The Australian share market closed marginally lower for the month of October, with the All Ordinaries index falling by 0.4% to close the month at 6,772.9 points. The Australian Dollar gained by 2.1% in October, with 1 Australian Dollar currently buying 68.90 US cents.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) once again cut the official Cash Rate by 0.25% per annum, with the Cash Rate now at 0.75% per annum. The next RBA board meeting is on Tuesday next week, just before the running of the Melbourne Cup.
Global share markets were mixed in October with the United States Dow Jones index gaining by 0.5%, the London FTSE falling by 2.2%, the Japan Nikkei 225 gaining by 5.4% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng gaining by 3.1%.
With the festive season fast approaching, it is not uncommon to find yourself owing some money on a credit card. If this happens, it is generally advisable to pay this debt off as soon as possible, rather than simply keeping up your minimum repayments.
I have noted below a couple of tips to help you pay off your debts sooner.
The first step is to know what you owe. This means making a list of all of your debts, and the interest rates of each. Make sure to organise them from the largest interest rate to the smallest. You’ll probably want to repay the higher interest debts first, because they can cost you the most to borrow over time.
Once you know how much you owe, you can give yourself a budget to work with each month. By reviewing your budget, you can also identify where you can make cutbacks on spending and calculate how long it will take to pay off your debts.
Once you have completed and reviewed your budget, divide your spending between your fixed expenses (e.g. utility bills, rates, debt repayments etc.) and your discretionary items (e.g. food, clothing, entertainment etc.).
A good idea is apportioning the discretionary items from your budget into a ‘weekly allowance’ to ensure that you have a clear spending target each week. It is often these discretionary spending items that make the difference between sticking to your budget, or not.
For more information, please contact Ryan Love on 1300 856 338.
This article is general information only and is not intended to be a recommendation. We strongly recommend you seek advice from your financial adviser as to whether this information is appropriate to your needs, financial situation and investment objectives.