Blogger Paul Annett ponders on whether petrol stations are involved in some penny pinching by adding a penny onto every transaction, in the hope it goes unnoticed and raises plenty of extra revenue. It’s a little unlikely, even though the money to be made by doing this on a large scale could be huge. But […]
Cost Of Raising A Child: £186,000
Here comes some scary news for parents: A new survey by Liverpool Victoria suggests that the cost of raising a child to the age of 21 is a staggering £186,000. This cost has risen by 33% in the last 5 years, plus it is expected to rise by 42% in the next 5 years. Figures […]
Manage Your Finances In Excel
I’ve talked before about using Excel to track your expenses and to setup a budget, but it can be difficult to know where to begin when faced with a blank Excel sheet and the thought of having to add in all of your expenses and spending. If you’d like some help, here’s an extremely useful […]
How Much Do Charities Earn From Charity Christmas Cards?
The Telegraph has published an interesting table and commentary on the amount that charities earn from the charity Christmas cards that are sold in a variety of shops. I’m not sure the overall results are that surprising, that even at the best rate, they only receive 21% of the purchase price, but a table published […]
New TV Show from Martin Lewis: It Pays To Watch
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has just announced that his new TV programme, It Pays To Watch, will be starting on Five in the new year. From 9th January he will presenting a weekly show which he says aims to mirror much of what he does on his website, which is providing information on saving […]
Money Links For 3rd Dec 2007
Links to other interesting money articles on 3rd Dec 2007.
Student Loans Get More Expensive: Should You Repay?
We’ve discussed the decision to leave or pay off your student loans before, and although the answer generally used to be “it’s the cheapest debt you’ll ever get into, don’t repay it until you’re forced to”, things have changed recently. The interest rate on student loans, which used to be a measly 2.4%, has recently […]
Remortgaging? Watch Out For Arrangement Fees
I mentioned in my previous post, about the effects on your mortgage with a change in interest rates, that you should get a mortgage broker to search the market and to find you a better deal if your current deal is about to expire. Unfortunately, getting a new mortgage doesn’t come cheap, especially as the […]
Reasons To Use Your Credit Card
Credit cards have, probably justifiably, got a pretty bad name, largely down to the trouble that people find themselves in if they’re misused. But of course, there are always two sides to every story, and when credit cards are used responsibly, they can be quite useful. The Money Hospital wrote an article a few weeks […]
How Would A 1% Rate Change Affect Your Mortgage?
According to a report by Nationwide, 75% of us couldn’t tell how much our mortgage payments would change if there was a 1% change (either increase or decrease) in its interest rate. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head. But why should I be able to? I’ve got […]