National debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service is warning that rising unemployment and high inflation will lead to a sharp rise in personal debt problems over the next few years.

CCCS is concerned about the Office for Budget Responsibility's revised prediction for peak unemployment, inflation and household debt over the next few years.

The charity says that unemployment is a major factor in personal debt problems with almost half of the people it counselled last year citing unemployment or reduced income as the reason for their debt problem. It is therefore very worried that the OBR revised its forecast for unemployment in 2011 upwards to 8.2%.

CCCS also points to the OBR's amendment to its inflation assumption up 1.1% and 0.6% for 2011 and 2012 respectively. It says that household budgets are already under pressure and that, on average, CCCS clients had only £43 a month disposable income to repay over £22,000 in unsecured debt.

CCCS says that this will be compounded by the OBR prediction of rising household debt over the next five years. Last August, the OBR said that household debt would decrease as a percentage of household income over the next five years, but it now says it expects it to increase. The OBR now expects debt as percentage of household income to rise from 160% in 2011 to 175% in 2015.

Commenting, Delroy Corinaldi, CCCS external affairs director, said: "The OBR forecast spells disaster for thousands of UK consumers and the next few years will see a significant rise in the number of people in need of financial help and advice. We urge anybody struggling with debt to contact a debt charity such as CCCS for free counselling and support."

"CCCS not only has capacity in its telephone service, currently operating at 65% of potential, but has virtually unlimited capacity 24/7 through its online service, CCCS Debt Remedy. The over-indebted should ignore misleading claims from the for-profits that they are the only alternative." For more information about UK solutions and to find out about debt relief orders that are intend to help people with low incomes avoid bankruptcy go to the www.debtadvisoryhelpline.co.uk website

March 2011 UK Chancellors Budget

The amount people can earn before paying tax will be increased by around £600 from April next year, Chancellor George Osborne will announce today.

Tax allowance

Chancellor George Osborne is to increase the personal income tax allowance to give 25 million people a cut of around £45 a year in Wednesday's Budget.

First-time buyers

The Budget will also include a £250m package designed to help 10,000 first-time buyers to purchase a newly built flat or house. The buyer would have to put up 5% of the cost, while the government and home builder would both put up 10%.

Taxes

The Chancellor will also announce plans to lift 250,000 low earners out of paying income tax and pledge that no one earning less than £42,000 will be pushed into the higher tax band before 2015.

Pensions

A flat-rate state pension of £140 could be confirmed in the Budget, ending means-testing and signalling a significant victory for Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Enterprise Investment Schemes

The rules are likely to be loosened to make it easier for seed investors to back small companies by improving income tax and capital gains tax relief.

Capital Gains Tax

CGT principle private residence relief, intended to stop you having to pay a hefty CGT bill when you sell your home, is seen as too complex and ripe for simplification.

Income tax

Axing the 50p income tax rate would be politically impossible now, but business groups are hoping for a signal that the long-term plan is to ditch the top rate. They shouldn't hold their breath, though the Chancellor is expected to reiterate that it is only temporary.

Pay and pensions

Public sector workers on more than £21,000 have had their pay frozen for two years and are being asked to increase their pension contributions. The Hutton Report on public sector pensions recommended further reforms, such as moving from a final salary to a career average pension scheme, but they are unlikely to be introduced in this Budget.

Economy

Expect the Office for Budget Responsibility to downgrade its growth forecasts for this year from 2.1% to about 1.6%.

Public finances

The Chancellor will probably beat his borrowing forecast in 2010/11 of £148bn by about £5bn, allowing him a little room for generosity.

Taxes

Of great political interest will be the so-called "Learjet tax", but a more important review of the status and liabilities of non-doms may also be launched.

The government may increase further the amount individuals can earn before paying any income tax. Having pushed it from £6,475 to £7,475 he may raise it again to £8,000, but this time without "clawing back" the benefit from people further up the income scale.

Merging Tax and National Insurance

An impossible task in one Budget or even 10, but another review with the aim of merging them is likely to be welcomed.

According to a UK charity CCCS, job losses and reduced income from work in the UK is leaving more households struggling to pay their debts, with the problem only looking to increase over the months ahead.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) reports that the majority of households are faced with either falling incomes or incomes remaining fixed and the cost of living is increasing rapidly and those suffering with high levels of debt are on the edge of financial ruin.

The charity has warned that families were particularly vulnerable, with those that have dependent children needing an additional £650 a month just to cover everyday living costs compared to those without.

Families with more than three children faced an average £45 per month shortfall in money that they need simply to make ends meet.

The charity went on to say that "Changes in higher rate tax thresholds and the lowering of eligibility for tax credits is likely to spread the pain to middle income families, many of whom will also be hit hard as interest rates start to increase.

Around 55% of people who contacted the group last year said that they received some type of benefit or tax credit, with these accounting for a third of their household income.

CCCS also revealed that on average a homeowner has over £30,000 in unsecured debt on top of their mortgage. It warned that a 2% rise in interest rates would lead to a £307 increase in monthly mortgage payments for clients across the country.

CCCS chairman Lord Stevenson said: “The picture is undoubtedly bleak and it seems likely that many more families, including better-off ones, will be increasingly prone to over-indebtedness in the months ahead.

“It is also not a uniform picture across the country: public sector cuts in terms of jobs, spending and benefits will weigh disproportionately on certain groups of people.”

Last year CCCS dealt with 418,000 enquiries to help people with their debt problems. Around 55% of clients cited job loss or income as a reason for their debts, while a third lacked the means to cover basic living costs.

Help for people is available from many organisations within the UK, the Debt Advisory Helpline provides access to confidential free debt advise and you will find a free debt calculator on their website, which helps to itemise your financial situation in a budget format and identifies if you need to seek the help of a UK Debt Counsellor.

The Bank of England will raise interest rates from their historically low levels in May, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has predicted.

The group also downgraded its UK GDP growth forecast to 1.4% for 2011, lower than its December projection of 1.9%.

David Kern, chief economist at the BCC, said: "Given the shift of opinion within the Monetary Policy Committee, we assume interest rates will increase from May."

However, he warned that any hike in rates could derail the recovery.

"We believe this will be premature and risky in view of the fragility of the recovery and tough fiscal measures expected in the Budget," he said.

The BCC added that the primary reason it downgraded its growth growth projection for 2011 was the unexpected 0.6% GDP contraction in Q4.

BCC director general David Frost stressed more needed to be done to help UK businesses.

"British businesses will welcome the government's desire to boost enterprise and reduce red tape but these words must be backed by action," he said.

"While we support efforts to reduce the UK's deficit, these measures alone will not deliver a sustainable recovery."

The BCC also upped its growth prediction for 2012 from 2.1% to 2.3%, saying current attempts to rebalance the economy towards the private sector will improve the economy's long-term prospects.

Now is the time to secure the best finance deals available to avoid rate shock say the money price comparison websites experts at Moneymatchmaker.com, the UK has had the best that it will see for a while and consumers need to secure the best deals that they can for the next few years whilst cheap rates are still available.

In the last month mortgage lenders like Cumberland Building Society, ING Direct, Nationwide Building Society, Northern Bank (NI), Northern Rock, Platform, Principality Building Society, Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Woolwich from Barclays have reduced rates on base rate tracker mortgages.

In sharp contrast, the average rate on a 2-year fixed rate mortgage has increased to 4.59% - its highest level in 10 months.

Over the past year the shelf life of a fixed rate mortgage has nearly halved from 27 days to just 14 days.

Latest figures show that the demand for mortgages amongst visitors to Moneymatchmaker.com has risen in the past 12 months from 14.81% to 28.4%.

A spokesman for Moneymatchmaker commented saying “UK Mortgage borrowers have been waiting to see what would happen with UK mortgage rates over the last couple of years, sticking on a lenders standard variable rate rather than move to a more expensive mortgage deal.

“Talk of an imminent base rate rise has caused a surge in the demand for new mortgage deals. Lenders appear to be trying to tempt borrowers off record low SVRs on to new tracker deals instead.

“Rates on tracker deals continue to be more competitive than fixed rate deals, but borrowers need to ensure they consider the effects of any base rate rises on their monthly mortgage repayment when considering a new deal.

“The rise in swap rates appears to have plateaued, but the rise in fixed rates continues – albeit at a slower pace than a few months ago.

“Borrowers looking for the best fixed rate mortgage deals need to act fast as deals are only in the market for an average of two weeks before being withdrawn and new rates offered.”

To compare mortgage rates in the UK to find the best deals to suit your circumstances

According to the latest RICS UK Housing Market survey which showed that large parts of the North, East and Midlands continued to experience a more downbeat picture.

