The next time you delay or don't pay your phone bill, you may have to deal with more than just a call from your service provider reminding you about the dues. It may affect your credit score and mar chances of getting loans from banks.

Rahul Awasthi heaves a sigh of relief on Tuesday. He wanted to pledge his equity investments for a loan early last year. As the Sensex fell 20 per cent between January and December 2011, this 40-year old’s decision would have suffered badly.

I own a prepaid forex card, loaded with $150. I had bought foreign currency when the rupee was 47 for a dollar.

A public sector bank, recently cut its base rate and said interest rate cuts would be passed on to customers soon. Does this signal rate cycle reversal? I plan to take a home loan.

A private sector bank has offered to transfer my credit card balance to theirs.

I would be going for a holiday at the end of this month. I hold $500 in cash.

Unable to clear rising credit card dues? Facing the brunt of steep interest charges? You are sure to have got calls to pay back in EMIs (equated monthly instalments).

The loan, on expiry of the fixed-rate period, switches to floating rate at a margin of 200 bps over the then base rate.

Early payback decision needs deliberation. Read this before you take the first step.

I lost my credit card last month. I had a sum outstanding of Rs 10,000. I asked the bank to block it immediately and filed a police complaint. My next statement showed new transactions, which the bank wants me to pay.

Early payback decision needs deliberation. Get an income tax payment schedule, and invest in debt-based instruments for liquidity in the near future.