Decide if you need a credit card and if so, choose the best one for your purchasing and payment habits.

There are over 200 credit cards on offer in Australia, and this episode talks about how you can get the right credit card for you. Things to consider include:

• your spending habits
• your ability to pay off the outstanding balance each month
• your credit score
• the types of credit cards and benefits available.

Mia and Dinah share their top tips including:

• knowing yourself and your spending habits
• considering how much effort it takes to maximise rewards and benefits
• comparing the key features including annual fees, interest rates, sign on and ongoing benefits, and taking into account traps like capped monthly points
• putting reminders in your calendar for the best time to review your credit card arrangements
• calling your bank to see if you can get a better deal to avoid shopping around
• using comparison sites to quickly compare and choose a new credit card that is better than your current one
• setting up a direct debit to pay the statement amount automatically each month.

LIFE ADMIN HIGH OF THE WEEK

• Dinah talks about how her Password Manager made it much simple to find her son’s lost school iPad
• Mia talks about her daughter’s netball coach's website and WhatsApp groups he has set up to organise games and training like a pro.

LIFE ADMIN LOW OF THE WEEK

• Dinah talks about a school app that duplicates content and has a really poor user experience.

POWER TOOL

Dinah talks about the Pineapple Project podcast, an ABC podcast hosted by Claire Hooper and in particular Series 3 - Tidy.

RESOURCES

MoneySmart.gov.au - criteria to help compare and choose

Credit Score - Ways to access your credit score for free

Credit Card Comparison Site - Canstar 

Credit Card Comparisons - Frequent Flyer Rewards - Choice

Podcast - Pineapple Project - Series 3 - Tidy 

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