London was the only region to record a positive reading for house prices last month, with 14% more chartered surveyors reporting prices rose rather than fell. This is in direct contrast to the national picture where 26% more saw prices fall rather than rise.

However, although negative, the headline net price balance has now improved for four months in succession and stands at its best level since July last year. Significantly, 12% of respondents, nationally, reported rising prices in February compared with 7% in January; this is the highest proportion since June last year.

Newly agreed sales – a good indicator of market activity – were most positive in London, the South West, Yorkshire and Humberside and Scotland. Elsewhere, the East of England, East Midlands and Wales experienced particularly negative readings, suggesting a more downbeat picture in those regions. Surveyors continue to report a lack of buyer confidence is affecting the market.

Overall demand for property remains at historically low levels, with a net balance of -1% reporting falls in demand. Buyer interest continues to be affected by high deposits required by lenders and fears over rising interest rates. Despite this, some areas of the UK saw demand grow during February. In Scotland new buyer enquiries rose sharply to +31%, while London and the North East also saw increases in demand (+29% and +13% respectively).

Across the UK, sales expectations look slightly stronger for the next three months, with 12% more surveyors predicting rises not falls in activity; that said, transaction levels are still unusually flat. However, highlighting the wide regional variation, the West Midlands, North West and Yorkshire and Humberside recorded negative forecasts for future sales.

Nationally, price expectations remain more downbeat, remaining in negative territory for the ninth consecutive month, at -28%. Only London surveyors predicted prices would rise over the coming months.

A RICS housing spokesperson commented saying  “Despite the more positive picture for some parts of the UK, the general mood is still a little flat. Broad trends in the survey indicate an increasing variation in the housing market across the UK with London and to a lesser extent the South East operating in a very different orbit.

“Rather ominously, we have probably yet to feel the full impact of the public spending cuts which are likely to lead to further divergence in the regional property market.”

If you have decided to sell your home, then securing the best mortgage deal is key to making owning a new home as cost effective as possible, with many of the best mortgage rates being offered by comparison websites for mortgages like moneymatchmaker.com. Shopping around is essential to secure low rate finance, cheap life insurance to protect yor mortgage and cheap home insurance offers.

A report released today by the PDSA has revealed that hundreds of thousands of pets in the uk are not receiving the care that is needed to ensure a healthy long life due to pet owners feeling the pinch financially.

With austerity measures in place, we are all under financial pressure to keep up with the bills and non essential expenses are being cut to keep up with the rising cost of food and fuel. Inflation is reported at 5.1% and petrol at the pumps is in the mid £1.30's per litre, so how can we keep our pets healthy, but at the same time keep costs down?

Pet insurance is one way to avoid budget planning shock. An accident or illness of a pet can be very costly, vets bills are expensive, but they can be avoided with good low cost pet insurance. Cheap pet insurance is available with rates as low as £3.75 per month for cats and the cheapest dog insurance starts at around £7.05 per month.

So what can you do to keep your pet care costs down?

The PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report states that many pets are overweight with 1 in 3 cats believed to be obese, so if your pet is affected, then cutting down on the amount that you feed can save you money.  Before you go ahead and cut down on the amount of feed, a visit to your vet is recommended to get a pet body condition score. The score will tell you how overweight your pet is and advice will be given on how much food that you should give your pet every day.

Regular exercise is key to keeping your dog healthy. Two regular 20 minute walks a day will keep your dog fit & also help you. A fit dog is far less likely to fall ill, thus avoiding expensive vet bills.

Regular vaccinations are a must, they help in many ways, firstly in avoiding nasty illnesses, which if contracted will add to your pet costs and regular annual vaccinations are usually a condition of pet insurance, so make sure your animals are vaccinated to ensure your cover is valid.

Click the link for more information and quotes for the cheapest pet insurance and to read the PDSA Animal Wellbeing report.

Mortgage affordability has hit its best level for 10 years, according to new research released today from Barclays, but the lender is urging homeowners to look ahead and be prepared for any increase in their payments.

In an analysis of more than one million customers' accounts it found that, on average, people paid out 15.4% of their take home pay at the end of December 2010 to cover their monthly mortgage payment, the lowest level registered as part of the analysis, which is now in its tenth year.

The trend, attributed largely to the low interest rate environment, is despite the average house price having increased by 68% over the same period and the average salary increasing by just 37%. Supporting opinion research commissioned by Barclays found the majority of homeowners say they are comfortable with their current payment levels.

The poll of over 1,000 homeowners who have bought their home with a mortgage found that 13% say they can easily afford their current mortgage repayments and are not worried if interest rates rise; 39% class themselves as comfortable, and with some room for manoeuvre, and 28% are stretched but still have disposable income available to help them navigate a rising interest rate environment. Of those who said their mortgage was actually less affordable than a year ago, over a third (36%) cited lower salaries as the main cause, while an additional 29% said their other outgoings had increased.

If your mortgage deal is due to end soon and you want to to avoid a rate shock, the securing a new mortgage deal may well be the answer. To find the best uk mortgage deals on offer today try using a mortgage comparison specialist who will help you to locate the best deal to suit your individual needs.

The Halifax will make payments to 300,000 of it's mortgage customers, up to a £500m total, after reaching a deal with the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The Halifax bank, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, admitted confusing customers about its right to charge them more for their standard variable rate mortgages.

The Halifax raised the margin on some of these mortgages from 2% to 3% above base rate in January 2009.

Lloyds said its agreement had been a "voluntary" and "proactive" one.

"The group is committed to running its business with the highest levels of integrity and treating its customers fairly, and therefore believes that a proactive co-ordinated programme to identify affected customers and make goodwill payments is the appropriate course of action," Lloyds said.

Halifax said that some customers would receive a flat-rate payment of £250.

Others will receive a variable payment, related to the rise in their interest payment and the size of their mortgages. This could range from hundreds of pounds to several thousand pounds.

The problem arose in the autumn of 2008 and early 2009 as the Bank of England progressively cut its official bank rate from 5% to 0.5% to help stave off the effects of the banking crisis.

The Halifax decided not to cut its standard variable rate (SVR) in step with the Bank of England, thus increasing its margin above base rate.

The Halifax admitted that its mortgage offers issued between September 2004 and September 2007 had not been as clear as they could have been and had the "potential to cause confusion".

The lender had not made it clear that its terms and conditions meant it could later vary the charge for customers who went onto its standard variable rate.

The problem was first highlighted at the time by Ray Boulger of mortgage brokers John Charcol.

Ray Boulger had queried whether or not the Halifax had the right to change its SVR from a 2% margin over base rate to a 3% margin if the offer documentation, stating the key facts of the deal, had not explicitly mentioned the bank's right to do so.

"The issue was whether the terms under which the Halifax could vary the rate cap had been met," he told the BBC.

Typically the affected customers were those whose mortgage deals reverted to the Halifax Standard Variable Rate once their fixed-term or tracker rate deal had expired.

The Halifax raised the ceiling on its SVR from bank rate plus 2% to bank rate plus 3% with effect from January 2009, citing "extenuating economic conditions".

This meant that some 300,000 customers at this point were charged more than would otherwise have been the case.

A Halifax spokesman commented saying "We have had very few complaints - in the tens, fewer than 50".

"It has been a very complex area, involving digging out lots of historical mortgage documentation," he added.

About 600,000 customers will be contacted by the Halifax, however, about 300,000 customers will not receive a payment as they were not paying the SVR on their mortgage during the period affected.

Those who were affected and who are still with the Halifax will have their mortgage accounts credited in April this year.

If they have left the Halifax they will be traced and offered a cheque, but if you are an ex-Halifax customer, it would be worth taking the time to contact the lenders directly, as if you have moved address, they may not be able to contact you and you may also find that a free credit report without card details helps you to keep your personal information safe and avoid identity theft .

To Claim Now - Simply Click on the link and complete your details - CLAIM HERE NOW!

This is an advert for the New Toyota Hilux and it is very funny...

Take a look at the advert by clicking the watch the advert link below:

Watch the New Toyota Hilux Advert Now!

We all know with frustration just how much money it costs to replace the ink cartridges in our printers. More and more printers have moved from 4, 5 or 6 printer ink cartridges, with some now taking up to 12 and the cost of a replacement set is going through the roof - This article and movie clip is better than finding the cheapest ink cartridges!

So, how can we get more out of our cartridges?

Watch this clip to learn the secret, it really is simple and it really does work, so don't waste up to 50% of the ink that could still be in your printer ink cartridges...

Click the link here to watch the clip - You will be amazed! Save money, get more out of your printer ink cartridges.

Become a fan of our Facebook page to keep up to date with future money saving ideas and tips...

Time for a Laugh - You really have to watch this clip, it is so funny....

