If we speak about a simple, household, salaried person, we can have a better idea about hassle they have to take in managing their salary so that they can have a sufficient amount of money in their pocket at the end of the month hits them. Managing some savings is a great deal in such cases. In such situations, saving some money is a big deal.

An average Pakistani job holder is earning from PKR 30-50 thousand per month. This amount is obviously a handsome one for the intermediate level jobber in Pakistan. But the most common problem faced by this group of youngsters in their expenses. And most of them encounter it as they arrive at the second half of each month.

Here are some basic level tricks to keep your spending in your control and predefined budget.

Related Read: How to Manage your Expenses when you get Unemployed in Pakistan

Putting Your Budget in Place:

By budget, we mean to decide and allocate a fixed amount for your basic expenses. For a household person budget will include the average amount they need to spend on monthly grocery, electricity/telephone/internet/gas bills, fuel, fees and other expenses that are necessary to be paid on monthly basis. Apart from this, you must include a fixed amount for medical treatment into your budget.

Once you will enlist and calculate the amount you needed for these activities, you will be done with your budget. Once you will get your salary, take that calculated amount aside and make sure you are not spending it anywhere else.

Just waiting for the salary to get credited to make your saving for the month ahead is not enough. You need to make yourself a clear concise and strict, yet practical budget plan that need to stick beforehand.

You can consider the revision of your plan, every three months. There are chances your budget will change, you need to add new expenses, the fees for kids are increased or there are some additional medical expenses.

In budgeting, you also need to make sure that you are strict to the basic expenses and savings before you look for some party and outing activities. If you are left with some amount from budget or savings, you can think of other things like shopping or hanging out with friends.

Budgeting helps us to control the most common problem that we face overspending. Overspending is also found to be a major problem that keeps our bank numbers at their lowest by the end of each month.

Use Credit Card Wisely:

Simply keep them to a minimum. We believe that you are one of those youngsters who would like to keep a balance on their credit card. If it’s really so, prefer to shop for the card with the lowest interest rate as it will lower your credit card bills.

If you are a full-time job holder and are able to pay your bills by end of each month, financial experts would suggest going for a card that offers a reward program. Different banks offer different packages and facilities on their credit cards. Look for the credit card offer that suits you the best.

Well! In another case, if you fail to maintain this balance, be competent to avoid paying the interest while enjoying the perks. An expert tip for using a card perfectly is that “Never miss the due date of the payment.” If you are paying your credit card dues on time, let’s say by end of each month, you are going great!

Related Read: Which Terms You Need to Learn before Applying for a Credit Card?

One of the major issue that credit card users face is that they spend too much money by using their credit card. The credit card does not mean that you can shop anything you want to.  

Credit card just provides you the opportunity to pay your bills with a bit of delay. Let’s say by end of each month, or the moment you get your salary. Then how is it possible to pay your bills more than you earn???

Your credit cards help you to make some urgent payments at the time when you have less or no amount in your wallet. You can use a decided amount of money from your credit card and then return it back to the bank after some time. But make sure you are spending that much money which you can pay back to the bank once you will get your salary.

Have credit card to serve you as a helping friend, in the time of need. Having it for your leisure expenses will never be a good idea.

Spend Carefully on Yourself:

This might sound strange but you need to pay yourself for your salary. Managing your personal expenses is also a must if your salary is under PKR 50,000, from which you have to pay your expenses and fulfill needs of your family at the same time.

Setting aside some specific amount for your personal expenses on monthly basis will help you keep the bigger figure aligns and will allow you to make some saving as well.

You must think twice before spending the money on activities like hanging out and random shopping even when you are not much in need of the particular thing and you are buying it just because you liked it, or if you are about to start a new course and you need to pay funds for that.

Stick to your needs, rather than wishing to have everything what you look around you.

The Pro Tip!

Why not make some extra money from the amount you will save!

Focus on the saving plans that offer you the facility to divert your funds towards tax saving, insurance, and investments etc. Look for better and trustable insurance and investment opportunities to double your money with no effort.

Try to have an insurance for you with some basic ongoing investment. You can go for the insurance even if you have a huge amount of savings in your pocket. For the details, you can consult any financial analyst or even your bank might offer you some related opportunities.

Related Read: Smartchoice.pk Introduces New Features with Better User Experience

Keep a money bank saving for emergency purposes. This is always a great idea to cheat you into saving a bit more. At the time when insurance and investment plans are pre-planned financial tools, money banks can bring you some extra unplanned surprises with a very little amount of effort placed in it.

Maybe it looks childish but the idea works a miracle. If you are a salaried person and are worried to meet and manage your expenses, try these simple yet effective rules that will surely earn you some amazing benefits, but only if you apply them on regular basis for a year or so.

