Getting a loan prior to the recession was as easy as walking into a clothes shop and buying a new pair of jeans. No shop assistants asked you whether you’d still fit into the jeans in a year’s time; they didn’t check your background to see if that pair of jeans was going to suit you in the long term and you didn’t have to go back every month and pay. Loans were easy to come by. There were no lengthy credit checks; you didn’t have to jump through hoops proving this and that and you weren’t charged over 7% interest on a loan of less than £5000.

Things have changed since then, perhaps, in a way, for the better. After all it was sub-prime and irresponsible lending that got us into this mess in the first place. In depth credit ratings are a good thing as they find out just how responsible or irresponsible we all are. However, credit ratings can be incorrect through lack of or miss-information or completely ruined due to ID fraud. It is vital therefore that you keep on top of your own credit history with regular credit checks.

Your UK credit rating is compiled using all kinds of data from financial through to information from the electoral roll. Every time you take out a loan it is marked on your credit history. Every time you fail to make or miss a repayment, that is also marked. Good behaviour is noted accordingly too. A bad credit rating can mean you will only have access to high interest rates and unattractive credit offers or, worse still, you will be refused credit altogether. Credit Expert offers free UK credit rating checks which enable you to keep an eye on your credit rating and do something about it if it’s not up to scratch.

There are ways you can improve your UK credit rating. The obvious and most effective is to pay off your debt as quickly as possible. Getting your lending under control and paying off your debts in full and on time will rapidly improve your credit rating. However, if you are struggling to pay back your loan it might be worth consolidating all of your debts so you have one monthly payment. You could also speak to your bank about renegotiating your loan or mortgage.

If your credit rating is much poorer than you imagined, you may be a victim of identity fraud. Criminals are using ever more sophisticated ways to steal personal data then use this information to open bank accounts and run up thousands of pounds worth of credit. If you want more information about ID theft, visit the Crime Stoppers website.

Individual insolvency levels hit record high

Official figures from The Insolvency Service have revealed that the total number of
people declared insolvent in England and Wales during 2010 reached a record high of
135,089.

Overall, individual insolvencies (IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements),
bankruptcies and DROs (Debt Relief Orders)) were 0.7% higher in 2010 than they
were in 2009.

The figure from 2010 included 59,194 bankruptcies (down 20.7% compared with the
figure from 2009), 50,716 IVAs (up 6.5% on 2009′s figure) and 25,179 DROs (no
comparable yearly data, as they were only brought in during April 2009).

Despite individual insolvencies reaching their highest level ever, though, they actually
fell during the final quarter of 2010 to their lowest quarterly level since the first three
months of 2009. Just 12,049 people were declared bankrupt during this time – the
lowest figure since the first three-month period of 2005.

Click on the following link to read the full news story on this .

Meanwhile, as quoted in the Guardian, Steven Law, president of insolvency trade
body R3, said the figures from The Insolvency Service didn’t shed light on the number
of people repaying their debts through informal debt solutions – including debt
management plans, of which there are thought to be around 700,000.

Saving money is one of those tasks that’s so much easier said than done. There’s more to it than spending less money (although that part alone can be challenging). How much money will you save, where will you put it, and how can you make sure it stays there? Here’s how to set realistic goals, keep your spending in check, and get the most for your money.

Tip 1:

Kill your debt first. Simply calculating how much you spend each month on your debts will illustrate that eliminating debt is the fastest way to free up money. Once the money is freed from debt payment, it can easily be re-purposed to savings. Plus, the sooner you pay off debt, the less interest you’ll pay, and that money can be saved instead.

If you choose to start saving before you completely pay off your debt, however, look into consolidating your debts so that you’re not paying as much interest.
The only money-saving that should take precedence over getting out of debt is to create an emergency fund (setting aside enough money so that if you lose your job you can survive for 3-6 months, or if your car suddenly goes to the big scrappy in the sky).

Tip 2:

Set savings goals. For short-term goals, this is easy. If you want to buy the latest computer games console, or game, then find out how much it costs; if you want to buy a house, determine how much of a deposit you’ll need. For long-term goals, such as retirement, you’ll need to do a lot more planning (figuring out how much money you’ll need to live comfortably for 20 or 30 years after you stop working), and you’ll also need to figure out how investments will help you achieve your goals.

