abc-of-debtrelief.com

Following in the footsteps of many of its high street competitors, Alliance and Leicester has announced that it will no longer accept new customers onto its Online Saver and Direct ISA accounts. The interest rate for the Online Savers account is also being cut from 5.35% to a straight 5%.

Richard Brown of the financial comparison website Moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk ) believes that Alliance and Leicester (A&L), in common with its high street competitors, has seen its costs rise as a result of recent rule changes covering things like the way mortgages and general insurance are policed. He added, �Unfortunately it�s the consumer who shoulders much of this additional burden�

It seems to many of their loyal customers that A&L is indeed determined to make their customers pay in an effort to purge costs and boost their profits. These cuts are only the latest of a series of changes that A&L have made during recent months. First to go was the cashback scheme on their Moneyback credit card. The Moneyfacts (http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk) financial data website pointed out in February, that A&L had increased the APR on their credit cards for all purchases up to 16.9%; as well as increasing penalty fees, and introducing punitive new clauses to current accounts. Other charges have been introduced to their mortgage products, balance transfer fees on credit cards, reductions in children�s savings accounts, whilst The Guardian (http://money.guardian.co.uk/saving/banks/story/0,12410,1509094,00.html) has revealed some suspect changes that have been implemented to their systems to increase the number of customers who breach their overdraft agreements, triggering penalty charges.

A&L has said that there is no hidden agenda, and that it still leads the way compared with its banking rivals.

A&L however, are not the only financial group to be feeling the pinch. Barclays, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland have all warned about credit arrears. An announcement concerning job losses at Scottish Widows, came alongside admissions from their owners LLOYDS TSB that there was, �An increase in the number of customers experiencing repayment difficulties� with their credit card debts and unsecured personal loans. According to Lloyds’ Chief Executive, Eric Daniels, we are currently experiencing, “a slowing consumer environment”.

Recent announcements by the Treasury delivered the worst monthly public borrowing figures since records began in 1993, re-igniting fears over a possible rise in taxes.

Consumers are reducing the amount they borrow on credit cards and analysts predict mortgage lending in the UK will plummet by 10 per cent over the next three years, as the out of control growth in house prices finally stalls.

Independent market analyst Datamonitor claims, lenders who have been enjoying a boom in recent years, will struggle to maintain the momentum and be forced to work harder to secure market share.

Investor Connections, a group of independent financial advisers, has called for an accurate assessment of the UK’s current economic position, after statistics showed the three main asset classes, shares, bonds and property are all experiencing downward trends.

This downturn should spell good news for borrowers and homeowners, as the mortgage and credit industries fight for customers and sharpen up on their competitiveness; however the evidence of Lloyds TSB�s actions seems to belie this. With HBOS forced to criticise the other credit card companies for failing to provide customers with adequate product information, despite repeated requests to do so from consumer lobby groups and watchdogs on the Treasury Select Committee, it looks like the majority of finance companies are currently out to protect themselves and their share-holders, with little regard for their customers.

At a time when UK consumers are proportionately saving less than half of what they were 25 years ago, you might be forgiven for thinking that competition in the banking world would be becoming increasingly cut-throat in order to gain customers� business, but it seems that the big institutions are instead looking to go down the route of cost reduction to protect their profits. There are savings are out there to be made, but they are savings in costs to be made by the finance companies, at the expense of the consumer, rather than beneficial savings for the customer.

About the Author: Richard works in Edinburgh for a media company, occasionally writing for the personal finance blog Cashzilla ( http://cashzilla.blogspot.com/ ), and drinking too much coffee.

Source: www.isnare.com

It would be fair to say that most people will find their incomes at least
halved the instance they retire from the workforce. The bombshell is
dropped when suddenly discovering they lack the cash flow to do the
things they had always dreamed of doing in retirement. Sadly, what
looked like being a dream retirement becomes a rude awaking to
financial reality. Will you be any different?