UK energy price rises have added over £560 million onto household energy bills (including EDF Energy’s increase, which is effective from 2nd March). Prices have increased by 6% on average or £63, taking the typical household energy bill up from £1,070 to £1,133.

With continued pressure on householders finances led by the government cut backs, how can the energy providers justify such massive price increases with the knock on effect being huge rises in profits.

So how can you beat the energy price increases and save money?

The answer is simple, switching energy providers is the answer. Savings totalling hundreds of pounds can be achieved by changing where you buy your electricity and gas suppliers. The easiest way to find the best electricity and gas deals is by using one of the energy comparison websites.

Moneymatchmaker.com has partnered with a major energy switch specialist and can help you to find the best deals available in your area.

Go to our switch energy suppliers page, enter a few details and review the list of utilities suppliers offers to see how much you can save.

The Bank of England Base Interest Rate UK has been held for another month. Although 3 out of the 9 members voted for an increase in the rate, two voted for a 0.25% increase and one member voted for a 0.50% increase, rates remain unchanged for another month.

To find the best mortgage and loan deals go to Moneymatchmaker.com's comparison pages and serach for the best rates on offer in the UK today.

Many people in the UK are really feeling the pinch finacially and things don't appear that they are going to be any easier for some time to come. The governments austerity measures are causing real financial pain, but what can we do to ease the burden on us as individuals?

Well the answer maybe easier than you think!

If you took out a new mortgage, loan, car finance or credit card within the last 10 years then read on....

Due to errors made when selling finance products, many people are not aware that they can apply for a part of the money that they borrowed to be refunded and this includes any finance agreements that have been fully repaid, defaulted on or you are still repaying.

Sales of finance products, more often than not included payment protection insurance (PPI), which many advisers led borrowers to believe was a condition of taking out finance. Investigations by the Financial Services Authority revealed that as much as £2 Billion in loans, mortgages and credit could be affected and are encouraging UK consumers to investigate if they have been mis sold payment protection insurance.

So how could you qualify?

Simply, if you were led to believe that you must take the insurance or if due to a lack of investigation, insurance was included without checking if you would qualify to claim, then it is very likely that you were a victim of the misselling of PPI and can claim for a full PPI Refund.

How do I go about claiming back PPI?

The process is a fairly complex one and although you can apply for a PPI Refund yourself, many people are opting to use the services of a PPI Reclaims company. Many of the companies who specialise in reclaiming PPI refunds do so on a now win, no fee basis, but beware, as some make an upfront administration charge that you would not get back if your claim was unsuccessful. There are however some good guys out there, one being Claim-Compensation4U, who will contect you with claims experts who operate on a no win no fee basis and make no upfront charges at all. Simply visit the PPI Refunds website, fill in your details on the short enquiry form and they will arrange for a claims consultant to assess each valid claim that you make have, to establish if you are eligible.

Some consumers have several eligible claims and with a current average refund value of £1850, clients with two or three valid claims are receiving refunds amounting to several thousand pounds.

There is absolutely no risk to finding out if you qualify, but if you do, the refund value could be enough to pay of the balance outstanding on the finance agreement, so good news for you, you no longer have the loan, removing some of your financial pressures!

To find out more, simply visit the PPI Reclaims Website at Claim-compensation4u.co.uk by clicking the link.

In an attempt to kick start the UK housing market, a key player has today announced that it is to launch a first time buyer mortgage guarantee scheme, offering 95% LTV Mortgage deals for first-time buyers.

The deal has been launched initially from two major UK mortgage lenders and talks are ongoing with other lenders who are expected to follow with similar mortgage deals.

The initial offering of new mortgages come with offers of two-year fixed rate mortgages with rates of between 5.49% and 5.99%.

An industry spokesman commented saying that the deals would enable buyers to secure a two-bedroom home with a deposit of £5,750, compared with the UK average of £28,770 currently required to step onto the property ladder.

An insider at The Mortgage Brokers UK Directory commented saying “It is believed that discussions are at an advanced stage with other lenders to support this initiative as part of a range of practical and workable solutions to get more first-time buyers moving”.

The news comes as Housing Minister Grant Shapps chairs an emergency summit in London with mortgage lenders, house builders and other industry leaders to find a solution to the first-time buyer crisis.

To find out more about the best mortgage deals avaiable, visit www.mortgage-brokers-uk-directory.co.uk.

The cost of fixed rate mortgages has fallen to its lowest level since 1988.

According to figures released today, the average cost of a two-year fixed rate mortgage fell by 0.08% to 4.4% in September.

Similar falls were recorded in the cost of 3 and 5 year fixed rate deals, which reduced to an average of 5.04% and 5.36% respectively.

The decreasing costs of fixed rate mortgages is great news for mortgage borrowers, although anyone looking to take advantage of the low rate mortgage deals needs to move quickly as the current record lows are not expected to last very long, as UK banks & mortgage lenders are expected imminently to embark on a new round of criteria-tightening.

The price of fixed rate mortgages has fallen for people looking to buy a new home or those looking for mortgage refinance as the 'swap rates' which dictates the the cost of fixed funds to the banks have themselves recently decreased sharply.

In October 2008, the cost of two-year swap rates (which largely determines the price of two-year fixed rate mortgages) was 5.26% and today is it just 1.29%.

The latest improvement in the cost of a two year fixed rate mortgage deal was driven by a slight fall in the margins lenders are charging on the loans during September.

However, Moneymatchmaker reminds borrowers that there is still a big difference in the price charged to borrowers with a big deposit and those needing to borrow a high percentage against the value of their property.

Amongst the best UK mortgage deals on offer through Moneymatchmakers mortgage brokers, there is a 2 year fixed rate mortgage deal currently on offer which is charged at 2.89% for people with a 40% deposit. The best mortgage deal on offer currently for borrowers looking for a 90% mortgage against the value of their property is 5.19% fixed for 2 years.

More information a quotes for the best fixed rate mortgage deals is available at Moneymatchmaker.com.

Residential property sales activity fell 10.1% in September but remains up by 4.7% on 2009.

In industry report has shown that September saw the most significant month on month decrease in over six months after 1/2 yr of reductions.

Comparisons to September 2009 show that monthly sales for the same month were still up by 4.7% in 2010 and had increased by 20.0% compared to September 2007.

Mark leaper at Moneymatchmaker.com said: "Although it appears that the housing marking is showing signs of recovery, the market is still extremely fragile. House sales are at their lowest levels since the beginning of 2010, activity has increased compared to the same period in 2009, with regional fluctuation showing that some areas of the country are higher or lower than others."

Moneymatchmaker is seeing a marked increase in mortgage refinance and equity release mortgage scheme sales, which it is thought to be due to homeowners looking to secure the best deal to help reduce the cost of living.

Some of the best mortgage refinance deals are difficult to find, but the mortgage comparisons services offered online can help the consumer to find the best deals on offer to suit their exact needs.

Managing our financial situation can be a hard thing to do, mostly, when we cannot get the needed advice and professional help. The situation gets harder when we have major debts to deal with, to eliminate them. Getting some useful tips might be necessary for us if we want to build up a working debt management plan. There are tens of magazines and programs giving you the tips you need, but there are more reachable online debt management guides and reviews, which, according to your debts and situation might be suited for the problem. You have to search for the debt management programs and choose that option that is the best for your circumstances.

Having debt problems can be really embarrassing so choosing help online might give you the solution while you will remain anonymous and do not have to make personal contacting. The majority of people having debt problems usually tend to balance between two options: debt management plan and Iva. You have to decide, which one is the best option for you, but fortunately both of these solutions can help you avoid bankruptcy. The two solutions are both serving one goal: to repay your debts while paying an affordable reduced amount monthly for your creditors.

Individuals choosing IVA have the opportunity to make a formal arrangement with creditors. It is formal binding, and unlike Debt Management the interest rates having to be paid on the debt are frozen and after a few years, on behalf of the creditors the debt will be written off. In the case of debt management there is no specified time limit, so the debtor will have to pay until his debt is totally repaid to the creditor. IVA is safer than Debt Management because of its legality, and creditors cannot change the terms during the arrangement. In the case of Debt Management creditors can change their mind whenever they like because no legal boundaries are staying between the two sides.

Another benefit of Debt Management is the clearer state of the credit report. While in the case of an IVA the credit rating of the debtor might get severely affected in the case of debt management this is unlikely to happen. Both solutions have their good and bad sides, the decision about which one to chose to eliminate your debts is yours to make. The best thing you should do is ask for professional help, which can be easily found on the internet.

Some say that debt is debt, there is no difference. This is not fully true, because credit card debt is a bit different. Like its name shows, this type of debt gathers up o credit cards.

How is this possible? It is possible, because on credit cards there are no restrictions, a person can buy with them as much as he or she wants. We usually forget to check how much money we still have on a credit card and we just go shopping very often. In this way debt builds up and often can end in severe debt problems.

