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How to reduce your debts
The Times Online has some advice for how to reduce your debts (www.timesonline.co.uk). In summary they suggest:-
Prioritise your debts first to identify those which are most urgent/important (e.g. Mortgage)
Decide strategy – do you want to clear off smallest or largest debts first (or cheapest v most expensive)
Draw up a budget to determine how much cash you can spare for payments
Look for ways to earn extra in order to boost payments to clear debt quicker (the times online offers examples including selling your old mobile phone and renting out your drive!)
Consider the merits of using any savings to reduce debt (only if the relative interest relationship proves positive)
Snowballing – this involves making the minimum payments on your debts but using any extra cash to pay off one of them. Then focus on the second debt, using the same extra cash, plus the money that you were using to make the minimum payment on the first debt.
Consider debt consolidation so that all your debts are contained in one larger personal loan – but look carefully at the economies and longer term implications
Personal debt is now almost the norm – the average UK adult owes around £30,000 (including mortgages). But if debt is a major problem talk to your lender. You may also find a debt charity helpful.
November 29, 2008 at 12:56 pm | personal loan | No comment
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I want it, and I want it now!
Very few of us save up over a lengthy period for the things we want. It simply is not the way things are done any more. When we decide it is time for that new car, holiday, or home makeover our usual route to getting it is a personal loan.
The downside is, of course, paying interest. But the upside is you get to enjoy the thing you want much earlier and the initial financial impact is minimal. The key to it all is to carefully select the loan so that it meets your needs, keeps costs to a minimum and can be comfortably afforded.
There is no shortage of information on loans and providers nowadays and this puts you in control of the selection process. Best source of up-to-date information is the internet.
Once you’ve chosen, the provider will always want to check your credit but this is nothing arduous. Often it can be done immediately on the phone and if everything is OK a loan offer may also be made immediately. If the personal loan is not granted the loan company will normally tell you the reason.
Why you need the loan is not usually an issue for the lender as long as you can show you can make the repayments.
So, unless you have a rich relative or friend, a personal loan is usually your quickest route to getting what you want. What’s great is that it is now simple to find the best deal and apply for it immediately – on-line or on the phone.
November 27, 2008 at 10:12 am | personal loan | No comment
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Financial affairs
If you’re found out you it may be of no help to claim that ‘it meant nothing’ or ‘it was just the once, honest’ – because until you’ve paid the price it is unlikely that you will get any peace. Yes, life after the discovery of a secret personal loan can be hell.
But over one million of us have taken out a personal loan without the knowledge of partners or family members according to a survey carried out by Abbey Loans. In fact 1.35 million have been lured into risking everything in secret to rack up a total debt of 7.7 billion pounds.
‘I only did it to help us pay off our old debts’ is unlikely to make it any better, although debt consolidation was the motive for more than half the loans. Other excuses are somewhat lamer:-
‘I only did it to improve our home’
‘I bought us a car with the money’
‘I’ve got us this holiday – it was to be a surprise’
Oddest motive of all has to be taking out a loan in secret to fund cosmetic surgery. Did they think no-one would notice?
November 25, 2008 at 10:12 am | personal loan | No comment
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No let up in seasonal splashing of cash
Despite crunches, downturns and forecasts of economic doom, a lot of us Brits are still determined to splash the cash this Christmas, according to Direct Line Home Insurance.
Direct line’s survey shows that about one in six people claim that they will spend more money on presents this year than they did in 2007 and more than half are aiming to spend the same as last year.
The average spend on presents is expected to be a total of £407 spread amongst ten friends/family members.
Commenting on the figures, Andrew Lowe, head of Direct Line Home Insurance, said: “As ever, the nation is fully embracing this year’s Christmas festivities. However, for many buying gifts, it means shopping much smarter to get the most for their money. Our research shows many are keeping an eye out for offers and discounts so they get the best deals on presents they are planning to buy – whether this means starting shopping earlier or leaving it until the last minute hoping for reductions.”
One way of funding the concentrated cost of Christmas is to take out a personal loan which can then be paid back over the year – spreading the cost into affordable instalments.
November 24, 2008 at 5:45 pm | personal loan | No comment
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Best ever deals on new and used cars
Car dealer groups are feeling the pinch as economic conditions worsen and are cutting prices on the forecourt at the expense of profitability. Sales of new cars in the UK fell in October at their fastest rate for 17 years and were down 23% from a year ago.
Used car values are also falling rapidly and EurotaxGlass, which publishes Glass’s Guide, expects used car values to fall by at least 12 per cent by Christmas. Average used car values fell to £4,743 in October – the lowest level this year.
Whilst the fall in value of used cars may not be great news for anyone hoping to trade up, now is a very good time to be in the market for a new or used car. And if you have no car to trade-in you will be in a very strong position to achieve major discounts. Many people will be a little nervous of any large financial commitment but it may be worth seeking out a good rate on a personal loan in order to get huge discounts on new and used cars.
November 22, 2008 at 6:20 pm | personal loan | No comment
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Baby boom generation struggle with bills
Alliance and Leicester report that older people are increasingly struggling when it comes to managing their money. Their study revealed that the vast majority of those over the age of 50 have faced a rise in living costs.
Around 98 per cent of Britons who have reached their half-century claim to have suffered from an increase in day-to-day expenses. However, despite the rise in money management difficulties that many people in this age group appear be facing, half of them state that they are yet to take action to help improve their overall financial situation.
