High cost of petrol and diesel now costing an arm and a leg

According to a recent survey undertaken by ‘Simple Motoring’ states that over the past 12 months due to the high cost of petrol and diesel now costing an arm and a leg it has forced UK motorists to squash their motoring fuel costs by staying off the road. In fact results show that almost two in three (65.9%) of those surveyed said that they were using their cars less as a direct result of the high fuel prices.

Further more…in an attempt in squashing their motoring costs further, more than half of those surveyed (51.4%) advised that over the last three years they had delayed servicing their car in order to actively save money – something which is highlighting that motorists are now being forced to effectively cut corners on safety and reliability in order to obtain short term savings.

Founder of Simple Motoring – Roland Head said of the findings:

“Reducing car usage to save money on fuel may well be a good thing as many people use their cars for short journeys which could be more easily walked. It’s a well known fact that cars use a lot of extra fuel on shorter journeys with cold engines, so avoiding such journeys generates easy savings for drivers.

More worrying is the trend towards delaying or omitting car servicing. Regular servicing is essential to keep cars safe and reliable and it also contributes to a car’s resale value – car owners will get less when they sell their car if it has a patchy service history.”

As many people are now realising that when times are tough, saving money by squashing those motoring expenses is an important if not essential thing to do, two of the best ways to do this is to either reduce the car use and / or maximise the vehicles fuel consumption. ‘Simple Motoring’ has put together five easy tips for car owners to help them shrink their fuel bills: 

• Plan car usage to combine journeys and avoid using your car for journeys of less than a mile. Walk instead – it’s healthier for you and your car and it’s free.
• Keep your speed down on main roads and you will be surprised at how your fuel consumption improves – stick to 55mph on single carriageways and 60mph on motorways for maximum savings without losing much time.
• Make sure your tyres are correctly inflated at all times – under-inflated tyres cause increased drag and hence increased fuel consumption.
• Don’t carry around unnecessary clutter in your boot and remove roof boxes if they are not in use. The extra weight and drag will increase your car’s fuel consumption.
• Check out the cheapest fuel prices online before you fill up – but don’t go out of your way to save 1p per litre – as you’ll end up spending more than this on the extra fuel you’ll use to get to the garage.
• Whether a business or individual consider the use of a fuel card as often as much as 3 or  4 pence per litre can be saved when compared to the actual pump price.

Be simply smart with your credit cards in 2012

Credit Cards are seen by some people in the United Kingdom as a way for immediate access to easy money by providing them with the ability to make all types of purchases. However it’s true to say that although intentions are good there are some people who either forget or simply ignore about the need to pay the money back and often end up with large credit card bills with the continual addition of interest and in some cases charges.

There are also consumers in the United Kingdom who have the “you either have it or you don’t” approach to money.

These kind of consumers just don’t use credit cards and will always pay cash, most often it seems to be the older generation who have been brought up with the attitude that if you can’t afford it then they will not purchase the item(s) and  tend to not rely on credit cards as much as the younger generations.

However, to be simply smart with money there are advantages of having a credit card although we are not saying to adopt a “want it now” culture and spend to the maximum a credit card can provide convenience and safety.

Credit Cards are safer than having a wallet or purse full of pound notes on your person.

They may offer “purchase protection insurance” (not to be confused with payment protection insurance) on products purchased.

Strange as it may seem having a credit card will also provide you with a positive credit history if used correctly.

There are some credit card companies who offer extras such as insurance if you are travelling away either on a business trip or for holidays, it is advisable to be simply smart and check the details on your credit card as they may offer some very good deals

Remember that to have these benefits does come at a high price, even though the base rate in the United Kingdom is still at 0.5% – credit card interest rates are high in comparison and they are getting higher on a regular basis. We would suggest that people should see a Credit Card as a Debt Card and thinking hard prior to using a Credit Card to purchase items.

Below are some tips to follow so as not to get into trouble with your Credit Card bills.

Avoid paying your household bills by Credit Card if you find that you are using your card to pay your utility bills/council tax or mortgage then you need to be simply smart with your money and get debt management advice as quickly as possible.

Never withdraw cash using your Credit Card this is a very expensive way to use money, if you have come to this situation then you need to look at your bills such as your household utility bills and see if you can switch to an alternative energy supplier in order to save you money .

