UK Finance News

Now that the short and sweet honeymoon period has passed for the recently formed UK coalition government, business owners and public alike are taking stock of the spending cuts announced in the emergency budget.

While it was not unexpected many have been left reeling at the severity of the austere measures announced by George Osborne, wondering what the next few years have in store for debt laden Britain.

Far from seeing a light at the end of the tunnel as many had hoped coming into the election, the government has laid out the finances of the country clearly for all to see and it is not a pretty picture.

For the general public the future may look bleak, many of us are already struggling to make ends meet and further cutbacks in the household budget will obviously prolong the pain, but generally being British we are prepared to face up to things and move forward.

Tightening an already strict budget is nigh on impossible and we are often being asked for advice and tips for money making or saving opportunities.

There is no easy answer, get rich quick schemes as we already know exist only for those selling the scheme and often the only alternative course of action is to resort to selling off unwanted household items at boot fairs  or on ebay or to sell unwanted gold and jewellery to a specialist.

If you have the time and some available finance it is possible to make decent money from buying other peoples unwanted items and selling them via the internet or through boot fairs and the like.

However this may involve having to register yourself as self employed and your earnings would then be subject to UK taxes and National Insurance contributions.

The next few years will undoubtedly take their toll, we may have to work harder or longer hours to survive unscathed and now is the time to prepare ourselves for the journey.

With the summer now at long last upon us, for many parents thoughts will be turning to the up coming school holidays and how they will keep the kids entertained for the six week duration.

Of course in the current financial climate many of us will be looking at the many and varied ways of keeping the kids happy and occupied while keeping an eye on the family budget.

Prior to the school holidays starting is a great time to make sure that you are getting the most out of your bank and anyone who hasn’t switched to a high interest savings account should consider doing so now to start enjoying  the benefits.

Many of the most popular overseas holiday destinations no longer represent good value for money, so consider a stay at home holiday in the UK or for best savings treat the children to special days out.

Most children simply appreciate having their parents to themselves for days out, where the attention is totally on them and parents will also feel great for creating quality time with their family.

Younger children in particular love the reward of working and playing with their parents and the summer holidays is a great time to spend creative time with them.

Keep them occupied while also teaching them how to make things like simple papier-mache plates or greetings cards, things that cost nothing but will be rewarding for both you and your children.

Look out for ideas in magazines and on the internet and try to always be one step ahead so that you don’t have to hear that all too popular comment, “Mummy I’m Bored!’ during the school break.

The pound has risen to its highest level against the Euro since November 2008 as markets show concern ahead of a deadline this week for European banks to repay loans taken out a year ago at low interest rates.

The European Central Bank will offer funds on Wednesday to banks looking to repay loans later this week. The euro has been under pressure since earlier this year when questions were asked about high government borrowing and markets are tense going into the end of the long term refinancing programme.

The pound was also boosted by comments from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee member Andrew Sentance who made noises on Monday about raising UK interest rates to counter inflation.

The pound stood at 1.2327 against the euro this morning, getting close to the pre-crisis average.

With the recession taking over people’s lives and wages, finances have become one of the main concerns for people living all over the world. Many people are losing their homes, and many more are losing their jobs and having their wages decreased. People are having a very hard time finding a living now more than ever and many people are stuck without any way of making their lives better.

Not only are people finding it hard to make money, but they are also finding it very difficult to pay off the bills and the debts that they have. Many people spent a lot of money that they did not have because credit was so readily available. Now that there are financial problems, people are not able to afford paying their creditors back, which is creating an even larger problem in the economy. Debt is running rampant and there are very limited ways of stopping it. Many people feel like they have no place to turn to and no place to hide when it comes to settling their debts.

There are several bad things that can happen to a person that does not settle their debts. This is why there are many ways to help people that are having financial difficulties to get out of their debts. In fact, because of new ways to do this, getting out of debt has never been this easy before.

One way to get out of your debts is to contact a debt consolidation company to help you negotiate your finances. They will talk to your creditors to help you make a new payment plan. Some of these companies can also help you to eliminate the debts all together by talking with your creditors. These firms are usually very large and very easy to find when searching online or in a directory. They want to help their clients get out of their debts and be able to work and to live without having to worry about creditors coming and taking hold of their possessions.

These firms will usually have a small introductory charge that has to be paid for their services. If they are able to decrease your debt they may charge you a percentage of what you have saved, but this is much lower than the cost of paying off the debt would be.

Another way to get out of debt is to work with a debt management company that focuses on changing how you spend and what you do with your money. These firms will send out employees to review your finances and look at all of your expenses. They will find what you are spending money on that you really do not need and help you to control these expenditures. Many of these people can also help you to increase your payments to creditors without feeling like you are breaking your pocket book.

If you would like further advice, you can find information on the National Debtline website.

The hard hitting implications of today’s first budget announced by Chancellor George Osborne on behalf of the Coalition Government are clear for all to see, we were warned what to expect and the Chancellor has delivered.

But there are some areas of the budget that could stand the equity release sector in good stead for the future, Andrea Rozario, Director of Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP), the UKs trade body for equity release product suppliers believes that to be the case and said;

“While the emergency budget did not specifically mention equity release, it did announce a number of measures that have the potential to significantly impact the sector.  Chief amongst these are the increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% and the review of public sector pensions.

Over 55s in the UK often have a relatively fixed income with spending weighted towards VAT-able products and significant equity in their homes.   The changes outlined in the budget mean that they will suffer from VAT increases eating into their income and then their families will be hit by death duties when they receive their inheritance.   In addition, those people who have been relying on a comfortable public sector pension when they retire could face a nasty shock and will need to seek additional sources of retirement funding.

Equity release would seem the logical answer to many of these issues and we believe that the Government changes will lead to more and more people considering equity release as an integral part of their pension planning.””

Wishful thinking or just plain common sense?