Is It All Doom and Gloom for the UK Economy?

There's been much talk this week, and more depressing news that another recession is potentially looming in Europe and the US, and with borrowing figures the highest that they've ever been, and with Nick Clegg delivering in his speech today at the Liberal Democrats conference that is a "long hard road ahead". The picture hasn't been helped with the International Monetary Fund warning that Europe and the US could slip back into recession unless economic problems aren't combated, with the IMF slashing its growth forecasts for Great Britain, people are left wondering if there's any hope. Interest Rates are at a record low of 0.5%, the only saviour will come next month if the Bank of England decides to pump more money into the UK economy. Unfortunately, for those of us that thought things were looking up for the UK, it looks like the worst could still be yet to come.

The Latest Scandal - Taxpayer Gold Card Spree

Still in the wake of the big MPs expense scandals that broke a few years ago, this article today from the Daily Mail couldn't escape my attention:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2028425/New-taxpayer-gold-card-spree--spending-watchdog-raking-hundreds-thousands-prizes-staff.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

For me this comes as no surprise, but it seems the MPs scandal has opened the floodgates to scrutinies other civil servant bodies and organisations. When will it stop? Whilst, I agree using the taxpayers money and spending in such a frivolous manner, will further ostracise government bodies and increase the growing sentiment of 'them' and 'us', but it seems to me in this day and age every single action is under public scrutiny and the media become the judge, jury and executioner.

Negotiate and Settle Your Debts: A Debt Settlement StrategyFor the Love of Money: The Nine Steps I Took to Beat Credit Card Debt

Ways of Saving This Summer

With the Summer Holidays for many of us fast approaching, and many of us leaving it until the last minute to book a holiday there are still some great deals available even in the peak summer times. I was very surprised to learn that actually the average cost of a cruising holiday in Summer 2011 has actually fallen compared to the average cost in Summer 2010. Pretty amazing eh. However, I don't think the same could be said if you plan on booking a flight and hotel in mainland Europe. Having checked quite a few prices myself, for most dates in August the prices are pretty high.

However, there are ways to save still this summer. Consider not going abroad and taking a holiday at home, many people shall still be thinking about the year ahead and with the UK not in the best of condition as far economy goes it could be a good idea. You'd certainly save a bucket and get to visit places you may have never heard even existed before. A popular choice is for holidaymakers choosing a UK holiday is of course the West Coast of England, with Devon and Cornwall attracting thousands of holidaymakers each summer. But why not consider other areas such as Scotland and Ireland, both offering great scenery and fantastic outdoor activities to keep the kids happier.

But by far the best savings for this Summer are cruises! Get searching now for the best deals!

HSBC new security card

Whilst other countries have been offering this secure key forbe/card for sometime now for Internet Banking it seems the UK is somewhat lagging in offering this extra level of security. It is 2011 after all, and if other "less developed" countries can offer this service, I don't see why the UK is lagging. In many asian countries, you go and open a HSBC advance account and the same day they hand over the security forbe and get you set up on it. Now, UK HSBC customers have to wait another 2-3 months to start using the UK version: 'Secure Key' far bigger and ugglier than the one I was given in Taiwan.
The information on the website is very vague as well: http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/security-centre/secure-key?HBEU_dyn_lnk=SecurityCentre_Overview_BannerSlotA_LearnMore_Button

Here's the one I got from Taiwan HSBC:


And the one they plan on offering in the UK:

By and large im pretty indifferent to HSBC, they're no better or worse than most high street banks these days, but I can't say Ive been too impressed with HSBCs UK operations since being back in the UK, and their delay in providing this vital security service to UK customers. Rant over, but if you too have some vented frustrations against this here seems a suitable outlet: http://fuckyouhsbc.com/

News about the UK's growth forecast

I have to say the news I hear on the UK economy has seemed quite bleak in recent months, but when the forecast for this year was indicating that the overall picture for the UK as looking up with a tiny percentage of growth I did have some hope. However, now the OECD has reduced the growth forecast by 0.2 and expects the UK economy to grow by 1.5% in 2011. Still better than nothing eh?

For the full article read here: UK growth forecast reduced

4 advantages and disadvantages of debt management

Written by Guest Blogger: James Vohwinkle

If you are one of those persons who are overwhelmed with debt but don't know how to get out of it, then debt management plan can help you to get rid of debt. It is a method which helps you to pay back the unsecured debts( credit cards, personal loans, store cards, etc). Normally, a third party organization evaluates the debtor's outstanding balances, income, expenses, and then negotiates with the creditors to reduce the interest rates and payments.

