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Wedding Insurance and Stress

July 26th, 2011 Comments off

Wedding Insurance
Wedding Insurance and Stress

Wedding insurance protects your cake, wedding dress, flowers, venue, wedding rings and other essential elements of your wedding day – but it can also protect your peace of mind as well.

Wedding insurance can ease your stress levels as you organise your wedding day. With so much to organise, it is understandable when couples become stressed at the thought of inviting so many people to celebrate their big day. Yet since wedding insurance can protect important parts of your big day that you have invested in, including the location, wedding attire, food, wedding rings, photography and gifts – this may make you feel more secure in case something goes wrong.

Signs of stress can be quite subtle, so you should be aware of changes in your own mood as well as your partner’s sense of wellbeing. Stress can emerge as:

Feelings of anxiety, nervousness or sadness
Increased dependency on alcohol or other stimulants
Mood swings
Loss of sleep, appetite or sex drive
Feeling tired and listless

If you notice these signals as you plan your big day, then you may be suffering from stress. This level of stress could prevent you from enjoying your wedding day, so it is important that you protect your sense of wellbeing as much as possible.

Stress or anxiety is quite common in everyday life. The mental health charity, Mind, reports that according to the ONS 2000 survey, mixed anxiety and depression is experienced by 9% of adults in Britain. Nearly 5% have experienced general anxiety and depression has been experienced by nearly 3% of the population.1 You are therefore not alone if you have negative or anxious feelings, especially on your wedding day.

If you do feel yourself becoming stressed, you may need to turn to someone else for support. Whilst your partner is usually the first person you talk to, you may find it useful to talk to someone who is not so involved in the proceedings. A friend or family member can be a valuable resource for support, however even they may have personal loyalties which means they cannot give you totally impartial advice.

Wedding insurance is therefore an important investment not only to protect tangible parts of your wedding day such as your wedding rings, clothes or gifts – but it can also help protect your stress levels as well.

Source: [1] – http://www.mind.org.uk/help/research_and_policy/statistics_1_how_common_is_mental_distress

Company Profile:

John Lewis Insurance offers a range of insurance services selected by the John Lewis Partnership. These include car, home, pet, life, travel, event and wedding insurance products.

For more information about Wedding Insurance from John Lewis Insurance please visit the website here – http://www.johnlewis-insurance.com .

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal Car Loans

July 18th, 2011 Comments off

There are many ways that you can buy a new car and one of those is through personal car loans. There are a number of advantages to opt for this form of car financing but at the same time, there are also downsides to it.

personal car loan

Personal Car Loan

Advantage: You own the car
The main upside to opting for this type of car finance is that you will own the car that you are buying. The money that you are borrowing is from a third-party who has nothing to do with the actual car; they have no rights over it. This means that you can do anything that you want with the car, whether you keep it for years or sell it one after just one.

Advantage: You can sell the car
Because you own the car outright, you can sell it off at any time. This will help you figure out your options if you do find that you can’t afford to make the monthly installments. If you really need to, you can sell the car off and pay off your loan and then use the rest of the money to buy a more affordable option.

Advantage: You can make repayment changes
If you are struggling to make the repayments, there are chances that the loan provider will help you more than a car dealership. The provider will have nothing to take to get the money back so they will be more willing to make an arrangement to help you afford the monthly repayments; the last thing they want is to find out that they will lose out on the total that you owe.

Advantage: You can arrange affordable monthly payments
You can arrange everything upfront, including the monthly repayments. This is possible with any type of car loan, but it usually easier with a personal loan. You can spread the costs over a longer term if you really need to. You can also make changes to these payments after the first year of your loan if you really need to.

Advantage: No deposit
There’s no need to put a deposit down for the loan, like there is when you take out a loan through the car dealership. You don’t need to save up to begin with, which is a stressful time for some people.

Disadvantage: You may not get the loan
You will need to go through a credit check so you may struggle to get the loan. Providers like to know that you are being sensible with your money so they are less likely to give out a car loan if you are already struggling with debt.

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Balancing and embellishing your personal finance in UK

July 12th, 2011 Comments off

The very act of balancing and enhancing the growth of personal finances is challenging enough and it becomes the Herculean task during a financial crisis. During such times, with the major financial institutions like Barclays and Citibank tightening their restrictions, there are perhaps going to be a series of endless troubles awaiting the consumers. Therefore, the best that they can do is to fine tune their finances with the economic degradation in order to have more savings eventually. Ideally, the two most important concepts of personal finance are investment and budgeting and it is important to get a hold on these so that the consumers’ money is not exposed to major risks and hazards.

On the other hand, only those consumers can expect to achieve success with their personal finances, who are able to make genuine efforts by coordinating their personal finances in an effective manner. However, the financial literacy programs such as moneywise can help to deliver the consumers from the shackles of bad consequences with financial matters in particular. As far as investments are concerned, the major mistake which is made by a majority of consumers is to concentrate too much one form of investment and it is through the financial advisory services of moneywise that they can expect better financial suggestions and relief through their consumer friendly programs.

The first step that the consumers should take in this regard is to diversify their investments into separate directions. In fact, diversification of investments is the most important aspect of personal finance and the consumers should never try to put all their money into one option even if it may seem highly beneficial at one point of time. It is necessary because if one of the investments collapses, it will simply mean that the consumer will end up losing all their money. After all, we do not want this to happen to any of us and should act accordingly to avoid such consequences.

