This beginning of the year, although inflation has begun to drop – it closed December 2022 at 7.82% – it is still far from the range of the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), so it is important to take care of pesos and cents.
What is the best way to pay a loan?
Adolfo Ruiz, director of communication and public relations and personal finance expert at Grupo Financiero Ve por Más (BX+), and Creditas (financial solutions platform) shared with Expansión the following recommendations to have a healthy credit:
Prioritize payments: Contemplate the payment of your credit or months without interest in your monthly budget and make the payment of this debt a priority to avoid the payment of interest and commissions for late payments.
Adjust your expenses: During the time that you are paying the credit you will have to make adjustments to your monthly budget and allocate part of your income to liquidate it. Review your fixed and variable expenses and determine which ones you can cut to get an extra fleece.
Reduce unnecessary expenses: Temporarily cut some services that are not essential such as streaming, cable TV, private transport applications or food delivery, among other ant expenses.
Advance payments?: Check if it is possible to advance payments without having penalties or if you can pay more than the minimum.
don’t disparate: In the case of interest-free monthly purchases, do not disparate payments and, preferably, do not acquire commitments of more than six months. Use this type of promotions for goods whose life span is much longer than the time you will be paying.
better credit: In a scenario in which Banxico’s interest rate is rising, if you have a variable rate loan, it is preferable to pay it off as soon as possible, or restructure it to a fixed rate one.
Mortgage or automobile credit: In this type of credit, it may be more convenient for you to make the insurance payment in a single installment, to avoid that your payment is included in the monthly payments.
Problems to pay?: If you feel that you will have problems or you may fall behind in any payment, go to the financial institution to reach an agreement and not see yourself so harmed with the payment of surcharges or penalties.
“Debt is healthy because it allows you to access assets that could generate significant decapitalization for me. If you use the credit in your favor, it will be the best tool to get those assets”, assured Ruiz, from BX+.
Before acquiring a loan, “request as much information as possible: which institution offers it to you, terms and conditions, commissions, type of interest rate and extra charges that can be generated by delays or penalties”, recommends Creditas.
Before signing a contract, compare between several institutions to make a well-informed decision and choose the option that best suits your needs.