Increases in utility bills have impacted most on the amount of disposable income that the over-50s have, with just over three-quarters (77 per cent) of those questioned reported to be struggling with these financial demands. Sixty nine per cent claim to be having problems with increases in the cost of basic foods. Motoring costs accounting for 39 per cent of their money management problems. Furthermore, about one in ten people questioned report that the expense of holidays has become harder to accommodate and 46% cite difficulties in paying council tax.
In trying to face rising costs, the over-50s could find that they are developing further problems in keeping up with other demands on their finances in areas such as personal loan and credit card repayments.
Age aside, anyone concerned about managing their money in the coming months might want to consider applying for a debt consolidation loan. By taking out such a personal loan borrowers could find that they are able to merge various financial commitments into a single low-cost monthly repayment.
November 21, 2008 at 12:04 pm | personal loan | No comment
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Motorists waste £170m on dealer finance
According to website uSwitch.com around half of all the new cars sold at the new ‘58’ plate change are likely to have been financed with dealer loans and, they claim, nearly £170m will be forked out unnecessarily. The figures are based on what happened in September 2007.
At the time of writing uSwitch claimed that the average rate of interest on a car finance deal was 10.17% – 2.77% higher than the cheapest unsecured personal loan which then stood at 7.4%. The figures suggested that buyers could save £826 each in interest payments over three years on an average new car deal.
November 19, 2008 at 11:15 am | personal loan | No comment
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This year’s must-have – a clean credit rating
If ever there was a time to keep a very close eye on your credit rating it’s now. An increasing number of personal loan applications are being turned down which, just a few months ago, would have been welcomed.
Exactly why some applicants are turned down is often a mystery. Sometimes it is simply due to a mistake on your record. The advice is always to directly check your file via any of the credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax or Callcredit. It costs only £2 and it might make all the difference to your future financial position.
If you do find an error on your file you should get in touch with the agency immediately telling them what needs correcting (provide supporting evidence if you can). The item should then be ‘flagged’ as disputed. You can also add a ‘notice of correction’ if there are details that warrant an explanation.
Above all, try to avoid being rejected for credit repeatedly. Every time a company views your file it leaves a mark, known as a ‘footprint’. You can see who is checking your file but it also lets the checker know how often you are applying for credit.
Don’t just miss bill payments as this can have a bad effect on your record. If you can’t make a regular payment, stop the direct debit and get in touch with the company concerned. Paying late might avoid a bad entry on your record.
Finally, make sure you appear on the electoral roll and close any credit or store cards that you don’t use.
November 18, 2008 at 10:42 am | personal loan | No comment
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Credit crunch winners
In a review of the top ten credit crunch Houdinis ‘who have escaped the financial crisis and are laughing all the way to the ailing bank’ The Times Online not surprisingly identifies a number of financiers who have beaten the trend. But of more interest are the contenders who have gained 3rd,4th,5th and 6th places.
Respectively they are Barack Obama, Gordon Brown, Ronald McDonald and Karl Marx.
Obama’s presidential race was, in its final straight, helped by the financial meltdown and the Democrats timely offer to clean up the economic mess the republicans leave behind.
Gordon Brown, on his political uppers just a few months back, is being lauded (not least by himself) as the rescuer of banks.
Ronald McDonald is watching profits soar as two million extra customers a month choose cheap and cheerful fast food over slightly pricier restaurant chains.
And Karl Marx is experiencing a strange popularity as capitalism proves as reliable as a 50s Russian car. Das Kapital sales in germany are up 300% and visitors are flocking to Marx birthplace in Trier.
So there you have it, if you’re a clown or a socialist you can profit from adversity (oh, and the same goes for Obama and Brown of course).
If you’re not laughing with them, maybe a personal loan might help you weather the continuing financial storm.
November 17, 2008 at 5:21 pm | personal loan | No comment
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Me, on one of those? On yer bike
Weary of economic downturns? Fed up with financial doom stories? Want to downsize your outgoings and get some fresh air? Try a bike. More precisely, try a folding bike.
What ? A folding bike as a serious prospect ? If you’ve ever tried one it probably rode like a pig and looked like one. Now thanks to tyre and suspension technology, plus some radical rethinking in the eye candy department, things have moved on. The market isn’t about to fold! In fact, it’s blooming and those small wheeled, small packaged wonders have been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
Why would you want a folding bike? Well, you can go most of the way in your car! When you’ve pedalled into town you can fold it and take it with you so it won’t get nicked. And it’s GREEN – even a red one’s green.
Best known and probably highest rated is the venerable Brompton pictured above. You can even specify your own bike from a pick-and-mix type menu. And Brompton also has celebrity connections. Author Will Self is a total convert and in a piece he wrote in praise of Brompton he says:
“…if I can’t convince you by the end of these 2,000 words that a Brompton folding bicycle is not only a superior means of locomotion, and a perfect antidote to the stresses of the modern world, but also a means of achieving a deeper harmony with place and culture than you’ve hitherto achieved, then I personally guarantee to come round to your house and sort out your old Allen keys – or something like that.”
So, there you are then. If you don’t want to see Self at your door go buy a Brompton. Expect to pay between £600 and £1200 (maybe more if you get carried away with bespoke – oh don’t start punning).
If you want one now maybe a personal loan would be the quickest way to get one in your boot or maybe in a bag hanging from your shoulder.
November 15, 2008 at 5:21 pm | personal loan | No comment
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