Thursday, September 22, 2011

Shopaholics should check out their credit score

The Star Online today reported the shocking reasons why most Malaysians are living beyond their means. The report also stated that a good number of Malaysian consumers are shopaholics and having poor management of personal finances. Unnecessary spending at shopping centers resulted in them living beyond their means. This is unfortunate as many are facing the possibility of being declared a bankrupt at the age of 40.

While having credit cards can be very useful and convenient, uncontrolled purchases using credit cards should be avoided totally. Consumers should know their buying power limits and one way is to find out their credit score. With the convenience of internet, they can search for free credit score offer. Such services can make a lot of difference in helping consumers plan their purchases and control their finances.

The habits of uncontrolled spending should be nip at the bud. Children should also be taught on how to control their usages of money. It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children to value money. The report made a shocking finding that many children did not know where their money came from. Many of the children surveyed thought that their money came free from the ATMs. It reminded me of the phrase, "Money don't grow on trees".

Teaching our children good habits can take time. And time is what most of us believe that we don't have. It is better to spend some time everyday to build good habits in our children than to waste thousands of dollars as the result of bad spending habits in the future.

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