An Aviva survey in December 2011 revealed that, of the average family’s unsecured debts of over £10,000, a number of these attract high, ongoing interest rates or charges. They can be avoided if borrowers paid them off with a fixed loan instead. And depending on the sums and the time period involved, the potential savings can run into thousands of pounds.

The following are the types of credit which can cost you a great deal in interest and fees, and which you should be looking to pay off as quickly as possible.

STORE CARDS & CREDIT CARDS are particularly costly, of course – but do you realise just how costly? Unfortunately credit cards not only carry a very high monthly rate of interest, but the real problem is that they add interest onto the current balance every month, which is added onto the previous month’s balance, and so on – this principle is called “compound interest”.

The survey revealed that the average family owed around £2,250 on credit cards and £750 on store cards, a total of around £3,000. So these are two debts which could save you a significant sum in interest in the future if they were paid off.

BANK OVERDRAFTS are another area where you can end up paying hefty fees. It’s costly being overdrawn in the first place, but if you then go over your limit, you’ll find yourself paying an even higher rate of interest, with eye-watering charges for every transaction, and charges for the bank sending you a letter to inform you of this! There could also be charges for returning (or “bouncing” cheques), whilst other creditors may then charge you when their repayment doesn’t arrive on time. It can feel like they’re all ganging up on you!

According to the survey, the average family owed around £1,000 in bank overdrafts.

DOORSTEP CREDIT, where borrowing is conducted via agents who visit clients’ homes, also attracts very high rates of interest. These charges soar when repayments are missed. And if the loan looks like being repaid on schedule, then clients are often “persuaded” to borrow further sums, costing them more anyway!

The amount owed across the country in “doorstep credit” is equivalent to £675 on average for every family.

“REVOLVING FINANCE”: this refers to certain credit deals which act like credit cards and add interest onto the closing balance each month. Typical products can involve double glazing and cars; if you have an agreement like this, it’ll work out costly over a period of time!

SOME TYPICAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q:  So, you’re suggesting that I pay off all my outstanding credit with a fixed-rate loan?

A:  No, only those which attract ongoing monthly interest charges and/or additional fees. Paying off an ordinary fixed-rate loan or HP agreement would only benefit you if your loan was at a lower rate than  your current one – and you might be charged for repaying early, too!

Q:  Isn’t this just “robbing Peter to pay Paul”?

A:  No, because you would save money if you repaid the types of credit listed: firstly, because fixed-rate loans generally have much lower rates of interest, and secondly, because you would be saving on future interest charges and/or fees. But withdrawing cash on a credit card to make another loan/credit card repayment would be very unwise!

Q:  What is the cheapest way of doing this?

A:  The cheapest method for homeowners would be a secured loan, although they could also opt for an unsecured loan at slightly higher interest rates. Tenants would only be eligible for unsecured loans, and even then, they would need a very good credit/employment history.

Q:  What sort of amounts are we talking about?

A:  For a secured loan, the minimum would normally be around £5,000. Unsecured loans would start from just a few hundred pounds. The maximum in both cases would depend on your personal circumstances and previous employment/credit history, of course.

Q:  If I pay off my store and credit cards, can I still use them?

A:  Yes, but you might be better advised to cut them in half – or perhaps put them somewhere safe for use in emergencies!

Q: Can I apply for a loan for other purposes?

A: Yes: cars, home improvements, business finance, etc. Just ask!

Choice Loans can help you arrange either a secured loan or an unsecured loan to help you rebalance your finances and we do not charge any up front fees. To apply simply go to the linked pages or call us on 0845 1260350 for a no obligation chat

This article was written for Choice Loans by Andrew Bramwell

An Aviva survey in December 2011 revealed that, of the average family’s unsecured debts of over £10,000, a number of these attract high, ongoing interest rates or charges. They can be avoided if borrowers paid them off with a fixed loan instead. And depending on the sums and the time period involved, the potential savings can run into thousands of pounds.

The following are the types of credit which can cost you a great deal in interest and fees, and which you should be looking to pay off as quickly as possible.

STORE CARDS & CREDIT CARDS are particularly costly, of course – but do you realise just how costly? Unfortunately credit cards not only carry a very high monthly rate of interest, but the real problem is that they add interest onto the current balance every month, which is added onto the previous month’s balance, and so on – this principle is called “compound interest”.

The survey revealed that the average family owed around £2,250 on credit cards and £750 on store cards, a total of around £3,000. So these are two debts which could save you a significant sum in interest in the future if they were paid off.

BANK OVERDRAFTS are another area where you can end up paying hefty fees. It’s costly being overdrawn in the first place, but if you then go over your limit, you’ll find yourself paying an even higher rate of interest, with eye-watering charges for every transaction, and charges for the bank sending you a letter to inform you of this! There could also be charges for returning (or “bouncing” cheques), whilst other creditors may then charge you when their repayment doesn’t arrive on time. It can feel like they’re all ganging up on you!

According to the survey, the average family owed around £1,000 in bank overdrafts.

