Financial Advice and Loans News

The average credit card holder in Britain is now in over £2000 of debt. We spent years spending what we wanted when we wanted it but it’s clear from the slump in retail sales that the time has come to tighten our purse strings. Here are a few tips on how to save money and make the most of what you already have in the recession.

Mortgage: For a lot of people, their mortgage is their most costly outgoing. Your home is the most important thing you own, and certainly something that it is worth taking out a loan for. But that doesn’t mean it’s an unavoidable burden we all have to bear. Shop around a bit and make sure you really can’t find a deal that would be better for you. There are thousands of different alternatives out there, you just have to make sure you’re getting the most out of your options. Overpayments are a good thing – if you find yourself with a bit of extra cash to spare, don’t keep it aside to fritter away on things you don’t need, make extra payments whenever you can and you could save thousands on interest in the long term.

Credit cards: Just resist. Make sure you don’t spend money you don’t have, if you can’t afford to pay it off that month, just don’t buy it. Try to pay off any debt you owe as quickly as possible (don’t just pay the minimum each month if you could afford more) and if you don’t think you can resist spending more on your cards again, cut them up. Always make sure you don’t go beyond your means.

Car: Owning a car is an expensive business. It’s not just the cost of the car itself but road tax, maintenance, insurance, servicing, MOT… The list goes on and on. Think about whether a car is really necessary. If you can’t live without one it might be worth considering a car contract hire agreement instead of buying one outright. You pay the car off in manageable monthly instalments and often you can get other additional extras like road tax or servicing costs as well. You just have to find the best deal. And the best thing is that often the more desirable car you choose with contract hire the better deals you can get – you could find yourself with a car you would never have been able to afford to buy outright, even in better times!

Sell sell sell!: If you have clutter and unused things around your house, don’t just ignore them or dump them off at your local charity shop. If you’ve got a cupboard full of clothes you don’t wear or gadgets you never did use, there is someone out there who will want them. Ebay is a wonderful thing, it’s quick and easy and once you get a bit of practise at advertising on there you could find that you could make a nice little extra bit of cash out of your old junk. Give it a go, or you’ll never know unless you try!

As the recession deepens and the credit crunch continues to bite income and profits in the UKs financial services sector continues to depreciate. Profitability in the sector is going downhill fast with approximately 55% of city firms reporting a fall.

The CBI have said that there is a ‘clear sign that tightened credit markets are hitting the wider economy’ as the amount of business conducted with manufacturers, retailers and other commercial firms also shrank at a record rate, job losses increased and investment plans were cut.

London City Airport is one of the service providers who have been severely affected by the economic downturn. The airport experienced record passenger figures during 2008 with 3.3 million passengers passing using the airport services. This represented a massive 12% increase on the figures for 2007. But this continued growth is not likely to be reflected in the figures for 2009.

The increase in passenger figures at London City Airport was brougt about by a number of major developments that took place during 2008. In October the airport received approval to increase the  flight movements from 80,000 to 120,000 per year.

The airport recently announced that, from autumn 2009, they will be offering their first long haul flights, with British Airways, to New York. Passengers bound for new york will conveniently be able to go through customs and immigration checks while on stopover at Shannon airport in Ireland. Shannon will be the first European airport to be granted pre-clearance facilities for transatlantic flights to North America.

But even with the addition of new services like this and new routes the airport is remaining cautious about the prospects for 2009. By the end of the year the airport will host no less than nine airlines servicing 33 destinations in the UK and Europe and with the 2012 Olympic games just around the corner the airport is poised for great success. But this is very much dependent upon stability returning to the financial services industry.

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