360 Finance is committed to being the finance & insurance specialists you know and trust. 

We’ve been there for our customers through some of life’s biggest milestones. Whether it was purchasing their first car with a 360 car loan, jet setting on that dream holiday with a tailored personal loan or consolidating debt to explore our beautiful country in their well-deserved caravan.

We’ve been there and we’ll continue to keep being there for you as we’re all #CopingWithCovid19 so we’ve put together some simple financial tips as part of our #WisdomWednesday series (have a look on our Instagram for past tips – https://www.instagram.com/360finance_au/) to help you control your finances during this difficult and confusing time. 

Simply put, think about the ABCs as a guide to follow. 

Assess your Assets.
Build a new Budget.
Consider Consolidating your Debts.
Develop a Plan B.
Expect the unexpected.

Firstly, assess your assets. What does this mean?  Review all of the things you own that have significant value – such as cars, boats, bikes or other items of value – to get an idea of what they might be worth. When considering the “big picture” of your finances, it’s helpful to understand what your net worth is and what can be sold should times get extra tough.

Once you have a solid understanding of what the worth is of your assets and any investments, it’s time to build a new budget or revise your current one. An accurate budget allows you to understand your income and expenses which will help you determine how much money you have leftover each week.

You may find that in the short term, you are just not able to cover all your expenses.  This may be unavoidable if, for example, there has been a significant reduction in your income. If this happens, then you should consider your next steps in managing your shortfall.

Consolidating your credit card or other debt may be an option that allows you to reduce your current regular debt repayments.

For example, many of us have a credit card balance that we never quite pay off, and credit card interest rates may be as high as 30%!  A consolidation loan may allow you to reduce the ongoing interest rate you pay on that debt, and can bring down the amount of your regular repayments.  We currently have consolidation loans rates starting from as little as 6.99% (8.28% comparison rate), and refinancing your credit card debt with a personal loan can save you a significant amount of interest over the life of your loan, whilst taking some pressure off your budget the short term.

Whilst it’s great to understand your assets, building budget and considering debt consolidation, it’s also imperative that you develop a Plan B should the unforeseen happen again.

Having a Plan B will help you expect the unexpected. No one could have predicted what the beginning of 2020 would look like for Australia – bushfires, floods, Coronavirus, partial lockdowns. Many Australians are struggling with their finances at the moment but we also know that things will return normal again one day.

If the current situation has taught us anything, it is that who knows when we might find ourselves facing the next crisis, so having a Plan B ready to go makes financial sense!

360 Finance is here to help you every step of the way through your personal finances journey – now and in the future. Feel free to call us on 1300 361 360 if you have any questions, comments or would like any additional information.