Sep 22

Save Pounds and call yourself a citizen of Great Britain

•    ONE Bank Theory: Savers in Britain are suffering from a double dose of high inflation and low interest rates, which is why it makes sense to seek out the best possible deal on your savings.  If you aren’t prepared to monitor your rate – and possibly switch accounts – you could end up with a dud deal. Every bank account in Britain may require minimum balances to be maintained with them. The requisite minimum balances can vary from £ 10-100. Therefore in case you have accounts with multiple banks what you have done is either you have parted considerable sum of your savings for not so attractive Rate of Return (between 2.75-3.1%) or you have risked yourself to imposition of penalties of not maintaining average balances, therefore it is advisable to stick to ONE bank which caters your banking needs largely.

•    Operating account out of branch is rewarding: Nowadays, Banks in Britain emphasis on customers doing banking without visiting branch in person. To save employee/human personnel cost most of the British Banks require their customers to make their banking transaction On-line or via Mobile. Banks from time to time announce rewards on using online banking, mobile banking or debit cards/ATM cards.  These reward points can be redeemed either in the form of cash or in vouchers on in the form of free facilities such as free cheque books.

•    More Plastic/Multiple Credit Cards will always cost you more than you spend: For young Britons, use of credit card in excessive can also play an important role in making a dent into your individual saving account. More of number of plastic credit cards means more safety and more mental precaution/discipline required. Multiple credit cards give a deception of large safety net for low income Britons.  Not only managing multiple cards is a cumbersome job but also time consuming. Maintaining single credit card and making payment on time will not only give a healthy boost to your credit history but will also reduce you pain to keep track of many and above all minimize the chances of a missed payment, minimize the charges of late payment or non-usage somewhere between £12-25 each year of every credit card in your name. If you can practice a mental yoga of sticking to one credit card you would soon realize that the line of credit offered to you by having one single credit card is as much as you would have by juggling with multiple credit cards.

•   Managing your Mobile Wireless Connection Wisely: Some young folks in UK get wrapped into mobile phone contacts and do not break it as it would attract an early termination fee between £100-150. Try to suspend the cell phone account for some time and you would realize that the mobile phone company shall not be able to impose a termination fee for at least now.

•    Can you realistically afford to own a Car: Cars and other forms of personal transport are the essential part of day to day life today in UK in spite of UK having one of the best public transport networks in the World? In case you are looking for buying a Car you need to ensure that apart from the design, interior and mileage you need to understand about machinery too. A new car has to be low on the maintenance and has to have reasonable resale value. From time to time car manufacturers announce attractive offers and incentives for coming down to car dealership and taking a test ride. Friendship with car sales personnel and offer making a informed referral to them can help a young Briton earn some free maintenance vouchers from these car sales personnel. Every penny saved on maintenance and fuel is penny earned. Owing a Car comes with its own baggage such as fooling around with friend in free hours and weekends or your friends asking you for free rides.

•    In UK Is Insurance Renewal is better than new! : Every year you do not have to shop for cheaper and better car insurance or a life insurance policy, because every time you buy new insurance there is a cost for nearly 4-12% attached to it. Your insurance agent might encourage you to switch to a new/cheaper car Insurance company but you should know that every time you make a sale or purchase or a switch you might not earn but you insurance agent/broker does. So be rational while you listen and act on your agent’s advice. Sometimes getting trapped into promotional or what are called a “teaser offers” are not always in your interest to switch car insurance and life insurance companies. Most of the time consistency and sticking to the same insurance company pays and saves you money. Just like Credit Cards offer Credit Card Debt consolidation so do New Insurance Agents offer Consolidation of your insurance policies. But a same time being informed about what the insurance agent has to offer is extremely important.

•    Less Roof On Your Head Is More Money in your Bank Account: Some Britons get trapped in the myth that by affording a large house they are forced to have a larger mortgage payment and therefore are building big equity in their House. The house should be big enough to accommodate your needs but should not be a tough task to maintain the same. The worst thing that can happen in a large House is you acquire and store too many unwanted things and you would save thousands on utility/maintenance/insurance/property tax bills.

•    Consumer in the King in UK only if you ask few intelligent Questions before Making a Purchase: Always ask for the STORE RETURN POLICY while purchasing a low value or a high value consumer durable. This would help you save huge in the long run. While making a new purchase from a store you can always ask for their return policy in writing. Next time when you want to upgrade/ renovate your house appliances you might be able to return some of your old stuff and buy new one. Also when you think of buying anything new, do pay visit to second hand market too, sometimes furniture or paintings or antiques are available in good conditions in these markets and just a touch up to them will make it new.

•    Think twice before availing discounts: We all have hidden greed that has to be realized and suppressed most of the times and it goes like this. Suppose a shopkeeper offers that you buy one item and the second item can be purchase for 50% off. We get trapped and spend unnecessary extra hour to look for an item we do not need just because we have this 50% off coupon. Never get trapped by such greed and temptation and get back home with only what you need for now. By using the 50% off coupon on your add on purchase you have actually spend an extra 50% rather than having saved the 50%.

•    Combining vacations with Family get together and Re-Unions: In case you are looking for taking annual vacations and taking kids and family out for a holiday, you can opt for visiting any distant relative or old friends. By doing so you will not only save a huge sum on lodging and taxis but also have the pleasure of meeting and recreating some memories. Keep in touch with your old neighbors who have moved off to far of cities. Keep in touch with your distant relatives who are out their in far off cities. Keep in touch with your school-college class fellows in various parts of the World. These connections shall save you enough money to pay for your house rent/mortgage for your entire life time. I can bet on this. Most Britons spend TWO months of paycheck in a year on taking their annual vacation.

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