If you find you are getting near to exceeding your Credit Card limit then it is time to evaluate your family expenditure don’t just carry on spending – check your budgets and decide whether or not you really need to use the Credit Card for another purchase payment, or indeed whether you really need to make the purchase in the first place.

So as we have mentioned previously there are advantages of a credit card and if you do pay the whole amount every month then good as you’ll be adding points to your credit file, however if you are using your cards to survive then we would suggest that as a priority you need to get some debt advice to help you avoid the pain of the Credit Card spending.

Nearly one million people used Payday loans to pay mortgage.

Latest results of a YouGov survey of over 4,000 people and subsequently interpreted by the housing charity ‘Shelter’ is suggesting that nearly one million Britons have taken out an emergency ‘payday’ loan in order to help them pay for their monthly rent or mortgage during the past 12 months.

In a synopsis of the report Shelter said that the high degree of borrowing or “spiral of debt” highlights that people are falling into to keep a roof over their head.

Their report also suggests that some seven million Britons are in fact relying on some form of credit to help them pay their housing costs on a regular basis.

Campbell Robb who is Shelter’s chief executive, said: “These shocking findings show the extent to which millions of households across the country are desperately struggling to keep their home.”

He went on to say that short-term payday loans, which charge interest rates of up to 4,000 per cent, are a “totally unsustainable” way of borrowing and that the loans can “quickly lead to debts snowballing out of control”.

Worryingly Payday loans are a growing way for people to access money quickly as they require minimal credit checks and they can be taken out on the high street or online.

Due to the high rates of interest charged on Payday loans means that people can end up paying back far more than they borrowed especially if they fail to repay the debts quickly.

Martin Lewis, from MoneySavingExpert.com, commented on the report issued by saying: “It is incredibly worrying that there is now evidence that people are using payday loans to meet housing costs. While it is an obvious temptation to grasp these loans as a lifeline, in the long run it may hurt more than help.”

The start of a new year is an expensive time as consumers deal with a festive financial hangover and with the continuing rising cost of energy means that householders on standard gas and electricity tariffs could receive a quarterly gas and electricity bill of £514 next month.

The grim fact is that UK household bills are set to rise still further this year, something which could push people further into debt.

If you’re experiencing trouble and are looking for help to squash your monthly mortgage cost why not see if we can help….!

The squabbling has to stop and action has to be taken

We doubt whether people have failed to notice that last week was full of news, regarding America and its debt crisis contributing towards the alarming fall on the FTSE last week.

News that £169 billion was reported to have been lost on the FTSE sounds like just another number to most of us, but unless we understand the consequences then it is hard to understand how this is going to affect us in this country either now or in the future.

Quite simply if the value of the FTSE falls – this means that the value of money which has been invested for our pensions has reduced and when a ‘crisis’ or as some stock market gurus have said a “blip” occurs this also effects the chance for growth for our economy as confidence in investment naturally reduces.

David Cameron has demanded that euro countries sort out the mess straight away as £169 billion was wiped of the value of our top firms last week.

The crash was the second biggest in our life time – the first being when Lehman brothers collapsed in September 2008, they collapsed and filed for bankruptcy this caused the stock markets all over the world to hit their lowest points thus causing panic worldwide.

One of the questions which a worry to us all at the moment is “does anybody in power or within the financial markets knows what to do?” Seemingly no one is really sure and now with the United States having its credit rating reduced means that borrowing is going to be more expensive and the downgrading of the American credit statuses could spread to other countries throughout the world.

The reaction and messages from those in power has David Cameron coming back early from holiday to see if he can sort out what to do? Then we have President  Obama is telling people that a recovery is around the corner and Gordon Brown has now blamed for the Euro Zone, are you confused? Perhaps like us all just a bit……!

The squabbling is getting worse  - as know the members of our political parties in the UK are saying that they do not go on holidays having to come back home early or otherwise to sort out the problems we are all facing. Is anyone coming back to England early really going to make a difference at this present moment, as the crisis is global and it is not just the UK that is in a big financial mess?

