This year’s budget wasn’t the most exciting, but in the current financial climate, you could hardly expect it to be. With businesses and consumers finding borrowing more and more difficult, as banks reduce their lending following the credit crunch, and as the cost of electricity, gas, petrol and food continue to rise, we’re all finding […]
Category: Featured
Essential (Free) PC Software
Not so long ago I purchased a new computer (a laptop PC, to be precise). If the cost of the laptop wasn’t enough, once it had been delivered I then started looking to add all the essential software I needed. Of course, some software can be expensive, but thankfully, there are now many excellent free […]
Have You Succumbed To Shopping Momentum?
Following the post about my little impulse purchase of an iPod Shuffle the other day, there’s an interesting look at part of the psychology of shopping over at Get Rich Slowly. In particular, the post discusses a research report which suggests that the more you buy, the more likely you are to buy more things. […]
iPod Shuffles Now £32 – Bargain?
In my attempt at living a reasonably frugal life I don’t often spend much on gadgets and gizmos. Today however, having heard they were selling for £32 in Argos, I decided to splash out on an iPod Shuffle. It’s the cheapest I’d seen them for, and will be the perfect accompanyment for when I start […]
Breaking News: Northern Rock Nationalised
Just when it seemed things couldn’t get worse for Northern Rock, the government will tomorrow announce that it is to take control of the bank and nationalise it. Despite looking for outside bidders, including Richard Branson’s Virgin group, to take on the debts of the Rock, they’ve decided instead to do something that they haven’t […]
Are We About To See The End Of Free Banking?
This week could see the start of another bad period for the banks, thanks to a new test case starting tomorrow (14th Jan). The High Court is to start ruling on a case the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is bringing against 7 top banks and the Nationwide building society. The case is looking at […]
Learning From My Mistakes: Share Dealing
Yesterday’s foray into stocks & shares mentioned that I had little experience in share dealing – I have done a few trades in the past, but two trades I did make taught me a useful lesson in stock market investing. Just under 6 years ago, I had a little more money at my disposal than […]
Pensions vs Buy-To-Let
Plonkee has written a couple of brilliant articles this week comparing the pros and cons (and maths) of funding your retirement with a pension or buy-to-let properties. The maths is pretty complicated but also intriguing; in her calculations, the buy-to-let option comes out on top, although she concludes that the risk is naturally greater, and […]
5 Ideas For Dealing With Unwanted Christmas Presents
It’s been a week since Christmas, and if you’ve ended up with a few presents that you’re not too keen on, do not need, or just plain want to get rid of, then you might be wondering what the best course of action is. Here are some ideas for dealing with unwanted Christmas presents: Bin […]
Happy New Year!
Here’s wishing you a happy and hopefully prosperous New Year! To all Money Watch readers, thanks for your support in 2007, and I hope to see you back here regularly in 2008. Rob. Photo by DOTW