Savings

Holiday strategies to refresh a frugal soul

March 20, 2012
Slow and steady

Simple strategies for spending more time on holiday for less money while enjoying it more.

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Conjure up big savings without sacrificing your quality of life

September 27, 2011
Slow and steady

Sacrificing consumption now in order to save for the future is meant to be hard. But you can relieve much of the pain by devising a budget in line with how you want to live your life rather than how you’re told to live your life.

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National Savings Index-Linked certificates to return with a £2 billion bang in 2011

March 23, 2011
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Index-linked National Savings certificates are to return in 2011-2012, the government has confirmed in the small print of its budget. Get on the waiting list!

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How to stick to your saving goals

March 8, 2011
Slow and steady

Saving is a long, hard journey and it’s all too easy to give up or go astray. Here are some simple tactics that will help you fulfill your goals.

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What the Buffett family has always known about cash

March 3, 2011
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Warren Buffett’s grandfather had more common sense about cash than many investment bankers of today. Here’s some great wisdom he passed down the family.

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Simple saving tips to help meet your investment goals

March 1, 2011
Slow and steady

How to dramatically increase your savings rate to match the most stretching of investment goals.

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Inflation linked savings bonds on the rise

February 24, 2011
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Inflation linked savings bonds look set to become more common than ex-North African dictators house-hunting in London. But not all are created equally.

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What to do now you can’t buy National Savings certificates

July 21, 2010
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National savings certificates offered attractive vehicles for our savings, but there are various alternative homes for your money.

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Find out when you’ll make your million

June 22, 2010
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Who wants to be a millionaire? Find out how to turn vague hopes into a pot of money with this motivating personal finance tool.

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Something for everyone: the new Lloyds retail bond

June 16, 2010
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With the common shares tempting value investors yet others fearing a second banking crash, these high-yielding 5-year bonds look a good compromise.

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Tax relief upfront is the same as tax relief later: Pensions versus ISAs

April 28, 2010
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There are many reasons why you might use a pension instead of an ISA, but make sure you understand how the tax reliefs compare.

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Video: Jeremy Clarkson on pensions

April 21, 2010

Jeremy Clarkson is right: Pensions don’t attract ‘hot chicks at nightclubs’. But just wait til they see the size of my ISA…

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The best cash investment rates deliver far superior returns

March 29, 2010
Getting the best cash investment rates means moving your money

Being a ‘rate tart’ and moving your money to follow the best interest rates may sound nerdy, but it substantially boosts returns.

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ISA limits to increase annually with inflation: Budget 2010

March 24, 2010
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ISA allowances are to increase with inflation from 2010, says UK Chancellor Alistair Darling. Not before time.

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Emergency funds: The ten essential steps

October 1, 2009
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Your emergency fund should be in easily accessible cash. Also, under no circumstances is a half-price trip to the Maldives an emergency.

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It’s an emergency (fund)!

September 29, 2009
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Everyone knows to put money aside in a cash savings just in case something goes wrong… don’t they?

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Bad debts are rising at Zopa

August 5, 2009
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I have now seen a third debt go ‘bad’ at Zopa, the peer-to-peer lender. This time it was in the A market, which is supposedly pretty safe.

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Abbey 5% savings account helps first-time buyers where government doesn’t

May 18, 2009

First-time buyers under 35 who are saving a cash deposit for a house might want to haul over to Abbey’s website, pronto. The bank has a new product called the Abbey 5% ‘Home Saver’ Account that at a glance looks ideal for any saver who qualifies. It certainly beats the UK government’s approach to helping [...]

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Returns edge down at Zopa as new investors chase higher interest rates

February 16, 2009

A quick update on Zopa, the UK-based peer-to-peer lender that has been proving its worth for both lenders and borrowers during the credit crunch. As I wrote last month, interest rates had been rising for Zopa lenders, but the spike up in bad debt that I feared might have occurred due to the credit crunch [...]

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Zopa update: Interest rates rise for savers, but bad debt doesn’t

January 7, 2009

Back in March 2008, I asked if rising interest rates at Zopa, the British peer-to-peer lender, were an opportunity for cash-rich savers or an accident waiting to happen: In the A*, 24-month market, I seem to be in the zone with an interest rate of 10.5%, which Zopa estimates will give me 9.5% after bad [...]

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How much interest do you earn on a million pounds?

December 15, 2008

Congratulations, you’re a millionaire, and you found this site by asking Google: How much interest do you earn on a million pounds? How did you make a million pounds? Perhaps: You won the lottery You robbed a bank You sold a small terraced house in central London You married someone who owned a large terraced [...]

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Should you swap your shares for an investment trust on a discount?

July 15, 2008

(Image: rednuht) During a bear market in shares (like the bear market we’re in as I type), investors flee the scene like lemmings leaping off the Titanic. One effect of such pessimism is widening discounts on investment trusts. When nobody wants to buy them, big, venerable investment trusts can easily trade at 10% discounts to [...]

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Zopa simplifies; scraps shorter-term loans

April 9, 2008

Just when peer-to-peer bank Zopa was getting interesting again thanks to higher rates, it’s somewhat annoyingly announced plans to limit the kinds of loans you can make with your savings. The new regime will see one, two and four-year loan terms scrapped, with only 36 or 60 month loans being offered to borrowers. This means [...]

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Zopa interest rates falling

April 3, 2008

A quick update to my post of last week discussing Zopa rates rising because of the credit crisis. Rates have now come down – my main lending offer to A* customers is now out of the ‘Zone of Possible Agreement’ (ZOPA), which in English means people can get such better rates from other Zopa lenders [...]

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Are rising Zopa interest rates an opportunity or a time-bomb?

March 27, 2008

I’ve just been checking out my Zopa savings account, where I’ve noticed interest rates are going up. I only ever lend to A and A* borrowers (people with great or better than great credit records) and the rate Zopa is quoting me as competitive is much higher than usual. In fact, in the A*, 24-month [...]

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Four quick sanity checks to stop the credit crisis killing your finances

March 25, 2008

We can’t wish away the credit crisis. However sensible you or I have been with our investments, borrowing and spending, we can’t wind back the clock and stop bankers throwing money at poor people who’ll never be able to pay it back, and who are often now paying a far higher price – repossession, dislocation, [...]

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Your ultimate guide to UK savings

November 20, 2007
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The safest place to hold your money in the short-term is in cash. Sounds obvious, but cash is money. Shares, property, bonds, gold and pension funds are all assets whose value constantly fluctuates according to the whims of their markets. You can only be certain what such assets are worth when you come to sell [...]

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