Once you know how much you need to save, you can then work out how much you need to put away regularly.

Tip 3:

Keep a record of your expenses. What you save falls between two activities and their difference: how much you make and how much you spend. Since you have more control over how much you spend, it’s wise to take a critical look at your expenses. Write down everything you spend your money on for a month. Be as detailed as possible, and try not to leave out small purchases. Assign each purchase or expenditure a category such as: Rent, Car insurance, Car payments, Phone Bill, Utilities, Gas, Food, Entertainment, etc.

Try and keep a small notebook with you at all times. Get in the habit of recording every expense and saving the receipts.
Sit down once a week with your small notebook and receipts. Record your expenses in a larger notebook or a spreadsheet.
There are also many apps you can download to your phone that will help you keep track of your expenses – especially if you are lucky enough to have a nice iPhone

Tip 4:

Trim your expenses. Take a good, hard look at your spending records after a month or two have passed. You’ll probably be surprised when you look back at your record of expenses: £30 on cinema tickets, £10 on cups of tea at work? You’ll likely see some obvious cuts you can make. Depending on how much you need to save, however, you may need to make some difficult decisions. Think about your priorities, and make cuts you can live with. Calculate how much those cuts will save you per year, and you’ll be much more motivated to pinch pennies.

• Can you move to a less expensive house? Can you refinance your mortgage?

• Can you save money on petrol, or give up a car altogether? I got rid of my car 4 months ago, and now save so much but using my partners.

• Can you get a better price on insurance? Call around and make sure you are getting the best price you can.

• When shopping for clothes, check online sales, or clearance racks in store. Buy supermarket branded clothes which are good quality, but cheaper than high street brands.

• Can you drop a land line and either only use your mobile phone or save money by calling over the internet for free with services such as Skype? If you have a mobile on contract, are you getting the most out of it? If not, would a Pay As You Go Phone suffice?

• Can you live without cable or satellite TV? You can get plenty of channels with a Freeview box now.

• Can you cut down on your utility bills? Use a price comparison site, or simply turn off lights after you, have shorter showers, only put the heating on when it starts to get cold.

• Can you restrict eating out? Avoid take-aways. We saved about £30 a week by not eating at the staff canteen daily. This amounts to £120 a month, or £1000 a year between two of us!!!!  Make up a batch of chilli/Spag Bol/Lasagne and heat it in the work microwave. Also take in your own tea bags etc, instead of paying 80p for a cuppa!

Tip 5:

Stop using credit cards and bank cards. Pay for everything with cash. Don’t even use cheques (not that they are widely used anymore). It’s easier to overspend when you’re pulling from a bank or credit account because you don’t know exactly how much is in there. If you have cash, you can see your supply running low. Once you have sat down and budgeted that about you need for the month you can bundle up the cash allocated for each expense with a label or keep separate jars for each one (e.g. a bundle/jar for coffee, another for petrol, another for drinking(!), another for food shopping). As you take money from a jar for that particular expense, you’ll see how much remains and you’ll also be reminded of your limit.

Tip 6:

Savings should be your priority, so don’t just say that you’ll save whatever is left over at the end of the month. Deposit savings into an account (or your piggy-bank) as soon as you get paid. An easy, effective way to start saving is to simply deposit 10% of every pay packet in to a savings account. If you get paid £790, move the decimal point one place to the left and deposit that amount: £79. This works well and requires little thought; over several years, you’ve a tidy sum in savings. Over decades, you’ll be a millionaire (well not quite, but would be a lovely objective to achieve!). Follow this link to find out exactly when you will reach millionaire status! http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/millionaire-calculator
If you decide to set up a savings account to put the money in, then you can set up a standing order from your current account to your savings account – this way you can’t forget to save!

Tip 7:

Although in Tip 5 I’ve said not to use one, I am now going to contradict myself and say that credit cards are not inherently evil; it’s all about your self control. If you use them responsibly (i.e. completely pay them off every month), you can benefit from them. It allows you to keep your money in your bank collecting interest for a bit longer, and also helps you to build your credit rating.

But the reason most credit card companies make money, however, is because people end up spending money that they don’t have, and then don’t pay it back for ages – thus collecting interest. So, unless you are one of the people who can religiously pay off the balance in full every month, you’re better off foregoing the promotions that credit card companies use to lure you in (cash back, introductory APR, airline miles, and so on).

