Tag: Loan

Guest Post: 7 Reasons Why You Should Get A Grip On Your Finances

here’s no denying the country is in a pickle. The latest figures show that 1694 workers are getting made redundant every day and the downturn is the longest the UK has seen in more than 100 years.

Little surprise then than many households are turning to borrowing money to try and make it through to payday and keep a roof over their head. However, spiralling debts can be difficult to escape from in the long term, even once the country’s economy eventually picks up.

It can be very tempting to rely on credit cards and loans to help make things easier but here are seven reasons why you should sort out your finances and steer clear of debt where possible.

1. You will end up with less and less money. Unless you are lucky enough to secure a 0% interest credit card, the charges added to money borrowed can make the amount repayable much more than the original debt. This means that more and more of your income will be swallowed up by repayments, leaving you increasingly reliant on borrowing, a vicious circle, which is almost impossible to escape.

2. Existing on borrowed money encourages you to live beyond your means. In the majority of cases, it is possible to survive on the income you receive, even if you have to make some adjustments to your lifestyle. Relying on payday loans and credit cards stops you making the necessary spending cuts and allows you to spend more than you have.

3. It is difficult to keep track of what you are spending. If you simply slap everything on your card, you may well be in for a nasty surprise at the end of the month. By paying for everything with cash, or your debit card, you can keep tabs on your bank balance throughout the month.

4. You will be seen as a poor credit risk. If you have lots of credit cards which are at their limit, many lenders will be less likely to offer you more finance – a real problem if you are trying to get a mortgage or a car loan. More recently, one lender has said that any applicant with a history of payday loans will automatically be refused.

5. You might sleep better. Having to survive on a reduced income is not much fun but is less worrying that juggling money to pay off your lenders. Anxiety over how to pay debts is one of the leading causes of insomnia.

6. Your financial situation will improve. Your financials will improve more quickly when the economic downturn in the country is over. Once the double dip recession ends, there will be more job opportunities and cheaper goods in the shops. If you are still crippled by debt repayments it will take a lot longer to feel the benefits.

7. Sorting finances now could help to improve your financial situation in the future. Even if you aren’t waist-deep in debt, it can be easy to blow money by being disorganised. Taking the time to sort through your finances, cancel unnecessary direct debits and draw up a budget may well just be enough to make life more comfortable.

Baines & Ernst is a leading provider of debt help and advice to people with money troubles. The company has helped over 100,000 people to escape the pressures of debt and provide solutions including Debt Management Plans and IVAs.

August 31, 2012
Guest Post: 7 Reasons To Keep Track Of What You Owe

Everyone knows that borrowing money is not a good idea but sometimes it is a necessary evil to get you through a major mishap, such as the boiler going bust or the car breaking down. However, a recent study revealed that many people have no idea how much they owe, preferring instead to bury their heads in the sand, proverbially, not literally. Although it might be more comfortable to kid yourself about how much debt you have, here are seven reasons why it isn’t a good idea….

1. Not knowing how much you owe will stop you getting back on track. You can’t budget effectively. Even if you only opt to pay the minimum on your credit card each month (which is never a good idea unless you are absolutely skint) you still need to know how much will be debited from your account. Having no clue about the repayments mean you are not budgeting and are simply crossing your fingers and hoping you have enough cash.

2. You will damage your credit rating. You might not have sufficient funds in your account to cover the repayment. This means not only a black mark on your credit file for a late payment but if you are on a special deal, you may have to kiss it bye-bye. Failing to pay on time allows the credit card company to revoke the terms and apply not just charges, but a higher level of interest.

3. Being unprepared for an unexpected bill could mean you fall behind in other financial areas. Even if you do have the money in your account, it could have been earmarked for another expense, such as your mortgage or rent. Getting caught unawares of another bill could leave you with not enough money to pay for your essentials.

4. Misleading information could spell bad trouble. If you need to declare your financial circumstances, perhaps on a mortgage application or maybe you are opening a new current account; you could be accused of fraud if you provide misleading information about what you owe. Claiming ignorance is not considered an acceptance defence. You could find yourself not only rejected but blacklisted making it almost impossible to get accepted by any mainstream provider.