Credit card debt is like the other debts from the payment point of view.

With other words this debt has to be paid like the other ones. If we do not pay credit card debt, we will be charged and punished. Sometimes the consequences are very severe and we can lose more than we thought.

To reach credit card debt relief, we have to think first and act after. This means that we have to be cautious every time we go shopping. It is good to check the amount left on the credit card. And we also have to remember that credit card companies charge the handling of cards, so they also need money.

From another point of view, credit card debt is totally different. This is a kind of debt that can vary fast and unpredictable. It can build up very fast and it is hard to get out of. This kind of debt is different also because it has no extra interest to pay. Only the value of the used money can gather up. This means that if you bought a house with your credit card then you will have to pay only the value of the house as debt. This is why credit card debt is better, or at least more human.

It is pretty hard to get out of credit card debt, because credit cards have to be used always. This type of debt only can gather up. To solve this problem we will need another source of money. That is not easy, but it is possible and getting out of credit card debt is a good thing. If possible it is advised not to use credit cards. They make life easier probably but they also push us in debt and that is not good. If we use credit cards, we have to check always the money status on them.

Post credit crunch UK seems to be indicating that the best deals for mortgages, loans, insurance and credit can be secured by using the services of an independent financial adviser.

After what feels like an eternity in recession, lenders are still not keen to lend and until the UK general election is over, it doesn't feel like very much is going to change.

Pre credit crunch times had a mortgage market providing in excess of 25,000 different mortgage deals and loans galore, but today the uk markets have less than 5000 mortgage products on offer to the consumer.

Where did the credit crunch come from and could it happen again?

The US finance markets imploded in the 4th quarter of 2007 due to bad credit on the balance sheets of large financial institutions, which ultimately caused what is known as a credit crunch.

In a credit crunch, lenders stop lending and start hoarding cash because they are afraid of rising bad debts, leading to bankruptcies and loan or mortgage defaults. They charge higher interest rates in a bid to stem the flow of business or reject all but the safest loans.

The UK economy had been flooded with easy to access borrowed money since the mid 90's, but the credit crunch meant that tightened credit would spell trouble for companies who needing funding in the form of loans to pursue their business plans and the consumer, who had become used to freely spending money they didn't have, but could easily access on credit cards for expensive purchases such as luxurious holidays and smart cars.

The answer to could it happen again is a simple one, YES!

If an appetite for investment in more risky markets returns, which you have to say it will, then pushing the limits commercially to gain extra percentage market share and profit, could lead to the whole thing happening all over again. Having said that, it will take sometime to get there, as returning confidence to dabble by investors will be slow to return, but good times will return and the painful effects will soon be forgotten.

So, how is the man on the street directly affected?

UK mortgage and loan lenders are releasing more new products on a daily basis and the best mortgage deals of today are soon replaced tomorrow, but the good news is that the deals are getting better and better. The percentage levels that lenders will loan to is increasing and a 90% mortgage, with a competitive interest rate is out there to be found, if you know where to look.

So how do Independent Financial Advisers add value?

Independent Financial Advisers (IFA's) are well placed to search the market, compare mortgage rates on their client's behalf and secure a great mortgage rate to suit the borrower's exact needs. In addition to finance, IFA's can provide a good value for money service if you are looking to source good quality, value for money, but cheap life insurance cover and pension plans, with advice that is specifically tailored to the individual or families needs.

Financial advice is available in many guises, the internet has led to a plethora of channels being available for the consumer to utilise when seeking help and advice. Finance related price comparison websites have the added advantage of being a one stop shop for all mortgage, loan and insurance needs. By completing your details once, you have the advantage of using their services to trawl the market and find you the best deals available, but there is still an argument for using the services of a local to you, independent financial adviser. The IFA can take the time to understand any unusual circumstances that you may have and tailor their financial advice accordingly and some finance price comparison websites are now offering both options under one roof to facilitate the needs of a far wider consumer group.

The price of oil is as low as it has been for a while, but the oil companies have simply jacked their prices up and the government will not do anything as they rake in extra VAT for every increase.

See what you think and send a link to this article to your friends if you agree with it.

We are hitting 114.9 a litre in some areas now; soon we will be faced with paying 150 a litre.

Philip Hollsworth has offered this good idea:

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain day campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work.

Please read it and join in! Link to: Reduce Petrol Prices - A MUST READ!

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the market place not sellers.

With the price of petrol going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their Petrol!

And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea:

For the rest of this year DON'T PURCHASE ANY petrol FROM the two biggest oil companies (which now are one), ESSO and BP.

If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's really simple to do!!

Now, don't wimp out at this point... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending a link to this article to a lot of people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least  ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it......

THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is right click on the link at the top of this article and select send link and send it to at least 10 people (if you can send it to more the message will spread even faster). That's all. (And not buy at ESSO/BP). How long would all that take? If each of us sends the link or links to this article from a website, if we have one, then adds ten more people within one day of receipt, then all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8days!!!

Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please send the link above to as many people as you can.

PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE 90p a LITRE RANGE!

It's easy to make this happen. Just send a link to this article to all of your contacts and BUY your petrol at Shell, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrison's, Jet etc.

If you have a Twitter account, simply press the retweet button at the top of this article so that your followers find it!

Source : Philip Hollsworth.

(This aricle was supplied by a consumer and is not in any way the opinion of moneymatchmaker.com)

The first thing to remember is that you are not alone!

Time and time again I hear people say, "Why didn't I just face up to my debt problems". The simple answer is that is so often the easiest option to just pretend that the problem doesn't exist, but when you find out how to solve the problem you will realise that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Many people tend to ignore the problem in a hope that at some point it will all just go away, but hey, it never does! There are many ways to deal with money problems and in a moment I will give you some ideas of the kinds of things that you can do to get your finances back on track. Firstly we should mention the kinds of mistakes made and you may find that recognise some or all of them, but don't despair, it's never too late to sort your money problems out, but continuing to ignore them will just make things worse.

If a debt crisis enters our lives due to the breakdown of a relationship, the loss of a job or illness, we can be so caught up in the emotions of the situation to dismiss the practicalities of dealing with our financial commitments. STOP! Your situation will get a whole lot worse is you don't take steps to stop yourself from spiralling into financial meltdown.

The most common mistakes made are:

• Initially opening the post, but hiding the things that you don't want to read or cannot deal with in the back of a draw.

• This progresses to not even opening the post and just letting it mount up because we can't face reading the default notices and final demands that start to arrive.

• The phone starts to ring more often than usual, with companies chasing you to pay your bills, so you stop answering the phone in an attempt to block the pressures out of your life.

Are these ringing bells aloud!!!

Ok, well all is not lost, there are simple things that you can do to stop these pressures and bring some sort of normality back into your life and explain more.

Dealing with debt problems maybe something that you don not feel equipped to do on your own and if that is the case, read on to end and I'll tell you how to get help with debt problems, that won't cost you at all, as in effect, your creditors (the people that you owe money to) will pay for it indirectly, in order to get some of their money back that you owe them.

If you decide that you want to deal with the situation yourself, then you need to sit down and write out a list of all the companies that you owe money to, including account numbers and how much you owe. Total the amount that you owe and if it comes to £5000 or more of unsecured debt (I.E Credit cards, loan, car finance, overdraft etc), not including a mortgage or loans secured on your home, then you have various options.

If your debts are less than £5000, you would be best placed to phone all of the companies involved to explain your situation and make offers of a reduced monthly payment over a period of maybe 6 months, whilst your life returns to normal. In most cases, your creditors will be supportive, understand your situation and so long as you keep to your promises to pay, they will be happy to support you on your road to recovery.

If your debts total to £5000 or more, then your options are a little wider. The option detailed previously is still one that you can try, but the law states if you cannot afford to repay your debts, then options for help with money problems can include debt management plans or individual voluntary arrangements (IVA). These involve a calculation being made to establish what and how much you can afford to repay and an agreement is drawn up with your creditors to make small payments towards a reduced total debt, which means that you can write off debt that cannot afford.

In order to gain the benefits of an IVA or debt management plan, you will need to contact a debt counsellor, who will to put the agreement together for you. This process is straight forward, stress free and will help you to stop worrying about money problems.

To take advantage of our offer of FREE information on debt management plans, IVA's and other options as debt solutions, visit www.debtadvisoryhelpline.co.uk, where you can read more information about ways to get out of debt and request help and advice for dealing with your debts, including arranging a debt management plan or IVA Today!

What is Equity Release?

Equity Release mortgage schemes provide a method for releasing the cash equity (Un-mortgaged value) that has built up in your property. The term 'equity' means the value of your property that is not subject to a mortgage.

