Prudential Financial Planning has already been rolled out to about 200,000 customers.  The service will provide advice to consumers only about financial products from Prudential itself and will differ markedly from the “Man from the Pru” campaign that ended in 2001.

“During the 20th century, the Man from the Pru became the trusted financial adviser for as many as one in three households in the UK” commented the company in a Linkedin advertisement.  “Times have changed but our values remain.  And now, in a new age of uncertainty, we’re being overwhelmed by the call for Prudential to return to financial advice.”

The Man from the Pru was a service that used as many as 1,600 employees to visit customers door-to-door to collect money for premiums and discuss Prudential’s financial products with customers.  The new Prudential Financial Planning service will contact existing customers by mail or phone.  Its 80 advisers will conduct home visits to those who express an interest in learning more about saving for retirement.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Prudential Launches new Retirement Planning Service

It is in this context that many Britons were dismayed to recently learn that water bills are projected to rise more than 8% in the near future.  While water is not something human beings can do without, there are, in fact, a number of ways to use less of it, which can help to mitigate the impact of the price increase.

Simply turning off the tap while shaving or brushing your teeth can save more than a litre every fifteen seconds, which translates into a significant cost saving over the course of a month or year.  Installing new water-efficient fixtures can actually save families in two ways, since much water consumption consists of heated water.  A water-efficient showerhead, for example, helps families to cut back on both their water and gas bills.

A final strategy to consider is a water meter.  In many cases, the unmetered charge is actually over-estimating your true usage and a metered arrangement will cost less.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Strategies for Saving on Water Bills

The same principle holds true for car finance, but in the case of a car loan the amount outstanding will usually gain interest for a few years.  Mortgages, in contrast, can take decades to pay down in the normal scheme of things.  This means that putting an extra £100 toward a car loan will result in lower eventual savings than if that amount had been put toward a mortgage – assuming that the two loans carry the same rate of interest.

Still, there are some things to beware of when using this strategy.  As overpaying on a loan will result in a lower total amount of profit for the lender, some banking institutions frown on the practice and apply fees to customers who make payments in advance.  Some banks allow up to 10% overpayment per year, however.  It is important that before you begin an overpayment strategy, you investigate whether your lender will impose a penalty, and if so, when that penalty will become effective.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Paying Down Mortgages Early can Yield Large Benefits

Even a cursory credit card comparison reveals that a payment protection insurance plan is available for some and not others.  These plans are generally designed to protect consumers in case they lose their jobs and are unable to make their credit card payments.  In such instances, the plan will take over payments for a limited number of months.  Customers typically pay for this form of insurance each month through a small charge that is added to their credit card bill.

Unfortunately, not payment protection insurance on cards is proving satisfactory for the customers who have been paying for it.  The Financial Ombudsman Service has released data revealing that complaints about such plans have increased sharply.  More than 55,000 complaints were filed during the last quarter of 2011.  This is an increase of 10%.

The increase in complaints is alarming enough, but for many consumers the worse news is that only about 70% of them were settled in favour of the consumer.  While this may sound positive, it is a decided decrease from the 92% “consumer wins” rate that prevailed during the previous quarter.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Payment Protection Insurance Proves Problematic for Consumers

Several factors will contribute to the expected increase in debt.  Salaries have been stagnant for some time in terms of their real purchasing power as inflation has steadily eaten away at the value of the pound.  For many, though, the prospect of a salary at all has become a hope rather than a reality.  Redundancy has led to increasing unemployment, resulting in a greater strain on charities such as Shelter, which strives to provide housing to those in need.  Indeed, according to Shelter, nearly 1 million people are already using payday loans merely to keep ahead of ongoing obligations such as rent or mortgage payments.

Meanwhile, debt relief orders are also becoming common, with 44,000 low cost bankruptcies granted since they first became available in 2009.  More debt relief requests are pending with authorities, who must decide if better debt management will allow those in arrears to pay back part of their obligations.

Times are no doubt difficult, and while improved money management skills will not immediately resolve all the debt issues consumers face, they can, in fact, improve an individual’s financial situation.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Debt Projections for 2012 Bleak

Pensions Minister Steve Webb summarised the findings, remarking that “with fewer people saving into a pension, lower annuity rates and an average of 23 years in retirement, many people could face a poorer future in their later lives.”