5. You could end up in a spiral of debt that you find hard to get out of. It could drive you into taking extreme measures such as relying on high-interest payday loans, or even worse, going to a loan shark, for money to get you through the month. For most, this is a downward spiral from which it is difficult to escape.

6. You could find it hard to get additional credit in the future. If you are relying on credit every month, you may well end up going over your limit. In many cases your lender may not reject the transaction but will slap you with charges and any future creditor will view you with extreme caution. You may also find your credit limit suddenly slashed; most lenders reserve the right to do this if they feel you are not managing your account properly.

7. Ignoring debts will only make your situation harder. You might not want to know how much you owe, but if you don’t take a deep breath and face the facts, how will you tell when your debts have become unmanageable? If your financial circumstances are less than comfortable, totting up how much you owe to all your creditors can make you feel anxious. However, there are a lot of ways to get help but unless you take the first step and acknowledge that you can no longer manage your debts, you will be forced to struggle on alone.

Baines & Ernst specialising in helping people get out of debt with affordable debt solutions including Debt Management Plans and IVAs. All them for expert debt help and advice today.

August 10, 2012
Guest Post: 7 Reasons You Run Out Of Money Every Month

It’s getting harder to save money for your future with the euro being inflated every year. However, there are some things that are completely within your control. Before you complain about how expensive everything seems to be getting these days, check your ego at the door and make sure you’re not committing these seven deadly spending sins.

1. You’re Shopping Way Too Much. Shopping is fun. Heck, what girl doesn’t like a new dress or pair of shoes? Shopping sprees aren’t just a female problem either. Men can get carried away on designer stuff too. If you have a shopping addiction, try putting away the credit card for a few days. If you still think you need a new pair of pants or a shirt, then consider visiting a charity shop – especially if you’re hooked on ModCloth.com offerings. You might be able to find some nice vintage stuff for much less than what you’ll pay retail.

2. You Drink So Much Coffee, Your Blood Is Now At Least 50 Percent Caffeine. Coffee can be addictive, and Starbucks is a pretty popular place, but there’s no need to go there three times a day. Even once a day gets expensive. If you need your coffee fix in the morning consider getting a pour over kit. The initial cost of manual pour over equipment pales in comparison to what it will save you over time. If you spend £2.60 every day on coffee, you will benefit from getting manual pour over equipment. In one month you’ll spend enough on Starbucks to buy yourself a decent filtercone holder, some nice filters, and some decent coffee. Two month’s worth of coffee will get you an excellent coffee grinder.

The benefit? The learning curve is not very steep, it takes just as long to stand in line as it does to make your own coffee at home, and a manual pour over results in a stronger and better cup of coffee than what most retail places will sell you.

3. Those Late Night ATM Runs – You Know The Ones. Are you a night owl? Do you spend a lot of time at clubs, pubs, and after-hours parties? Going to the ATM to reload your wallet with cash takes its toll. There’s no easy solution to this problem other than taking it easy on the partying. Staying home and reading a book might not sound like much fun, but your bank account will thank you.

4. You Are Paying For More Channels Than You Can Possibly Watch. There’s nothing wrong with having cable T.V. In fact, it might add to your life in some way. However, there comes a point when enough is enough. If you’re paying for so many channels that you can never possibly watch all of them, it may be time to rethink your service plan. If you ever find yourself turning on your T.V. and thinking “oh wow, I didn’t even know I had this channel,” then it might be time to consider going with a cheaper package or perhaps cutting your cable down to the bare minimum.

5. You Eat Out So Often, You Haven’t Seen The Inside Of Your Fridge In Three Weeks. Eating out once in a while is fun. You don’t have to do the dishes, and you can usually get something that you find difficult or impossible to prepare yourself at home. However, if you’ve forgotten what the inside of your refrigerator looks like, or if the food in there has started to look more like a science experiment than leftovers because of all of the mold, then consider making more meals at home. Staying in has a wonderful positive effect on your bank account.