The Banks are also under attack again, and they are under pressure to start lending again to try and help sort out the mess at the moment. But what are the chances really on them taking risks in helping in developing businesses? On the flip side the question could be do they have a choice as alternatives are fast running out.

The next 2 weeks are going to be pivotal and let’s be honest it isn’t going to be very productive playing the blame game, action needs to be taken before it’s too late and Recession 2 (sounds a bit like a movie blockbuster) hits us hard.

America is affecting the whole world economy and the euro is under threat which it has been over the last 3 years due to financial pressures from its members, but this could be the last chance for the people in power and in the financial organisations to help us dig out of this impending hole.

Let’s hope it ends happily or with a glimmer of hope just like a movie and not the start of Recession 2!!!!!

Is it time to have a look at paying less for your football

We are now fast heading towards the start of the 2011/2012 season and whatever level of football you’ll be watching or involved in there is a buzz of anticipation as to what is going to happen.

Football has always been a big part of life in the West Midlands and we have had some great moments and great teams.

But is this the season when people start turning their backs on going to watch the games live? 

We are not trying to put a negative on things but is this the season when finally the excessive spending of football clubs and admission charges puts people off from going to the games.

The fan that has to make a living and cope with rising inflation and increasing utility bills, they may start asking themselves is it really worth the entrance fee. There are those who will always remain loyal but the question of worth must be high on a lot of supporter’s thoughts.

In our opinion the wages of football players are still getting higher and higher and there comes a point when football followers may turn their back on watching these superstars who are paid regardless of whether they perform well or not! 

On the other side there are cheaper alternatives apart from attending games in the Football League and Premiership.

For the football mad Saturday merchants there is plenty of football taking place all over the United Kingdom which doesn’t involve spending a hefty chunk of your wages on watching live football.

Also there is a lesser chance of being confronted with some of the issues which can happen at football games in the higher leagues, bad language and the chance of sitting next to an undesirable person who hurls abuse, can ruin a family afternoon.

At many non league grounds you can stand or sit where you want and also be able to move away from any individual or individuals who may be spoiling your afternoon.

We know that people may disagree but within these times of cutting back and being simply smart with money – a look at the semi-professional league could save you money in your pocket and you may even enjoy going.

So if you get the chance go down and support your Non League team and discover if it really is a better option than going to a Premier or Football League game ……….you have the choice!

Tips on how to control your money over the next few months.

The economic climate at the moment is full again of news about debts, bankruptcy, unemployment and financial pressures. The media has to report what is topical and often the Radio and Television are negative and can be quite demoralising.

Families are now under pressure as never before with news that British Gas and Scottish Power are going to be increasing their prices for energy which will mean that other Utility Companies will also follow suit and increase their energy tariffs.

We have mentioned before about capping your energy bills but have you actually put a plan into place to start squashing your bills , which is not just your energy bills as other areas can also be looked at.

Are you serious about having enough money and making sure that you will be able to cope over the next 3 months and further ahead action needs to be taken as soon as possible if you are then maybe this information below could help?

• Make a list and an action plan and what needs to be done first.

One of the hardest things to do is to write out a budget plan, some people find this easy but it is important to know what is coming into the house and what your outgoings are. The first stage is to note down your priority payments which are.

1.    Mortgage or Rent Payments-

If you feel as though you are going to have a problem then make it a priority to speak to your mortgage company or landlord, please do not hide away and bury your head in the sand don’t delay give them a call and they will look favourably on your situation and appreciate the call or letter.

2.    Council Tax

Again do not wait until the first bill comes through the door take action and explain that there may be a problem and make a note of who you spoke to as soon as possible.

3.    Utility Bills

There is going to be a big increase coming up very soon so you need to contact your utility company and explain that you may have problems with paying your utility bills. You may be on estimated billing as a priority brings the readings up to date. The reasons we suggest that is if you want to move then you don’t want to be held back from transferring to another supplier because you have had a large bill building up.

We have a tool which will be very useful for working out how much you owe as a suggestion print this off and fill in the figures for each section. We would suggest that if you have credit card or personal loans write those figures in and phone them as you are entering the information it all helps you focus on being in control of your budgets.

When you have contacted those companies the next stage we would suggest is to start working on your budget, have a look at your bank statements and see if anything can be cut back on -  We have a template which you can use to work out your budgets.

