10 Tips for Financial Planning

Effective financial planning can enable you to get on top of your finances and avoid stressful experiences of debt. To make the most effective use of any financial plan it is important to consider what steps will actually make a significant difference. These are some common sense ideas which will help to create a workable [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Top 10 Tips for Saving Money and the Environment

It is often the case that a frugal lifestyle can make a big difference to also helping the environment.These are some tips which will help you save money and the environment1. Moderate Heaters and Air Conditioners.To heat the house an extra 2 degrees becomes relatively more expensive and contributes to increased carbon emissions. Try getting [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Why Im Glad I Didnt listen to the Housing Experts

When I bought a house in 2005, there were many ‘housing experts’ predicting an imminent housing crash. In fact people have been predicting a house price crash since 2000. Yet, since 2003, house prices have doubled and since 2005, prices have risen by about 35%.It may be that in the next 12 months house prices [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Low Income Borrowers Pushed to Higher Rates

Business for lenders who specialise in lending to low income groups has increased as many high Street banks make it more difficult to borrow. About 7 million people in the U.K. have difficulties obtaining mainstream credit, according to the British Financial Services Authority.However, many Mortgage Lenders are reporting difficulties in borrowing enough money in the [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Is Recession in UK Likely?

On my Economics Blog, I wrote a piece trying to explain the current economic difficulties in the US.The worrying thing for the UK, is that we share many similarities with the situation in the US. Although a UK recession is still less likely there are several similarities between the two economies.Boom and Bust in Housing [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

8 Easy Ways to Save Some Serious Cash

Note today’s Post is by: Heather JohnsonIn these tough economic times, being able to save some extra cash can really go a long way. Theres no perfect way to save extra cash, and everyone will have their own ideas and opinions on the best avenues to pursue. However, Ive come up with 10 solid tips [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Rate Cuts in America, but UK worries over Inflation

It is interesting to compare the responses of the US Federal Reserve and the UK Monetary Policy Committee.Since the credit crunch became a serious concern, the US have cut interest rates from 4.25% in January to 2.25% in March. From any perspective, this is a pretty decisive change of policyThe UK by contrast has only [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

10 Simple Ways to Save Money at Work

We work to be able to earn money, but, if we are not careful, work can be a place to unnecessarily spend alot of our hard earned cash. These are some tips to make sure that we keep more of what we earn rather than wasting it unnecessarily.1. Drink Tap WaterWater from a subway station [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Recession Likely in UK and US

There is an article here about the prospects of recession in the USBasically, a combination of falling house prices and financial instability is likely to cause significant falls in US consumer spending and a recession seems hard to avoid. However, I am impressed by the way the US monetary authorities are trying to deal with [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Credit Crunch Explained

The credit crunch refers to a sudden shortage of funds for lending, leading to a resulting decline in loans available.A Credit Crunch can occur for various reasons:Sudden increase in interest rates (e.g. in 1992, UK government increased rates to 15)Direct money controls by the government (rarely used by Western Government’s these days)A Drying up of [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

10 Things to Stop Doing and Improve Your Finances

If you had a hole in your trouser pocket, you wouldn’t keep putting money there. Instead you would look to first mend the hole. It is the same with our finances. We work very hard to earn money and then due to bad habits and mistakes we can easily lose our money almost as soon [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

Complaining about Credit Card Charges.

Credit card companies have been known to charge between 20 and 35 for small indiscretions such as late payment fees. However, a ruling by the OFT, means that these charges are likely to be deemed ‘excessive’ and you may be entitled to a refund.A review by the Office of Fair Trading found that charges on [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

UK House price inflation keeps falling

The Halifax reported a small monthly fall in house prices during February. The monthly decline of 0.3% took the annual inflation rate down to 4.2%. Although house prices have now fallen for 3 months, the fears over a huge housing slump in the UK are not materialising just at the moment. Certain factors are underpinning [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

How to Avoid Unnecessary debts

Unnecessary debts can cause serious financial problems and needlessly create uncertainties in the economy.Ways to avoid unnecessary debts:Keep a track of Your Spending.If you have a habit of purchasing too much on credit and store cards, do without them for a while. Credit cards can be a very easy way to spend more than we [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

How To Complain to Your Bank

Complaining to your bank can be a daunting experience, but, when you have a lot of money at stake it is important that you complain in the right circumstances and in the right way to make sure the banks doesn’t take advantage of consumers.Situations where it is helpful to complain.Misselling of financial products.If you think [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

The Mortgage Squeeze

the recent news that HSBC lost 8.7bn as a result of the American credit crunch shows the extent of the problem. Not only have the banks lost money on buying secured subprime loans, but they are also finding it very difficult to secure the securitisation of new mortgage loans. Therefore, they are having to raise [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]

20 Tips for Saving Money on Travel

Making your own food for lunch and long train journeys can save a lot of money. It will probably taste much better than the stale cheese sandwiches which pass for food on British Rail.You could save money on holiday by taking part in holiday exchange CouchSurfing.com Also enables you to experience the real local culture [...]

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[Source: Finance Blog]