Tip 8:

Reassess your savings goals every so often. Subtract your expenses (the ones you can’t live without) from your take-home income (i.e. after taxes have been taken out). What is the difference? And does it match up with your savings goals? Let’s say you’ve decided you can definitely get by on £700 per month, and your paychecks amount to £1300 per month. That leaves you with £600 to save. If there’s absolutely no way you can fit all your savings goals into your budget, take a look at what you’re saving for and cut the less important things or adjust the time-frame. Maybe you need to put off buying a new car for another year, or maybe you don’t really need a big-screen TV that badly.

Tip 9:

Before you go to do your weekly food shop, sit down and plan the meals for the week. Work out what you need to make those meals, and then create a list……..we will call this a “Shopping List” – no one has ever thought of it before, so I will get around to copyrighting it at some point.

• Cut out rubbish, like huge choccy bars, buy smaller ones and if you feel your sweet tooth taking control, then have a small one to tide you over. I started doing this, and as well as saving money I’ve also lost half a stone in 5 weeks! Win, Win!!!

• If you can, switch to the supermarket’s own brand products. I find that Asda value mince is as nice as branded stuff!

• Keep your eye out for BOGOF’s and other deals – but only get them if they are foods that are on your “Shopping List”! Don’t be getting them just because they are on offer!

• Sign up for your local supermarket’s points card. As well as earning points to get money off vouchers, you also get send deals in the post, such as buy £1 worth of bread and get 20p off.

• Search online for money off vouchers – there are sites that offer these.

• Don’t take the kids! Apart from whining, running off, or having tantrums, they also want! Or they do the typical thing of putting items in the trolley when you aren’t looking, and then you get to the till and feel you have to buy them.

• Consider doing your food shopping online and having it delivered, it’s a great way of ordering what you actually need to maintain your weekly budget, and you are less likely to spot something you fancy at the time, and add it to your trolley!

• Don’t go shopping when you are hungry!

Tip 10 – Budget!:

Tip 10 has been kindly written by Ruel Hinacot.

How to create a family budget

For singles, the creation of a budget is relatively easy. They tend to have a good handle on the amount of money coming, and when the costs of monitoring, who have only their own thinking. However, creating a family budget is a new game.

Most families have multiple sources of income. And when you have been multiple money spender, which makes things much more confusing. This is one of the main reasons that families do not have a formal budget. However, having a budget and stick to it can greatly improve the financial outlook of the family.

Make a family budget can be tricky, but it can be done. Here’s how.

1. Take an inventory of all revenue. If a secure source of income fluctuates from month to month, use the lowest amount or average out.
2. Keep track of all expenses for a month or so. Keep all receipts, and call on all members of your family to turn to you every day.
3. Add up your monthly expenses. Be sure to include bills, debt payments, groceries, and everyday expenses such as money for lunch and transportation costs.
4. Get the family together and discuss ways you can cut the budget. Get input from family members will help you determine what expenditures are necessary and, which can be reduced or eliminated. Perhaps you or your spouse may start taking lunch to work instead of eating out, or perhaps the children can fall an extracurricular activity.
5. In addition to individual expenditures, discuss how you can reduce your electricity bill, food and other household expenses are necessary. Consider things such as carpooling or public transportation, buying more generic foods and adjust the thermostat.
6. Calculate how much you can save on recurring costs, and cut all unnecessary items from the budget. Then reconfigure and see what their situation.
7. If you end up with surplus, allocating a portion of it to savings. If you’re in the red, go back and redo the budget until more revenues than expenses.

Be realistic

One reason that family budgets are often not because they are simply unrealistic. It’s great to reduce spending, but sometimes we tend to go too far. For example, cutting entertainment from the full budget may look good on paper, but we all have a little fun from time to time.

Instead of cutting these things with full budget, consider looking for ways to reduce the cost. Returning to the example of entertainment, perhaps you went to dinner and a movie as a family twice a month. However, eating and hire a new version would be much cheaper, and would still have to spend quality time together.

Individual costs may also be complicated. This can be solved by allocating a specific amount for each member of the family to spend each week. If someone spends its entirety before the week is over, re-evaluate your expenses and adjust if necessary.

Creating a household budget can help keep spending under control, leaving more money to pay their debts and save for future goals. However, to succeed, close monitoring is essential. Their efforts will be rewarded. However, with less financial stress and more money in the long term.

