As the Government plans to stop credit card companies from raising a customer's credit limit when this hasn't been requested, the question on everyone’s lips must surely be why it took them so long?
The latest round of steep increases in gas and electricity prices has given an added urgency to the search for attractive deals. Unfortunately for consumers, the situation is changing so rapidly that many of the best fixed-rate offers are being withdrawn. At least seven fixed-rate tariffs have been scrapped in recent times.
The credit squeeze is panicking huge numbers of homebuyers into long-term mortgage deals. The number of people signing up for 10-year loans has almost doubled in the past year.
There are just weeks to go before A level results are out, when school-leavers will discover if they have made the grades to get to university. Banks offer plenty of tempting incentives to entice students to join, but it’s important not to get side-tracked by these and instead to focus on the more important things, such as the interest-free overdraft.
With so many of us living longer, planning for retirement is increasingly important. Legal & General, a large life assurance company, now assumes a 65-year old man will live for 25.1 years – giving him a life expectancy of just over 90 years. Women can expect to live even longer.
Slipping onto the standard variable rate (SVR) at the end of your initial mortgage deal used to be something that less savvy borrowers found themselves doing. The thousands of mortgage deals that were available meant if you were organized you could remortgage onto another deal without going anywhere near your lender’s much higher SVR.
The rising cost of living means increasing numbers of people are feeling the pinch, which is why it is more important than ever before to ensure your savings are working as hard as possible for you.
The number of people facing repossession in the UK has risen by 20 per cent in the last year, according to recent reports, but if you’re struggling to meet mortgage costs, there are ways to help ease the financial pain.
Holidaymakers heading off overseas this summer should check whether they will be charged for using their credit and debit cards abroad, or risk being stung with potentially hefty fees.
Investing in land has traditionally been the preserve of builders acquiring sites for housing development or companies seeking to build retail outlets, warehouses or industrial premises. But in recent years the private investor has joined in, often working through companies that acquire land and then sell it on in smaller parcels.