DOORSTEP CREDIT, where borrowing is conducted via agents who visit clients’ homes, also attracts very high rates of interest. These charges soar when repayments are missed. And if the loan looks like being repaid on schedule, then clients are often “persuaded” to borrow further sums, costing them more anyway!

The amount owed across the country in “doorstep credit” is equivalent to £675 on average for every family.

“REVOLVING FINANCE”: this refers to certain credit deals which act like credit cards and add interest onto the closing balance each month. Typical products can involve double glazing and cars; if you have an agreement like this, it’ll work out costly over a period of time!

SOME TYPICAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q:  So, you’re suggesting that I pay off all my outstanding credit with a fixed-rate loan?

A:  No, only those which attract ongoing monthly interest charges and/or additional fees. Paying off an ordinary fixed-rate loan or HP agreement would only benefit you if your loan was at a lower rate than  your current one – and you might be charged for repaying early, too!

Q:  Isn’t this just “robbing Peter to pay Paul”?

A:  No, because you would save money if you repaid the types of credit listed: firstly, because fixed-rate loans generally have much lower rates of interest, and secondly, because you would be saving on future interest charges and/or fees. But withdrawing cash on a credit card to make another loan/credit card repayment would be very unwise!

Q:  What is the cheapest way of doing this?

A:  The cheapest method for homeowners would be a secured loan, although they could also opt for an unsecured loan at slightly higher interest rates. Tenants would only be eligible for unsecured loans, and even then, they would need a very good credit/employment history.

Q:  What sort of amounts are we talking about?

A:  For a secured loan, the minimum would normally be around £5,000. Unsecured loans would start from just a few hundred pounds. The maximum in both cases would depend on your personal circumstances and previous employment/credit history, of course.

Q:  If I pay off my store and credit cards, can I still use them?

A:  Yes, but you might be better advised to cut them in half – or perhaps put them somewhere safe for use in emergencies!

Q: Can I apply for a loan for other purposes?

A: Yes: cars, home improvements, business finance, etc. Just ask!

Choice Loans can help you arrange either a secured loan or an unsecured loan to help you rebalance your finances and we do not charge any up front fees. To apply simply go to the linked pages or call us on 0845 1260350 for a no obligation chat

This article was written for Choice Loans by Andrew Bramwell

Guest Blog by Ed Whiting, At-Large Fellowship Councillor leading the RSA’s work on crowdfunding. 

It’s almost a year to the day since I blogged about how crowdfunding could transform the RSA Fellowship. As crowdfunding starts to really take root as a way to support exciting new ideas and enterprises, I’m delighted that we’re moving towards making this happen at the RSA.

Since I joined the Fellowship Council last year, I’ve been struck by the sheer variety and volume of project ideas with real potential to change society – particularly from those funded under the Catalyst scheme. After a lot of discussion, we’ve decided to dip our toe in the crowdfunding water, and from September this year partner up with an existing crowdfunding platform to create a new RSA ‘curated’ crowdfunding area. This will help Fellowship projects like the Leeds empties and We Are Bedford (and many, many others) appeal for financial and ‘in-kind’ support from Fellows and the wider world to make their vision even bigger and better.

For me, it’s a great opportunity to show what RSA is about – great ideas supported by a great community, passionate about making lasting positive change to their world. If you’re interested in talking more about getting involved with this as project leader or supporter (or you’ve done crowdfunding already and want to share your insights), drop me a line.

But if you’re still wondering about what crowdfunding actually is or how it works, then there’s no better way to learn about crowdfunding than from someone who’s actually doing it. At a recent ‘RSA Reboot’ events (read about a previous one here to find out what they’re about) we met Jonathan Lister, of Shoreditch Works. Their vision is to build a new ‘village hall’ for local startups, and they’re seeking funding for it on Kickstarter.com right now. Their pitch is here, and if you move really fast, you can be a part of creating this new space – in return getting your name on a unique wall of thanks, receive a specially designed t-shirt, or gaining access to a great event. At the time of writing, Jonathan and co had already had gathered an impressive 114 backers and were making great progress towards their target – but I’ll let him speak for himself: -

@edwhiting1: In a Tweet, what is Shoreditch Works all about?

Jonathan – aka – @jayfresh: @shoreditchworks helps young companies get started and grow.

[The Tweet button is at the top - hint, hint, help spread the word].

Why did you pick Crowdfunding as the way to raise funds?

After a long time raising funds through friends, family and individual investors, we wanted to get the wider community involved. The publicity generated by a crowdfunding campaign is of equal if not greater value than the money raised – we’ve had a number of people pop up saying they want to support us or get involved.

We’re too small and young for banks or peer-to-peer lending platforms such as Funding Circle; we’re too old for platforms such as Seedrs. So it was a case of asking a lot of people to help with the project.

What did you do before you kicked it off on Kickstarter?

We spent a decent amount of time getting the video, the pitch and the rewards to the point where they were interesting to people.

So you’ve managed to do it – can any Fellow do it?

