The True Price Of Trendy Coffee - Published:13/12/07
A couple of existence ago I was a regular visitor to a broadcasting studio where I noticed the trendy youthful woman on reception would usually have a large coffee mug from one of the many fashionable coffee chainsWhen I asked her why she bought a costly coffee each morning and afternoon instead of buying the equal from the in-house canteen at a discounted 50p, she said it was because it tasted better But faith me, it didn't The in-house coffee was freshly made on the spot from a Gaggia mechanism and was the equivalent of the Starbucks / Caffé Nero equivalentI suspect the real incentive for buying the coffee was its fashionable status It's the fashion accessory no self-respecting, twenty-something trendy can be seen without these days But when I did a quick calculation of the receptionist's estimated disposable income, the figures were quite frighteninggenerally speaking, I assume the receptionist was earning somewhere around £18,000 a year and taking house around £1150 a month As she had two large coffees each operational day, this amounts to £136 a monthWhen you take off her likely spend on committee Tax, rent or mortgage, food, clothes, utilities etcetera, this is a astounding percentage of factual disposable income Now of course, there's more to life and all that -- and for all I know, she may well have been perfectly clever to spend this kind of money without batting an eyelid But judging by the record levels of personal debt around, I suspect not consider me, hers isn't a job you would do for the sheer fun of itAs an illustration, allow's presume she was able to go 'cold turkey' and give up chocolate for high-quality Now let's say she kept that amount of money aside and drip fed it into far above the ground yielding shares paying 6% a day via Motley Fool Sharebuilder* at £150 a month, and re-invested the dividendsAfter five existence, her investment would be value almost £10,000 if the shares remained at the price she originally paid Take that chilly turkey forward for another five and now we're really talking at £22,600 The figures are a simplified hypothesis, but you get the tipExtrapolating this forward and presuming the youthful lady is now 20, she could amass over £63,000 by the occasion she's 40, just by refusing to buy into the trendy brand mentality in one small area of her day-to-day livelihood, even if the shares had never budged at all Of course, she could be less lucky with the shares, but judging from the past performance of the store market, her luck is more probable to run the other way and the saving be even more pronouncedIt may be true that 'a little bit of what you imagine does you good,' but a small bit of prudence can help you out tooIf you fancy building long-term wealth via stock market investing, unlock a assorted Fool Sharedealing account now* We currently have a special present for Sharebuilder All purchases until 31st December are commission-free In January we'll return to the usual low charge of £150 a purchase We can charge such a near to the ground commission because we transact all of our share purchases at four set points during the monthThe value of your investments and the income from them can go down as well as up You may not get back the full amount you have invested If you're in any doubt about the suitability of an ISA, or whether to pay money for or sell shares, you should consult an suitable Financial AdviserThe Motley Fool Share commerce Service is provided by Halifax Share commerce Limited which is part of the HBOS collectionRegistered in England No3195646 Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 2RG Authorised and keeping pace by the Financial Services Authority, a Member of the London Stock Exchangeand a HMRevenue and Customs accepted PEP and ISA ManagerThe Motley trick Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Halifax Share commerce Limited© Copyright 1998-2007, The Motley Fool incomplete All rights reserved This material is for personal use onlyPlace of Reg: England & Wales corporation Reg No: 3736872 VAT Reg No: 735 7818 01 Registered place of work: 30 Great.
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Halifax: Personal loans most popular on Mondays - Published:31/10/07
Halifax Unsecured Personal Loans has revealed that people are most likely to be relevant for an online loan on Monday afternoonsThe most popular time to apply is between 13:00 and 14:00 BST, according to the research, while applications start to decrease considerably after 18:00 BSTSunday was revealed to be the least well-liked day for online loan applications and men were shown to be more apt to employ the internet to applyNeil Chandler, head of Halifax unsecured individual loans, remarked: "Our results show that although weekday afternoons are the time most of us look to apply, an increasing number of populace choose to create use of our 24-hour online service - often sorting out their finances into the little hours of the morning"Recently, Halifax Unsecured Personal Loans revealed that more than semi of parents said their brood would need to take out.
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First-time buyers paying £250,000 - Published:12/03/07
information Companies & markets Investing Power portfolio Campaigns Mortgages & homesMortgage featuresInsurance Consumer advice Broadband & phones departure Saving & banking Credit & loans Small business Tax & wills communication boards Money blog Tools & calculators Ask an specialist Guides Compare & buyThe average cost of a home in London has hit a record £250,000 This has pressed first-time buyers into the 3% stamp responsibility bracket, adding £7,500 in tax paid up front on top of deposits of up to £25,000TAKE PART IN OUR SURVEY Tell us what you think of This is Money and assist shape our future (you could even make £35)A ONE-MINUTE MAKEOVER If you only have one minute to learn how to sort your money, forget the rest and understand writing this>> Our 8-step planThe figures will increase pressure on Chancellor Gordon chocolate to ease the plight of young people struggling to get on the possessions ladderThe Government is being answerable for failing to increase the trample duty thresholds in line with property inflation Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis supposed it was 'severely penalising first-time buyers in London'The figures are restricted in a survey of mortgages arranged by the Halifax for first-time buyers and shows the effect of possessions inflation since 1997Ten years ago not a single London borough had an standard new home costing above £250,000, at which point the duty rises from 1% to 3% of the buy priceNow 12 of the 33 boroughs, including areas such as Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Kingston and Ealing, drop into the higher stamp duty bandThe Halifax estimates that if these bands had kept speed with the cost of homes, then the 3% speed would not kick in until £680,000 The 4% rate, now emotional on sales above £500,000, would come in at the £13m heightMr Ellis said: 'We call on the administration to increase the higher thresholds in row with the increase in house prices and to commit to index link all the stamp responsibility thresholds to house price inflation'A recent learn found that two out of three newly-built homes in London is being bought by investors and speculators This is keeping prices far above the ground and further squeezes first-time buyers out of the marketThe first-time buyer disaster is also being fuelled by increasing interest rates According to Mortgages Direct the proportion of mortgages taken out by unparalleled buyers in January fell by 10%Peter Gladdy of Mortgages Direct supposed: 'Signs of self-assurance displayed by first time buyers in December dropped dramatically following the Bank of England's choice to raise the base speed to 525% in January'I'm not trying to defend the government, but maybe the trample duty thresholds are increasing in line with long term house cost inflation so they might be about right once the housing fizz burstsHouse prices rise based on one solitary principle, supply and demand It really is as simple as that In fact the administration should be raising stamp duty substantially to reduce the aptitude of people to pay money for a house and thus slow down house price price rises London is a slightly different problem Much of London's house cost inflation is caused by overseas buyers But we shouldn't be bad tempered especially when we brits go all round the earth buying up properties in other countries You can't have your cake and eat itStamp responsibility is not the problem, far above the ground prices are Raising the thresholds will just cause senior prices The government should be doing something to stop spiralling home prices not do more to inflate the bubble I hope they put on't pander to the wishes of the lenders© 2007 linked Northcliffe Digital Ltd Terms Privacy policy promote with us LoansCardsMortgagesInsuranceCompare the best deals around with This is MoneyPlease choose a loan£ choose a loan term 12 months (1 year) 24 months (2 existence 36 months (3 existence 48 months (4 existence 60 months (5 existence 72 months (6 existence 84 months (7 existence 96 months (8 years) 108 months (9 years) 120 months (10 years) GO New praise cardPick your favoured card offer Please choose 0% introductory rate No annual charge Cashback Loyalty scheme All of the above GO equilibrium transferPlease select a type of cover Life cover Home and contents Car Breakdown armed forces Health - medical Health - dental Travel Pet -.
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