Well, there is a quick-fix solution for when you first retire. Live like
there�s no tomorrow and eat-away at your capital until it�s all gone.
It�s fun while it lasts, but then reality hits home yet again.

In many cases, this capital is what provides earning capacity over and
above your government pension (if you are lucky enough to live in a
country that offers one). Take away the capital and you rely 100% on
your retirement pension.

What an awful situation to be in. These are the “golden years”… the
time of life when you should be enjoying yourself. Yet the truth is;
government benefits and pensions are not designed to pay your
mortgages, car installments, or credit card bills. Nor are they
designed to keep you in the lifestyle to which you may have
become accustomed.

Pensions and benefits are designed to provide only the bare
essentials. Needless to say, retirement can be a rude-awakening
as you learn to adapt in survival mode.

The message is clear:

=====> These days you can’t rely on others to provide you with
ongoing employment.

=====> Understand that a government benefit or pension, at most,
will provide the bare essentials and allow you to live frugally.

=====> Know your true wealth at any given time in your life.
You might unexpectedly be forced to retire or stop working
(trading your hours for money).

The decision is yours! If you want to keep your freedom, then be
prepared to help yourself. What�s more, retirement might happen
sooner than you had planned.

You have to actively take part in your destiny without relying on banks,
employers or the government. If you have a job or run your own business
- great! However, start to think differently.

Find ways to build a growing income without always having to trade
your hours for money. That is the key!

When you trade hours for money you are earning a living to survive.
The moment you stop, or can no longer earn a living, will be the time
of reckoning. You’ll suddenly discover the limits of your true wealth.

� Will you be able to do all those things you always dreamed of doing?
� How long will your capital last?
� How financially prepared will you be for an unexpected disaster?
� How reliant will you be on the government, a superannuation fund,
or your family?
� What will be your level of comfort in retirement?
� What changes will you need to make to cope with your new
financial circumstances?

Most of us live for today and hope that tomorrow will take care of itself.
Make no mistake; these tough questions will need answering sooner or later.
To ensure those golden years are truly golden - better sooner than later!

About the Author

Noel Peebles. Market Leaders Limited.
http://www.instantsellbusiness.com
http://www.instantsellhome.com

You’ve made the decision to pursue your degree online and you’ve been accepted to an online program. Now what do you do? The next step in realizing your dream is to secure the funds needed for your education.

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, for short. This is a straightforward application published by the Department of Education, which gives lenders an idea of what sort of funding you are entitled to. The application process is fairly simple and can be completed online in minutes. Once you’ve filled in the necessary information, you should receive, within a matter of a few days, a confirmation letter, of which programs you are eligible for. This process is free and simple to do, and it is the cornerstone of securing financial aid for your college program.

Once you have this information, you need to contact the Financial Aid office at the college that you want to attend. There are many types of financial aid packages available, ranging from work study programs to government aid. The financial aid officer will be able to provide the necessary forms for the different lending institutions and should be able to guide you through the decision making process.

After you have completed your loan applications, they will need to be sent to the school for verification and processing. Many banks will not release the funds directly to the student, only to the college at the start of the term. This makes it easier- and safer- for both the college and the student.

Securing funds for college is a fairly easy process that needn’t be stressful. The key to the whole process is being well organized and making sure that you meet all of the loan deadlines specified by both the Department of Education and your college’s financial aid office.

About the author:
Matt Norman is the founder of Easy Distance Learning a website providing information on learning online

Not Enough Money?

I believe that most people haven’t got enough money for everything they wish to have - the more you have the bigger your plans, and you have a feeling that you have less and less money.

Whether you have lots of money or just so-so, you need to economize and take proper care of your money ie your income, expenditures, savings and investments.

Below I give you 7 Golden Rules to a Financial Prosperity:

1) Always have several streams of income: never rely on one income from one source only.

