UK News

Tools to help you get out of debt

Financial website Unbiased.co.uk announced this week that as a nation we spent the first 83 days of the year working just to pay the interest on our debts. Personal loan levels increased to 11.4 billion pounds in 2008, up by over 1.6 billion pounds on the previous year and mortgage debt from equity release loans also increased by 6.5 billion pounds. Credit card debt, on the other hand, decreased by just over 4.9 billion pounds.

If you are struggling to pay off your debts, here are some useful online resources to help you out.

You can start by reading our top tips to help you beat debt problems. Budgeting properly is essential and you can use Unbiased.co.uk’s budget calculator to rein in your spending and borrowing and work out how much you will be left with each month to service your debt.

If you feel like you need expert financial advice then Unbiased’s website is the best place to find an independent financial adviser you can trust. You can also talk to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, a charity which offers free and confidential advice and support to anyone dealing with debt problems.

Moving the balance on your credit card can save you hundreds of pounds a year in interest. You can find and compare the best deals Moneysavingexpert.com’s credit card and loans section. Its guide to improving your credit score will make life easier for you once you get back on your feet and the debt problems section is an invaluable resource for those of you who think your debt crisis is unsolvable.

Switching utility provider can also lead to savings that you can use to pay off debt. Compare gas and electricity suppliers at moneysupermarket.com as well as other providers such as mobile phones, broadband and insurance.

Cutting back on little luxuries like coffee, newspapers and cinema tickets soon adds up. Find out how much you can save each year by using Barclay’s little extras calculator.

Cutting back on household bills

The energy regulator has said that it is considering a ban on unjustified price differences in the energy market to address concerns that customers are being charged differing amounts according to their payment methods.

Ofgem also said that it was planning measures that will improve customer service, including simplified information about tariffs to help people decide whether they need to switch supplier.

All of which could lead to cheaper bills for energy customers. But until this happens, there are a number of simple steps you can take to reduce your household bills.

The website 0870buster.com, which has only just launched this week, will help you to cut down on your phone bill. The site is a free telephone directory that provides alternative numbers for companies at a standard rate instead of the usual premium rate numbers.

Switching your gas and electricity suppliers, meanwhile, can save you hundreds of pounds a year. Thisismoney.co.uk will help you work out how much you could save a year by switching to a cheaper supplier. The results will be more accurate if you have a bill to hand, but you can still use it if you do not.

The site, with the help of energyhelpline.com, will also help you to make the switch once you are ready.

Unravelit.com helps you to save money on household and personal bills by allowing you to compare prices on numerous products, including gas and electricity, insurance, phone bills, credit cards, broadband and loans. It also offers information about switching for business owners.

Web round-up: small changes that save you money

With unemployment on the rise and the cost of living also heading in the wrong direction, the days of profligacy are over and many of us are suddenly starting to look at ways in which we can cut back and save a few extra pennies.

The web is full of information aiming to help you do just that, but wading through it can be confusing and time-consuming. To save you time, here are a few useful articles and online tools we have come across in the last few days.

Moneysavingexpert.com points out that five of the big six energy companies have dropped their prices recently, which means that now could be a good time for you to change to a cheaper tariff. We also recommend signing up to the site’s weekly money saving email which alerts you to the kind of special offers that you only usually hear about after they have expired.

But it is not just your energy provider that needs to be refreshed. Times Money has useful tips on switching internet, mobile phone, insurance and other providers.

Saving money is good, saving money and improving your health is even better. One of the best ways to instantly save money is to give up an unhealthy habit such as smoking. Guardian Money has this handy guide to how much you can save by giving up cigarettes, depending on how old you are and how many you get through in a day. The numbers involved are staggering (£2,111 a year for a 20 a day habit).

They also point out something I have noticed recently – that now is a great time to bring back the art of haggling. It is a buyer’s market after all and you should deploy your negotiating skills when purchasing electrical or other expensive goods and bag yourself a bargain. Ask for money off or some free additional extras – chances are you will get it.

One of the best ways to penny-pinch in these troubled times is to buy your groceries online. Supermarkets are experts at forcing you into impulse buys but their websites often alert you to cheaper alternatives or, for example, the cost-effectiveness of buying some items in bulk. Plus having it delivered saves on petrol money. MSN Money points out other ways to cut back on your shopping bill.

Bumper profits for oil companies – worth picking a fight?

It is not surprising that many people find it thoroughly irritating to read headlines about oil companies, such as Shell and BP, making bumper profits thanks to high oil prices while consumers pay ever more to heat their homes.

With crude oil prices having fallen to around $70 dollars from more than $147 in July even Chancellor Darling felt compelled today to say the recent drop should be passed on swiftly to the consumer,

That’s a noble sentiment but are governments really able to tell corporate giants what to do? Whispers of windfall taxes have come and gone but the government didn’t even introduce one on the utilities.

Restricting companies in a way that could eat into their profits might not be a good idea anyway as some of them account for a large share of the dividends paid to UK pension funds by FTSE 100 companies – a whopping 10 percent in the case of BP, for example.

Moreover, some economists argue that measures such as windfall taxes are a short-termist solution to a permanent problem and thus don’t work.

What do you think? Is it time for the government to stop talking and show some muscle?