Avoiding bill shock

Over in the United States, the communications regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has proposed new rules to force mobile phone carriers to alert consumers before and when they start incurring excess charges, and the word is, Australian regulators look set to follow suit.

There’s nothing worse than the arrival of bills, in particular unexpectedly large ones, especially when you’re working your butt off to save for that first home.

But if you are on a mobile phone plan, chances are you’ve experienced one or two ‘bill shocks’, as it’s been dubbed.

Running up excessive bills is nothing to scoff at if you’re an aspiring home buyer. Not only can over-sized bills throw you off your savings course, if they’re too expensive, and remain unpaid, they can send you into dangerous territory.

Indeed, the payment of all of your bills can really influence your ability to secure credit, including a home loan, and while regulatory protection would go a long way towards keeping many of us on track, in the meantime wishful home buyers simply need to figure this out themselves.

If this means switching your mobile phone to a cap, in order to keep on top of your bill, then bite the bullet and do it.

Perhaps you need to take the time to monitor your bills in order to know how much you should set aside for their arrival each month/quarter.

At the end of the day there are several options in terms of keeping on top of your bills and different systems will work for different people. The main point is that you simply need to have some sort of system in place.

Remember, in assessing your eligibility for a home loan, mortgage lenders will be looking to determine whether you’re a responsible applicant and a strong history of bills paid on time will always help boost your candidacy.