We understand that it may seem to simple and with all the pressures that people are facing at the moment it can be a little too much to be able to talk through budgets and may just need a listening ear who would be able to help you be simply smart with your money and will help you be simply smart with you money and try and ease the pressure you may be facing now or in the near future.

Garage Forecourt fuel sales over a billion litres down

When out driving lately you like many others may have thought to yourself that you must be the only one with a car, or that where’s all the people? surely they can’t still be watching Wimbledon….. didn’t it finish a week ago?

Well the stark reality now is that being able to purchase fuel for many is classed as a luxury item and not a necessity.

A recent report carried out by the AA has shown that fuel purchases by motorists in the UK are down by a staggering one billion litres. The reports compares the sales between January and March of this year compared to the same months back in 2008 which you may remember was before the pre-crunch crunch.

The details of the drastic litre reduction are made up of 247 million litres of diesel and 835 million litres of petrol for the January to March 2011 period.

The AA report suggests that the comparative dip of 6% fall in diesel and 15.2% dip in petrol sales were caused by record fuel prices, with the reporting period seeing a price increase of 10.51 pence per litre on diesel and 7.94 pence per litre on petrol.

Such a reduction in fuel purchases for the period meant a reduction of tax payable to the Treasury, who were effectively deprived of more that £637 million in tax which would have been payable.

When the reduction is put into trading terms it equates to a total of 13.5 days of fuel sales being totally wiped out during the January to March 2011 period – whilst there is no doubt this would be good for the environment it is not so good (some would say worse) for businesses, families’ rural communities and the Treasury.

AA president Edmund King said: “The full impact of higher VAT, unbridled stock market speculation and a weaker pound on fuel prices and drivers’ ability to afford them have been laid bare.

He went on: “Our study shows the real impact of record pump prices. Petrol and diesel prices continued to set new records up until the second week of May, adding a further 4.3p a litre to the cost of petrol and 3.3p to diesel.

“However, supermarkets have launched a sustained campaign of fuel-related promotions and, combined with a loss of appetite among oil market speculators leading to falling oil prices, the next quarter’s figures will be significant.

“Will drivers’ finances show some resilience or have car-owning family budgets been so badly wounded that recovery needs a far greater stimulus?”

The days of cheap fuel when you are home and abroad are over

Motoring is being hit by higher fuel costs all over Europe and sales are down in the UK

The price of fuel in Europe has risen since 2010 and unbelievably it’s the motorists in the United Kingdom (although they may not agree) who has seen the lowest cost rise per litre.

A recent report by the Post Office has indicated that due to the decrease in the value of the pound as well as the current world economic conditions – it is these, which are the 2 main elements having caused there to be a significant increase in the price of unleaded petrol in Europe as well as for British motorists travelling abroad.

Spain again will be a popular destination for British holiday makers, but this year they will notice that the price of fuel there has increased quite sharply when compared to 2010, seeing the average cost of litre of fuel has increased by 26p over the last 12 months.

There’s a growing force of discontentment regarding the increasing fuel costs, and an outcry from all over Europe is now being heard – with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) which is a organisation representing 35 million drivers including motoring originations such as the RAC and the AA – writing a letter to the European Union requesting a investigation into the heightening cost of fuel at the petrol pumps.

In order to put things into some perspective, a full tank of fuel now costs £10 more that it did 1 year ago, so it’s quite easy to understand how the anger has been sparked by motorists and motoring originations.

In the United Kingdom over the last 12 months there has been less and less motorists filling up at petrol forecourts, a direct impact being the sale of fuel decreased by 20%.

Perhaps a natural knock on effective with motorists being carefully on how much they spend on fuel is that there has been a marked increase in the number of minor breakdowns caused by drivers running out of fuel.

The strange or not so unpredictable thing is that the drivers in Great Britain don’t seem to be planning any similar action against the budget busting forecourt prices unlike our outraged European partners.

11 years ago in the UK there were nationwide fuel protests by lorry drivers which caused chaos, but recently in a similar attempt at the Stanlow oil refinery where there were hopes that over 1000 vehicles would join in and protest, only 100 bothered to participate.