Advantages of debt management:
Reduced payments: You have to pay only what you can afford to pay after paying for your necessary expenses (food, bills, rents, etc). The debt advisers can negotiate with the creditors to reduce the total amount of debt. This happens only when you can't pay back the full amount over a fixed period of time.
No need to deal with the creditors: You no longer have to deal with the creditors. The debt counselors will deal with the creditors on your behalf.
One monthly payment: You have to make only one monthly payment. It is easier to keep track of one monthly payment instead of several payments that you have to make to different creditors.
Flexibility: If your income is reduced then the debt advisers can re-negotiate with the creditors so as to lower your payments. On other circumstances, you could be pressurized into bankruptcy if the creditors didn't agree to the reduced payments.

Disadvantages of debt management:
Increases term of payment: You have to make payments over a longer period of time as your monthly payments are reduced. This means that your total payment is more.
Informal arrangement: The debt management plan is an informal arrangement so the creditors can change their mind at any point of time.
Creditors may still contact: The creditors may still contact you directly on few occasions.
Difficult to obtain further credit: You might not get further credit in the near future.

The debt management plan can help the debtor to manage his debts only when he controls his overspending habit.

Should I cut up my credit cards?

The temptation is immediate, as soon as we find ourselves in a difficult predicament, we want to remove ourselves from the situation as quick as possible - we want to find a quick remedy. When it comes to credit card debt, many people may be experiencing this for the first time and might not think through their actions before doing them. A classic example would be for someone upon finding themselves in a financial predicament, to cut up all credit cards so that they cannot use them anymore. Whilst this might be an okay short-term solution, it can sometimes have the wrong desired psychological effect. You may have removed the credit cards from your wallet and cut them up, but this does not mean that the dependency on borrowing money that you don't have has been removed with the shredding of said credit cards.

To me cutting up credit cards, is a knee-jerk reaction, whilst it may remove your short-term dependency on the pieces of plastic it does not mean your spending patterns and attitude towards money has changed. So the next time, you take immediate action and make a quick response to predicament you find yourself in, be it financial or otherwise, make sure you've carefully considered if you've eradicated the problem or just buried it slightly only for it to resurface later.

Consolidating debt could save you $$s, but there are risks.

For many people struggling with various kinds of debt,be it store cards, credit cards, personal loans, etc, then consolidating onto a mortgage could save them a fortune. However, like anything else it's always worth a closer examination of the associated risks. The advantages of switching from high interest rates on store cards (as much as 30%), and rates on personal loans (av. about 10%) to a mortgage rate of say 7% seem quite apparent. Research has also shown that nowadays, people are more intent on reducing, and eliminating their debt, rather than say in the past where they may have borrowed more. The financial crises probably has a lot to do with this new attitude, of people wanting to make a fresh start and handle their finances more carefully. This is backed up by credit information agency's Veda Advantage's latest Galaxy survey which shows 64 per cent of people plan to reduce credit card debt in the coming six months, with almost half planning to pay the full amount.

However, the risks of attaching all your debt onto your home mortgage repayments is that if you default on the payments you can run the risk of losing your home. Also another thing to look at with consolidating all your debt onto your mortgage, is that whilst in the short term it may look more attractive as invariable you'll be paying a much lower interest rates - these repayments will go on a lot longer and therefore cost you more in the long run. Also if you're going to enlist the services of a debt consolidation company, be sure not to be misled by their unclear marketing. A lot of companies in australia, instead of offering consolidation loans will in fact actually only negotiate a Part IX debt agreement, which is an alternative to bankruptcy where you pay your creditors a smaller amount each month. This then stays on your credit record for seven years, and obviously affects your chances of applying for credit in the future. So be sure you understand fully what the company is offering, and how it will affect your circumstances.

HSBC Credit Card For Chinese New Year

So we've all had the chance to break our new year's resolutions by now, but with Chinese New Year well underway it's provided some of the asian based banks to provide new credit card solutions to their customers. HSBC (in my experience the world's not so local bank) is offering a new credit card:

http://www.creditcardfinder.com.au/hsbc-credit-card-for-the-chinese-new-year.html

It doesnt sound to bad, $50 cashback for every $500 spent for the first 3 months. Not a bad start to the year of the tiger for many. But, make sure you read closely the terms and condition before switching over.

