Those living in Tasmania are taking a more positive view of their finances.

In figures released by MyState Financial the headline score on the Tasmanian Economic Index has risen from 52.3 in the final quarter of 2008 to stand at 54.7 for the first quarter of 2009.

And in particular it appears those living in this part of the country are more confident about getting to grips with their borrowing, as the index tracking people’s optimism with regards to repaying debts has surged from 50.5 to 56.3.

Chris Brooks, chief executive of MyState Financial, claims that although this particular increase has been driven due to the series of base rate cuts by the Reserve Bank, the fact that rates will eventually increase is seeing the firm call for “all Tasmanians to identify opportunities to reduce their debt levels”.

In particular he suggests people look to repay their credit card, although switching from high-interest products to cheap credit cards could be an effective means of getting to grips with such a financial commitment.

Meanwhile, a recent Herald Sun article pointed to claims by numerous economists that the Reserve Bank will not action any further cuts until May at the very earliest.

New figures show more women are addressing their credit cards as part of overall attempts to safeguard their own financial footing.

AAP reports that credit cards are an area of focus both in terms of spending less on plastic and clearing existing debts owed.

The results of the survey of 200 female consumers by Citi Fin-Q show that ten per cent more women are now budgeting strictly for their outgoings.

From a 2007 proportion of 18 per cent of women doing so, the figure has now reached 28 per cent, or more than one in four.

A similar increase has been seen in the proportion of women who are putting money aside on a daily basis.

From its 27 per cent level in 2007, this has since risen by ten percentage points to reach a current proportion of 37 per cent of all female consumers surveyed.

The news reflects previous figures reported by The Australian which showed that, during February, women made cutbacks on their spending reflected in lower expenditure on credit cards.

The days of cheap credit cards and pre-approved applications may be coming to an end for younger Australians, but there are a few ways to improve your chances of getting credit.

Money.com.au reports that one of the first options should be to go into your local branch and talk with your bank account provider, as lenders are typically much more keen to lend once they have met people face to face.

“Establishing a relationship with a bank that issues credit cards is an extremely simple thing to do, and builds the relationship with a lender, before building a credit history,” the consumer site suggests.

Meanwhile, for those who have given their rating a bit of a bruising battling credit card debt in the past, opting for a secured credit card may be an effective way to convince your bank to take their guard down, Money.com.au goes on to advise.

The latest lending figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia have shown that Australians continued to steer away from credit cards in February, with the amount of money used to pay off debts approaching near-record levels.

Significant numbers of Aussies will use the cash received from the stimulus package to tackle their credit card debts.

In research commissioned by St George, just over a third (35 per cent) of people are planning to use the government handout to repay credit cards and personal debt.

However, those looking to do more to get their finances back on track may also want to compare credit cards for a competitive deal, Australian Associated Press reports.

And around one in ten (nine per cent) may be taking advantage of recent interest cuts by the Reserve Bank as they plan to put such cash towards mortgage repayments.

Overall, just $2.6 billion of the total $7.7 billion handout is set to be spent.

“There is no doubt the current economic climate is causing many people to act cautiously with all financial transactions and some are choosing to take a more conservative approach to this one-off cash payment,” Andrew Moore, spokesperson for St George, points out.

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Low-rate credit cards can help consumers to beat debt even when lenders do not play fair, it has been claimed.

Financial guidance resource Money AU explains that cheap credit cards can become more expensive due to “negative payment hierarchy”.

This is where the cheapest debt is paid off first, leaving interest to accrue on the more expensive portion of the credit card balance.

However, careful use of low-rate credit cards is suggested as being able to overcome this problem for many consumers.

Readers are told that multiple cheap credit cards can be used to spread different forms of spending – one for balance transfers, another for new purchases, for instance.

This gives the borrower the chance to clear the most expensive debt first while leaving the cheapest until later.

Money AU recently advised borrowers to attempt to increase the credit limit on other cards if closing one account.

This is so that they continue to use the same proportion of the overall credit available to them and avoid any apparent negative trend on their credit history.