Understanding credit

Our helpful guides

What is credit?

Understand credit and how it works and, as well as enjoying more financial freedom, you could avoid getting into serious debt in the future.

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Having a good “credit history” will help, for example, if you have or previously held credit cards, loans or a mortgage and have made regular repayments on time.

Healthy credit

Building and maintaining a healthy credit file can play a part in your personal and financial plans. Find out how to maintain healthy credit…

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Your credit file is your record of creditworthiness – in other words, how good you are at paying back any money you’ve borrowed.

Managing credit

Credit is a financial tool that offers convenience and flexibility. But, like any tool, it needs to be looked after and managed responsibly.

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Create a budget to manage how much you spend - and stick to it. You can visit the Financial Regulator It's Your Money website for some useful tools to help with budgeting

Managing debt

If you find yourself in financial difficulties the most important thing you can do is to seek advice and talk to those you owe money to

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Set up direct debits. This way you won’t forget to make any regular payments, and you’ll have a clearer picture of what you have left to spend each month.

Credit basics

Your credit card life

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FAQs

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