Are you always wondering why there’s more month than money? Do you impulse buy to cheer yourself up? Do you happily plan holidays, but bury your head in the sand when it comes to pensions?
So we are now into Febraury. How are you getting on with your new year resolutions? Was one of your intentions to improve your financial situation? If we believe the media, our finances are going to be that bit tighter in 2012. In past years it was common to borrow in order to spend when times were good. We would then remortgage our homes as they continued to increase in value and repay the debt. However, the growth in house prices has now stopped and many find ourselves on a backward slope, making it a lot harder to find credit to consolidate the debts.
If the easy credit has dried up and the recession is biting you deep, now is the time for you to start taking control of your money…. before it controls you! Money worries can be one of the biggest causes of stress in our lives yet no one takes the time to help teach us how to manage our finances effectively.
I was taught by my Dad in my teens how money works and how to plan for the future. Like any teenager this went in one ear and out the other a lot of the time. I took advantage of bank overdrafts thinking it was ‘free’ money for short term pleasures such as a night out. However, as I moved on in my career as a financial adviser many of my Dad’s teachings began to resonate with me. It is from this I believe I have the basics right when it comes to my day-to-day personal finances.
Like a lot of people I dream of more money and what that will enable me to do. I know this will be the case. I believe that all financial planning begins with the basics. Whether it’s setting monthly budgets or saving for next year’s dream holiday, it all starts with planning.
At Financial Choices, I provide ‘Financial Coaching’ as one of my core services, designed to help, support and guide you through the tough financial world. I know where the pitfalls are, and I use tried and tested strategies to help you manage your money better and make the most of it.
Whether you want tips on taking emotional control of your finances, choosing goals and planning how to achieve them, paying off holiday debt, establishing budgets, investing, spending or simply living within your means, this is a genuine offer for you.
I begin this process by sitting down with you and establishing where you stand today, developing sustainable budgets and working out some goals you can work towards. Then we plan on how you will pay for these goals by putting them into writing and formulating a plan designed to offer key tips and strategies to help ensure you achieve these goals. I have listed some simple tips to help you start the process;
1. Put your income at the top of a page or spreadsheet (I use a basic Excel spreadsheet)
2. Set aside time and write down all your outgoings on a monthly basis.
3. For 6-8 weeks, take a note of all your outgoings – this will give you a good idea of where your money is going.
4. Once you have this on paper, you can work out whether you have a surplus or deficit each month.
5. Review your outgoings. Is there anything you can stop? i.e. Gym membership if you don’t use it. Can you get discount by paying direct debits i.e. Gas, electric?
6. Take time out every week to review your outgoings.
By doing the above, you will already be in a better position. If you haven’t got much money left over or you think you might be getting into difficulties, don’t panic! – There is help at hand.
My aim is to try and help you get back in control of your finances which will allow you to live comfortably and hopefully allow you to achieve those all important financial goals.
For 30 minutes of your time, either in my office or at your home at a time that suits you, you can take start to take control of your financial decisions before the uncertainty of this world makes the decision for you…
Call me on 02890 769 769 or email paul@financialchoices.org.uk
My business relies on ‘word of mouth’ business and therefore referrals are very important. I can provide financial advice in many different areas so please feel free to pass on any of my details to your friends and family. As a way of thanking you for an introduction I will send you a £25 Marks and Spencer’s voucher for everyone you send who becomes a client.
The contents of this blog are believed to be correct at the date of this publication (January 2012). However, all the information and figures are subject to change and you should always make enquiries and check details and where necessary seek legal advice before entering into any transaction.
The information in this blog is simply my opinion and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek professional advice tailored to your needs and circumstances before making any decisions.
THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE
A mortgage application fee of £99 will be payable upon application. An arrangement fee of £249 will be payable upon drawdown of the mortgage funds. This may be waived at our absolute discretion.
Financial Choices UK LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in Northern Ireland with registered number NILLP3 and registered office 1 Belmont Office Park, 232 Belmont Road, Belfast, BT4 2AW and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
STICK OR FIX?
The burning question in all home owners minds…
The last year or so has been a tough one for many. Although, for a sizeable number –who are in employment and enjoying lower interest rates on their mortgage loan – they may feel that it’s left more money in their pocket than usual.
I have noticed over the last couple of months that the talk of recession and credit crunch has started to bore people. They are fed up with putting their lives on hold and are now ready to act – whether that’s to purchase their first home, move home or simply carry out the home improvements. Some are even tidying their finances up and looking at their options through re-mortgaging.
