credit unions

A credit union account is a great way for the ordinary working class person or indeed any-one to save money and also get small loans to pay back at a small rate of interest.

They were first stated by F.W.Raiffeisen from Germany and they have spread over the whole world and are known by many different names.

This is a link to give you more details about credit unions.

When you first join you are expected to save weekly for about 3 months and this is to show them that you can save.

You can get a loan depending on the amount you have saved and then pay back the loan weekly as well as saving at the same time.

If you pay extra of your loan it means you can miss a payment at holiday or christmas times, paying the interest only.

new recession

new recession on its way

A few years ago they were telling us to save for our pensions and now the markets we invested in are falling apart. We’re all going to be poor and will continue to be poor when we actually reach an age when the government allows us to retire (God help anyone in their 30s now they’ll be working until they’re 90).
Well now it looks like we’re heading into uncharted territory with the possible breakdown of the European monetary system and a double dip recession looming. Savers are being screwed as are the poor and middle income families have lost badly needed income.

private pensions dropped by up to 14% in 3 weeks which mean’s, what was the point taking out private pension’s when you can loose your income, one couple lost £2,500 per year a big drop for any poor pensioner.

America’s debt

$14.3 trillion (£8.7 trillion) in debt, way was this allowed to happen. 4 Presidents lifted the ceiling 14 times instead of trying to cut the debt and get the country back on its feet.

I wonder if we will see the congress and senate men and woman taking a wage cut and pay freeze, i think not.

Mr.Obama is cutting $1 trillion (£610bn) over 10 years, that is twice as much as Britains total debt which the goverment are trying to clear.

Britains debt was caused by the last Labour goverment so they are the ones to fault, just as Mr. Obama is not to fault it was the last Presidents.

The US was and could still be in danger of losing its AAA credit rating, which could have/might mean tax rises in the form of higher interest rates on mortgages and credit cards.

The US Congress is due to vote on a deal to raise the countrys debt limit and avoid the worlds largest economy having to perform a humiliating default.

The leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default,” Mr Obama said.

A default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy, but some experts have said that it couls still happen.

uninsured cars

Strict new car insurance rules kick-in.

This is a report about a new law but i don’t think it goe’s far enough, the fine’s are to small and the car should be crushed if they are caught for the second time.

Tough new laws have come into force today designed to crack down on drivers without insurance.

The new legislation rules that anyone with an uninsured vehicle must either declare their car as off the road or arrange a new policy.

Once the DVLA gets wind of an offending vehicle, the owner will be sent a warning letter telling them to take action.

The penalty for further ignorance is a £100 fine, followed by the possibility of having it clamped, seized or destroyed. Additional fines of up to £1,000 can also be implemented.

student debt

British student’s are compelled to pay back around £20,000 when they finish in university but only after they earn a certain amount. Poor student’s. I don’t think so.

I’m not classing all the student’s the same of course’ but i think i’m taking about the majority of them.

I think they should be working in their spare time and also when they are not studying, to get a few pound’s to help keep them selves’ while at uni and staying in dig’s.

I do maintenance work for a student landlord who has 3 house’s with 5 student’s in each so i see this every time i go to the house’s.

When they are not at uni, they don’t get out of bed until about 10 – 11 am, then they lay around their dig’s watching tv, eating and doing other wasteful thing’s instead of studying.

The house and the yard are full of empty beer tin’s, vodka, whiskey bottle’s and more drink’s bottle’s i never heard of.

credit and store card debt

Britain has more credit card borrowers than any other European country.With the amount of credit and store card’s today,  it is easy to see how the credit card debt is affecting a greater number of people in the UK.  Britains credit card debt level is now totalling approximately £54 billion.  With the value of interest payment’s on credit card’s said to have now reached the £9 billion mark. The average consumer now has debt’s of over £3250 outstanding on credit card’s,  but there are a lot of people with debt’s in the ten’s of thousand’s.

Knowing that you are struggling with UK credit card debt’s is the first wake-up call that need’s to happen,  as this allow’s you to come up with a plan to seek debt advice or start to repay your debt.

The best way would be to cut your credit and store card’s in half and use cash,  this way you will not be getting into debt with your card’s, it might be hard to get used to but its something you must do.

forgotten bank account’s

Apparently there is about £12 million floating around in forgotten bank account’s in Northern Ireland that people have not remembered about.

For some it may be an old saving book tucked away somewhere or it could be a child’s account opened year’s ago by a granny or some other relative.

What ever the circumstance’s are, there is help available in Britain to check you can do a search at www.mylostaccount.org.uk

It will only take a few minute’s to complete your detail’s , and you never know you could be sitting on a fortune.

The result’s of the check could take between 10-14 day’s.

Sorry,  but i do not have any figure’s for the other part’s of Britain.

There could be a similar site in your own country where ever your from.

cash ISA

I opened a cash ISA just over a year ago and the interest paid for the year was very good, but i was not told and i also did not read the small print, that after the first year the interest paid crashed to 0.05%.

So i would advise any one with a cash ISA, to cash it in and open up a new ISA right away even with another bank, this is what i will be doing when June come’s round.

Santander have the highest with their Santander Flexible account at 3.30%.

The bank’s have started a charitable saving’s account with the interest rate of 2.80% so i opened an account with my bank, but as with the ISA your money is tied in for the year and it will crash down to 0.05%. So cash it and open a new one again.

An update:-  I checked with the bank to-day, they said i can cash in my ISA but i will not be allowed to have another one as they are controlled by the Government, or i can let it stay until the rate of interest increase’s.  But with the charitable saving’s account, you can cash it and start another one as they are controlled by the bank.