Khurram Zahid

The post Money Management Tips for People Income Under PKR 50,000 appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Everybody now needs a credit card.

You will be amazed to know that to apply for a credit card these days is as simple as participating in one of those online surveys; entering your information and hitting “submit.” But getting approved is another business entirely. One that requires careful planning that should start long before you apply.

Are you trying to make your first credit card? Well, you have come to the right place. In this credit card 101, you will find out how you can go about having one made for yourself, and what your bank might require from you.

Also read: Most Rewarding Platinum Credit Card in Pakistan

First and foremost, here is what you must know:

1. Reduce your debt

Most of the time, people with bank loan history are denied credit cards. Make sure you have none before you proceed to apply for a credit card.

You are supposed to ensure that you have no debts before you apply. If you do, try to pay off your debts prior to the application process.

2. Don’t apply for the first offer you see

Falling for the first offer you find yourself or through some other source has its disadvantages. It does people good to compare between offers and the banks offering them.

In Pakistan, however, you can apply only where you have an active account. Even with this, there are more than one offers. We recommend talking this out with the bank people.

Let them help you out. They will know what is best suited to your needs.

3. Include all of your income in the application

Your income, and all of it, is an important aspect of this entire process. Credit card issuers will want to know your income level to compute your debt-to-income ratio, which in turn will aid them to determine your capability to pay.

If you have more than one employer, more than once source of earning money, like earning apart from your full-time job or the like, be sure to include all of it on your application so as to avoid future confusion.

Another thing of note, upon providing incorrect information, whether intentional or not, about your income might lead to credit card fraud. The only way out of this mess is to pay your way out.

Also read: 5 Tips To Save Money Using Your Credit Card!

Secondly, what you must present:

1. Identity Documents

Usually, they’ll want a CNIC with your photo, or your passport. Make sure that you present valid originals of these documents.

They should not be tattered or crumpled.  

2. Proof of Income

Your credit card issuer would need some proof income. This includes a salary slip, a letter from your employer, and your bank statement can testify to this. Anything that holds validity and proves that you have a constant, trustworthy source of income to pay off your credit card loans.

The documents being presented should be in their original form and not crumpled or folded.

3. Proof of debt if applying for balance transfer

This varies with your case. If you qualify for this one, make sure—again—that the credit card statement you provide is recent and not old, the document being neat and creaseless.

Also read:  6 Common Type of Credit Card Frauds and How to Avoid Them

4. Decide on a type

A credit card is categorized into Silver, Gold, Platinum categories. The names may differ from bank to bank. But their purpose is similar. Credit You need to choose your credit card based on your salary. If your amount doesn’t coincide with the policies of your chosen card and the minimum salary requirement, then your application will be rejected.

Make sure you choose your card appropriately with your salary.

5. Cards with higher credit limit

As per the rules and policies applied and abided by here in Pakistan, the limit your credit card can have can be three times that of your salary. For instance, if you earn 50 thousand rupees a month, then your limit can be three times of that amount, that is 150 thousand rupees. This is offered by the Gold Card.

The Silver Card offers a limit that is two times of your original salary.

9. Multiple cards and what you need to know

If you apply for more than one card with a number of banks, this reduces your chances of approval. This is usually restricted to cards with higher limits.

However, if you wish, you can apply for multiple cards with less limits to have a higher cumulative limit. Caution is advised in this case. One must know the total lending limit of each card to avoid trouble.

Information you need to put in your application form.

This depends upon your credit card issuer. But almost all of the following information is asked of you. Generally

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Residential address and status—status being either citizen, permanent resident, long-term visa, et cetera
• Contact details—this should include your email address, as well
• Number of dependents—dependents are your children
• Occupation
• Employer’s name and contact details
• Income per year—this shall include annual salary, bonuses or commissions, and secondary income et cetera
• Current balance of your savings and transactions accounts
• Current balance of other credit cards and other debts you already have
• Monthly expenses—this shall include rent, mortgage, groceries, fuel or public transport, utilities, insurance, and possibly more depending on your issuer
• Your preferred credit limit for the card—this one is usually optional
• Any other general information asked of you

Bottom Line and Conclusion. 

1. Being cautious

You need to be cautious when it comes to filling your application. One mistake, even if it is a minor one, can lead to your credit card application being denied. You need a clear head and possibly another person well-versed in finance or a relative having relevant experience with dealing with credit cards to help you fill your form.

2. Don’t give up

In case your application ends up being denied, there is room for consideration. This is practiced by a lot of credit card issuers. You can call them and talk it out. Plead your case and see how it goes.