Quentin Wilson a motoring journalist said that the reason that the lorry blockages will not work is that “the protestors have been told that they would lose their licences.” He also added that “people are at breaking point” also adding that he is “often stopped in the street by members of the British general public who are saying they are having to choose between food and fuel”.

Mr Wilson has also taken a petition to Downing Street to ask for the British government to look at what they can do to help to reduce the spiralling cost of fuel in the United Kingdom.

Simple ways to plan for unexpected happenings to your budget

With the need to try and budget correctly the team at Squashed Bills have thought about ways in which we can help ourselves be more efficient on saving and having more money to spend at the end of the month.

Money is simply an exchange. It works because it is a system of payment. We have not always used money and centuries ago we use shells, beads and furs. Today people often choose not to use money and “barter instead”. For example if you baby-sit for your neighbours then they may offer to baby-sit for you the next time. Little has changed over the times with people always looking to use their currency or form of trade as best as they can.

Money can come from all areas but mainly it is the income that is earned from employment either self employed or employed; it makes the biggest contribution to our budgets and how much we can spend during the month and year.

The first thing to work out is where you spend your money and how cutbacks could be made to your budget. The main things which have to be paid are Mortgage or Rent, Council Tax, Utility bills these are deemed normally to be the most expensive and need to be paid before other items within the budget, but we often forget about the smaller things we pay for which can be:

1. Vehicle expenses and maintenance
2. Fuel
3. Travel expenses Bus or Train
4. Groceries
5. Child care
6. Social Life – Memberships, Dinning out, Drinks
7. Life Insurance

These items can all add up on a monthly basis such as fuel, Groceries and your Social life costs, so it might be a good idea to look at where you are able to cut back or search for better deals to save you money.

The larger items are not as straightforward to budget as they are paid for on a monthly basis however, the costs of a Motor Car for twelve months, could be broken down into weekly payments of which you could store away, so the shock of renewing the car insurance, tax and possible repairs will not put a big hole in the budget.

Example

1. Car insurance £300
2. Car tax £200
3. Mot £100
4. Potential repairs £100

Divide the above by 52 weeks and you can see that the Car budget becomes a little bit more manageable and works out as £13.46 a week.

Overall there are many ways to improve your budget planning but taking a little time to write things down and plan could be time well spent, helping you become simply smart with your money.

Consumers caught up in the PPI mis-selling trap can now claim against the banks

Natalie Ceeney of the Financial Ombudsman Service has encouraged people to look into claiming mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance.

She has told consumers to look on all the banks websites and they will have details of how to claim.

Also people who have had Hire Purchase Agreements and Leasing Agreements are also entitled to claim for being mis-sold PPI (payment protection insurance).

This is great news for consumers as their claims can now go back as far as 2005 and beyond to claim against mis-sold PPI policies.

Consumer focus have said that the “entire episode as an embarrassment to the banks” Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays have all now put money aside to pay back to consumers.

PPI known as Payment Protection Insurance is set up an agreement to cover for unemployment and sickness.

Many organisations would encourage their staff to sell these polices to consumers and in some cases be very heavily pressurised to do this.

Over 16 million have been sold since 2005 and it has been claimed that a lot of these policies have been mis-sold.

There have been reports of Payment Protection Insurance being sold to self employed people who would be unable to make a monetary claim. Some consumers were wrongly told that PPI was a condition of the loan and others didn’t know that they were purchasing Payment Protection Insurance.

Sales staff selling loans would often hide the Payment Protection Insurance away within the quote by giving a choice of prices and length of loans. They would show three prices and then ask which one they prefer hey would not mention that the loan would have or have not PPI in the payments.

The Banking industry was told In April 2011 that they had to adhere to the rules of the (FSA) and will have to review every case where PPI has been sold to look to see of a customer has been mis-sold PPI.

It has to be remembered that Payment Protection Insurance is a good product and is suitable for certain people. The Regulator has been looking and making sure that the policies are sold correctly and the customer has not been misled.

If you do feel that you have a claim and have not been contacted then the advice is to get in touch with your Bank first with details of your complaint. When the bank has contacted yourself and if you are not happy then contact the Financial Ombudsman Service and they will be able to assist you with your claim.