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My EOFY Tips and 5 reasons your credit card might be declined

July 2019 Newsletter

No – I am not an accountant, but I have learnt a few things along the way – mainly by error and hope to share a couple of keys tips to hopefully save you from making the same mistakes.
1. Working out what your investment property has cost you is often a painful surprise for people who don’t keep tabs during the year. I have access to an excel worksheet which guides you through your expenses and income – sorting it out clearly so you know what is going on. Doing it for your own properties can save you extra money at the accountants so they don’t have to do it for you. Again email if you want a copy – it is very clear to use.
2. SMSF’s – If you have an SMSF and would like to do a “health check” on it before you get your tax done, please call me on 0412709200
3. Record your Assets and Liabilities: Every six months do an assessment of your current state of financial wellness and record it somewhere you can find it again so you can compare in six months to see if you are moving in the right direction and actually paying debt off and owning more of your assets. So July and January are the best times for this. Check out one of my favourite apps – futureme.org – which allows you to write an email to yourself in the future. Inevitably it comes as a surprise to read something from yourself in a year or two.

Reasons your credit card might “decline”

With identity theft at all-time highs some items to consider to keep you safe:
1.     You are travelling: Simply buying in a foreign environment to where you live can cause a stop on your card. Recently I was called by my credit card bank to ask was I really purchasing jewellery in a shop in Queensland?  (I was but that’s another story) As they had not seen that sort of conduct on my account previously (ever really) and I lived interstate, they thought to question it. I have known people to have their card stopped or cancelled while they were overseas so always log on to your provider and tell them which countries you are visiting prior to leaving to save yourself from this embarrassment. Also consider when travelling having one card with one bank and a second with another to avoid being shut out by one bank. (Maybe also good to hide those surprise purchases from a partner).
2.   A large purchase: (See above) can also cause card companies to stop a transaction – buying a major household item or several on the one day can cause a trip up in their systems and alert them that it may be a potential fraud – again stopping your card. This is more common when you do not insert the card into the machine and use a pin, rather just tapping to pay. So insert your card often so they know you know your pin – it helps to verify it is you.
3.     You have maxed your limit on a particular day:  This can easily happen so get that bank app on your phone and keep on eye on it while you are out and about. My son had this happen to him recently in the US where they took a holding deposit at a hotel of nearly $1000 which was not returned for over a week and cut into his allocated spending money.
4.     Not notifying your lender of a change of address or your card has expired and a new card has been sent to a wrong address. You could be carefully entering your data for a particular purchase but your postal address may have changed and this can trigger a card cancellation which is very inconvenient.
5.     Your spouse or partner (and primary on a credit card facility) dies or divorces you, your card instantly can be swallowed up which is why I always advise each party in a relationship to maintain their own cards – whether debit or credit – as this can be one awful time to be dealing with applying and possibly being refused new credit facilities and can leave you high and dry.