Homeowners over the age of 55 can use the equity in their home to release cash that can be used for any purpose.

Common reasons for releasing cash equity include:

• Providing a cash lump sum or regular monthly income during retirement.
• Providing a method for taking early retirement.
• Raising cash to pay for a family wedding.
• Funding the holiday of a lifetime.

If you own your own home, with or without a mortgage and are over 55, then having the ability to raise cash by releasing equity in the form of a tax-free cash lump sum or an income for life, can provide you with an answer to your financial needs.

Lenders considering your eligibility look at two main factors. The first is your age and in nearly all situations, you must be over 55 years of age (Remortgages are available to people under the age of 55). The second is the value of your property, combined with the amount of any mortgage that is secured. Given these factors an offer of how much equity is available to you is calculated.

Generally, as you become older you can release a higher percentage of the value of your home, and this is based upon you not being expected to live as long. Although this maybe a sombre thought, in practice it is exactly what is considered by providers offering equity release schemes.

What are the benefits of an equity release scheme?

The advantages of equity release.

• Having the ability to raise tax free cash for any purpose.
• Raising a cash lump sum or regular monthly income.
• You can make life decisions that are not based upon money.

The disadvantages of equity release.

• Reducing the amount that you can pass on when you die.
• Equity release schemes tend to be extremely complex and require the assistance of a specialist equity release expert to guide you.

The different types of equity release plans.

There are generally two main types of equity release plans available. The first are know as Lifetime Mortgages.

Lifetime mortgages are a loan facility provided where a lender lends you a percentage of the value of your property and charges you interest, and the loan plus the interest being repaid at the time of you or your partner's death.

This type of mortgage does not require you to make monthly mortgage repayments and there is no set term, the contract states that your loan, plus interest and charges are repaid upon death.

The second type is known as Home Reversion Schemes.

Home reversion schemes involve you in selling a percentage of the value of your home in exchange for a tax free lump sum or a regular monthly income.

It operates on the basis that you remain in your home until you die or decide to sell, maybe as part of a down sizing exercise. Home reversion plans dictate that you remain the primary owner of the property and are responsible for all upkeep and ongoing maintenance at all times.

The repayment of this type of scheme is made, either upon death or the sale of the property. At this time, the lender will take their percentage of the sale price as contracted, which will include an equal percentage increase in the value of the property since the date of the agreement.

Where to get the Best Equity Release Mortgage Advice?

There are many equity release scheme providers in the UK. Talking to an equity release mortgage expert is a must for anyone considering this as an option for raising cash.

Visit Moneymatchmaker.com for more information, help & advice on equity release schemes and to discuss your options.

The UK search facility provided is completely FREE for you to use and gives you the ability to find equity release mortgage brokers who can assist with your enquiry. At no time will you be under any obligation, simply read the information provided, ask questions and chat through your needs. The finance experts will guide you through your best options and if you wish to proceed, then they will be more than happy to process your application for you. A comprehensive service is offered, providing help and advice right through to you receiving your money and a full post completion support service is available for any further enquiries.

After a period of discussion between UK lenders and debt advice providers, new methods for helping people in debt have been announced today.

The talks have focused on the rising debt problem for UK consumers and included input from the Ministry of Justice, British Bankers' Association (BBA), the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

The organisations have worked together to develop more options for helping those who are suffering from factors in their lives that cause financial difficulties. Many people are finding that redundancy, reduced hours or illness has put them under financial pressure, as very often they are completely unexpected and cause money worries, stress and the cycle quickly spirals out of control.

Under the proposals, people looking for help with debt, but don't know where to turn, have the ability to make a token payment towards their debts, which will help in overcoming the initial money problem.

What is included in the new debt help proposals?

The Banks, building societies, mortgage lenders and credit card companies who follow the new lending code, will provide extra assistance for people who find themselves in financial turmoil. The options available under the Lending Standards Board's initiative include reducing or freezing interest and charges and accepting reduced monthly payments in a bid to provide financial stability.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service will shortly introduce a new payment arrangement, which is specifically targeted at borrowers with at least two unsecured debts, who are struggling to make ends meet.

The program includes the reduction of monthly payments to as little as £1 per debt per month, which has been accepted as a demonstration of a want to pay. It is believed that by taking a responsibility for your debt, but at the same time reducing your monthly payments, less people will opt for the "head in the sand" approach and will quickly regain control of their finances, just as soon as their personal circumstances improve.

Consumer Minister Kevin Brennan said: "If people in debt genuinely can't pay for a short period, they should be offered this important relief and the chance to make token payments while they sort out their problems." With more and more people finding themselves in situations that are out of their control, UK lenders have recognised that there are sensible alternatives to taking court action, for them as well as for their customers.

A spokesman for the Debt Advisory Helpline said "We are receiving more and more cries for help from UK consumers who are struggling with debt. We welcome the new initiative; anything that eases the burden when people are dealing with life trials, as well as financial pressures has to be good news. The Debt Advisory Helpline receives many enquiries everyday from people that just do not know which way to turn. A large percentage have just ignored their situation, as they have no idea of how to get themselves out of spiralling money troubles, and the advice given is always don't ignore the problem, it won't just go away and there are money experts on hand, who provide help and advice to deal with the debt, irrespective of how bad it may appear."

The cost of a funeral has increased significantly in recent years. Independent research has revealed that the cost of a funeral in the UK has gone up by 6.6% over the past twelve months. Given that this increase continues at a similar rate, a funeral that may cost £2,600 today will increase to £3,458 in five years time.

So how can you avoid the impacts of the increase in the cost of a funeral?

Buying a funeral plan today will ensure that you guarantee to cover the costs, within your funeral directors control, no matter how much funeral costs increase by in the future.

More and more people are opting for the security of knowing that a funeral pre-payment plan purchased now, will avoid paying much more later. Buying at today's prices to cover the cost of a funeral is seen as sound financial planning.

A funeral plan guarantee that defies inflation!

Irrespective of how much funeral costs may increase by in years to come, neither you or your family will be asked to pay anymore for the services that are purchased within your funeral plan.

At the time of purchase, you decide on the type of funeral that you would like. Various pre-payment plans are available that allow you decide on all aspects of your funeral.

Recent research of the current value of the average house in the UK has confirmed that property values have recovered to a level equal to those reported in April 2007. The research compared market values during February 2010 and showed an increase of 1.9% from January, which is the largest single monthly price increase since figures reported in September 2002.

Given the fragile nature of the UK economy, its no wonder that there are some discrepancies in the figures released. The report is contradictory to those released by Nationwide and Halifax, which report a 1% and 1.5% fall in average prices for the same month, but the new report is based upon figures from a wide range of sources, including land registry figures and is therefore believed to be far more accurate.

The total number of completed house purchases in England and Wales in January had fallen by 52% compared to December 2009 figures, but the UK governments stamp duty break was believed to have driven activity up in a bid by borrowers to take advantage of the tax savings that were available up until 31^st December 2009.

More UK Homeowner are believed to be opting for a "stay put" approach until the economy has recovered further and the general election is out of the way. A spokesman for Moneymatchmaker.com commented saying that "although the number of house purchases may be down, more homeowners are opting for a mortgage refinance deal and are looking at the best mortgage deals available in order to save money".

With rates being fairly competitive for those looking to secure a fixed rate or tracker mortgage, a refinance exercise that takes into account clearing up some expensive debt, such as unsecured loans and credit cards, can be really beneficial, just so long as it is part of a planned finance restructure and the borrower seeks sound financial advice. As is always the case, refinancing debt can work for those disciplined enough to not allow themselves to roll up more debt once the credit cards etc have been paid off.

Are you worrying about the state of your credit report? Read help and tips on how to repair your credit report score, including some help with debt and avoiding some common credit misconceptions.

This article includes tips on consumer credit repair, how to improve your credit score and what NOT to do in an attempt to beat the system.

Wondering what is in a credit report score?

Your consumer credit report is a detailed record of your credit worthiness your financial activities, including your payment profile. The report will include all of your credit accounts, mortgages and outstanding loans. It shows the current balances on your credit cards and loans, and a detailed breakdown of your payment history.

UK lenders are permitted to carry out a credit check on you as part of processing any application for credit that you make and they will using the information when deciding if you are suitable risk for lending purposes. The deciding factors considered will include whether you pay your bills on time or if you fail to pay your bills at all, your current lenders report this credit information and irrespective of it being good or bad, the information is held on your credit file.

What are the benefits to repairing my credit?

Having a poor credit report will lead you to only qualify for more expensive bad credit finance products. By keeping a clean slate, you will qualify for lower cost finance, loans and credit cards. The better your credit is the cheaper finance interest rates can be. If you currently have problems with credit report rating issues and want to improve things to cut your cost of living, then there are simple steps that you can take.

