Where can you find good money advice online?

There are many sites and blogs online featuring information, guidance and advice on how to save money, and how to deal with your finances. But how do you know which advice is correct? A few searches on financial subjects can reveal conflicting advice. As a result, they can sometimes cause more confusion instead of answer questions.

If you are looking for money advice online here are some suggestions on how to find the answers to your questions.

If you need advice about a particular product or service, your first port of call should be the company in question. Most companies will have a customer service team who will be on hand to answer questions and deal with any problems or queries. For financial issues like bank accounts, credit facilities, or savings and insurance policies, you should contact the institution directly and ask to speak to an advisor that specialises in that area.

For information on mortgages you could contact your bank or building society. There are also a number of independent mortgage advisors who have websites full of useful tips and advice for consumers seeking a good mortgage deal.

If you are dealing with debts and need advice on debt consolidation or debt management programmes, your first contact should be an advice service like the Citizen’s Advice. Be cautious about approaching a private debt management company. Although many of them are extremely reputable, there are some that charge high fees for their services. Debt management plans can be set up on your behalf,for no additional cost, by debt services run by public agencies.

If you are looking for general money saving tips, websites like Money Saving Expert are excellent. They offer advice, feedback and comments from other consumers, and tips that can be extremely helpful. There are also many independent financial advisers who can work with you to identify the best solutions for savings, accounts, investments, pensions, insurances and more.

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Do Insurance comparison sites really save us money?

 
Whether we agree with it or not, we all need insurance. Unfortunately car insurance and home insurances are both essential parts of everyday life. Many people are using insurance comparison sites in order to find the best insurance deal. But we wondered if they really work? And now that there are a number of comparison sites offering a similar service, does it matter which site we use?

The answer is, comparison sites will show you a range of insurance policies and it will be easy to see the cheapest option, or the option which gives you the best deal for your needs. However, none of the sites quote every single insurance company, and all the comparison sites are doing business with these companies.

Here is how it works:

A comparison site will negotiate with certain insurance providers, offering to include them on a website for a percentage of successful sales. The insurance companies have the chance to be marketed by another company, and it is worth their while to offer insurance at a better rate in order to be more appealing in a search so they agree. And yes, basically, it means if you choose the cheapest insurance deal from a comparison site, you are getting a bargain compared to the other policies listed on that site. But it may not be the cheapest on the market.

What many people do not always realise is that search results, and insurance quotes change from person to person, car to car, site to site, and from day to day! In fact, rather like tickets for airline flights, no one really knows how much insurance is, and that is the point, and how insurance companies get way with charging high premiums for insurance.

In order to really save money on insurance, and get a true comparison, you will need to do some of the work yourself. Sometimes simply calling your own company and negotiating can reap rewards. Many people are now comparing the comparison sites! It all may sound like a lot of hard work, but if you can save yourself hundreds of pounds on an annual basis, spending that extra time could just be worth it.

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Be wary of telephone scams.

There has been an increase in the reporting of telephone scams. Unscrupulous marketing companies have been harassing private citizens by calling their home phone numbers at all times of the day and night. In addition to making an unreasonable and intrusive number of calls, these companies often claim to be connected to larger well-known organisations, brands, or government agencies.

Be extremely cautious if you receive a phone call from companies claiming to be associated with the government, Inland Revenue, or any other leading company. You should also be wary of companies claiming to be debt collection services or marketing services. Reports online indicate that many of these are scams, and they are an attempt to gain personal details from the householder.

For example, the caller will say they are collecting an old debt, the householder will ask for details of the debt, the caller will then ask them for their name, full postal address, and date of birth prior to giving any debt information. Be extremely careful who you give these details to. If you have never heard of the company, and do not know of any previous debt, you have a right to refuse to speak to them. If the debt is genuine they will already have your address and should contact you in writing.

Other scams involve attempts to encourage people to pay up front for services. The vulnerable and elderly are at risk of being taken in by these scams so if you have a family member who is being harassed by cold callers, consider fitting an answer machine for them, or add a call barring service to their phone to block certain numbers.

Call barring will help you deal with the majority of unwanted calls. Sadly this does not work for the companies who call from abroad on an international number, or for those who keep their numbers withheld.

Unfortunately, although the police are aware of these instances, there is little they can do until an actual fraud takes place. However, if you do receive scam calls, take a note of the number, report it to the OFT, and if you feel threatened in any way, report it to your local police.

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5 ways to reduce your weekly petrol expenditure

1.    Car pool to work or for the school run. Use social media to find work colleagues or parents who will car pool with you. It will save everyone involve a significant amount of money on fuel, and if you take it in turns to use cars, it cuts down on mileage and wear and tear too.

2.    Order your supermarket shopping online and have it delivered. Most supermarket deliveries cost approximately £2.50, depending upon the time and day of delivery. The UK’s average cost for fuel to drive into a town or retail park, then shop at a supermarket, and return home, is £5.

3.    Plan your week more effectively. Instead of driving back and forth, running up the mileage and making many small visits to town, plan your week. Spend the day doing a number of things, drive in, park in a central location and walk to all the places you need to visit. You’ll get some exercise and you will save on fuel.

4.    Leave a little earlier in the mornings. Driving in slow rush hour traffic, or driving at speed uses more fuel than driving at a steady and regular pace in a higher gear. By leaving a little earlier, you can avoid getting stuck in queues of traffic, and you can also avoid trying to drive fast when the road is clear. Instead, you can enjoy a steady drive to work and reduce your fuel consumption.

