Save 2,000 by kicking smoking habit by Finance News Bulletin
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Published: 31/08/07
People giving up smoking when the forthcoming forbid comes into play could put aside almost £2,000 by switching to a regular savings habitResearch approved out by Alliance & Leicester shows that even current communal smokers, who smoke up to 20 cigarettes a week, could save approximately £280 in a dayMale smokers use approximately £100 more on cigarettes each year than women, Alliance & Leicester's research also showsMany people have affirmed that they want to boot their smoking habit when the smoking ban comes into act from July 1st, with some 70 per cent of current smokers saying they desire to give up
Ross Dalzell, manager for savings at coalition & Leicester, said: "The English population spends billions of pounds on cigarettes each day - money which could be going towards that new kitchen you've dreamed of, a two week festival in the sun, or just kept as a nest-egg for the future"He added: "By investing the money saved in a high interest account each month and working towards a long term objective, smokers will hopefully find the will authority to permanently kick
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My Life As A Transfer Tart - Published:18/10/07
eager readers of my Fool column will know that my individual finances haven't always been healthy Although they're in pretty good form these days, they were awfully messy for a long time Indeed, although I've worked in financial armed forces since 1987, I didn't actually get my act together until I discovered the joys of stupidity six years agoAnyway, my chief problem in my pre-Fool years was my extraordinary ability to spend money which I didn't have What's more, known that I had no investments, this extra money had to come from somewhere Predictably, I turned to credit cards and personal loans to bridge the gap, building up a total money owing of close to £50,000One of my biggest headaches separately from scraping together enough cash to meet my minimum monthly repayments) was the interest building up on my debts Back then, it wasn't strange for credit cards to charge a yearly interest rate of 20% or more, Thus, interest alone was gobbling up around £750 of my take-home disburse each month OuchNevertheless, I did what had to be done to free myself of this crippling burden I stopped up overspending, sold what few possessions I had, moved to a higher-paid job, and in progress throwing all of my spare cash at my debts Naturally, after demanding -- and receiving -- lower interest rates, I began by repaying my most expensive money owing first Once this was gone, I moved onto the next most expensive, and so on Here at the Fool, we call this increasingFortunately, repaying my debts became much easier from Christmas Day, 2000, when online bank Egg launched the UK's first 0% balance-transfer offer By transferring my obtainable card balances to Egg, I could avoid interest for six whole months As you can imagine, I leapt at this chance, gap an Egg card within existence of this offer being launchedFast-forward almost seven years, and the 0% balance-transfer market is living and well Indeed, it's never been more active Then again, two big differences have emerged over the superseding years:1 Early balance-transfer deals lasted for a utmost of six months Now, deals lasting twelve, fifteen, (sometimes, eighteen) months can be had2 near the beginning transfer offers were complete defeat leaders, as they charged neither interest nor fees These days, you will disburse a fee for any 0% balance move lasting more than six months Typically, this charge will be 2% to 3% of the value of each move, with no upper limit on the fee chargedSo, if 0% equilibrium transfers are such wonderful beasts, then why is anyone paying interest on their credit and store cards I can think of at least two reasons: First, ignorance The financial earth is a very complex place, and it breeds financial fear and indifference in the general population Second, people look for excuses to avoid creation financial decisions, such as "My credit record is no good" or "I put on't know where to look" Thus, in other cases, it's down to ‘paralysis by analysis'Right, let's slash to the chase If you have debts on your credit and amass cards and would like to cut your interest speed to zero, then transfer your balances to a 0% card nowadays Aha, but which certificate is right for youGenerally speaking, we're looking for the longest interest-free present with the lowest fee The good news is that the Fool's independent, impartial search engine can do the groundwork for you Here are today's table-toppers:So, there you have it: five 0% equilibrium transfers lasting for thirteen months or more All you need to do now is choose which certificate you'd prefer and how much you'd like to move across Visit our credit card centre -- and kiss goodbye to rip-off interest tax todayThe vast majority of 0% equilibrium transfer cards now charge a fee, typically between 2 and 3% Normally, we'd advise you to go for the lowest fee, but read onMany cards don't accuse interest for 12 months, some for even longer But the longer the interest-free, the more likely you'll be paying a far above the ground fee So you need to decide how long it will take you to pay off your debt and then you'll know how extended an interest-free period you'll needWhilst you're paying off your debt, you shouldn't use the certificate for any other purpose, but once the debt is gone, you might want to use the card for conventional expenditure Some 0% cards also offer rewards or cashback for expenditure, so you could be ready to make your rewards as soon as the debt is paid off© patent 1998-2007, The Motley Fool Limited All rights reserved This fabric is for personal use onlyput of Reg: England & Wales Company Reg No: 3736872 VAT Reg No: 735 7818 01 Registered Office: 30.
