RSS feed:
Categories
ARCHIVES
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
Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.personalloansmadeeasy.co.uk/loans-uk-info/personal-loan/baby-boom-generation-struggle-with-bills/trackback/
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
Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.personalloansmadeeasy.co.uk/loans-uk-info/personal-loan/motorists-waste-170m-on-dealer-finance/trackback/
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
Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.personalloansmadeeasy.co.uk/loans-uk-info/personal-loan/this-year%e2%80%99s-must-have-a-clean-credit-rating/trackback/
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
Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.personalloansmadeeasy.co.uk/loans-uk-info/personal-loan/credit-crunch-winners/trackback/
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
Trackback URL for this post:
http://www.personalloansmadeeasy.co.uk/loans-uk-info/personal-loan/me-on-one-of-those-on-yer-bike/trackback/