The online lender Wonga.com has been accused of misleading visitors to its website about the practicality of using its loan... Read More
As thousands of students around the UK struggle to manage their finances effectively, the proposal of spending as... Read More
Consumers from across the UK have been urged by a raft of experts to take a closer look at... Read More
A sizeable majority of British consumers are set to miss out on some of the tax free savings on offer to them via their Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowances.
The special tax rules associated with ISAs are designed to encourage saving and give consumers something of a financial boost each year but the benefits are not being reaped to nearly ...
Read MoreA growing number of new mothers in the UK are finding themselves with little choice but to take on debt to finance themselves in the months after giving birth. The pain is being felt by new mums in various ways as they get to grips with parenthood and there are many thousands of women apparently putting off having their first child primarily because they feel themselves unable to cover the costs involved with doing so.
We all perhaps intuitively understand that becoming a mother can be a costly business but the extent of the financial strains that can be caused has been laid bare in recent days in a report on the subject from the price comparison service uSwitch.com. The headline finding was that the costs of going on maternity leave, coupled with the rising overall cost of living in the UK means that close to a third (29 percent) or new mothers are now being forced into debt.
The average amount of debt accrued under these circumstances was roughly £2,500 at the time of the poll and the money problems faced by new mums often spill out to effect t&...
Read MoreThe UK and European economies are struggling against some sternly testing headwinds at present and the impact is being felt by families right across the country and the continent. So perhaps it should come as little surprise that households in Scotland are feeling the financial squeeze to a significant degree as well.
Evidence if it were needed of just what families north of the border are having to contend with currently from a financial point of view came this month in a report from the Bank of Scotland...
Read MoreBritish parents with adult children are struggling to boost their pension savings pots as they otherwise might because they are increasingly making significant financial sacrifices to help out their grown-up sons and daughters.
A new survey on the subject suggests in fact that just below a third of all parents in the UK with adult children are helping their offspring out with major outlays and to repay their debts...
Read MoreDebt has become part and parcel of money management for many millions of British consumers but taking on too much can of course lead to serious financial difficulty. The question of quite what amounts to having serious levels of debt is an interesting one and it was posed recently in a survey by the financial protection company Bright Grey.
According to the study, a typical UK consumer only considers themselves to be in serious debt when they have racked up arrears in excess of £14,400. The company behind the research suggests that the figure reflects a rather worrying attitude towards debt that goes some way to explain why Britain is currently so heavily indebted as a nation.
And seriousness in the context of financial difficulty is per...
Read MoreBritish holidaymakers are often finding themselves paying out considerably more than they bargained for to access their own cash while enjoying some overseas sunshine. Spain of course is the biggest draw traditionally for British sun seekers but there are additional charges being levied as millions of holidaymakers use either their credit or debit cards right across the continent and beyond.
Setting off on holiday is generally a major outlay for households regardless of the circumstances but the latest figures on the subject have shown that foreign withdrawals cost UK tourists a collective total of around £263 million every year. On a one off basis, the charges for withdrawing cash in Spain or in any other European hotspot do not seem all that steep at £2.75 but the costs can easily mount up with repeated visits to the cash machine.
A researc...
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Remaining calm and mapping out a realistic strategy is a far more effective way to manage your finances than worrying about potential money problems or the position you’re currently in. That’s according to a new study on the subject from National Savings & Investments (NS&I).
Setting money aside as savings can be a real struggle for many of us, and the UK’s economic difficulties of recent years mean these efforts have become both more challenging and more important than ever...
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Some tactics at the consumer end of the financial services are more subtle and sophisticated then others. For its part the Spain-based banking giant Santander has decided that direct offers will work best at least when it comes to luring students to its relevant range of current accounts. The latest proposition could hardly be more straightforward from the bank and amounts to saying “switch to our current account and we will give you £50 for doing so”.
So the offer is on the table and it remains to be seen whether students across the country will be tempted by such an obvious appeal to their pockets. In any case, the option is available between 16 April and 30 June 2012. The accounts offer an interest-free overdraft facilities that runs up to £2,000, which may also tempt hard-up students to make the switch but they will need to pay one percent interest on credit balances worth up to £500.
“Money’s always tight during term time and an extra £50 could come in very handy,” noted Santander banki...
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Lawyers tend to be rather well paid by most people’s standards but that hasn’t left them immune from financial regrets, according to a new study into attitudes towards saving within the profession. A majority of the lawyers polled in fact regret not putting away more of their earnings earlier than they did.
The financial habits of lawyers vary a great deal of course but they are typically quite determined and regimented in the way that they save, at least after they have got their saving efforts under way...
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The online lender Wonga.com has been accused of misleading visitors to its website about the practicality of using its loan facilities as part of a sensible approach to student finance.
Until recently, a page on the company’s website suggested that that its loans could help student’s manage their finances more effectively despite the fact that they are typically offered at vastly higher rates of interest than standard student loans.
The National Union of Students (NUS) was among those angered by the implication that short-term lending can sometimes be a sensible financial option for young people in higher education.
Pete Mercer, vice president for welfare issues at the NUS, said: “It is highly irresponsible of any company to suggest to students that high-cost short-term loans be a part of their everyday financial planning.”
Mercer wen...
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