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If you are a student in Uni, you are probably busy concentrating on your studies and trying to get an education that can benefit you for the future. A proper financial education is not one of the most important things on your mind.  However, it is during your time as a student that you should start learning the basics of managing your finances.  By learning how to properly manage your finances early on, you will then be able to properly manage your finances in the future and start off your life with little or no debt.

If you own a credit card, you will want to avoid using it, except in emergency situations.  If you do use a credit card, then you will want to make sure that you pay off your balance each month.  Carrying a balance on your credit card will cost you extra in interest, so paying off the balance before the interest-free period will save you.

If you are paying bills, such as utility costs, you will want to make sure that the bills are paid on time.  By paying your bills on time, you will start building your credit history and a good habit.  If you fail to pay your bills on time you will be charged late fees, which can easily add up.  To ensure payment on your bills, you can set up a standing order or direct debit. A good credit history now will help in later life when you need a personal loan for buying a car or a mortgage to buy your first property.

Finding a good bank account is important, and because several banks offer discounts on student accounts you shouldn’t find it hard to find a good account.  You will want an account that will offer you an overdraft and a good interest rate.  It pays to shop around, so before settling for a bank, make sure that you check out what other banks are offering.

If you are a student you will find that obtaining a loan can be extremely difficult.  It is difficult for students to obtain loans because most students are not employed full-time and do not have a sufficient level of income to meet the repayment requirements.  Many lenders consider lending to students risky, as they have to security to secure a loan, and majority of students to do have a full-time job to support the repayments of the loan.

However, if you are a post graduation student, most lenders will be willing to offer an unsecured loan to you.  Although the interest rate is higher compared to basic loans, lenders will work with the students to determine what monthly payments the student can make.  If you are a student and work a full-time job, then lenders may offer you a lower interest rate.  Lenders are more willing to allow post graduation students to borrow a sum of money if the student has employment after the school term.  Students who provide a work contract to work for a business after they graduate is a form of security for lenders.

If you are a student and require a loan, and are unable to obtain an unsecured loan from a bank or building society, there are other options.  You can look into the possibility of payday loans if you have a current bank account and a steady job, whether it is part-time or full-time, you just need proof that you are working, such as pay stubs.  Another way you can borrow is through credit cards.  However, this can be risky as you can easily fall into debt using credit cards, and if you have no credit history, credit card companies will more than likely charge you a high interest rate on the card.  If you are looking for additional funding for your schooling, it is best for you to shop around and compare prices, interest rates, and benefits from various lenders to ensure you get the best deal.

There are a lot of things in life that will require credit. For most of us, buying a house, a car, paying for university or even going on holiday can all be activities that we will require to take out a loan for. In fact, for the vast majority of people, borrowing money will be an unavoidable fact of life. However, there are steps that you can take to ensure that you get good value for money and spend as little as possible on credit.

For one thing, loan interest rates vary enormously across the market. If you shop around you can get a far lower rate than if you simply accept the very first offer you come across. If you have a good credit rating, the interest rate you are charged on a loan can range from about five per cent right up to fifteen per cent. Even if you have poor credit you can frequently find deals as low as eight or nine per cent, or as high as twenty per cent.

Considering how much debt we all take on these days, and the amount of money that we are likely to spend on credit, it is important that we take the time to shop around.

If you are interested in looking around and searching for the best deals on credit then a good place to start is online. There are now a number of websites that specialise in giving customers all the information they could possibly want on loans. Use these websites the next time you are looking for credit and make sure you get the best deal possible.

If you are interested in looking at your credit report, and seeing what lenders see whenever you apply for credit, then the process can be easier than you think. The UK’s leading credit reference agency is Experian and the company currently offers a free thirty day trial for members of the public who would like to have access to their credit report. Usual membership is subject to a monthly charge.

If you do decide to sign up and become a member, you will enjoy a number of benefits including unlimited access to your credit report online. You will also be able to see exactly how you stand before you take the step of applying for credit. If you are afraid of becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft you can opt to receive instant text message notification of any fraudulent or suspicious activity that has been reported against your name.

As well as giving you information on your credit score, being a member of Experian’s service can also help you to improve your credit score by giving you access to a freephone advice line that puts you in touch with credit experts who can give you advice on what steps to take to improve your score. As well as this, you will be given access to tips and information on how to better manage your money and stay in control of your finances.

If all of this sounds like something that you would be interested in and that you would benefit from, then you can sign up online now. After your thirty day free trial, you will have to pay a monthly fee of £5.99 unless you cancel your subscription.

It may sound like a cliché but it really is possible to get a better credit rate with just one phone call. This does not mean that you have to call a new credit card company, apply for their credit card, fill in all the forms, sign the documents, and wait to see if you get accepted or not. What you can actually just do, is call your existing credit card company, and ask them for a lower rate.

Depending on the length of time that you have had the credit card and the amount that your circumstances have changed, it could well be possible that you are entitled to a much better rate. For example, many people take out credit cards while they are students. Naturally, these credit cards will have a high interest rate as students are generally regarded as high risk borrowers. However, once you graduate from university and start earning your own income, you status will have changed significantly and you will most likely be entitled to a better interest rate. Therefore, just call up your credit card company and ask for one. If they are reluctant, say that you are going to leave and go to another company that is offering a better rate. In the vast majority of cases, they will bring your rate down by a percentage point or two. It could not be easier to get a better credit card rate.

One third of all UK adults will receive a horrific shock when they apply for a homeowner loan, secured loan, or credit card.

One in three Britons face credit refusal because of a missed mobile phone payment, according to the consumer credit reporting agency, Checkmyfile.

They analysed the credit files of 1000 consumers, taken at random. At least 36.6 per cent of UK consumers had mobile phone accounts with missed payments. These lead to exclusion from the loan market or can result in higher interest rates, arising from the increasing practice of lenders to ‘price for risk’.

Barry Stamp, Joint Managing Director, was shocked at how many people faced credit refusal in this way. “Missed payments on mobile phone accounts are much more serious than most people realise. We find that many people are surprised to discover that their mobile phone account appears on their credit file at all. Many of our customers find they have an unblemished credit file, except for their mobile phone account, which lowers their credit score and reduces the choice of credit products available to them.”

Stamp explains, “Credit providers take a dim view of missed payments on applicant’s credit files, as this can sometimes give an early warning of over-indebtedness. Most people have a missed payment on their credit files - we are all human - but a string of missed payments - which this study has shown is typical on mobile phone accounts - could easily lead to an application for credit being refused”.

Mobile phone companies take a more hard-line approach to missed payments on competitor telecom accounts than other credit providers such as card companies. Consumers need to take responsibility for their Consumer Credit Information.

For a number of years now, the main UK high street banks have been offering free overdrafts of up to about two thousand pounds to students. If you have recently graduated from University or even if you are still a student at the moment, you will be more than familiar with the practice and you may even have a student overdraft as you read, or be in the process of paying one off.

While these overdrafts are extremely popular with students, they have also been the subject of a lot of criticism and debate both from parents and also from debt groups. While students continue to snap up these overdrafts at rates of close to one hundred per cent, many others say that there is no need for students, who are already among the most indebted members of society to take on another form of debt. The fact that it is interest free and very convenient both to borrow and repay does not make up for the fact that it is another debt that will fall to be repaid eventually. Another criticism of the overdrafts is that they are simply being used as bait to hook students onto a life of perpetual debt. And while the overdrafts are interest free while the student remains at university, most of them will start charging interest as soon as you graduate.

On the other hand, banks defend the practice as a popular and effective way of providing cheap, in this case free credit to some people who need it now more than they will in the future, but who are likely to be able to pay it back in the future.