With interest rates falling from 5.75% to 0.5%, many of my clients have enjoyed significant reductions in their monthly mortgage costs. This has now lasted for more than 13 months. With last week’s surprise announcement that inflation is now at 3.4% (Consumer Prices Index) it got me thinking – is now the right time to look at fixing your mortgage for the coming years or should you keep enjoying the lower monthly mortgage payments?
With this in mind, it makes sense to take advice to see how you can meet your borrowing needs for the rest of 2010. In some cases, the best option is to stay with your existing mortgage deal, but you may be mindful that at some stage the Base Rate may start to go up. And when that happens the Lenders are likely to rapidly re-price their deals. To possibly avoid losing out, this may require you to anticipate when a rise could occur, in order to secure a fixed or variable deal that best suits your needs.
My general feeling is that interest rates will not move too much in 2010, but given the higher than expected inflation figures and the possible effects of recent Bank of England Quantitative Easing on the economy, the base rate may need to go up to control inflation.
My belief has always been that if you act early and receive good, honest, independent advice you will be in control which will allow you to make the best decision when the time is right. To ensure you have the right information and complete peace of mind that you know the facts upon which you can make your decisions, call me to make an appointment. For 30 minutes of your time, either in my office or at your home at a time that suits you, you can take control of your financial decisions before the uncertainty of this world makes the decision for you…
Call me on 02890 769 769 or email paul@viewfinancialservices.co.uk
Our business relies on ‘word of mouth’ business and therefore referrals are very important to us. We can provide financial advice in many different areas so please feel free to pass on any of my details to your friends and family. As a way of thanking you for an introduction we will send you a £25 Marks and Spencer’s voucher for everyone you send us who becomes a client.
The contents of this blog are believed to be correct at the date of this publication (May 2010). However, all the information and figures are subject to change and you should always make enquiries and check details and where necessary seek legal advice before entering into any transaction.
The information in this blog is simply my opinion and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek professional advice tailored to your needs and circumstances before making any decisions.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
We normally charge a fee for mortgage advice. The amount will depend on your circumstances. A typical fee is £295
You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage
The Financial Services Authority does not regulate Credit Card advice
Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI070072. View Financial Services is an appointed representative of Personal Touch Financial Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Ltd.
The last year or so has been a tough one for many. Although, for a sizeable number –who are in employment and enjoying lower interest rates on their mortgage loan – they may feel that it’s left more money in their pocket than usual.
I have noticed over the last couple of months that the talk of recession and credit crunch has started to bore people. They are fed up with putting their lives on hold and are now ready to act – whether that’s to purchase their first home, move home or simply carry out the home improvements. Some are even tidying their finances up and looking at their options through re-mortgaging.
With interest rates falling from 5.75% to 0.5%, many of my clients have enjoyed significant reductions in their monthly mortgage costs. This has now lasted for more than 13 months. With last week’s surprise announcement that inflation is now at 3.4% (Consumer Prices Index) it got me thinking – is now the right time to look at fixing your mortgage for the coming years or should you keep enjoying the lower monthly mortgage payments?
With this in mind, it makes sense to take advice to see how you can meet your borrowing needs for the rest of 2010. In some cases, the best option is to stay with your existing mortgage deal, but you may be mindful that at some stage the Base Rate may start to go up. And when that happens the Lenders are likely to rapidly re-price their deals. To possibly avoid losing out, this may require you to anticipate when a rise could occur, in order to secure a fixed or variable deal that best suits your needs.
My general feeling is that interest rates will not move too much in 2010, but given the higher than expected inflation figures and the possible effects of recent Bank of England Quantitative Easing on the economy, the base rate may need to go up to control inflation.
My belief has always been that if you act early and receive good, honest, independent advice you will be in control which will allow you to make the best decision when the time is right. To ensure you have the right information and complete peace of mind that you know the facts upon which you can make your decisions, call me to make an appointment. For 30 minutes of your time, either in my office or at your home at a time that suits you, you can take control of your financial decisions before the uncertainty of this world makes the decision for you…
Call me on 02890 769 769 or email paul@viewfinancialservices.co.uk
Our business relies on ‘word of mouth’ business and therefore referrals are very important to us. We can provide financial advice in many different areas so please feel free to pass on any of my details to your friends and family. As a way of thanking you for an introduction we will send you a £25 Marks and Spencer’s voucher for everyone you send us who becomes a client.
The contents of this blog are believed to be correct at the date of this publication (May 2010). However, all the information and figures are subject to change and you should always make enquiries and check details and where necessary seek legal advice before entering into any transaction.
