A useful starting point
Check the highest payment against money you can reliably spare. Your own budget check helps you prepare; it does not replace the creditor’s assessment.
Start with money you can rely on
Use income after deductions. Separate regular pay from occasional overtime, a once-off bonus or money borrowed from someone else. If income varies, look at recent lower-income periods instead of assuming the best month will repeat.
Weekly or fortnightly pay can make a calendar month look different from a four-week budget. Write down when the money arrives and when the bills fall due. The proof-of-income checklist explains what to prepare without assuming a particular source will be accepted.
Include the less visible expenses
Housing, utilities, food and transport.- Dependants, school costs and regular medical spending.
- Current credit repayments and any agreed arrears payments.
- Annual, seasonal or irregular bills that need money set aside.
- A margin for an unexpected expense or late income.
Test the repayment against that picture
Read the full schedule rather than multiplying an average monthly payment. Lendeka’s initiation fee is included in the first payment, which can make it the largest. If the payment only fits after omitting essentials, it does not fit the budget you have described.
Try the private budget planner. Its balance is a subtraction of your entries, not an approved borrowing limit or a recommendation to spend the remainder.
What the formal assessment adds
For Lendeka, a real application requires verification of identity, income, expenses, bank information and credit commitments. The creditor may request clarification or decline the application. You must give current, complete information, including commitments that do not appear in a bank statement.
The National Credit Act provides the responsible-lending framework. Reading this guide or using our calculator does not start a credit check.
If the figures do not work
Consider reducing or delaying the expense, or discussing a payment arrangement directly with the supplier. If current debt is already difficult, use repayment-support guidance. Do not rely on an unapproved future loan to make this loan’s repayments.