As a response to this decline in voluntary participation, the government will begin to institute a plan under which companies are required to enrol their staff in pension schemes designed for the workplace.  These additional savings toward retirement should assist people to exercise better debt management during their golden years.  Instead of going far into debt and then needing a bad credit loan, those with pensions may be better able to keep up with their on-going financial obligations.

Minister Webb stressed the importance of planning ahead for retirement: “We simply must put a stop to this trend and get people saving.  Automatic enrolment, beginning for the largest employers later this year, will get millions of people saving, many for the first time.”

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Government Seeks to Improve Pension Savings Rate

Paying down loans and other outstanding debt, in fact, is one of the best things that a consumer can do when bank interest rates are low.  Consider a scenario in which a given individual owes money on a credit card that is currently charging 18%.  At the same time, his savings account is earning less than 5%.  It makes little sense to bank any discretionary money available under these circumstances; it is far better to eliminate some or all of the debt that is increasing at the higher interest rate than to save money only to realise a pittance in profit.  Indeed, when interest rates are very low, the rate of inflation may outstrip them, making saving money in the bank a losing proposition – literally.

Periods of low interest rates present a good time to work on better debt management through a reduction in outstanding balances.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Savings Rate Took a Steep Dip in 2011

The Payments Council did later indicate that it had changed its mind regarding cheques, but this new refusal to reinstate guarantee cards for them is raising eyebrows.  It now appears that the Payments Council is moving ahead with plans to phase out the use of cheques in Britain, after all.

Although many Britons will most likely begin paying a variety of bills using mobile payments technology such as the new mobile phone “Google wallet” system, those who are leery of technology may find that any phase out of cheques means an increased used of credit cards to meet ordinary obligations.  This will raise debt management issues for many people since cards generally come with a greater variety of fees than do cheques.  For example, some cards have grace periods while others charge interest from the day an item is purchased.

The variability in terms, conditions, and interest rates will mean that consumers who want the best deal will need to be vigilant about using sites that offer credit card comparison tools.  Otherwise, the long-term decline of the paper cheque may ultimately mean that purchases in general become more costly.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Cheque Guarantee Card Decision Raises Important Questions

The Consumer Prices Index during November showed that the nation is currently experiencing 4.8% inflation; the Retail Prices Index was higher, reaching 5.2%.  In order to maintain the value of any money saved, an account would need to earn at least 6%, and that’s only for a taxpayer responsible for paying the basic rate.  Those with higher incomes are subject to higher tax rates on their interest income, which means that they need savings accounts that will pay them closer to an 8% yield.

There simply aren’t any savings accounts offering such high returns at present.  In order to generate higher returns, consumers would have to invest in riskier investments, but then they might end up losing the funds invested entirely.  Savings accounts are safe by comparison, but in the current economic climate, their value is being slowly drained away by inflation.

There is little to be done directly about this problem, but consumers can maximise their financial resources by making sure that they pay as little as possible for goods and services.  Online price comparison sites help Britons find the lowest possible prices so their money can go as far as possible.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

Banking: Savings are no Hedge Against Inflation

It is important for me to maintain my status as a practical and/or unusual gift giver. I like to give – and receive – practical gifts, so I know that they will be used. Even if a gift is appreciated, it seems silly to me to put it on a shelf or at the back of the wardrobe where it will never be seen, much less used.

This year presents a challenge due to the arrival of a new significant other. I am going to try to institute a ‘no presents’ rule, but that never works. I have already started to think about what I will buy. When faced with this kind of dilemma, I automatically turn to The Gift Experience. There are many practical gifts that are also fun. For him, I am leaning toward an experience day – something unusual and exciting. It helps that there are many choices so I know I can find something that he will like and would not buy for himself. Perhaps ice climbing or cooking lessons. There is still a little time to think about it.

If you are looking to get money to buy a gift for Christmas then why not take look into faster payday loans which will help you borrow money up to a 30 day period. You can apply now and get the money in your account on the same day.

Personal Finance & Money Saving Blog

The Gift Experience