Analysis Topic: Personal Finance
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Numbing Effect of Savings Interest / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
It is hardly surprising that we have all become numb to the plight of interest on savings accounts. Everyone knows how miserably low they are.
In monetary terms, just how bad has it got? It’s hard to imagine that only five years ago, Bank of England (BoE) base rate was 5.75%. The average no notice account paid 4.08% and to raise £100 in gross interest would have required a deposit of £2,451. Notice accounts paid an average of 4.23%, and to get the same return would have meant investing slightly less at £2,364.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Bank Current Account Overdraft Chargers, the End of Free Banking / Personal_Finance / UK Banking
By: MoneyFacts
Why do banks need to charge for current accounts? Over the last ten years, the Bank of England Base Rate has fallen drastically but overdraft rates have had a ‘cushioned’ fall.
The table below shows the average overdraft rate over the last ten years alongside BoE Base Rate. It highlights that although base rate is at an all-time low of 0.5%, overdraft charges are still making a sizable return for the banking sector.
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Tuesday, August 07, 2012
UK Savings and Loans Market Rates Credit Crunch Five Years on / Personal_Finance / UK Banking
By: MoneyFacts
We are now five years into the credit crunch and the following table shows how it has affected our personal finances.
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Best Student Bank Current Account Overdraft & Fees Analysis July 2012 / Personal_Finance / Student Finances
By: MoneyFacts
Countless students will be preparing to leave home next month and head off to university.
For many it will be the first time they are fully in charge of their finances, with budgeting and bill paying becoming a necessary evil.
Due to the increase to course fees, student debt is set to become an even bigger problem, which is why all students should put their research skills to good use to find the most suitable student account for their needs.
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Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Don’t Let Credit Debtit and Pre-Paid Card Charges Ruin Your Summer Holiday / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: MoneyFacts
After weeks of rain many people will be looking forward to their summer holiday and travel to warmer climes.
While arranging your spending money may not be the highlight of any holiday, a small amount of time and effort could see you making significant cost savings.
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Wednesday, July 18, 2012
ReGive 5% 1 Year Fixed Rate Savings Bonds Too Good to be True? / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Whilst trawling through the internet, seeking a home for part of my dwindling cash mountain, I happened on what sounds like a too good to be true 1 year fixed rate savings bond paying 5% offered by ReGive, Who's ReGive ? I and probably most of you reading this will have never heard of this investment firm before that is seeking to hook interest starved savers with a high interest rate of 5% when the competition can barely muster 3.5%.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Moves to Make Right Now to Protect Your Financial Future / Personal_Finance / Credit Crisis 2012
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
I hear from countless investors around the world every week. Many of them want to know what "else" they can do to protect their financial future, especially now that the markets could get ugly (again).
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The Pitfalls Prepaid Credit Cards / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: MoneyFacts
Prepaid cards are a useful cash management tool which is growing in popularity.
However, it would be easy to pick the wrong card if you have not first been honest about your spending habits.
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Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Compound Interest and the Debt Bubble / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: BATR
"Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it." Albert Einstein
Without a comprehensive understanding in this axiom of the financial universe, much of public policy and finance is incomprehensible. The different positions of the borrower and the lender is obvious, but the notion that one can earn enough interest on savings to maintain the purchasing power of the principle is a bygone fantasy in the era of low interest rates.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
UK June CPI Inflation Shows Savers’ Hardship Continues Unabated / Personal_Finance / Inflation
By: MoneyFacts
Inflation figures released today show the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell during May, from 3.00% to 2.8%.
To beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account paying 3.50% per annum, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% needs to find an account paying at least 4.70%.
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Monday, June 18, 2012
The American Debt Crisis, How to Save Your Money And Your Life / Personal_Finance / US Debt
By: Casey_Research
Doug Casey, Casey Research writes: I think there are really only two good reasons for having a significant amount of money: To maintain a high standard of living and to ensure your personal freedom. There are other, lesser reasons, of course, including: to prove you can do it, to compensate for failings in other things, to impress others, to leave a legacy, to help perpetuate your genes, or maybe because you just can't think of something better to do with your time.