Happy Chinese New Year to all the readers! May it bring you wealth, prosperity and happiness.

Legal Test Cases In the UK

At the end of Q4 there were some important changes and cases occuring in the UK in regards to credit card debt. At the end of November, there were 12 separate ongoing cases in the High Court of Manchester referring to the Consumer Credit Card Act, and the manner in which credit card companies have tried to reclaim the debt from borrowers:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8365018.stm

However, it seems the banks and lenders, whenever such cases arise are in no hurry to push for the cases to be closed and precedents to be set. The banks are perfectly content with drawing out such cases to their full extent, so that no changes are made to the current CCCAs, and that consumers still remain in the weaker position.
However, there have been some major changes in the legislation which gives borrowers more rights, and protection from lendors who put the pressure on. With the changing legislation, this year it's going to be crucial to stay abreast of all the changes and check your current credit card companies' t&c's.

Happy 2010 - To your Financial Woes Ending

Would like to say thanks to all two readers, who have followed this blog throughout 2009. hehe. But on a serious not, I appreciate the comments people have posted and hope that in some shape or form people have found the blog useful and informative. If you have any ideas on how it can improve moving forwards in 2010, then please drop me a line.

Hope you all have a great 2010, and look forward to posting more articles on how to eliminate credit card debt.

Best wishes

Dom

Run Up to the holidays

Okay, so I'm gonna be ultra busy in the run up to christmas and the period after, so probably won't be able to update the blog as often as I have been doing.
But I'd just like to wish everyone a happy holidays and seasons greetings, and hope the forthcoming 2010 is a financial prosperous one for you all!

Thanks very much for following the blog up until now, and I promise in 2010 I'll have lots more helpful hints and advice for ways on reducing credit card. Till then, god bless and seasons greetings.

Using the web to find the best ways of reducing credit card debt

There are many sites where you can perform price comparisons, and it's no different with credit cards. One option that many people consider is consolidating their credit card debt, especially if they feel their interest rate on their credit card(s) are too high. You can usually do balance transfers to other credit card companies with lower interest rates. Some even offer a 0% interest rate for up to 16 months. And if you're were paying a 17.69% APR on one credit card, the savings can be significant. You can easily find information on some of the best APR rates of credit cards, from sites like moneysavingexpert.com. And there are plenty of interest rate comparison engines on all the leading credit cards. Of course you will have to go through the usual card application process, so it's worth checking on your credit score before you do to see if it's acceptable for applying for a balance transfer.

If only we could practice what we preach..

So after refraining from months upon months I've had to resort to using the plastic quite a bit. Mainly due to a relocation, and all the associated financial annoyances this comes with it. Turns out the country i'm living in, none of the local banks accept my card, so i have to travel to my cards bank bank branches which are sporadically located across the city. It's not too bad, but it has meant me getting back in the red on it - something i vowed to myself not to do. But my other card's magnetic strip has gone, which means the only card i can use is the credit card. However, all this should stop soon, as i found myself some full time work, and once my visa and work permit get through all right ill be able to set up a local bank account and have less of these hassles.

But it has taught me the importance of practicing what you preach, and also the importance of financial planning -especially when relocating!

Spending less, saving more.

With Christmas coming up this can be a hard ethos to stick to. We all know we should do this, but there's something about this season that makes us want to rush out to the shops and start buying. However, by cutting down on unnecessary expenses in the run up to Christmas you may find you actually have a bit of extra cash to reinvest in buying those Christmas presents. Also, with the economy in the UK not showing much signs of recovery towards the latter part of the year, it could be a while before we see better days. So before buying upgrades to phones, electronic appliances that aren't necessary and any other goods that we don't actually we should instead be thinking about what we can do without and/or if there are any ways we can perhaps recycle or reconvert what we currently use. Thus preventing the need to go out to the shops and buy a brand new product, with expensive packaging, that will in the end cease working or become faulty.
This economic crises, has taught us some valuable lessons about our propensity for consumerism and how we have becoming indoctrinated in the capitalist system which rules all over other forms of ideology.

Too early to starting thinking about the C word?

