying a fixed fee instead of a margin on every kilowatt used.
• Supporting the little guy. If you don’t like big corporates, then you can support smaller locally run companies by signing up to one of the other not-for-profit suppliers.

There are always downsides:

• Floating prices. Some companies have prices that aren’t fixed. They move with the “spot prices”. So if there is a weather or other event that increases the bulk price, then it’s passed onto you and me immediately. Sometimes when these spot prices soar, as Flick Electricity has found out, the customers get a bit disgruntled.
• It only provides electricity. I’ve come across this problem before when comparing prices with Flick and others. That means I’d need to have my gas with another company and can’t get dual fuel discounts.
• The price assumes you pay by direct debit. With other companies you sometimes get a discount for direct debit. If you are comparing prices with the gross rate at other power companies before the discount then this isn’t comparing like for like.

Ultimately power supply is a low-margin business. There isn’t a lot of fat in it for the companies despite what you and I think. That’s why if you’re regularly reviewing your bills there isn’t a lot to save by switching. If, however you’re on the same plan you were five years ago, switching to any other supplier might save you money. Introductory offers are usually far better than you could get currently.

The information in this blog post is general in nature and does not constitute personal financial or professional advice. It is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual. We do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information and you should not rely on it. Before making any decisions, it is important for you to consider your personal situation, make independent enquiries and seek appropriate tax, legal and other professional advice.

The post Want an alternative to your big electricity provider? We weigh up the pros and cons of the small, non-profit power companies appeared first on Credit Simple NZ.

Switching power companies sounds straightforward. And it is.  It’s just not quite as simple to get the best deal from electricity and gas suppliers as it appears in the adverts. Armed with a bit of knowledge, however, I promise you it’s almost impossible not to find a better deal. Unless, that is, you’ve already switched in the past few months.

Step 1: Choose your site

There is a bunch of comparison websites that claim to get you the best deal – just do a google search and try a few.

Step 2: Know your number

Power costs are very individual and depend on where you live. You need to have your current bill handy. Look for your ICP number on your bill. It will be a minimum of 11 characters, such as 680207NV1F0.

Step 3: Enter your details

You’ll be asked to enter your electricity (and gas) usage from that bill along with the dates it covers and click to compare.

Step 4: As clear as mud

Then the fun stuff starts. One of my colleagues describes the offers as “Confusopoly”. One throws in this and another that. Those thises and thats include magazine subscriptions, account credits, introductory prices, Airpoints dollars, fixed rates for a period and you name it. Weigh these all up to make sure you’re selecting the right one for you.

Step 5: Do you want fries (AKA phones) with that?

Many of the electricity providers also provide internet, mobile, and other services. As soon as you start bundling these all together it becomes harder to work out if you’re really getting the best deal. Your current mobile provider, for example, may have all you can eat phone calls within New Zealand, but the new one charges. You might just want to stick with individual providers. Or at least work out how much you’ve spent on the entire bundle in the past year.

Step 6: Double-check everything

You do need to cross reference the electricity companies’ websites and to read the fine print. The contracts are sometimes full of complex clauses.

Step 7: Watch out for penalties

If you switched companies within the past two years or took a new deal from your existing provider you could have signed yourself up for a fixed term with penalties if you break the contract early.

Step 8: Check the door-to-door guys

The companies that come door-to-door sometimes do have good deals, but not always. If you’re really sneaky you can sign up to the offer and wait for your existing company to call you with a better “retention” offer that you can’t get as an existing customer.

Step 9. Just do your best

Unless you’re a spreadsheet ninja, accept that you might not have clinched the absolute bargain of the century, but have probably saved money. Give yourself a pat on the back and make a diary note for one or two years’ time or whenever your fixed contract ends.

Step 10: Here’s the rub

I did my own numbers on Powerswitch, Glimp and Switchme. Powerswitch asked me many more questions about my usage and I do think I trust it more. It recommended Contact Energy with an estimated cost of $1970 spend per year. Glimp told me I was on the right company/plan already and would pay $2073 a year. Switchme claimed my bill would be $1561 per year, but didn’t ask sufficient questions to make me trust it. Power Compare makes comparisons solely on my address, which isn’t enough to get a good picture of what I could save.

Whew! Does that sound like a whole lot of work? It is a bit of work. But saving money always feels good, so give it a go.

The information in this blog post is general in nature and does not constitute personal financial or professional advice. It is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual. We do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information and you should not rely on it. Before making any decisions, it is important for you to consider your personal situation, make independent enquiries and seek appropriate tax, legal and other professional advice.