What entries can be removed from my credit report?

Any report information can be removed from your credit report, examples of the types of things that can be removed are bankruptcies, defaults, repossessions, late payments, administration orders, iva's, county court judgments, and more. UK Law states that any entry against an item on your credit file must be removed if it is inaccurate or cannot be proved.

How long do negative credit report entries stay on my credit file?

Entries like credit defaults, county court judgements, bankruptcies, IVA's and repossessions will stay on your credit score file for a period of 6 years. After this period the items are usually removed automatically, however this is not always the case and at this time you may request for the entries to be removed. There are some exceptions to these rules. A bankruptcy will remain for a period of ten years, as can a repossession order.

What to do if your debts getting out of control?

Financial pressure is something that is reported to be affecting up to 80% of the UK population. Making ends meet with lower incomes, redundancy, marriage or relationship breakdowns and many other of life's trials is added to by a global recession, uncertainty of the outcome of an imminent general election and to cap it all we currently have a very weak pound, which affects our lives in more ways than we realise. Money help is available in many ways - If you are struggling to pay your bills and need help with debt problems, which include more useful help and information, simply go to www.creditcheckme.co.uk. You will find easy access to free debt help from money experts who have many ways to assist you in getting on top of your money problems and making a fresh start.

Keep an eye out for more jokes and funny pics from the the UK Price Comparisons Specialist Website!

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House prices in the UK dropped during February 2010, which is the first time that a reduction has been recorded since June 2009. Research has shown that the end of the governments stamp duty break in December 2009, the terrible weather, which reports say we haven't seen for some 30 years and the increase in the number of properties being put up for sale are considered to be factors.

The price drop has been reported by the Halifax as being 1.5% in February compared with the previous month to leave the current average UK house price at £166,587.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax commented saying that the increase in the number of properties up for sale helped to reduce slightly the imbalance between supply and demand, which has led to a fall in the price of houses.

He added: "At the same time, the bad weather in the first two months of 2010, together with the return of the lowest stamp duty threshold to £125,000, are likely to have had an adverse impact on housing demand. The combination of these factors appears to have helped to curb the upward pressure on house prices."

Given the monthly price fluctuation, it is worth noting that prices were still 4.5% higher than the same time last year and actually 8% higher than their lowest which was recorded April 2009.

Finding the best mortgage deal is still a trial, price comparison website offer the consumer the ability to search the market for the best offers and mortgage refinance is a great way for homeowners to secure the best fixed rate or tracker rate mortgages.

There is very little training available for coping with death or help for dealing with grief. We come into this world with very little and we leave on the same terms, but along the way we become richer in what we learn, who we love and the memories that we store. Our loved ones share in our development, success, failures; loves, losses and their memories of times with us build along life's journey.

So when we depart, it is those fond memories we leave behind for others to remember, and if that can be our focus during periods of grief, then grieving can be a positive emotion instead of a memory of loss.

Life provides no preparation for the loss of a fond soul and we usually don't know what to expect until we experience a major loss and begin to suffer the consequences.

When we grieve we can experience all kinds of sensations. Some feel the impacts physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The important thing to remember is not to be afraid to grieve. In denial some try to put their grief aside and "get over it," but this only delays the healing process, as it is thought that there are three distinct phases of grief.

Shock and Denial

This is usually the first reaction to death. A feeling of numbness, disbelief that a loved one has gone, when we temporarily enter into a world of unreality, but during this phase we gradually adjust our minds to begin to accept the loss.

This is a very difficult time, we find ourselves in a state of constant grief and unbearable pain. We swing back and forth between believing the loss has happened and denying the possibility that it has. It is very important that you allow yourself the time to adjust to the loss and to come to terms with it as part of coping with grief - This phase can last for several weeks.

Turmoil and Disorganization

Our world enters in to a state of not coping and complete turmoil, we are experiencing grief at the loss of a loved one and at the same time we are trying to adjust to what we perceive as an empty world without that person in it. This phase can be very testing for us and those around us as they watch and try to support us. We can become extremely intensely focused upon the reality of our loss, but at the same time we will try almost anything to escape it.

Our body can enter a phase of total exhaustion and extreme emotion, and the grieving person will often experience mood swings, which can be dramatic and hurtful for those around us. Normal emotions during this phase can include anger, extreme sadness, depression, despair and jealousy towards others who haven't suffered the same loss.

This phase develops, allowing people begin to understand all the implications of the loss and start to rebuild their life - This phase can be a case one step forward and two steps back and can last a year or more before it concludes.

Recovery

The recovery phase is a time that is also referred to as the acceptance or reorganization phase. The period of total chaos and turmoil eases as we move to a point of new balance. Life moves on with fond memories, but without the intense emotions of grief that were experiencing earlier. We become aware that the physical signs of their grief are beginning to fade and we feel more able to cope with life in a positive way and are much less exhausted than we once were.

The pain of the loss remains, but the unbearable intensity of it recedes, and we begin to rebuild our lives and experience hope again. Life seems possible again, new focuses develop, life's routines adapt and our ability to interact without that feeling of constant heartache subsides. Love, laughter and new memories will never replace old ones and they shouldn't as these are held in a special place in our heart, but space is created to develop new ones and we should never feel guilty about allowing a new life to begin.

The number of people seeking individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) is likely to increase over the next few years, an expert has predicted.

James Falla, director of Thomas Charles, said that was a growing number of people who needed assistance with managing their debts and that they would seek solutions to their problems during the next year.

The comments follow a survey by the firm, which found that one in five adults have unsecured debts of more than £10,000.

Mr Falla said: "More and more people are going to be turning around and saying to themselves: 'I am in financial difficulty, I can no longer repay this money'.

"What this means is that increasing numbers of people will be looking for a solution."

He added that there were only three likely solutions available to them - the debt management plan, an IVA or declaring themselves bankrupt.

Recent figures from Debt Free Direct showed that the firm had issued twice the amount of IVAs between May and October than it did at the same time last year.

The number of people declaring themselves insolvent in Portsmouth has increased by nearly a third, an accountancy group has announced.

Some 565 petitioned for their own bankruptcy last year, compared to 429 the year before, according to KPMG.

Meanwhile, the figure for the Hampshire region last year was 1,356, a 45 per cent increase on the 936 cases in the previous year.

And Mark Sands, the director of personal insolvency at KPMG's south coast office, said that there was no "magic wand" to solve debt problems - the average each debtor owes is £52,000.

"With average debt levels as high as this, it is unsurprising that we are seeing more and more people choosing personal insolvency as the solution to their problems," he added.

Nationwide, 107,000 people were declared bankrupt last year - 44,000 of these chose an Individual Voluntary Agreement in order to escape the social stigma of declaring insolvency, according to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, reported This Is Money.

Find out how to fight back against supermarket scams and rising food prices so you can beat the grocery stores at their own game...

Believe it or not, recent figures suggest that over the past few years, the wholesale price of basic food essentials, such as bread and butter, has plummeted almost 50%.

No, I'm not making this up. And yet, I can't say I've noticed. In fact, every time I'm at the checkout, I'm continually amazed at how much money I manage to spend on food each week.

So why are my food bills continuing to spiral upwards? Well, apparently, supermarkets simply haven't been lowering their prices in line with declines. And in fact, prices have still been going up.

If you ask me, this is a bit sneaky. Unfortunately, however, it's not the only trick adopted by many supermarkets - there are lots of them. So here are seven supermarket scams to avoid at all costs...

Size matters

You might think you'll save yourself some pennies if you buy larger packs of goods. After all, generally speaking, buying in bulk is supposed to be cheaper.

But according to research from mySupermarket.co.uk, shoppers could be paying up to 46% more by opting for bigger packs. For example, an 800g jar of Hellmann's mayonnaise was found to be 33% (99p) more expensive than buying two jars of 400g mayonnaise.

The best way to avoid this is to always check product details before buying - it's a really good idea to check the price per weight. Although this may sound like a lot of hassle - particularly if you're walking around the supermarket in a bit of a hurry - if you shop online using mySupermarket.co.uk, you will find it much easier.

That's because this nifty website allows you to track how much your shopping would cost at each of the UK's four major supermarkets (Sainsbury's, Tesco, ASDA and Ocado/Waitrose). It also means you can easily see how much you'll be paying per gram/kilogram, so it's easy to check which is the cheapest option, no matter how big or small the packet.

What's more, it will also tell you when you can 'swap and save' by substituting a bag of grapes for a box of grapes, for example. The savings soon stack up!

Special offers

Special offers such as 'buy one get one free' deals can be very tempting. But while in some cases these can help to slash your food bills, they don't always provide the best value for money.