2) As soon as you start to earn, start to put aside a certain amount to create an automatic money source: I remember I have always had my own portfolio since I was a child, and can tell you that I needed it several times. Even if you have property, you may find yourself in a situation when you need fast cash. In such a situation, you will not sell your property, but you can sell part or even the whole of your portfolio.

You don’t need to start your portfolio with thousands of dollars, you can develop it.

You only need to set a rule that you won’t touch it when you don’t need it, and keep it for vital urgencies. To buy a better car or a bigger house is not an urgency.

3) Always take care of your money personally: it’s not necessary to do everything personally as soon as you can afford it but never allow any other person to have a right to handle your money without your knowing, or your express approval. If you think that you don’t have time to supervise this or that it’s not important, you will have to find it later for much more unpleasant things when you lose your money.

Many of you will ‘hate’ me for what I’m going to say now and I will receive lots of disapproving messages but I have to say it: don’t even allow your spouse to do this - love and money is not the right association, and I know what I am talking about. Keep these apart.

Don’t supervise your investments and expenditures only - Always strictly collect your money. Never allow people to owe you - again: with no regard to how much money you have, always demand every dollar you earn to be paid to you.

4) Strictly distinguish between expenditures and investments: it’s very easy to put everything as cost or overhead: don’t do this. Apply an easy rule: expenditure or cost is money thrown out of the window - you can’t expect any return money on it, while investment is desirable (of course, not every investment is desirable): this should bring you more money, more property able to make you more money - the only questions you should carefully consider are whether you can/should afford such an investment at the moment, how much you’re going to get back, how fast and whether it is acceptable.

5) Keep your expenditures at the minimum with no regard to how much money you have: expenditures are killing for everyone. It’s useless to tell you stories about big fortunes lost by unwise costs. I’m sure you know many yourself from your neighbourhood.

6) Avoid loans, don’t borrow if you don’t know for sure you can repay. Never purchase anything on future incomes or promises.

Just a little example: if I have a notice that a payment is on its way to my account and I need the money today for some reason (however, I can’t see any reason like that - never mind), I can borrow. But, if I think I will sell 1,000 books next week, I mustn’t borrow.

7) You must always earn more than you spend. In case you don’t earn more than you spend, then you must spend less. In other words, you must always be in green.

If you think that you must swap your car every six months even if you should borrow, then it may easily happen that you won’t drive anything in a very short time.

I don’t want to waste hours of your precious time by long essays on savings and wise advice. Just adopt one principle and whenever you want to do something with your money (- whether it’s thousands or millions or just a couple of bucks), just think about it: take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.

About the Author

Irena Whitfield, the webmistress of http://www.thecassiopeia.com and http://www.irenawhitfield.com - is the Internet Business Consultant you need to make your online home business a real success. Without any hype, she will help you to get where you want to get. Get her new book ‘The Success Seeds: the Entrepreneurial Bible’ and make your business profitable: http://www.thecassiopeia.com/TheSuccessSeeds.html

Copyright 2005 Success from the Inside Out

A 40�s something woman was talking to me the other day about her growing sense of frustration with �working for someone else� and her longing to �do my own thing, drive my own wagon�. But, she said with consternation, �I have family counting on me and a standard of living I don�t want to sacrifice.�

Everyone has to decide for themselves what level of sacrifice and risk they�re willing to undertake in order to enjoy the satisfactions of working independently. Knowing some strategies for managing the risk will allow you to make a well-informed decision.

Of the seven strategies included below, the first two suggest ways to gradually transition from salaried to solo, instead of diving off the edge. The second two are ways to stretch the dollar; and the final three are ideas for getting started without stopping.

1. Continue to draw a (reduced) salary
Leaving your current employment in order to develop your new business may look like the only option, based on an assumption that you won�t get approval for reducing your hours. While this may prove to be the case, asking yourself why and how your company will profit from retaining your skills and experience for a transitional period can provide the basis for approaching your employer. Be sure to do your homework first, however, and be able to back up your request with a solid rationale.
Also consider the issue of timing. You want to weigh informing your employer of your wish to leave with being prepared to leave if the answer to your request is no.

