MyCRA Specialist Credit Repair Lawyers

Tag: sexually transmitted debt

  • Money: The Top 4 Relationship Busters

    relationship financeWhat are the ways your relationship may be at risk due to money matters? Last week we featured how your credit rating can be at risk when you enter joint debt. This week, we look at how your relationship in general can be impacted by finances. To follow we feature a great article from SavingsGuide.com.au, titled ‘Relationship Finance: The Top 4 Romance Busters’. Here it is in it’s entirety:

    Relationship Finance: The Top 4 Romance Busters.

    Money is the major reason for divorce, as well as the major source of friction in many relationships. Researchers are increasingly seeing that ‘financial cheating’- as in, lying or hiding financial issues from a partner- is as damaging as the traditional kind. Likewise, finding a financial simpatico with another person is one of the major pillars of a good relationship. So what are the top 4 relationship busters when it comes to money, and how can we avoid them in our own relationship? Inspired by an article from Investopedia.

     Weigh Me Down

    It’s unlikely, in the modern world, that two people can come together without one or both bringing with them some kind of debt. From youthful indiscretions with a credit card, student debt, a mortgage, a car loan- debt is a major factor in most of our financial arrangements. Sadly, when it’s not dealt with openly, it can also be a major sticking point i our relationships. The Fix: The only course is to be straight up. This debt is going to be a drain on your finances for a while yet, and will mean you can contribute less to the joint finances. That’s the reality of the scenario, and honesty is the only way to approach it. Your partner will deal with it, or they won’t.

    Joint Or Separate

     Relationship finance is often regarded as a tell-tale sign for the overall wellbeing of the couple. Serious judgement calls are attached to how couples deal with their finances. Either they split everything, and “they’re not committed”, or they’re completely financially entangled, and “heading for disaster”. Trying to organise your finances according to what the rest of the world says will only strain the relationship. The Fix: Your relationship is unique, as your financial organisation should be. The key is to communicate with your partner about what they feel is appropriate, and be open to change it as the relationship evolves.

     Know The Type

     When you get together, nothing is more important than whether he likes Neil Young or not. We tend to spend so much time on the inconsequential, often the really big issues get left to the side. However, you’ll be able to get a pretty good feel for how a person deals with money. Spender? Saver? Frugal to the point of no fun? These are big issues, and pretending otherwise is just putting your head in the sand. The Fix: Be open with how you see money, and where you would like your finances to be in 5 and 10 years. Talk about how their parents dealt with money, research shows it’s a big indicator.

     Little Tykes

     Every self-help book in the world has told us what issues to avoid talking about when we start a relationship. Heaven forbid you scare him off, talking of kids or money. Well, the final major relationship buster is a combination of the two- the finances of having kids. The Fix: Generally, you ascertain whether you want to have kids first, but with the costs of raising a kid now hitting the $1 million mark, you also have to discuss how to structure your finances to adapt, especially with one partner out of the workforce for a while.

    As we discover in this post, and also last week in the post ‘How to Avoid Sexually Transmitted Debt’ the most important aspect to the meeting of financial minds is to keep an open dialogue about money. Talking freely and honestly, preferably keeping the emotion out of your discussions will save your relationship. It would also help you to avoid surprise bad credit from your partner.

    If you have Sexually Transmitted Debt  – that is defaults, writs or Judgments that you didn’t initiate, and you believe are impacting your credit file unnecessarily, talk to one of our Credit Repair Advisors about where you might stand with getting your bad credit repaired. Ph 1300 667 218.

    By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

    Image: David Castillo Dominici/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • How to Avoid Sexually Transmitted Debt

    sexually transmitted debtBeing ‘in love’ is one of the best feelings in the world, but not one of the most practical states to be in. Sometimes personal financial values go out the window and people lose themselves in the process of adding to the ‘relationship’ and creation of ‘us’. But at some point the boring old finance stuff becomes vitally important. We look at what you need to do to prevent STD impacting your credit file.

    By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repair and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

    Many people run into trouble by not asking the tough financial questions about their prospective partners early in the relationship. Your financial generosity now could become the very thing that is used against you if the relationship sours. Before you enter into any financial transaction, consider carefully how secure you would be if things did take a turn for the worse.

    What’s your money personality?

    Are you a spender, a risk taker, a saver or a security seeker? There are many different types of money personalities – and you could be combination of both. If you and your partner are different money personalities, this may be the cause of arguments.

    When two different money ‘personalities’ combine, it may be all rosy to begin with, but at some point you are going to disagree about money. Fights can begin and the potential for both of you to be financially damaged is greatly increased.

    According to Relationships Australia, conflict over money is one of the top causes of arguments and relationship breakdowns in Australia.

    When there’s joint finances involved in the split, sometimes you can continue to fall under the financial shortcomings of a partner well after the relationship is over.

    When people take out any credit together, such as loans, utility accounts, homes and rental properties, they become very reliant on the partner to keep up their end of the credit repayments.

    Who is liable for debt?

    Sometimes one partner ends up with a bad credit score, simply because the other person on the account has not kept up with repayments. People can be unaware their partner (or ex-partner) is generating defaults on their credit rating until it is too late.

    The most common type of negative listing is a default, and is placed by the creditor when an account holder fails to make payments past 60 days.

    In many instances it’s not until people apply for credit in their own right that they find out they have a default against their name. The relationship may even have ended years ago and the partner is still paying for it.

    Bad credit history can last for 5-7 years, depending on the listing type.

    Many people come unstuck by not asking the tough financial questions about their prospective partners early in the relationship.

    How to Prevent Relationship Debt

    1. Consider taking a Money Personality test, such as the one at www.TheMoneyCouple.com

    2. Ask about your new partner’s financial past. People will do what they have always done. If they have financial skeletons in the closet it is possible they will continue this behaviour in the future.

    3. Ask what debts they currently have. This will give you an indication of how they feel about money, and how much debt they consider normal to handle. Does this match with yours?

    4. Talk about paying bills. Do they always pay them on time? If not, why not? This will give you a good indication of how this person regards money and credit repayments. Ring any alarm bells yet?

    5. Ask what their financial goals are for the future. Do they match yours? If your new partner wants to blow all of their money on an overseas trip, but you want to save for a home – how will this work long term?

    6. Verify their answers about existing and past debt. Ask them if you can see a copy of their credit file (and versa of course). A copy of your credit report is free every year from one or more of the credit reporting agencies in Australia. It will be sent within 10 working days. You can order your credit report here http://www.mycra.com.au/credit-file-request/.

    If you are unsure of your new partner’s financial compatibility, it could mean finances need to be fairly separate for a significant period of time.

    But the most important aspect to the meeting of financial minds is to keep an open dialogue about money. Talking freely and honestly, preferably keeping the emotion out of your discussions may help to avoid surprise bad credit from your partner.

    Image: David Castillo Dominici/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net