Current accounts. Who needs them?

Majority of us use current accounts to get our wages paid into, but then comes straight back out to pay all our bills.


During this economic down-turn, it is essential that you are a savvy consumer, rather than being an oblivious one.

Throughout life people are often scared of change. What do you owe your current bank if you decide to leave? If they are not offering the best deal, it is time to switch!!




Currently Alliance and Leicester are offering customers a £100 incentive to switch from their current banking provider to their Premier current account. Additionally they guarantee 0% interest on all overdrafts for the next 12 months.

Before thinking about switching it is imperative to discuss with your current provider if there are other accounts that are more tailored to your personal financial circumstances. If they are not coming up with the goods, you know what to do next:

SWITCH

Realistic Savings

Before you can decide how much money you want to save and which savings account is best suited to your financial circumstances, you need to make a in-depth record of all your outgoings and measure it against your income. Until this is done, you will not be able to make an inform decision.

WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP??

You can make your own budget planner on Microsoft Excel or simply download templates on the internet to record your information.

I recently opened a fixed-term savings account at 4% for the first 13 months with Santander.

The Banks and Building Societies are not offering very attractive rates, but it is imperative to lock some money away each month, especially for those rainy days.

The Petrol Hike

As all drivers are currently aware, petrol prices has been slowly creeping up.
In my local area, the minimum you will pay is an astronomical 120.1p per litre!!!!


I have only been driving for 4 years now, within that time I remember when I perceived 89.9p per litre as a total rip off, nowadays drivers would be fighting each other to get half a litre at that price if they could.


"I haven't got time or enough petrol in my tank to be driving around different petrol stations to find the cheapest place"


petrolprices.com is a very useful internet based tool that allows consumers to research the average cost of petrol in their local area.

Additionally, you can register for free and actually find the name and exact location of the petrol stations that are offering the best prices.

Trust me, the difference between 120.1p per litre and 123.2p per litre is an immense amount of money in terms of filling up those tanks!!!

Savings Gateway

From July 2010 the government is launching a new saving scheme to encourage more people to save.

"By time I pay the rent, gas, water...buy Alfie a new pair of trainers, I simply don't have enough money to save anything".

Savings Gateway aims to target families on low income (below £16,040), receiving tax credits or are obtaining any other types of benefits.




"That sounds like its going to be hard to set up...."



If you qualify for this scheme HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) will automatically write to you.



But if you have dealt with them before, it is wise to perhaps contact them prior to the launch of this nationwide scheme if it is applicable to you.


"So what is the government actually going to do???"

As a saver you will only be allowed to save a maximum of £25 per month.

After 2 years the government will top up the Savings Gateway account with 50p for each £1 that you save.




http://www.direct.gov.uk/

Not long to go now!!!!!

When the clock strikes midnight, it will be the end of 2009-2010 tax year!!!

So please endeavour to switch over your ISA into the best savings account before your time is up!!!

Unless you are already in a good deal, then you are sorted I guess!!

Best credit card for purchases

Do you enjoy buying lavish presents, keeping up with the latest fashion, renovating your house or venturing to exotic destinations??









I know I certainly do.


But many people make the bad decision of purchasing these type of things on credit cards with diabolical interest rates like 18.9%.

Currently Virgin has brought a new credit card onto the market that is offering an attractive 0% rate on purchases for the first 12 months.

The key is to clear your balance before the promotional period is over in order to benefit from this alluring offer.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/purchases/

What is it all about though???

From an early age I have always had a profound interest in all things relating to saving money.

My focus field mainly consist of investigating anything relating to finances, savings, credit cards, current accounts...

Recently I have broadened my repertoire and began to research other methods in attempting to save money.

I'm a type of person who likes to live a champagne lifestyle, on a lemonade budget.

Why shouldn't normal people like us be able to better our quality of life, whilst being a $avvy $pender and $aver.

The main focus is to regularly update this blog on all the latest offers, current information, and any recent development in the financial world, and to endeavour to empower and educate you the consumers.