Author Resource:-> Ruel has been writing articles for nearly 4 years. His newest interest is in cruise ship. So come visit his latest website that discuss about best cruise lines and cruise ships pictures.

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Tip 11:

Tip 11 is down to you……………..Comment below with your best money saving tip

You have just seen the house of your dreams but you have had credit problems.  The ability to find home loans with bad credit can be difficult but not impossible.

Previous to 1990 if you did not qualify for a FHA or VA home mortgage it was very difficult to get a mortgage.  This since has changed and there are companies providing home loans with bad credit on a daily basis.  These loans were introduced to help high risk borrowers to secure a mortgage and become homeowners.

When you are looking for home loans with bad credit you will probably want to look into what is called a subprime loan.  This is a loan to persons with a damaged credit history and would be considered a high risk borrower.  Because of the higher risk, subprime loans normally require a larger down payment and a higher interest rate.  The higher the risk the lender feels you are, based on credit scores and other factors the higher the rate to borrow will be.  If the risk seems lower you could receive a lower rate and lower down payment even if you are still considered a high risk borrower.

Most subprime loans have .1% up to .6% higher rates than those of a conventional loan.  This may not seem like a lot but when thinking in terms of a $100,000.00 dollar home the difference is in thousands of dollars.  So even if you are considered a candidate for a subprime loan it is important to shop for the best rate available.

Home loans with bad credit are made because lenders know that often a person with less than perfect credit did want to make their payments but because of illness, loss of employment or some other event out of the borrowers control may contribute to late payments or foreclosures.

If you were searching for home loans with bad credit you will want to keep in mind a couple of important tips.   You will want to plan on keeping this loan, for about two to five yearsYou will want to be using this time to help increase your credit worthiness by cleaning up old debts and obligations.  You will want to be sure to make your new mortgage payments on time.  After this process you can try and qualify for one of the more common and lower rated loan.

If you already own a home, and had some financial difficulties a subprime loan may help you to regain your credit status.  By refinancing with home loans for bad credit you can refinance for more than you owe.  Take the cash back on the equity you have and use this to pay off high interest credit cards, liens, or collections.  You would save money each month and be rebuilding your credit rating at the same time.

As you can see finding home loans with bad credit is a bit costly but it is not impossible and the final outcome is with good money management you increase your credit rating and own the home of your dreams.

A “bad credit home loan” is a loan that one can get despite having a bad credit rating. Many lenders offer a bad credit home loan knowing fully that their loan is secure, since it is taken on mortgage of your home.

A bad credit home loan is an instrument of opportunity for those who have bad credit rating and would like drop out of their debt and start on the road to good credit building. By availing of a bad credit home loan you can lower your monthly payments by consolidating all your debts and also enjoy a lower interest rate on the current debt. The consolidation and paying off your current debts by availing of a bad credit home loan is a major step towards credit repair. Moreover, if you can keep up the payments on your second home loan for about six months to a year, you will see a remarkable change in your credit score.

Most popular options available on bad credit home loans are cash out mortgage refinance and home equity loans. Both options allow you to cash in on the equity already paid into your home mortgage and use it to get yourself out of debt. It’s best to deal with a mortgage company online to avoid bank associate’s talk around and skepticism. Its also easier to compare various offers form different lenders to make sure you are not being cheated. Please keep in mind the following while filling up forms for online mortgage:

a.         Make sure you read the articles on online mortgage at the bad credit home loan lender’s websites. By this you can educate yourself on various types of financing and be informed and up to date on fees and current lending rates

b.         While applying for online quotes, do not opt for a generic estimate which is based on you monthly income and bills, fill out detailed information whereupon you can get a real accurate quote.

c.         Try and get to the total bad credit home loan cost i.e. including the closing fees, application fees, any other charges, interest charged, amortization and loan fees etc.

d.         After applying, do not forget to keep all records received from the lender and follow up with weekly phone calls to make sure things are moving on time.

e.         After completion of bad credit home loan, plan to refinance in about three years, by which you should be back in good credit, if you have kept up regular repayments. This will help in reducing your short time debt and maximize your future credit rating.

Use your bad credit home loan to the maximum advantage to get your credit rating back in line. This will help you plan a secure future for you and your family.