Concluding, abide by the rules needed to get yourself approved the first time. Do not make haste, as this process will cost you time. Also, make sure to give accurate information during the application process so as to avoid denial.

If you go by the books, you will have your credit card assigned to you. There is always a second try if that doesn’t work out.

Khurram Zahid

The post Want your First Credit Card? These Requirements from Banks you Need to Know appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Apply for a Credit Card. Click here

Why should credit cards be used in the first place?

Here are some advantages of credit cards which show why you should use a credit card in the first place:

1. You do not have to count your cash before paying bills of any kind or check if you have enough of it or not.
2. It is also a safer way of carrying money; cash always attracts thieves and robbers especially in a high crime rate country like Pakistan.
3. For some, carrying cash itself seems a burden. Going to an ATM every now and then and filling wallets up with paper money can be very irritating.
4. Besides these obvious advantages of using credit cards, one also gets the favours that the credit card packages offer to the clients.

Related read: How to Enjoy your Credit Card without Going into Debt

Credit cards and their utilization in Pakistan:

People have only recently started using credit cards in Pakistan and mainly for shopping. People create multiple accounts and various credit cards that offer various services and use them according to their needs. If extra money from the bank is used up, the bank charges a certain amount of interest that one can pay later. This service was mainly devised for salaried people who have limited amount of money available. Credit cards offer emergency loan from the bank and people can return it as soon as they get their salary. This is the general trend of credit card usage in Pakistan.

The “How to’s” of a credit card:

• Use of credit cards is not for people who have very little self-control. If you cannot use your credit smartly then you may put yourself at a disadvantage.
• Keeping more than one accounts can be very helpful for if one account exceeds limit, the other credit card remains at your disposal.
• Keep note of the amount of money you spend on your credit card so that you may spend the money you can pay back.
• Pay your credit card bills on time to avoid unnecessary financial burden.
• Credit limit is the amount you set as limit on your credit card. Keep it low to make it easier to pay it back.
• Stay updated to your bank’s policies and the status of your credit card account.

Related read: 5 Tips To Save Money Using Your Credit Card!

What to look for when getting a credit card?

The comparison of the packages and policies offered by different banks is very important. Following are a few steps to help you choose a suitable credit card:

• Don’t stick to one bank, look for packages most convenient for you instead.
• Prioritize taking advantage of the offers that the packages hold, Credit cards are more than just replacement of money.
• Use a package that offers ever-ready customer care, maximum discount offers on a wide-variety of brands, feasible security plans and insurance policies. It should also help you pay for online shopping efficiently.
• Check if the package you chose allows you to take as much advantage out of it as possible with little miscellaneous financial burdens.  

Related read: Most Rewarding Platinum Credit Card in Pakistan

5 banks and their credit card packages and policies:

Following are the top five banks in Pakistan that offer credit cards along with the packages and policies they offer.

• Bank Alfalah:

Bank Alfalah offers Three kinds of cards, classic/gold card, titanium card and platinum card. The packages are all the same however, as we move from classic to platinum, the services get better and wider. These services include worldwide accessibility, reward points, instalment pays, CIP lounge access etc. it also offers a cheque book with up to 50% credit limit utility and chip based credit cards with extra security.

• Faysal bank:

Faysal bank offers five types of credit cards, world, platinum, titanium (platinum-gold combo), mc² (unique style and chip technology) and Airblue (travel friendly credit). Through Airblue, we can accumulate blue miles and redeem them for free tickets. Their world credit card is the most expensive and offers maximum luxuries all around the world.

• Standard Chartered:

They offer the Visa Platinum card, Mastercard Titanium credit card and Visa Gold card. Apart from these this bank offers Cash Back credit card and the easy credit card. The easy card has the lowest financial charge and global accessibility while the cashback card reduces monthly financial burdens.

• UBL

UBL offers three types of cards, UBL credit card, UBL PSO auto credit card, and UBL Visa Platinum. Platinum is the most expensive whereas UBL credit card is the cheapest. The PSO auto credit offers fuel saving from PSO specifically.

• HBL

Habib Bank Limited offers four types of credit cards i.e. fuel saver, green, gold and platinum. The fuel saver card has further sub-types, green and gold. It basically offers saving on fuel cost ‘reducing the burden of monthly fuel expense’. The features and benefits of the gold and green credit card are the same whereas the platinum credit card offers everything at a grander level, offering and receiving larger amounts.

Credit cards are one step ahead to the financial development within our country, keeping up with these developments will make us financially compatible with other nations.

Khurram Zahid

The post 5 Top Banks Offering Credit Cards in Pakistan appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.