The information in this blog is simply my opinion and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek professional advice tailored to your needs and circumstances before making any decisions.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
We normally charge a fee for mortgage advice. The amount will depend on your circumstances. A typical fee is £295
You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage
The Financial Services Authority does not regulate Credit Card advice
Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI070072. View Financial Services is an appointed representative of Personal Touch Financial Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Ltd.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
SPRING NEWSLETTER
Please copy the following link to view our Spring 2010 Newsletter from View Financial Services. I hope it will be of interest to you. http://newsletters.viewfs.co.uk/spring10.pdf
Friday, 5 February 2010
CREDIT CARDS: IT AIN'T WHAT YOU PAY, IT'S THE WAY YOU REPAY IT!
Here we are, approaching the end of February already and if like me you’ll be feeling like Christmas and New Year was a lifetime ago and all the good intentions have gone by the way. Well now is the time to get back on track and over the coming months I will be providing some helpful tips to help put you in control of your finances and helping alleviate financial stress.
As the credit crunch and the expense of Christmas hits all our wallets and purses, it’s more important than ever for us to understand our finances, especially the murky world of credit cards or as I prefer to call them, DEBT CARDS.
Just last week I was reading an article by Martin Lewis of moneysavingexpert.com, I was astounded to learn even more about how these companies treat their customers. Two important areas jumped out at me, minimum repayments and even more so, the allocation of repayments.
Politicians are in the process of trying to tackle the problem and bring more regulation to the various companies but while we wait to see if they can put accountable measures in place, let me share some tips to help you get in control.
MINIMUM REPAYMENTS
By paying the minimum payment each month you are making little or no progress into reducing the balance. If a 20-year-old makes minimum repayments on a £3,000 17.9 per cent credit card debt, they'd be 61 when it would be clear, having shelled out £6,300in interest.
Monthly minimums are deviously set at two to three per cent of what you owe. That barely covers the interest cost, so the repayments hardly touch the actual debt.
How to beat it? Obviously by paying more, yet many say that is unaffordable. If so, fix your repayment at a set amount and don't let it drop as the debt does. In the example above, the first month's minimum is £60. Fix your repayments at that, and providing you don't borrow more, you'd be clear in seven years, costing £2,100 interest.
The exception: If you have more than one card, pay minimums on all but the one charging most interest. Shove every penny at clearing that as it's growing quickest. Once it has gone, switch to the next costliest.
The Government plan to implement ‘recommended repayments’ where you pay enough to repay the debt within 3 years.
IT AIN'T WHAT YOU PAY, IT'S THE WAY YOU REPAY IT.
Every card firm - except Nationwide and Saga - uses the following legal profit-bolstering system called "allocation of repayments".
Step 1: They charge different rates for different uses. So you pay higher or lower interest depending whether you spend, make balance transfers or withdraw cash.
Step 2: They suck people in with ONE cheap rate. For example, they offer 0 per cent balance transfers for shifted debt, but 20 per cent on spending.
Step 3: They tempt you to spend. While spending at 20 per cent they offer Airmiles, reward points, cashback to entice you to do it too.
Step 4: WHAM! You're trapped! Balance transfer AND spend, and your repayments are automatically "allocated" towards clearing the 0 per cent balance transfer debt - meaning you can't repay the costly spending debt until that is cleared. So it sits there relentlessly clocking up interest.
HOW TO BEAT IT: If a card's got cheap interest for one type of transaction NEVER, ever, ever use it for anything else. Shift debts to 0 per cent cards but DON'T spend on them.
The real cost: Devastating. Spend £2,000 (at 15 per cent) on a card you've already shifted £2,000 to at 0 per cent for 16 months, and with £200-a-month repayments, the interest by the time it's clear is £480. Spend on a separate card, at the same rate, and you could focus your repayments at clearing this costlier debt first. Do that and the total interest almost halves to £280.
In fact, even using a card at a higher interest rate for spending is cheaper.
The Government's options include legislating to ensure costly debts are cleared first.
SUMMARY
I frequently use moneysavingexpert.com to calculate repayments and the time they will take to clear balances. If this is something you would like to discuss with a view to putting a plan in place to tackle your cards, why not take advantage of a free ’Financial Coaching’ session with one of our advisers
Whether you want tips on taking emotional control of your finances, choosing goals and planning how to achieve them, paying off Christmas debt, sorting out pensions, investing, spending or simply living within your means, this is a genuine offer for you.
This normally takes about 30 minutes either face to face or over the phone. I can meet you in my office or at your home at a time that suits you. By working with a money coach you'll learn to take full control of your money - something we know that all our clients find ultimately motivating and empowering.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me on 02890 769 769 or email paul@viewfinancialservices.co.uk
The contents of this blog are believed to be correct at the date of this publication (February 2010). However, all the information and figures are subject to change and you should always make enquiries and check details and where necessary seek legal advice before entering into any transaction.