5.    Don’t stick to one petrol station. Shop around. Prices fluctuate from week to week so check online or using your mobile device and buy your petrol at the cheapest rate. It can be tempting to stick to one petrol station if you have a loyalty card, but think carefully whether the benefits you receive on the card are as much of a saving as always going where the cheapest fuel is being sold.

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Be aware of the clever marketing supermarkets use to get your cash.

Here are some clever ploys the supermarkets and leading brands use to encourage you to buy. Being aware of these methods will help you to be more aware of the tactics, recognise them and to avoid them while you are shopping. As a result, it may help you save some money on your weekly grocery bill.

Brands have taught us that more expensive is better. And the truth is, for the majority of household items and foods, this is just not true. Yes, there are some brands that make better products than others, but you will always find a cheaper alternative which has the same quality if you look. With regard to supermarkets, stores like Aldi and Lidl have built their reputations on proving to customers that brand labels are not any better than the cheaper options.

Be aware of the language, phrasing and offers that supermarkets and brands use too. They are using specific language in clever ways that almost conditions us into believing the messages and falling for the hype. Here is one simple example, Luxury Soap, Brand Soap, and Basic Soap. Which one of these options would you normally be attracted to if you need to buy one bar of soap?

Basic soap costs 20p,

Brand Soap costs £1 for 4 bars

Luxury Soaps are 75P and you can buy two and get one for free.

It’s obvious which the cheaper option is, and the second option appears to provide the best value for money. But here is the catch. One bar of soap, for an average family, will last between two to three weeks, and one bar is all you needed – a budget of 20p. If you picked one of the other two options, then the supermarket managed to get a pound out of your purse when you only planned to spend 20p. And that is how clever marketing and the use of promotional language and selling tactics is able to get more money out of us every time we shop. If we are on a tight budget tactics like this can make a huge difference to how much we have to spend on other essentials.

Watch out for phrases like Premium, Finest, Extra Special, famous brands rely on product recognition. Own brand products are not of a lower quality, there are laws against shops selling us substandard food! They are cheaper because there are no costs involved in producing expensive packaging.

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Give your child an amazing birthday party on a budget.

Parents naturally want to give their children the best. And for their birthdays, there is increasing pressure to provide amazing parties and gifts, but the costs can spiral and for many families paying for the expense of a child’s birthday party can be an almost impossible task.

Here are some simple tips which will help you to give your child an amazing birthday party on a budget.

Stand your ground – don’t try to keep up with other parents who may be more financially secure. Your child will not lose out if you are still able to give them a special day. Trying to maintain appearances and project an image of wealth can be stressful and expensive.

Limit the numbers – instead of organising a party for everyone in their class, ask them to choose a smaller number of special friends who could be invited to an exclusive birthday tea or picnic.

Be imaginative with party gifts and prizes–be creative in your choice of gifts for the party guests. You do not need to spend hundreds of pounds buying little toys, books and other cute items to give to your child’s friends. A bag of fun-size chocolates, a box of pencils, a tray of bubbles, some sweets, a balloon and funny jokes or activity sheets printed from the internet can be distributed amongst simple party bags and will cost less than £15. Young children will be just as delighted with them.

Avoid the restaurant chains – Parties at fast food chains and play centres cost a fortune. They may be marketed as a cheaper, easier option but in most cases they are not. The majority of venues require the parents to supply the birthday cake, additional food, and any additional prizes or gifts for the children. Usually, it costs around £5.00 per head, but if you calculate the cost of what each child is actually receiving in their party box, you will see these companies are making a fortune at your expense. If you do not have the room or a suitable space at home, you could organise the party at a local park, or enquire about hiring a community centre room for a few hours. You may be surprised how much cheaper it is.

Budget food – Kids don’t eat a lot. If you make a few simple sandwiches, some sausage rolls or cheesy pastries and put some crisps and sweets into bowls, they will be perfectly happy. Use squash instead of fizzy juice too, most parents will thank you for not filling their children with fizzy caffeine, and it is much easier, cheaper and easier on the carpet!

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You can save money and still indulge in life’s little luxuries.

It is much easier to save money if you do not feel deprived of all the things that make you happy. Times have been extremely tough for many of us in recent years, and life is still financially difficult for most people. Learning to enjoy little treats and luxuries that will not eat into your savings is a great way of rewarding yourself for all the hard work.

Here are some ideas on how you can indulge in life’s little luxuries and still save money. Life is for living, not struggling, so while you are working hard to meet your financial goals, remember, you deserve a treat.

Here are some ideas and ways you could treat yourself so you do not feel deprived.

Why not treat yourself to a delicious designer coffee on a Friday morning? It’s a way of celebrating the end of the week and enjoying the coffee you love. And the money you have saved all week will make it taste even better!

If you have cut back on buying lunches at work to save money, why not get together with your work colleagues once a month for a special lunch? As well as being a treat for the whole team, and a chance to socialise outside of the office, it will give you the feeling of having accomplished another successful month of working, earning, and saving.

Maybe your finances won’t let you enjoy a full day at the spa, but you could treat yourself to a bottle of sumptuous bubble bath and indulge in an evening of pampering at home.

If you can’t afford to take your partner out for dinner, instead, turn your home into an intimate little restaurant for the night and surprise them with a home cooked candlelit meal.

Movie night with the family does not have to cost a fortune attending the cinema. Buy some treats from the supermarket that are on offer. Dig out your children’s favourite family film, or hire one for the night, and turn your living room into a private cinema.

There are many ways you can enjoy the very best of life without having to spend large amounts of money. Use your creativity and enjoy thinking of ways to experience life’s little luxuries on a budget.

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