Many people earn a lot but spend it all, leading to a lack of investments and savings, and heavy debt. This can create problems as the bigger the debt, the tougher the repayment. Besides, payment defaults also affect one’s credit rating, resulting in refusal of subsequent loans.
To evaluate the creditworthiness of an individual, bankers go through his credit information report (CIR) and credit score provided by Credit Information Bureau (India), commonly called CIBIL. CIBIL generates the CIR and credit score for individuals and entities based on their payment record and defaults on loans and credit cards. A good CIR and credit score improve one's chances of getting a loan while a poor score does the opposite. It is important to know how to have a good credit score. One can check one’s credit score on the CIBIL website upon payment of a stipulated fee.
Avoid overdue payments. Getting a loan is easier than repaying it. While timely repayment is based on several factors, some of them beyond our control, it is crucial to ensure that repayments are made on time — not only it reduces unnecessary friction with the lender, but it also ensures a good credit score. If one’s credit history has instances of several late payments, chances are that one’s credit score will drop. To avoid late repayments, it is advisable to instruct the bank to pay the money directly via the ECS facility. One should ensure there is adequate money in the account.
Avoid multiple loans. If one has taken multiple loans and one has to repay them at around the same time, missing repayments becomes more likely. Also, in such a case, the major part of one’s income gets used towards repayments. To avoid such issues, one should prioritise and take loans only for crucial needs. Lenders view multiple loans as risky, and it affects one’s credit rating.
Minimise unsecured loans. Personal loans and credit card dues are examples of unsecured loans whereas home loans and auto loans fall in the category of secured loans. One’s credit score can drop if one holds multiple unsecured loans as these loans give the impression that one is not able to properly manage one’s finances. Also, the borrower is seen as a credit risk — someone with limited income, but loans without any collateral. Also, as the number of unsecured loans increases, the repayment burden rises, decreasing one's creditworthiness. To have a