The post Sick of paying through the nose for power? Here’s how to switch (and save) appeared first on Credit Simple NZ.

Step One: Spend money you don’t have

First of all, you probably want to spend lots of money. More money, in fact, than you’ve got in the bank.

Let’s say you’ve got a good job and you’ve found a place to rent in the Auckland market and you’re happy with your lifestyle. Why not crank it up to the next level by moving out of your flat, buying a bigger car on HP and maybe going on that overseas’ holiday. You know, the one you can’t afford. It’s OK because that’s what credit cards are for, right? Get some new luggage, and hit the road for the highlife. Don’t worry about paying off the card, get another card and use that to sort out the first card and you’ll be away laughing. Sure you’ll be paying for it later, but that’s what Tomorrow You has to worry about, right? Live for the moment.

Step Two: Spend money on things you don’t need

Have a think about buying some more stuff while it’s on sale. If you’re going on holiday, don’t forget to buy lots of things you just can’t get back home. OMG did I tell you the trick about taking a suitcase inside a bigger suitcase so you’ve got two for the return trip? Guaranteed winner every time.

Also, if you have more stuff than you’ve got space, get yourself a lock-up container to store your extra couches, beds, dressers, dining room tables and exercise gear in because one day you might need that extra furniture and hey, it’s only money, right?

Step Three: Join the gym

And get a wine club membership and subscribe to some online services that automatically renew every month or year and which you hardly use and get pay TV and never check your mobile phone bill or your electricity bill to see if you could get a better deal. Just don’t worry about that stuff. You’ll be happier not paying attention.

Step Four: It’s all too hard

Remember, you’ve probably got 20 or 30 years to go before you retire so you’ve got heaps of time left to sort that out.  Or if you’re already in your 40s and saddled with a mortgage and car repayments and those credit card interest rates it’s still OK. You can just say it’s all too late and there’s no point starting now. After all, a little bit goes a long way when you’re old and surely the government won’t let you starve, right?

Step Five: I don’t really need to retire anyway

And let’s not forget, the government is talking about moving the retirement age to 67 or something so you probably won’t get to retire anyway. It’s all ages away so you’re sure they’ll have it all figured out by then and besides, your great uncle told you once that he hated retirement and missed going to work every day so y’know, this is the perfect excuse not to retire. Instead, you can always get a second job and deliver pizza or something like that in the evenings. Yeah, that’ll be fun.

Anyway, retirement planning is boring and it’s a long way away and I’m having far too much fun spending money now so let’s not look too closely at that bank statement, OK?

The post Five ways to screw up your retirement: a lifelong project appeared first on Credit Simple NZ.

When you get an interest-free loan, it’s always interest-free, right? Wait a second. It’s only interest-free if you toe the line with the terms and conditions of the loan. And research we commissioned has found nearly half (48%) of Kiwis have made the most of deferred interest deals to purchase items with what can be a ‘free’ loan, but even the best intentions of paying off the loan in time can catch some consumers out.

While most Kiwis paid off the loan within the interest free period, 12% did not complete the payments and paid interest on their purchase, the research shows.

For those 12%, almost half (47%) took more than a year to pay it back in full and ended up paying a significantly higher price for the item. And according to our analysis*, 18% of people with a personal loan have been overdue on monthly repayments at least once in the past 12 months.

Interest rates charged on store cards can be as high as 26% – higher than credit cards and personal loans from banks.

CreditSimple.co.nz spokesperson Hazel Phillips says paying off a hire-purchase interest-free deal on time is doubly positive: you avoid having to pay interest and it can help improve your credit score.

“Young people setting up their first house or flat often lean heavily on credit cards and interest-free deals to buy furniture and appliances. Our own data shows that missing a payment on a finance deal is one of the biggest factors impacting your credit score,” she says.

“A good credit score is 500 or more on a scale of 0 to 1,000.

“Falling behind in regular payments soon starts to affect your credit score. Some people get into the habit of paying as late as they can every time, but that’s not a good strategy. The reality is with banks now reporting ‘positive’ credit behaviour such as paying on time, late payers stand out.

“You may earn a few cents extra interest by delaying bill payments. But it’s just not worth it if it’s wrecking your credit score, as it can affect your ability to get credit down the track.”

*Drawn from data held by illion, Credit Simple’s parent company.

This research was conducted for Credit Simple by Perceptive Research in July 2017 surveying a minimum of 1,000 New Zealanders online using nationwide sampling framework, the results are then weighted to Statistics New Zealand census gender, age and location data.

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