Well, November has crept upon us rapidly and in not time at all we'll be wrapping up warm and getting in the midst of those Christmas queues frantically trying to get everything off our list checked off. One important question a lot of people will ask themselves, is how to pay for the Christmas shopping this year. When the credit crunch hit us this time last year, a lot of people were forced to restrain from credit card purchases and perhaps reduce the number of presents they had initially planned to buy. And perhaps divert their attentions away from the expensive stores and find some more competitive priced options. But, with many of the credit card companies being forced to tighten up their policies, and stop taking advantage of people who are prone to racking up debts on their credit cards, can we this year perhaps go on a bit of splurge? Well, my advice would be as always to really work out a budget beforehand and try to stick to it. Even with some of the credit cards perhaps reducing interest rates, or them being forced not to be able to increase interest rates once the consumer gets into debt, it's still necessary to be financially prudent in these still economic uncertain times.

There's a number of ways you can shop cheaply, and pay now rather than have to wait to the new year to worry about it. For example, why not auction off your old unwanted junk on ebay or similar sites, you never know what you can get for something you consider worthless. This should give you some spending money for those Christmas presents. Or perhaps organize a yard/jumble sale getting rid of stuff in the actic. Another good way to make some quick cash. These are just a few ways of getting some cash for your shopping, if you're looking to find out what ebay buyers really want this software I use is highly recommended:Auction Yen

UK is still in the midst of a recession

With the economic situation still looking bleak in the UK, and the recent CARD updates that have been implemented and will be implemented, it all means we have to tighten our belts and become less reliant on the plastic. There's always ways to save money on utilities, shopping, using the car less and so forth. Not only this but it makes us realize perhaps how wasteful and blaze our attitude towards saving was before. If anything this recession has shown that we must pay more attention to what we're spending and if it's really necessary or not. However, the recession has made things worse for people that were already in debt before the economic downturn. If your debt is really worrying you, and perhaps you've lost your main source of income, then I'd thoroughly recommend the ebook that was featured last week for turning your finances around. It disseminates practical advice, and shows you how one guy managed to get out of more than $200,000 of debt.

How to get out of debt in 3 - 5 years

It can be done, and you don't need to be a financial expert in order to get debt free.
One guy who shows it's possible is Clint Holland who had a debt of $213,000 and found a proved method of getting out of this debt in just 5 years. If you'd like to read about how he did this, check out the link below:Get Out Of Debt

Stories like Clint's are an inspiration for us all, that there are ways to get out of what may seem like a never ending mountain of debt. Sometimes, I read some people's Ebooks and stories, usually take something away from it, but never fully put it into practice. With Clint's 'Debt Free in 3 Years' I found all the content in there extremely pragmatic and helpful. Take action, read it for yourself today and start getting yourself out of debt.

What to do if you can't pay off your credit card

For some people the situation arises where they can possibly pay off their insurmountable credit card debt, it's simply gotten too much. So what should you do if this happens to you?

First off, consult a non-profit organization such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (C.A.B). They will be able to dispense invaluable advice on what you should do next, and give you at least a 30 day saving grace period from the credit card company. However, the rules won't apply if the credit card company has already passed on the debt to a collection agency. In this case you should still get some free advice, and consider getting a professional company to help you call of the creditors.

There's always help at hand, just make sure you consider all the options before deciding and make sure you're not pressured into a rushed decision.

How to minimize using your credit cards abroad.

It can be very tempting, when you go on holiday to take your credit cards with you and whip them on numerous occassions. This is all well and good, if you know full well that you can pay back whatever you spend once you get back to your home country, within a reasonable time frame.

However, relying on the credit card whilst in a foreign country can cause all sorts of problems apart from the foreign exchange rate charges and interest rates. What happens if you're wallet or purse is lost/stolen whilst on holiday. This is one of our worst fears, and dealing with such a scenario in a foreign country can be a nightmare. So before you go abroad, make sure that you've set up the necessary security measures for your cards that safeguard you against card fraud and also make notes on your bank's lost/stolen card contact details - in case it does happen to you. With a simple call you'll be able to cancel the cards stolen.

However, you may then realize you've got a problem with funds and getting access to them. This alone, can be a very stressful and worrying situation. But, this scenario can easily be avoided if you make sure you've got backup measures in place, such as traveler's cheques. Also, before you go you can look into western union money transfers and perhaps organizing someone to send you funds in case of an emergency. You may be able to wire the money through online banking back to the person from your account whilst you're abroad. Technology has enabled more ways of getting access to our money, but we should still rely on other traditional methods in case we run into trouble whilst abroad. If you do a lot of traveling it's perhaps a good idea to select a card that has low foreign exchange rate charges ideally 1% or less or just charges a low flat fee. This can help reduce your final holiday bill.