Money Saving News for September 2009
- Lower mortgage rates fail to lead to cheaper deals, says John Charcol - 15th September, 2009
Independent mortgage lender John Charcol has said that, with the Bank of England's decision to keep its base rate at 0.5 per cent for the seventh month last week, home loans may still cost the consumer.
According to the firm, lenders are still trying to keep up profits to level up their balance sheets so while mortgage rates have seen a dip in the past few months, the cost of the loans may still be high... - Small suppliers beat EDF Energy on utility bills - 15th September, 2009
A money-saving website has said that small businesses are now challenging major energy firms by offering cheaper deals on gas and electricity, which could reduce the amount paid on utility bills.
The money-saving tip was given by uSwitch.com, which cites new plans from Ovo and FirstUtility, working out at £978 and £967 a year for energy bills respectively... - Council of Mortgage Lenders defends base rate discrepancy - 11th September, 2009
With the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee yesterday (September 10th) deciding to keep the base rate at 0.5 per cent, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has explained what it means for home loans.
While some reports from websites such as moneysupermarket.com claim that mortgage interest levels should not be so high when the base rate is at an all-time low, the CML claims it is not that simple... - Home contents insurance claims drop - 10th September, 2009
New research by Sainsbury's Finance has found that the number of home contents insurance claims the firm received has decreased in the past year.
In the first six months of this year, the firm saw 373,000 people needing to invoke their home contents insurance because of an accident or theft, while this figure stood at 527,000 in the same period in 2008... - RBS cuts financial loan fees - 9th September, 2009
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has succumbed to external pressures by reducing the fees it charges on its overdraft financial loan by 50 per cent.
Cutting the amount from £30 a day to £15 a day, the bank has still been criticised by financial advice website moneysupermarket.com for maintaining such a high figure, which will not help those dealing with debt in the current economic conditions... - Ladies' car insurance firm launches safety device - 9th September, 2009
A leading ladies' car insurance firm has announced that its customers can now purchase a new key ring which is designed to make them feel safer when driving alone at night.
Research by Sheilas' Wheels has shown that 33 per cent of women get panicked or anxious when getting into their car because it takes them so long to find their keys among all the other items in their handbag... - High interest savings rates 'not checked' - 8th September, 2009
A new report has found that Brits are not making sure they are receiving high interest savings rates on their accounts, despite the fact the base rate is currently at an all-time low.
According to Saga, 61 per cent of those with a savings account in the UK do not know what the return on the product is and 24 per cent do not look at the interest rate after opening it... - Stamp duty increases home mortgage urgency - 8th September, 2009
Those looking to take out a home mortgage on a property valued at between £125,000 and £175,000 in the next few months should try and complete the transaction before the stamp duty holiday ends, according to one firm.
Santander believes that with the current stamp duty break coming to an end on December 31st this year and the average home mortgage application taking three months to be fully organised, people should be aiming to sort the loans out by September 30th... - Seven-year-olds overestimate savings - 4th September, 2009
A new poll has found that young children have wild ideas about how much they expect to have deposited into a savings account to fund themselves in the future.
Conducted by the Post Office, the survey asked seven-year-old youngsters how much they will have saved up by the time they are 18, with one in ten believing they will have accrued £1 million or more... - Auto insurance benefits with fuel reduction - 4th September, 2009
As well as reducing the amount spent on fuel now that tax on the commodity has been increased, financial website Beatthatquote.com has revealed that certain tactics can also bring down auto insurance premiums.
Writing for MSN Money, Laura Starkey from the site said that with August 31st seeing fuel prices rise 2.3 pence per litre, motorists will be looking to cut down on the costs of driving, including auto insurance.
Ms Starkey advised drivers to reduce the amount the use their car – this will lead to using less petrol and also decreasing the amount of time spent on the road and the chance of damaging the vehicle...