Read More: My Life As A Transfer Tart >>Should I Get A Cash Or Shares ISA? - Published:15/09/07
You may have seen wary, uncertain, or even panicked comments in the cash pages over the past few months, and you're wondering whether your money would be safe in the stock market, or whether you should have all your money in secure savings accountsFirstly, we'll look at the basics: what is an ISA, and what's the difference between money and shares ISAs Secondly, which kind of ISA is most suitable correct nowEach year, from 6 April to 5 April the next year, you can put £3,000 into a cash ISA (This amount is due to go up to £3,600 from 6 April 2008) You're paid interest on this, just like normal savings financial records, only no tax is deductedAt present, the best catch free, normal savings accounts disburse around 62%, which is just under 5% per day after tax for basic-rate taxpayers, and around 37% for higher-rate payersHowever, you can get decent cash ISAs paying around 6%, which income that, on £3,000 of investments, you could earn £180 per year To put it another method, basic-rate taxpayers could earn £30 more than they would in a normal savings account, and higher-rate payers could make £60 moreWith shares ISAs you can invest up to £7,000 in the stock market each day (which is leaving up to £7,200 from next April), and whatever gains you create when you sell are tax free Within shares ISAs you can buy individual shares or spend in fundsusually, when you sell shares for a profit of more than £9,200, you pay 40% duty on the excess So if you bought shares five years before and sell them for a profit today of £10,200, you get back £9,200, advantage £1,000 minus 40%, which is £600 You also pay income tax on bonus payments (Dividends are bonuses that many companies pay to shareholders each day)So which is better right now, cash or shares ISAs The choppy store markets are making people anxious, and the higher interest rates that we're seeing these existence make savings more attractive So naturally you'd expect me to advise that you should put more money into cashAs a general law, if you think you might need the cash within five years, it's best to keep it in cash That's because over the short-term we have no thought where share prices might go So that's all pleasant and straight forwardIf you won't need it for five years or even longer, then shares are a high-quality option In fact, the longer you can go away it stashed away, the more attractive investing in shares is You have better safety from volatile share prices and you're more likely to create good returns that far outstrip cash, although, of course, there are some risks For more information on the risks and rewards of cash against shares over different periods of time, see How, When And Where To InvestIf you decide you desire to invest in shares ISAs, you can still evade against fluctuating shares prices by investing in tranches: instead of throwing all your cash into the ISA at once, what you do is you divide it equally over, speak, 6 to 12 monthsFor a long time my favourite cash ISA has been the National investments and Investments Direct ISA, but no longer, because it hasn't extended its outstanding interest-rate guarantee, which is now only six months (down from more than 18 months)I now consider Bradford & Bingley's simple right of entry eISA 2 to be the best cash ISA It pays 605%, it's catch-free and it's guaranteed to at least competition the Base Rate till the end of June 2009 You can also transfer existing money ISAs into it, if you desire to consolidate all your tax-free savingsThe only rub is that you must keep at least £1,000 in the account or your interest speed drops to virtually nothing If that's inconvenient, the Egg Cash ISA is the next most excellent that I can see, with an interest rate of 605%, a £1 minimum put, no catches, and a guarantee to at least match the Base Rate till the create of April 2009 The downside is that you can't transfer obtainable ISA money into itAs for shares ISA, we always recommend that you invest in the cheapest index follower that you can find We wrote about The Top Ten Trackers in a new article> If you've already used up your cash ISA allowance, get the best investments account you can with the rest of your savings© Copyright 1998-2007, The Motley Fool incomplete All rights reserved This material is for personal use onlyput of Reg: England & Wales Company Reg No: 3736872 VAT Reg No: 735 7818 01 Registered Office: 30 huge.
Read More: Should I Get A Cash Or Shares Isa? >>Save 2,000 by kicking smoking habit - Published:31/08/07
People giving up smoking when the forthcoming forbid comes into play could put aside almost £2,000 by switching to a regular savings habitResearch approved out by Alliance & Leicester shows that even current communal smokers, who smoke up to 20 cigarettes a week, could save approximately £280 in a dayMale smokers use approximately £100 more on cigarettes each year than women, Alliance & Leicester's research also showsMany people have affirmed that they want to boot their smoking habit when the smoking ban comes into act from July 1st, with some 70 per cent of current smokers saying they desire to give upRoss Dalzell, manager for savings at coalition & Leicester, said: "The English population spends billions of pounds on cigarettes each day - money which could be going towards that new kitchen you've dreamed of, a two week festival in the sun, or just kept as a nest-egg for the future"He added: "By investing the money saved in a high interest account each month and working towards a long term objective, smokers will hopefully find the will authority to permanently kick.
Read More: Save 2,000 By Kicking Smoking Habit >>