Friday, June 08, 2012
Financial Ignorance Is A Temporary Condition / Personal_Finance / Education
By: Richard_Mills
George Mitchell, as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in 1966, began urging bankers to consider how "the computer can drastically change money and its use."
In the early 1970s a nationwide electronic funds transfer system was envisioned. The system would use individualized electronic identification cards and digitized bank accounts with merchants connected to them by telecommunication links.
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Tuesday, June 05, 2012
How the Banks Use Government To Make Us Suffer / Personal_Finance / US Politics
By: Michael_S_Rozeff
There are many ways in which human beings have created means of exchange (currency, means of payment, money) that have worked successfully over long periods of time. There is the way that Menger explained, through discovery of a highly marketable commodity. This is the way in which precious metals gained ascendancy. Another way is through banks that have intermediated short-term (90-day) bills of exchange and provided bank notes. This was common for many centuries. Another way is through the deposits of goldsmiths at a bank in exchange for certificates that circulate. Fourth, governments have created tax certificates good for paying taxes, and these have functioned as means of exchange. We should not forget also that there have been many commodities that have been used as means of exchange.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
UK Fixed Rate Bond Interest Rates Starting to Fall / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
The average rate for a one year bond has dropped to 2.63%, its lowest point since March 2011. The availability of these accounts has continued to rise, however, from 101 last month to 139 today.
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Sunday, May 06, 2012
Get Rid of Your IRA, Don't put Gold or anything else in it / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
One of the categories is "retirement." There is a lot of interest in retirement issues. One of them is what assets should go into an IRA.
I say "None." This is not a popular answer. I add, "especially gold." This is also unpopular.
Over the years, I have published articles on my site explaining these answers. But some subscribers do not use the search engine to locate these articles. Others do not believe me. Still others talk it over with their accountants. Their accountants offer rival views. Then they post a question that reflects their accountants' views.
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Sunday, May 06, 2012
Student Debt Bubble, Europe Crisis and More Q&A / Personal_Finance / Student Finances
By: Money_Morning
It seems my Subprime Student Slaves article really struck a nerve! Nearly 250 of you subscribers wrote in to me in response to that one. Thank you.
As I said, I'm going to compile your comments, stories, and ideas in my letter to Congress and the President.
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Forget Retirement... and Retirement Savings / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Jeff_Berwick
You've been sold a bill of goods for the last four to six decades. You've been told that nation-states, democracy and socialism is good. You've been told our monetary system prevents instability. And, while the government and central banks put your unborn children or grandchildren into debt for life they've been telling you that there will be a socialist safety net to protect you and that the "American dream" includes retiring in your 50s or 60s to a wonderful life of golf and lying on the beach.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
The Great Cash ISA Market Split, Current Top Accounts / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
There was a time when you didn’t have to struggle with the concept of cash ISAs. They are tax-free and all you need to look for is the best rate. However, new parameters are being quietly set which mean that in future we will all need to delve deeper than just rate alone.
Sylvia Waycot, spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk, said:
“This ISA season Moneyfacts has seen a growing trend of ISAs launched which refuse to accept transfers in.
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Monday, April 30, 2012
UK Savings Notice Account Interest Rates Climb to Three Year High / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
The average rate of a notice savings account currently stands at 1.57%, its highest level since early 2009.
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Thursday, April 26, 2012
Revisiting the Physical Risks of Debt / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Ashvin_Pandurangi
One foundational piece of advice here at TAE as been to get out of debt and stay of debt - not only because the monetary costs of such debt will grow, but also because debt can be used as a means of physical repression and enslavement. It gives public (government) and private institutions the sufficient amount of leverage they need to take control of both your possessions and your body, with the latter being a much more pronounced risk during a period of credit contraction. Here are a few snippets about this issue from Our Depraved Future of Debt Slavery (Part II):