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Average family needs to earn £32,702 just to pay bills

November 25th, 2011

The average family with two children needs to earn nearly £25,000 a year after tax to meet all of their essential outgoings, according to research carried out by Skipton Financial Services.

This figure only covers essentials like rent or mortgage payments, fuel bills, clothing and food. It does not include spending on any leisure activities. The amount of money needed to survive is likely to rise further still as wage settlements continue to fall far short of inflation.

A basic rate taxpayer would need a wage of £32,702 to be left with the £24,600 needed to break even after paying tax. The average gross salary for a full-time worker is currently £26,200.

A typical two-child family spends £4,730.04 on housing costs, £4,457.96 on food, £2,455.44 on commuting to work and more than £3,000 paying off loans and credit cards.

Commenting on the figures, Andrew Barker, managing director of Skipton Financial Services, said: “It’s frightening how everything adds up. The cost of living is astronomical and now more than ever people have to be on the ball with their expenditure and to keep on top of things, particularly at a time where inflation is riding well above target at 5%. Inflation c

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Tags: Average Family, Earn

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Boom Town, U.S.A.

November 25th, 2011

In the small-town of Elko, ambition looks like high-heel suede booties on the floor of the auto shop at the local high school.

Brandi and Kaylee look like the Olsen twins. And they’re the best auto-shop students at Elko High. The girls have a plan. Everyday out the school window, they see trucks heading up to the gold mines. Day and night. So, the girls figure, why not open a truck repair shop after they graduate?

“In Elko we’ve been really blessed and really lucky to actually have a good economy,” Kaylee says. “We can actually have our hopes and dreams.”

Elko is one of the rare Nevada towns that’s doing great. The town, which sits in the middle of Nevada’s gold mining country, has boomed as the price of gold doubled over the past few years.

 

We visited one of the mines that’s driving the boom: Barrick Goldstrike. The mine looks like a giant hole the ground, like the Grand Canyon — if the Grand Canyon were black and dusty and filled with explosives.

At the mine, you can’t actually see glittery gold. It

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Tags: Town, Town Usa

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Controlling Home Loan Costs Can Save You Thousands

November 21st, 2011

Home loans are very expensive and in most cases, is the most expensive loan that a person will obtain in their lifetime.  Most people would like to pay only what they absolutely have to for their home loan, and not a penny more, so that they can use the money saved for other expenses.  There are several different ways to control some of the costs of a home loan and taking these steps can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

Don’t Be Afraid To Negotiate

Many people do not know that they can negotiate the rates, closing costs, and other terms of their home loan before closing and save themselves thousands of dollars on the cost of the loan.  It is important to get all of the cost information available before beginning the negotiation process so that you are armed with the correct information before you begin to speak.  The quote that you receive from the lender is not the same quote that is offered to everyone so negotiating to get the best deal available may convince the lender to give you a better price on the loan.

Stick To Fixed Rate Loans

Adjustable rate home loans may seem like an attractive option because the initial monthly cost may be lower, but these loans have a tendency to reset to a higher rate which can throw off your budget and cause a financial hardship that could last for years.  A fixed rate loan gives you the stability of knowing that your payments will not change during the life of the loan and allows you to budget effectively for the expense of paying off the loan in the time period chosen.  Shop around for fixed rate loans from different lenders and compare the quotes to see which lenders are offering the best deals on these loans.

Less Documentation Means Higher Costs

During the recent real estate boom, many lenders required little or no documentation of income or assets before they approved an application for a home loan.  With the implosion of the housing market, the documentation rules have become more stringent at many lenders, but there are still some that require little proof that you will be able to repay the loan that they are extending to you.  Be aware that most loans that require little documentation are charging higher interest rates and loan fees than what is available from lenders that require the documentation of income or assets before approving the loan application.

Tags: Home Loan, Loan

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Lender Market Share Surprises

November 18th, 2011

It’s tough being a small lender in a scale business like mortgages. Davis + Henderson’s latest market share report reflects that.

The top 10 lenders are increasingly dominating the mortgage broker channel. Their share of the pie has climbed for at least three consecutive quarters and now stands at a lofty 84% (up from just under 80% in Q4).

Broker volume has also grown. Mortgage brokers funded 10% more volume in Q3 compared to the same quarter last year.

The mortgage market is clearly alive and well despite all those dreary housing forecasts last fall. (Ultra low rates will do that for you…)

In the text that follows, we run-down the notable lender performances this past quarter. These figures are unconfirmed but come from sources we believe to be reliable.

The Big 3

1) Scotiabank 17.7% market share, +1.5 pps YOY Scotia’s got a winning model that includes respectable rates, a broad product line, and business relationship managers (BRMs) that are sales, support and underwriter all in one (brokers love a single point of accountability). Scotia’

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Tags: Market Share, Share

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Cash in your francs and liras now

November 17th, 2011

A new Poppy Bond from the Coventry Building Society offers a top rate of 3.55% for 18 months, and it will even help savers contribute to charity, writes Thisismoney.co.uk. Of the money invested, 0.05% will be donated to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. After basic tax, the bond will pay 2.84%, on a minimum investment of £1. The rate is fixed until 30 April 2013, or alternatively savers can take monthly income at 3.49%. The second best 18-month savings plan comes from Yorkshire Bank – it pays 3.5%.

• Do you have a drawer full of old European currencies? There is still time to turn this into cash, writes Lucy Tobin in the Evening Standard. Take the old notes to a specialist foreign-currency dealer and walk out with sterling. But hurry, after February it will be too late.

• Nationwide is opening the door for new mortgage customers with 10% deposits, writes Tricia Phillips in the Daily Mirror. Previously, only existing customers and those with Flex accounts were offered the deal. Nationwide offers a three-year fix at 5.39% or a five-year fix at 5.69%, both with a reduced arrangement fee of £499. But shop

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Do High Tech Credit Cards Invite Identity Theft? RFID Security Flaws

November 17th, 2011

Credit cards with radio frequency technology (RF credit cards) are promoted as faster and more convenient credit cards, but may make users a larger target for identity theft.  Instead of swiping a credit card through a credit card processing terminal at the register, RF credit cards are just waved in front of a reader.  The RFID, or radio-frequency identification technology – started in 2005 with JP Morgan Chase, and is now available on cards issued from American Express, VISA, Discover Card and MasterCard.

RFID Security Flaws

Since the first radio frequency credit card, privacy experts and security firms have expressed their concern of thieves accessing the card data as it is transferred from the card to the special reader through the air.  In response to security concerns, some identity theft prevention companies have created products to block RFID technology.

When security companies walked around an airport, they were able to get full credit card details and expiration dates with a $100 scanning device anyone can purchase online.  Some people with RFID cards didnt even realize they had cards with this technology.

With radio frequency, thieves do not need to physically gain access to your credit cards, instead they just need a reading device and to stand near you in a public place to pull the information out of the air.

How to Prevent Identity Theft with Radio Frequency Cards

If you have radio frequency credit cards in your wallet, consider purchasing a product that prevents transmission of the data.  This means you can keep your cards in the protective item, and walk freely in public without fear that an inexpensive device carried by a thief is going to read your credit card data when you walk by.  If you arent sure if your cards are RFID compatible, call your credit card company and ask.

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Tags: Credit Cards, Identity Theft, Theft

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