The second thing which the people should try to keep in their minds is not to invest the entire paycheck particularly during economic follies when the biggest of financial giants like Barclays and Citibank are unable to provide the consumers with the financial security and reliability which the consumers expect from them. In other words, the banks might fail to turn up during a time of sudden financial emergency or medical requirements. The best ways of investing can perhaps be provided by the financial experts of moneywise, which is a company based in UK and boasts of having thorough professionals any way and the consumers are likely to have lesser chances of risk and failures while working with them.

The most important thing that a consumer will be able to notice while trying to balance the personal financial resources is that the expenditures always go bigger and greater no matter whatever may happen with the existing savings. Although, the bigger financial institution like Barclays and Citibank are still the most trusted entities for the consumers, the friendly approaches of the personal financial advisor can act like a soothing medicine and make the consumers believe that they can actually organize their personal finances without much troubles. This is exactly where companies like moneywise may provide great help to the consumers to prioritize their finances which eventually leads to the growth of personal finances.

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Debit Card Dangers

July 11th, 2011 Comments off

Debit cards, while convenient to use, can often pose a number of risks to your financial security. One of the risks is the ease with which you can lose track of how much you’re spending.

If you’re like most people who use debit cards, you don’t write down each purchase. This is the fastest way to spend money you may not actually have.

Once your account is overdrawn, the bank will assess an often hefty overdraft fee for each purchase that overdraws your account. Common sense might dictate that the bank would simply decline any debit that overdrafts your account.

But with overdraft fees as high as $36 per overdraft, this is one of the primary ways that they actually make money. Also, most debits don’t clear your account until after close of business. So if you make several purchases over the course of a day that overdraw your account, this fact is not calculated by the bank until the end of the day.

One of the best ways to avoid overdrawing your account with your debit card use is to make sure the savings in your account far exceed the amount you may spend in a day. For some people this is $600, for others it might be $1,000.

You can also avoid accruing overdraft fees by signing up for your bank’s savings account overdraft protection. If you have a savings account with the same bank that issues your debit card, the bank will automatically transfer just enough money from your savings account to cover the overdraft or overdrafts you make with your debit card.

Essentially, your savings account will simply help you avoid being charged those pesky overdraft fees. If you choose this option, however, do make sure that you have enough money in your savings account to cover any possible overdrafts.

Another risk that comes with using debit cards is the lack of fraud protection. If a thief is able to use your debit card, the money they take or spend is deducted from your account immediately. Thieves do not even need your actual card, as long as they have the card number, they can make online purchases.

Even after you contact the bank to let them know of the fraudulent use, the money is already gone. Legally, banks have up to 20 days to restore this money to your account, while they investigate the fraudulent use.

If you use a debit card, rather than a credit card, you are putting yourself at risk in a couple of ways. For one, debit cards do not help you build good credit in the way that credit cards do.

Also, you have very little transaction protection when you pay with a debit card. Credit cards offer purchase and dispute protection.

Debit cards have a daily maximum limit on purchases, usually between $200 and $500. If, for some reason, you need to purchase something over your maximum daily limit, you cannot. Keep in mind that this is a cumulative maximum spending cap. So throughout one day, you are limited in what you may spend.

Some merchants, such as hotels, will accept your debit card as a form of payment but they create a “phantom” charge up front to cover any possible fees.

So even though your hotel room rate may be $100 per night, the hotel is likely to hold $500 from your account until several days after you check out of the hotel. This money is not available to you while it is being held as a “phantom” charge by the hotel.

Rewards offered by credit cards are very common. These range from airline miles, to cash back, so simply using those cards, you are receiving something in return. This is not the case with debit cards. There are very few debit cards that offer any additional rewards.

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Use Your Brain When Using A Remortgage

July 5th, 2011 Comments off

Here are some tips for helping you to decide if a remortgage is the right move for you:

Remortgage

Remortgage

What is remortgaging? – A remortgage is replacing your current mortgage with a new loan,  either with your same lender or through a new company. It’s usually done for reducing monthly payments or for releasing home equity. Remortgaging usually goes through a broker.

Lower Payments – One of the main reasons for anyone to remortgage is for lowering their monthly payments. If you are at a point where you’re really struggling to make your payments, then it’s a way to get yourself a better deal. If you manage to find yourself one, then approach your current mortgage holder to ask if they are able to match it. Most of them would rather keep you at lower rates than lose totally lose you. If they can’t match it, look hard at the remortgaging loan and see about a better rate.

Remortgaging For Releasing Equity – This is another reason for remortgaging. It helps you get your hands on some extra cash by freeing up some of the equity built up in your property. What that means is that you’ll be borrowing more than what your current mortgage is in order to release what money you’ve already paid on the property. This can be very helpful if you have property that has gone up in value, or if you’ve paid a large part of your mortgage off. It’s like getting a loan, only the rates are lower because they’re part of a remortgage.

Pitfalls – One particular thing to watch for when remortgaging is making sure it’s the right move for you. There are some costs involved, like legal fees and penalties for changing your mortgage. Those fees can really add up, and it could be beyond what you can afford. But if you borrow extra money, or lower your monthly payments, you’ll probable be repaying it over a longer time period. This can seem very helpful now, but can cost you down the road. It’s a long-term deal.

Benefits – The major advantage for obtaining a remortgage is reducing those monthly payment. It can be a big help for gaining a little financial stability and security, because it can stop the struggling you’ve been going through make your payments. The money you get through remortgaging can be used for making home improvements of for clearing up other debts.

Remortgaging is helpful for getting you out of the struggle of your current monthly payments and for freeing up some equity. But it’s something you really need to take a hard look at first. Make sure it’s what you really want to do at this time. When you do it at the right time, a remortgage can be a good thing.

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