Often you'll find the very best deals are on perishable items such as fruit and vegetables. So unless you can guarantee you'll eat two bags of satsumas in a few days, you may find you end up throwing a lot of food away.

What's more, if you head down to your local greengrocers or market, you will probably find you can buy the same product even cheaper. Or simply grow your own!

Similarly, be wary of deals such as 'buy one get one half price' and 'two for £3' - if you don't actually need to buy two, don't get too sucked in. Some supermarkets cunningly raise prices one week and then reduce them the next so that they can claim a discount. So don't buy more simply because you can.

Delicious smells

I have to confess that I fall for this one on a regular basis. I just can't resist the smell of freshly baked bread as I walk down the bakery aisle. Usually this trick works its magic and I find myself loading up my trolley with the stuff.

But try not to let yummy smells tempt you into buying items you really don't need or didn't intend to buy in the first place. Stick to your shopping list!

Relaxing coffee shops

These days it seems that supermarkets are determined for you to spend hours and hours wandering around their aisles. As a result, coffee shops such as Starbucks and Costa have started springing up in supermarkets, allowing you to while away the hours, enjoying a cup of coffee and a spot of lunch, before continuing to amble along the aisle.

After all, what better way to spend your day than in the supermarket? And the longer you spend in the supermarket, the more you might spend on your food bill! Don't get sucked in - walk in, stick to your shopping list, get out!

Product placement

Do you ever find yourself wondering what's at the top of the supermarket shelf? The one you can't quite reach? Supermarkets will often put the most profitable items at eye level so they are easy to find, while the cheapest items will be at the very top or very bottom of the shelf. This means you may need to be prepared to do some hunting if you want the best bargains.

Similarly, you may find the most expensive products, such as electrical goods, are placed near the entrance to the supermarket. Meanwhile, the cheaper basic foods will be towards the exit - so you'll have to pass the tempting electrical products to get to them.

Changing store layouts

It drives me mad when I walk into my local supermarket to find that everything has been moved around.

This is another cunning ploy adopted by supermarkets and means that however well you thought you knew the layout, you can guarantee you won't know where anything is anymore, and you'll be forced to traipse around the supermarket looking for everything on your shopping list.

As a result, you'll pass other tempting items which you're more likely to throw into your trolley. So again, stick to your shopping list!

Location, Location

If you often run into your local supermarket at the station to pick up a few bits on your way home from work, be careful. That's because prices can change depending on the store location - even if it's the same chain.

Very large stores are likely to be the cheapest, while convenience stores and those in petrol stations and at motorway service stations will be more expensive. So try to avoid doing a big shop in the more expensive stores.

Source: lovemoney.com

A total of 48,198 mortgage loans were approved awaiting completion within the pipeline for UK house purchases during January 2010, which is the lowest level seen since May 2009 and the second consecutive monthly drop, according to the Bank of England.

A Bank of England press release said that the decline was thought to be partly due to the severe weather and the removal of the government's exemption in stamp duty tax for cheaper houses that closed on 31^st December 2009.

An industry spokesman commented says that "While bad weather may have been a factor, we have to question and consider the sustainability of the upturn in the uk housing market and whether we have really turned the corner or were the improvements recorded in the markets merely a blip and we still have a way to go before recovery is on a solid footing".

Additional lending figures released by the BoE have shown that unsecured loans lending was surprisingly strong during January 2010.

British consumers borrowed £500m through credit cards, loans and overdrafts, once
repayments were taken into account, which is the highest level seen since November 2008.

The increase was nearly double the £265m increase seen in December, and comes after consumers had repaid more than they borrowed during five of the previous six months.

Monday morning has seen mining shares helped the FTSE 100 jump more than 56.81 points (1.1%) to 5,411.33 in early trading after the price of copper hit a five-week high following the earthquake in Chile.

Among the mining companies impacted, Kazakhmys shares climbed 4.2% to £13.96, Eurasian Natural Resources was up 2.43% to £10.51 and Antofagasta rose 2.15% to 902.50p.

Shares in Prudential were suspended as the insurance company confirmed it was in advanced talks to buy AIA, the Asian arm of US firm AIG.

The news hit the rest of the insurance market badly, with Aviva down 1.43% to 384.70p and Legal & General Group falling 0.78% to 76.55p, while Resolution, which has denied rumours it intends to acquire Prudential's UK life insurance cover business, dropping 0.28% to 72.05p.

In Japan, the Nikkei index gained 46.03 points (0.5%) to 10,172.06 on Monday, again boosted by strong gains in copper prices.

Carmaker Toyota fell 1.1% as the recall crisis continues. The CEO will visit China this week.

In the US the Dow Jones ended the week with a 0.4% gain to 10,325.26 points after the economy grew by more than expected in the fourth quarter.

The news was largely viewed as a blip, however, with lower housing sales not helping the mood.

The main reasons that homeowners choose mortgage refinance is to obtain a lower interest rate and lower their monthly payments, which can include consolidating expensive loans and credit cards.

When refinancing a mortgage, the borrower pays off their existing mortgage and chooses a new one with better terms to replace it with. This is more often than not achieved by switching mortgage lender to get the best mortgage deal, but your current mortgage lender may be able to offer you a good low rate mortgage, with terms and conditions that are equal to those available by changing mortgage lenders, so it is always worth checking before looking elsewhere.

The opportunity to refinance typically occurs at the end of a fixed rate mortgage deal, tracker rate mortgage deal or the alike.

Refinancing is generally an option for consideration when mortgage interest rates drop significantly. If due to past credit problems you have been with a specialist poor credit mortgage lender, then a refinance mortgage deal can be taken just as soon as your credit score has improved (Get a Free Credit Score). If your score has recovered, then a mortgage expert will help you to secure best rate mortgage quotes to establish which lender can offer you the most preferential terms.

The UK mortgage market is displaying all the signs of recovery, with higher percentage value lending options on offer increasing on a daily basis.

The number of mortgage lenders offering fixed rate mortgages with a 90% LTV or higher nearly doubling over the last year.

Recent mortgage market research has shown that there are more than 140 fixed-rate mortgage products now available for anyone who is looking to borrow 90% or more of the value of their property.

The fixed rate mortgage market has grown significantly and more than 46% in terms of new mortgage products being made available since February last year.

The research has confirmed that the average percentage advance for a fixed-rate mortgage is now 76.8%, which is an increase of 1.1% from the 75.7% average a year ago.

New Mortgage borrowers who are looking for a high LTV mortgages on a variable rate mortgage will have far less choice. The market has nearly tripled the number of variable rate mortgage products on offer, but the number of high LTV products has shown a very small increase from 43 in 2009 to 51 in 2010.

The increase in higher LTV mortgages has not excluded the first time buyers, but the majority of new 90% products are not available to those wanting to buy their first home. Moneymatchmaker.com reported saying that its mortgage broker network has access to some of the best mortgage deals and the number that are available to new mortgage borrowers has also increased.

Research has revealed that interest rates for first time buyers with deposits of 10% or more have reduced by more than 30% in the past three months.

The average initial mortgage rates for borrowers at 90% loan-to-value (LTV) have dropped to 5.3%, which is 1.7% lower than the 7% average in November 2009 and has the effect of reducing monthly mortgage payments by some £160 on a £150,000 mortgage.

A recent mortgage match survey revealed that the best mortgage deals at 90% LTV are still more than double the average rate of 2.58% that applies to mortgage borrowers looking for a 60% or lower LTV loan.

The reduction in interest rates is evidence that confidence is returning to the mortgage market, investors are starting to return, freeing up the money needed to create lending pools for UK homebuyers and refinance mortgage customers.

The best mortgage deals being offered as 90% LTV, include tracker mortgage deals from lenders like Nationwide, Skipton, HSBC, Santander, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Saffron Building Society. There are also fixed rate mortgage deals available, but the only fixed rate deal to make the top 10 best buys on total cost comes from HSBC with a two-year fixed rate at 5.99%.

Mark Leaper at Moneymatchmaker.com commented saying: "This is great news, confidence is returning, with some lenders showing that they are once again prepared to lend at 90% LTV, whilst pricing their mortgages at rates that are also beneficial to borrowers.

I would expect the mortgage deals on offer at 60% LTV to be considerably cheaper, as lending is priced based upon risk and borrower equity at levels of 40% or more is much more attractive to the investment market".

An industry poll has shown that UK mortgage brokers expect an increase in remortgaging levels after recent standard variable rate increases.

Many UK homeowners are expected to seriously look at their home finances to reduce their outgoings and mortgage refinance is thought to be one of the biggest areas where we can all save money.

Industry mortgage comparisons are revealing that the best mortgage deals are very rarely available from your current lender and if you change mortgage company, then there are some fantastic deals to be had.