6. You Spend More Time On Your Hobbies Than You Do Working At Your Paying Job. Having hobbies allows you to stay active when you’re not working. However, when you spend more time on your hobbies than you do working at your “day job,” there’s something wrong. Maybe you should make your hobby your new job (by starting a business oriented around it) or find a new job that allows you to earn money from doing whatever it is you really love doing.

7. The Only Time You Step Foot On A Sidewalk Is To Get To Your Car. Automobiles allow us to get where we want to go faster than we ever could by walking. However, there’s a benefit to walking: it’s cheaper and allows us to get exercise. Consider walking or biking to work, if you live close enough.

Guest post written by Elizabeth Goldman and brought to you by Wonga – the short term loan experts.

March 28, 2012
7 Reasons To Wear A Traffic Cone On Your Head

This post needs no introduction, so I won’t write one. Apart from this bit obviously. Not that you needed to bother reading it. Right, on with the reasons.

Duke Of Wellington With Cone by Mr Cumbo

1. Hideout. If you’ve just bottled someone in a nightclub by mistake, the chances are you are going to be beaten up and/or arrested unless you get out of there quickly. Your best option is to run to the nearest set of roadworks, pop a traffic cone on your head and crouch. You’ll blend in perfectly.

2. Pointers. If you are a really short teacher or an astronomer, you may find yourself needing to point upwards for long, extended periods. Anyone would struggle with this, which is why popping a cone on your head is the perfect solution. Not only will you be pointing up on a constant basis, you will also have two hands with which to haul yourself up onto the desk so those at the back of the class can see you. You can also pretend to be an alien. That could be fun.

3. Safety. In my youth I used to go out drinking with friends. More often than not one English Breakfast led to an Earl Grey and then an Assam. Of course under such circumstances I almost certainly missed the last bus home. That meant I had to walk. Living out of town meant walking along dark, country lanes. On more than one occasion was I caught like a rabbit in the headlights. If only I had thought, I could have popped a traffic cone on my head and I’d have been spotted miles off. Instead of my usual avoidance tactic which involved diving into the nearest hedge. Mind you, given the amount of tea I had had to drink, it proved a relief in more than one way.

4. Unblemished. Despite leaving my adolescence in the 1990s, I still find spots sprouting whenever they bloody well feel like it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the acne-ridden four-eyed geek I used to be, but waking up to discover a whitehead in the middle of your forehead isn’t exactly the best start to the day. Over the years my body became immune to all the spot relieving treatments I attacked it with, so these days I have to use a different tactic. Sometimes it’s a fringe, but when my hair is too short for that, it’s a traffic cone. It covers the blemish up beautifully.

5. Fun Of The Fair. Walk around any fairground with a traffic cone on your head and you will almost certainly collect dozens of hoops. It’s instinctive. See a cone, try and get your hoop over it. You may get the odd whack in the face for your trouble, but you will definitely pick up hoops. Then you can go to the stall of your choice, have twenty-five free goes at trying to win a cuddly toy or a goldfish in a Tesco bag and then start again. It’s a cheap day out which is particularly useful if you’re a a bit chavvy and have eight children to keep entertained.

6. On Loan. Given the amount of idiots who steal traffic cones and take them back to their halls of residence, is it really any wonder why road works take so long to complete? It’s health and safety. If there aren’t enough cones, you’re not allowed to dig. Which is why you should offer you cone wearing services to them. Just go up to them in their morning/afternoon/all-day tea break and say you’ll happily stand in the road for a few hours. Not only will you earn a little extra cash, they’ll even pop you on the back of the truck and give you a free lift home. Well, to the depot anyway.

7. Likeable. A favourite pastime of people all over the world – as demonstrated by the above photo – is putting a traffic cone on a statue’s head. Instantly the statue becomes far more interesting. More people stand and point and smile. More people take photos of it than they would if it was sans cone. So my advice to you is to live by this example. If you’re not naturally likeable, put a cone on your head.

October 17, 2011