All Things Finance
Understanding Car Insurance Discounts
Posted 2008-04-24
Trying to save money wherever you can is important to us all. Car insurance should be no different. Do not assume that your agent knows everything about you and your vehicle. Drivers should take advantage of all discounts that many...
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Equity release proving more popular
Posted 2008-01-13
The amount of UK homeowners taking equity out of their homes is growing. Many Britons are turning to equity release in order to increase their disposable income. Mark Gattenby, financial services director of Help the Aged subsidiary intone believes that many are turning to equity release to keep up with mortgage and credit card debts, he also urged potential equity release customers to seek advice: “It is true to say that there is a general lack of understanding of equity release with the general public. As equity release is a major financial decision we would always encourage the public to seek independent advice from a specialist before proceeding.” Business Development director of Key Retirement Solutions Dean Mirfin echoed these thoughts: “Retired homeowners should talk to advisers to ensure they do not end up paying too much for equity release plans. [However], providers looking for sales are unlikely to point retirees in the direction of the best deals available.” ...
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Making a budget plan could ease consumers’ finances
Posted 2008-01-10
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) is advising Britons to make an annual budget to plan ahead for their spending. Frances Walker from the CCCS is recommending consumers to calculate their annual budget to calculate their monthly repayment. Walker suggests that if monthly outgoings are over 20% of people’s income they should look at how to optimise their budget. Debt consolidation may be a good way of reducing monthly repayments and ease consumers’ budget. Credit Action estimates that UK’ debt totalled £1,4000billion. ...
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Brits should get a handle of finances in the New Year
Posted 2008-01-9
According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over spending Britons need to think ahead for their longer term financial plans. The DWP has said that a lack of financial planning for expensive periods such as Christmas and festive overspending often leads to financial shortfalls. As a consequence, some households are left struggling to pay bills. More than 50% of Britons overspend at Christmas, with people in the North-East, North-West and Wales suffering the largest financial hangovers. Susan Clark of Job Centre Plus said: “Struggling to pay the bills after Christmas is a situation that many people find themselves in and can be very stressful.” One way of managing overspending may be to consolidate existing debts into one loan. ...
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Taking a loan could save borrowers money
Posted 2008-01-9
A study from the Financial Researcher show that borrowing a lower sum of money could cost more as higher interest rates are often charged on lower tiers. David Black from Defaqto is advising borrowers to research interest rates levels for each tier as selecting a bigger loan may save them money. Borrowing a larger sum of money could save up to £1000 according to the research. As interest rates tend to be lower for bigger loans, Defaqto is recommending consumers to be careful when choosing their loan as they my find more competitive rates on higher tiers. ...
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More than 6m bills go unpaid
Posted 2008-01-9
As households feel more financial pressure, research conducted by YouGov for MoneyExpert.com has found that more than 6m bills have gone unpaid since 2007. 2.3million people failed to pay council tax bills in the second half of 2007 and 1.3m people did not pay energy bills in time. With rising energy bills and the continuing credit crunch, households may still find it difficult to pay bills in 2008. Sean Gardner, Chief Executive of MoneyExpert.com said: “Paying one bill late is not something to panic about. But if you find this is something of a habit then you need to take action. Missing bills can have serious consequences, whether it’s losing a service altogether or even ending up in court.” According to YouGov nearly three million consumers in the UK failed to meet their credit card payments, resulting in 35m of fees. ...
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£9bn worth of credit switched
Posted 2008-01-8
£9bn worth of credit balance will be transferred in the New Year, according to a survey commissioned by Abbey. In the first three months of 2008, the average transfer will be £2,666 with eight per cent of men and seven...
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Savers should be warned about rate changes
Posted 2008-01-6
Nationwide Building Society believe that consumers should be told when introductory savings rates expire and fall to lower levels. These calls come at a time when average interest rates are below inflation. Nationwide claims that its rivals are taking advantage...
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More urgency in house market
Posted 2008-01-6
One in ten people who are planning on buying a house are bringing forward their plans according to a survey by fool.co.uk. According to the survey 38% of potential house buyers want to buy this year and 34% in 2009. David Kuo, head of personal finance at fool.co.uk said: “The long overdue correction in the property market will allow many people who have been waiting to move house to finally realise their dream. Quite often people will ask how much they can borrow when they want to buy a property. But that is altogether the wrong question. Instead, they should ask themselves how much they can afford to repay.” Fool.co.uk found that in the next five years there will be more sellers than buyers; for every four people looking to buy there will be five sellers. ...
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Greener buildings could affect housing market
Posted 2008-01-5
According to the Home Builders Federation (HBF), environmental issues could affect house buying in the future. Each new house will need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to ensure the house is well insulated and energy efficient. On top of this the government is offering stamp duty exemptions for carbon neutral homes as part of its “Building a Greener Future” policy. John Slaughter, direct of external affairs at the HBF said: “I think that [the EPC] will have some influence on perceptions of purchases. And obviously, if you go back to point about hiking energy prices at the moment, then people will always take more notice things in that climate. The benefit of the EPC is that it will actually raise awareness of the benefits of good levels of energy efficiency and insulation would have – not just running costs but [for the] comfort of the house and so forth.” ...