Many people that have in the past attracted a less than perfect credit score often become very worried about their financial future.

Indeed the question ‘can I get a credit card if I have a bad credit history’ is one that we are asked everyday at Myvesta UK. The answer to this question is not always as simple as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ however, as many other factors are often involved.

For instance, if an individual does have a poor credit history does it make more sense to focus on improving their credit report or to take out more credit at probably a very high APR if indeed offered at all? Often it would make more sense for a person to address the fundamental reasons as to why they may carry a bad credit rating in the first place and to assert more energy and effort into correcting behavioral traits that may have lead to incurring a low credit score initially.

In this context it is very much a case of embracing a ‘back to basics’ approach to everyday money management that offers the best starting point. Myvesta has introduced its Money Saving Directory specifically to assist people with daily budgeting requirements and thriftiness.

Often individuals with a bad credit rating may have lost their access to other credit facilities due to poor management of the credit cards that they have had in the past. The perceived need to obtain another credit card further down the line may be more closely driven by the convenience that a credit card delivers in today’s busy world as oppose to the actual need to have a credit extension.

This desire is understandable given the amount of purchasing that we undertake over the internet these days. Indeed it can be nearly impossible to book a holiday or buy a DVD online these days without access to a credit card.

However most credit cards simply utilise the payment platforms operated by either MasterCard or Visa and many people with a poor credit rating are still completely unaware of new product developments in the form as Pay-As-You-Go debit cards. Here people with a bad credit history may be better inclined to consider the benefits of taking out a pre paid MasterCard such as the Myvesta Cashplus card as this product offers the same access to the MasterCard payment platform without the need to undergo a credit check or attract interest costs.

In short it is often a much more sensible to address any basic money management problems that you may have and focus on better budgeting and money saving rather than simply seek to take out more borrowing as a way to address poor credit issues.