In addition to changing your mortgage lender, good savings are available by switching your life insurance cover provider, as some of the cover on offer is dramatically cheaper than your current insurer may be offering.

A word of warning, make sure that you always receive a written confirmation of eligibility and acceptance of life insurance cover from your new insurer before cancelling any existing policies. Once a policy has been cancelled it cannot be automatically re-instated and if your health or personal circumstances have changed it may effect your qualification.

The prices of houses in the UK has experienced it's sharpest increase in more than two years. The shortage of properties up for sale has caused the selling prices to boost higher than has been seen since April 2007.

Market research has revealed that asking prices increased by 3.2% during January 2010 and the low numbers of people selling their homes has caused estate agents to compete in a way not seen for some time, which is great news for anyone trying to sell a house, as the estate agents commissions terms in some areas are at an all time low.

The shortage of property for sale has had the effect of increasing the average cost of a home up to £229,398, which is 6.1% higher than the same time last year. Having said that, some pockets of the UK are affected differently, with London house prices up by 5% on the month, which has given a record high of £427,987.

Given the fragile nature of the UK economy, industry experts are warning that the pace of the increase is unsustainable due to the limited amount of mortgage finance available due to the ongoing effects still be felt from the global melt down in the finance markets.

Figures recently released show a steady increase in the number of homes for sale in the UK, so the medium term effect will be to level out the average house price fairly quickly, but the number of new homes for sale is still 37% below levels seen during January between 2005 and 2008.

Mark Leaper at Moneymatchmaker.com commented saying "Whilst the figures appear encouraging, it is worth remembering just how tough times have been for the UK consumer and the end is still some time away". He went on to say "Finding a mortgage match is a challenge and the best mortgage deals can very often be found by using the services of one of the many experienced uk mortgage brokers".

Figures recently released have shown that 2009 mortgage lending was 60% lower than for 2007. The fourth quarter of 2009 saw a dramatic improvement in the number of mortgages taken out, which is believed to partially attributed to the UK governments initiative to boost the housing market by offering a stamp duty tax break that ended on 31^st December 2009.

The total lending from mortgage lenders for 2009 was £143.6bn, which is down by 43% from the 2008 figure of £254.1bn, and a further 60% lower than the recorded figure of £362.6bn for 2007.

The dramatic drop in the number of mortgages in 2009 was attributed to the low numbers of mortgages completed in the first part of 2009.

House purchases, which includes first time buyer mortgages, totalled 517,000 for the whole of 2009, which was a slight increase from the 516,200 recorded during 2008, but that figure was just over half of those before the recession started bite, with 2007 recording 1,015,100 people buying a new house or remortgaging.

Mortgage Repossessions in 2009 reached a total of 46,000, which was 2000 lower than the Council of Mortgage Lenders most recent forecast of 48,000, and much lower than they previously forecast at the start of 2009 with the figure then expected to be 75,000.

Having said that, the figure was still 15% higher than the total house repossession cases recorded in 2008 of 40,000. Recent figures forecast for 2010 by the CML indicated that they expected 2010 to show 205,000 mortgage arrears cases and 53,000 home repossessions, but this is also expected to be more than the year will actually bring as the UK unemployment situation is proving to be better than expected with more people either holding on to their jobs or managing to find new ones.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, commented saying: "The fact that mortgage arrears and possessions did not rise as much as we feared in 2009 is testament to the effect of low interest rate and a great deal of concerted effort by lenders, government and the advice sector to help borrowers to address financial difficulties when they occur."

He went on to say that "2010 will still be a challenging year for many borrowers and some households will inevitably find their finances being squeezed if interest rates do rise".

Mark Leaper at Moneymatchmaker.com said "The figures are very encouraging, the number of higher LTV mortgage products is increasing, helping to kick start the first time buyer mortgage market, which has to be good news for the rest of the UK housing market, as property sales are on the increase.

Leaper went on to say: "Low interest rates have been a significant factor in helping to keep the number of home repossessions down, but he believed that some lenders could do more still to ease the burden on the UK homeowner, by reviewing their standard variable rates in a downward direction. Whilst I accept that they need to remain appealing to investors, there is no real reason why they cannot operate a mortgage lending standard variable rate and an investor's standard variable rate, which definitely would get the thumbs up from under pressure UK homeowners".

The Council of Mortgage Lenders recently revealed that buy-to-let mortgage lending had dropped significantly with figures being reported at an 8 year low in 2009.

The total amount of buy to let mortgages issued in 2009 equated to only 5.9% of all mortgage lending, and this is taking into account new buy to let lending increasing for the second consecutive quarter in Q4 2009. 2009 saw gross buy to let mortgage lending at £8.5bn, which is dramatically lower than £27.2bn in 2008.

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A quarter of UK adults are concealing some form of debts from their partners, new research has concluded.

The survey found that the average amount of secret debt from sources such as credit cards, loans and overdrafts is £4,096.32.

In total, this amounts to about £50.1 billion in hidden liabilities split between 12.2 million people.

Those most likely to lie about their debt were in the 19 to 30 age bracket, while consumers aged 36-40 who had the greatest amount of concealed borrowing at £5,883.80, just ahead of the 46-50 age group at £5,880.47.

People keen to do something about their financial problems might wish to take out a debt consolidation loan to lower their interest payments.

Mark Leaper of Debt Advice Online recently commented that people in the UK need to learn to budget better than they current do to avoid the slippery slope and endless debt problems.

A new Europe-backed money management scheme is starting up in the east of England.

Using £400,000 of regional development fund aid, the East of England Financial Capability and Inclusion Project will be led by Citizens Advice.

While much of the advice will focus on helping those who are unemployed to get back into work, the training will also help people with debt and money management matters.

An East of England Development Agency board member remarked: "Skills and attitudes towards money management are important in every aspect of people's lives, especially in these tough economic times."

Those who are in jobs but still have problems dealing with the amount of money they owe may wish to take out a debt consolidation loan.

Being in work does not prevent many people having money problems, the Child Poverty Action Group has said.

It noted this after a report last week by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showed that 2.1 million children now live in poverty despite at least one of their parents working but still needing help in getting out of debt.

An industry spokesman has said that the majority of credit card holders would be unhappy if they discovered that their account suppliers pursued a policy of paying off the cheapest debt first.

According to a poll, such a revelation would make 38 per cent of customers angry, with ten per cent surprised and eight per cent shocked.

Such an arrangement - known as adverse ordering - was labelled unfair by 65 per cent of consumers and 67 per cent believe the government should act to force credit card providers to allow the most costly debt to be eliminated first.

Those faced with such methods of charging might find it cheaper to clear their cards with a debt consolidation loan.

A spokesman for mortgage lender Nationwide said: "This is a fairness issue and a positive order of payments is now the fairest way forward for consumers."

The spokesman added that he hoped government action would ensure this takes place.

Mark Leaper, Head of media and public affairs at the Moneymatchmaker.com said recently that it is unrealistic to expect everyone to avoid spending heavily on their cards when the economy is in such flux and with Christmas not long past, it is no wonder that credit card debt problems are being faced by a large percentage of the UK population.

UK mortgage lending by building societies is on the UP!

Reports released today by the Building Societies Association show that mortgage lending increased by 15% from £1.6bn in November 2009, to £1.8bn in December 2009.

Mark Leaper at Moneymatchmaker.com commented saying "mortgage lenders would normally report a seasonal decline at the end of the year, so an increase is more than good news".

Leaper went on to say that a significant percentage of the increase would have to be attributed to home buyers rushing to beat the goverments tax break on stamp duty that closed at the end of December 2009.

Given the lending increase seen in December, the total gross lending for that month was £18.6bn, which is still way below the normal figure expected, with december 2008's lending being more than double at £37.5bn.

Mortgage approvals in December 2009 were up at £1,038m compared to £901m in December 2008.

It is still believed that the way to find the best deals is compare mortgage rates using either one of the UK's many mortgage brokers or a mortgage comparison website to compare the market for your typical mortgage needs.

A new report indicating that the rate of repossession is down and set to fall further has been welcomed.

Data from the Financial Services Authority has revealed that the third quarter of 2009 brought a 2.8 per cent drop in repossessions from the previous three months.

Commenting on this, Russell Hamblin-Boone, head of communications at the Finance and Leasing Association, said: "We have seen a fall in the number of house repossessions that are happening in quarter three, which we welcome with caution."

However, he added, while this suggests matters are looking up, it is important that measures in place to support householders with mortgages remain.

He went on to say that the key to the mortgages market as a whole is still to reduce the wholesale cost of such finance.

Recently the government revealed that extra help is being extended to those facing the threat of home repossession.

Housing minister John Healey said he was providing an extra £4 million to enable more free advice to be given for this purpose.