2. Develop another income stream
If you need to leave your present employment, is there a skill in your toolbag that you can resuscitate and put to work without a significant expenditure of time or energy? Is moonlighting or freelance work an option? Virtual e-lancing websites (such as eWork.com, Guru.com, and e-lance.com) may be worth looking into for short-term professional services opportunities.
Examples: A community mental health worker transitioning to private practice used his conflict resolution experience to sell a training package to public schools. A woman transitioning out of an insurance brokerage created and sold seminars on long term care financing at local retirement centers.

3. Reduce expenses
Apart from fixed expenses - mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. �are discretionary expenses that make up the larger part of budgets. Doing a careful analysis of these expenses and choosing what you can forego for awhile can often save thousands per year.
Carefully analyzing hidden expenses � credit card interest rates, bank charges, late fees, auto debits, phone plans � or �lost money� from low interest rates on savings may generate several thousand more per year.

4. Borrow
It isn�t necessary to wait to borrow for start-up costs until you have a well-documented idea to submit for a business loan. Refinancing a home or taking a line of credit are relatively low-cost ways of generating capital. Depending on your credit rating, you can also get time-limited low-interest loans from credit card companies.
If you choose this option, applying for loans or refinancing packages while you�re still employed is strongly advised. Your rating as a borrower declines quickly once the regular paychecks stop.

You don�t have to wait!
Get started on your new business idea while you�re still employed. Several of the all-important first steps (below) can be started while standing in the grocery line or running on the treadmill. They involve asking yourself some questions and doing some informal research to get crystal clear about your idea. This can take weeks off your actual start-up time.

5. Identify your niche.
Think about the services you�re uniquely qualified to provide, as well as the ones you most enjoy providing. Be specific! Write them down! Then think about what group of people would get benefit from those services and have the ability to pay for them. Again, be specific: age, where they congregate, habits and values, how they define the problem your services are going to solve. If you don�t know, ask. Find someone who fits your �ideal client� profile (s/he may be on the treadmill next to yours at the gym) and get permission to ask some questions. People generally love to be helpful.

6. Create your marketing plan.
Don�t be intimidated by the term �marketing plan�. While what you need from a marketing plan will get more sophisticated as your business develops, for now it simply means answering the question, How is my business going to make money? What is the product or service you�re going to sell? How will you describe it so people quickly recognize the value? How will you package it? (fee for service? by the project? on retainer?) How will you price it? (What�s being charged for comparable services? What �feels right� to you?)

7. Manage fear!
For most people, anything involving money involves some level of fear. It�s important to acknowledge to yourself and to others that you are taking a risk, and you�ve decided it�s a risk you want to take. So consider the fear natural, and find ways to manage it.
Getting support from people who believe in you and in what you�re embarking on is #1 in fear-management tactics. Don�t assume that you�ll get it from the people closest to you, or that if you don�t have it you shouldn�t proceed. They�re probably the ones most impacted by your decision and so may be least ready to offer support. Their consent � a willingness to go along with your plan � is helpful, but support may have to come later.
It�s also helpful to set a goal (and a date for completion) that�s key to your new venture � arrange financing by a particular date, or sign a lease � and announce it to at least one person. You�ll find that making that commitment, saying it out loud, and following through will in turn generate more confidence and more forward momentum.

To all of you who are tired of marching to someone else�s drum and are eager to go solo, these strategies should help you take prudent but positive steps toward realizing your goal. Good luck!

About the Author

Nina Ham is an internationally certified women�s business coach and a licensed psychotherapist. Her company, Success from the Inside Out, provides programs and services essential for anyone making the salaried-to-solo transition, including niche identification, marketing fundamentals, and self management for solo professionals. Go to her site, http://www.SuccessfromtheInsideOut.com and take her free quiz, Is Going Solo for You?