The information in this blog is simply my opinion and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek professional advice tailored to your needs and circumstances before making any decisions.
The Financial Services Authority does not regulate Credit Card advice
Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI070072. View Financial Services is an appointed representative of Personal Touch Financial Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Ltd.
As the credit crunch and the expense of Christmas hits all our wallets and purses, it’s more important than ever for us to understand our finances, especially the murky world of credit cards or as I prefer to call them, DEBT CARDS.
Just last week I was reading an article by Martin Lewis of moneysavingexpert.com, I was astounded to learn even more about how these companies treat their customers. Two important areas jumped out at me, minimum repayments and even more so, the allocation of repayments.
Politicians are in the process of trying to tackle the problem and bring more regulation to the various companies but while we wait to see if they can put accountable measures in place, let me share some tips to help you get in control.
MINIMUM REPAYMENTS
By paying the minimum payment each month you are making little or no progress into reducing the balance. If a 20-year-old makes minimum repayments on a £3,000 17.9 per cent credit card debt, they'd be 61 when it would be clear, having shelled out £6,300in interest.
Monthly minimums are deviously set at two to three per cent of what you owe. That barely covers the interest cost, so the repayments hardly touch the actual debt.
How to beat it? Obviously by paying more, yet many say that is unaffordable. If so, fix your repayment at a set amount and don't let it drop as the debt does. In the example above, the first month's minimum is £60. Fix your repayments at that, and providing you don't borrow more, you'd be clear in seven years, costing £2,100 interest.
The exception: If you have more than one card, pay minimums on all but the one charging most interest. Shove every penny at clearing that as it's growing quickest. Once it has gone, switch to the next costliest.
The Government plan to implement ‘recommended repayments’ where you pay enough to repay the debt within 3 years.
IT AIN'T WHAT YOU PAY, IT'S THE WAY YOU REPAY IT.
Every card firm - except Nationwide and Saga - uses the following legal profit-bolstering system called "allocation of repayments".
Step 1: They charge different rates for different uses. So you pay higher or lower interest depending whether you spend, make balance transfers or withdraw cash.
Step 2: They suck people in with ONE cheap rate. For example, they offer 0 per cent balance transfers for shifted debt, but 20 per cent on spending.
Step 3: They tempt you to spend. While spending at 20 per cent they offer Airmiles, reward points, cashback to entice you to do it too.
Step 4: WHAM! You're trapped! Balance transfer AND spend, and your repayments are automatically "allocated" towards clearing the 0 per cent balance transfer debt - meaning you can't repay the costly spending debt until that is cleared. So it sits there relentlessly clocking up interest.
HOW TO BEAT IT: If a card's got cheap interest for one type of transaction NEVER, ever, ever use it for anything else. Shift debts to 0 per cent cards but DON'T spend on them.
The real cost: Devastating. Spend £2,000 (at 15 per cent) on a card you've already shifted £2,000 to at 0 per cent for 16 months, and with £200-a-month repayments, the interest by the time it's clear is £480. Spend on a separate card, at the same rate, and you could focus your repayments at clearing this costlier debt first. Do that and the total interest almost halves to £280.
In fact, even using a card at a higher interest rate for spending is cheaper.
The Government's options include legislating to ensure costly debts are cleared first.
SUMMARY
I frequently use moneysavingexpert.com to calculate repayments and the time they will take to clear balances. If this is something you would like to discuss with a view to putting a plan in place to tackle your cards, why not take advantage of a free ’Financial Coaching’ session with one of our advisers
Whether you want tips on taking emotional control of your finances, choosing goals and planning how to achieve them, paying off Christmas debt, sorting out pensions, investing, spending or simply living within your means, this is a genuine offer for you.
This normally takes about 30 minutes either face to face or over the phone. I can meet you in my office or at your home at a time that suits you. By working with a money coach you'll learn to take full control of your money - something we know that all our clients find ultimately motivating and empowering.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me on 02890 769 769 or email paul@viewfinancialservices.co.uk
The contents of this blog are believed to be correct at the date of this publication (February 2010). However, all the information and figures are subject to change and you should always make enquiries and check details and where necessary seek legal advice before entering into any transaction.
The information in this blog is simply my opinion and does not constitute financial advice. You should seek professional advice tailored to your needs and circumstances before making any decisions.
The Financial Services Authority does not regulate Credit Card advice
Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI070072. View Financial Services is an appointed representative of Personal Touch Financial Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Ltd.
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