Prepaying your policy before April 1 can bring savings, writes

Sophie Elsworth

stood and the next steps you could take, Mr Emmerson said.

“Don’t flinch away from the facts. It’s better to know what you face so you can work on it constructively rather than shy away and continue to deal with the consequences.”

People could cut their debt faster by consolidating highinterest loans – such as credit cards – into lower-interest loans, such as a mortgage, Mr Emmerson said.

“This is only a solution if you have the discipline to avoid creating new debts,” he said.

“If you start accruing more debt on a new credit card or a buy now, pay later scheme, you are actually increasing your exposure.”

Aim to maintain or increase repayments after consolidating, otherwise the original credit card debt will hurt you for years.

Marketplace lender Societyone’s spokeswoman, Melissa Cicero, said it could be worth consolidating into a lower-interest personal loan.

“There’s an end date in sight and it feels awesome when you make that final payment,” she said.

“No one gets up in the morning wanting to be in debt, but things happen and sometimes it’s unavoidable,” Ms Cicero said.

She said people could reduce debt faster by being disciplined about what they bought.

“Keep your spending within your budget, try to avoid impulse purchases, and save for major purchases rather than borrowing for them,” Ms Cicero said. “Avoid buy now, pay later, interest-free financing and offers that postpone debt,” she said.

IN last week’s Moneysaverhq we ran a story, “What seniors can get free”.

It stated that councils accept Seniors Cards for discounts on council bills and utility bills.

This is not the case; these discounts usually only apply to recipients of the Age Pension.

We apologise for the error.