Yes! Kickstarter is very much about creative projects, so if a project doesn’t fit into this mould, something like IndieGoGo.com might be a better bet. If you want to explore the full set of sites out there? Nesta has a new page dedicated to solving this problem: http://www.crowdingin.com/

Great – so what are you top five tips to get started?:

1. Pitch something people want
2. Some people are just in it to buy your rewards, so make them good
3. Email EVERYONE
4. Share the milestones e.g. “we’ve raised £1000!” to keep the momentum going
5. Keep your backers updated and make them your ongoing advocates

So, watch this space. And PLEASE do back Jonathan and co’s excellent project here – http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/179276400/open-the-shoreditch-village-hall - and see the walking the talk on their top tips in this YouTube video:

Ed Whiting is the At-Large Fellowship Councillor leading on the RSA’s work on crowdfunding. You can follow Ed on Twitter @edwhiting1 - and you can learn more about the Fellowship Council. 

The Government has a political problem: over-crowding and delays in Accident and Emergency Wards up and down the country. As with anything in the NHS, the symptoms hint at deep-seated problems. Demand pressures, the shift to a new localised NHS helpline – 111 – replacing NHS Direct, cuts to community services over a period of time, and the 2004 GP Contract which meant that the vast majority of GPs opted out of providing out-of-hours care have all been cited as root causes.

The King’s Fund points to the difficulty of analysing the causes of the pressures as the data is so slippery across time. What is clear according to the King’s Fund analysis is whatever the cause, capacity limits are increasingly faced and this is why the 4 hour target for 95% of Accident and Emergency visits is being breached on a more frequent basis.

Jeremy Hunt’s problem, therefore, is that supply of accident and emergency is insufficient and almost all the solutions to that take time and are costly. He can look for NHS England to sweat over-stretched A+E departments further but that seems limited. He could bring more capacity on stream but that takes time and money. He could re-establish NHS Direct but that would be a stop-gap, cost money and would be politically embarrassing.

The problem from the GPs’ perspective is this leaves them and their 2004 GP contract which allowed an opt out from out-of-hours services. 2004 was a different funding universe to 2013. If the GPs are sensible they will take their cue from how other public services have been approached by the Conservative Secretaries of State. In both the Department for Education and Home Office there has been a willingness to publicly take on professions and their representative bodies with the objective of reforming public services. For example, through the Winsor Review process Theresa May has shown that Conservative Secretaries of State are more than prepared to drive through change even in potentially politically fraught circumstances.

All the signs are there that Jeremy Hunt has learned from his colleagues. His speech today was trailed a number of days ago. He will introduce a new chief inspector of GPs – a group of professionals he sees as ‘largely reactive’. He wants a new contract based on the quality of around the clock care. The new chief inspector will be critical in assessing that quality. This was not a surprise attack. Jeremy Hunt gave the GPs every opportunity to frame their response. And this morning it came- in exactly the form he was expecting and, indeed, wanted.

It’s quite simply political strategy. The representative body is painted as unreasonable, self-interested, and emotive. Then a communications strategy from the body comes along which appears to be exactly that. Her Majesty’s Opposition then amplifies that. The aim is to deflect attention from the solutions that may cost time and money and towards solutions that are more politically and fiscally manageable. If some emotional distance can be placed between the service and those it serves in the process then that works in favour of the planned reform too.

For the target group playing defence and muscle – the Stoke City strategy – seems to be working until, under relentless pressure the defence is breached. In other public services, in a context of austerity, this is precisely what has occurred. Perhaps the GPs will be the first to resist but it’s unlikely. The dynamic is now in motion and I know who my money’s on. The operational NHS may have been substantially devolved by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 but Secretaries of State are far from powerless. They still have access to institutional reform – a new inspector and contract - and political strategy to pursue their aims.

Somewhere in amongst all this there are patients but this process is now driven by the politics of reform and the fiscal context of a service facing rising demand. Unless the GPs can give Jeremy Hunt a way out that doesn’t involve fundamental reform of the GP contract, they are in a negotiation where they hold the weaker hand. The best chance they have is to appeal to reasonableness and demonstrate an alignment of their own position with the public interest. It’s not at all clear that ‘childish’ and ‘rubbish’ is the best way of going about that.

Anthony Painter is Director, Independent review of the Police Federation. His twitter feed is @anthonypainter.

1st Stop Guarantor Loans (“1st Stop Home Loans Ltd”)  Are based in Blackpool, Lancashire  Representative Example: The representative APR is 49.9%  it doesn’t tell you if this is (variable)  or fixed on the website but according to my calculations with the example provided on the website at 49.9 APR the payments and total amount payable are quoted a little over. I will explain this in more detail at a later point. 1st Stop Guarantor Loans according to their website are also loans brokers so  be prepared there maybe fees to pay or expect if they don’t want to provide you a loan that you’ll get all sorts of messages from Tom Dick or Harry Loans. As you can see if you check their website it is very geared to loads of different products. They claim they are new to Guarantor Loans and my criticism may seem a little harsh but please 1st Stop Guarantor Loans give the Guarantor Loans customers a little bit more of a clue as they are more savvy than you think. This website alone attracts over 750 people a day average showing that the customer is willing to shop around a bit.

All bad credit considered however both the borrower and the Guarantor will be fully Credit Checked leaving an imprint on your credit file.