This information has been categorised using national, regional and London postcodes. If you are struggling financially, the first thing you need to decide is if a  Financial Management Plan is right for you. If you are having difficulty paying bills, or have had a major change in your household income, or unable to keep up with financial commitments, then the best way forward maybe a Financial Management Plan .

Your first step is to calculate how much a month you can afford to pay towards your debts, after you met your essential commitments. A payment plan is then devised for you that is fair to both you and your creditors. These payments are then negotiated on your behalf so your original monthly repayments are restructured to accommodate the changes.

We also try to get interest and charges frozen on all your debts so that more of what you pay goes towards reducing the debt (in many cases we are successful, but there’s no guarantee this will be accepted every time).

Then it’s simply a case of maintaining one monthly payment to us, which we distribute to all your creditors, either until your circumstances improve or your debts are cleared. A Financial Management Plan is an informal arrangement between you and your creditors and has the flexibility to be adapted to suit your needs if your circumstances change.

Although a Financial Management Plan could be the perfect solution to get your finances back on track you should also consider the following points before deciding to go ahead:

•They are not legally binding so creditors are still free to take legal proceedings against you at any time.
•Reducing the amount you pay means you will be repaying your debts over a longer period of time and may increase the total amount to be repaid
•Your ability to obtain credit will be affected in the short term, and possibly in the medium to long term.
•You are still liable for paying your debts in full.

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The study was titled ‘Squeezed Britain’ and it applies to households that bring in about £20,000 each year. In addition to the problem with disposable income it is also estimated that these people will have to wait over 20 years until they have enough money to purchase their first house.

It is estimated that nearly six million households in the country fall into the group that the study applies to. It is expected for people in this income category that their incomes are going to decline over the next few years until they level out around 2017. It is expected that after this period incomes will grow strongly but even with very strong growth it will take another three years for salaries to be at the pre-recession level.

If these growth figures are not met then it is possible that the wait will be even longer and that by 2020 income levels will still be nearly 10 percent lower than they were in 2007.

The study also highlighted the problem of getting on the property ladder and compared the amount of time people had to save in order to afford a deposit on the first time. In 1991 it was estimated people had to wait four years, by 2001 this figure had doubled to 8 years and last year it was estimated that people are having to wait is 22 years before they can afford the deposit money. This is because of the rising price of homes while incomes have remained relatively flat in comparison.

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According to the recent Real Retirement Report from Aviva, a global life insurance company based in London, the average savings of people 55 and over have declined from about £15k a year ago to £11k as of now, a drop of about 27% overall.

Chiefly because of the tough financial times, a lot of people have been forced them to dip into savings just to stay afloat.  Aviva’s report was based on interviews with 12,000 UK adults over 55, and their conclusions were that a large percentage of adults at,or nearing retirement age, have inadequate resources to see them through retirement.

Clive Bolton, a specialist in retirement planning at Aviva, observed that many people simply don’t have the funds to invest in savings, but he noted that another problem is the attitude many of them have about saving in general.  He said a lot of people associate saving with stinginess, when they should look at it as a gift to themselves, their families and/or society.

The Real Retirement Report found that more than a third of those interviewed did not even begin to think about eventual retirement until they were 50 or older, and almost two-thirds of them expected to be working past the traditional retirement age.  Since the recent abolition of the Default Retirement Age, many are assuming they will continue to work, and about a third indicated they would keep the same job if they could.  Almost a quarter of them said they would prefer to keep on working.

Planning and saving is crucial, says Bolton, and it’s not enough to think vaguely about selling up and moving to a cottage in some rural community that may or may not be less expensive than where they have been living.  People nearing retirement age also need to consider the health issue; with the best will in the world, no one can continue to work productively if  their health fails, so that factor must be taken into account.

The UK financial comparison site which4U offers information and options to help anyone trying to plan ahead for retirement.  Currently, the Bank of Ireland has the most competitive long-term fixed rate cash ISA, with a five-year term at 4.5%.  Vanquis and Birmingham Midshires has the best five-year fixed rate bond at 4.65% AER.

The site also offers a range of growth and investment possibilities, such as a six-year growth ISA that offers a fixed 12% annual income with all capital protected, or a five-year bond that’s linked to inflation and promises a minimum of 17.5% return or the RPI measure of inflation, whichever is greater.

The experts strongly suggest that now is the time to start thinking about and planning for retirement, even for those who are many years away from the actuality.  It is never too soon, but it may very well be too late if left until some point in the uncertain future.

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Chiefly because of the tough financial times, a lot of people have been forced them to dip into savings just to stay afloat.  Aviva’s report was based on interviews with 12,000 UK adults over 55, and their conclusions were that a large percentage of adults at, or nearing retirement age, have inadequate resources to see them through retirement.

Clive Bolton, a specialist in retirement planning at Aviva, observed that many people simply don’t have the funds to invest in savings, but he noted that another problem is the attitude many of them have about saving in general.  He said a lot of people associate saving with stinginess, when they should look at it as a gift to themselves and to their families and/or society.

The Real Retirement Report found that more than a third of those interviewed did not even begin to think about eventual retirement until they were 50 or older, and almost two-thirds of them expected to be working past the traditional retirement age.  Since the recent abolition of the Default Retirement Age, many are assuming they will continue to work, and about a third indicated they would keep the same job if they could.  Almost a quarter of them said they would prefer to keep on working.

Planning and saving is crucial, says Bolton, and it’s not enough to think vaguely about selling up and moving to a cottage in some rural community that may or may not be less expensive than where they have been living.  People nearing retirement age also need to consider the health issue; with the best will in the world, no one can continue to work productively if  their health fails, so that factor must be taken into account.

The UK financial comparison site which4U offers information and options to help anyone trying to plan ahead for retirement.  Currently the Bank of Ireland has the most competitive long-term fixed rate cash ISA, with a five-year term at 4.5%.  Vanquis and Birmingham Midshires has the best five-year fixed rate bond at 4.65% AER.

The site also offers a range of growth and investment possibilities, such as a six-year growth ISA that offers a fixed 12% annual income with all capital protected, or a five-year bond that’s linked to inflation and promises a minimum of 17.5% return or the RPI measure of inflation, whichever is greater.

The experts strongly suggest that now is the time to start thinking about and planning for retirement, even for those who are many years away from the actuality.  It is never too soon, but it may very well be too late if left for some point in the uncertain future.

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UK credit rating system explained by aqua card infographic

The well known provider of credit cards for bad credit, Aqua Card, has just released a new infographic aimed at helping the British public to better understand their personal credit ratings. This in-depth graphic, specifically designed to explain what does and does not affect credit ratings, how credit reference agencies calculate your score and how you can go about improving your own credit score.

~It also contains useful information along the lines of what makes a borrower low or high risk, as well as looking at the information that lenders use when it comes to making their decisions regarding giving credit. Aqua Card are a specialist lender in the field of bad credit and are the first financial company in the UK to release an infographic covering this topic.

One of the online managers at Aqua Card, Emma Davis, said that they had discovered that approximately 165,000 online searches took place every month in the UK using the phrase “What is credit rating?” and that t here were numerous forums discussing the various legends and myths surrounding the world of finances. She added that Aqua Card wanted to clear up all the confusion and fear that people had.

One of the most misconceptions amongst the public is that creditors can look at an applicants credit file and see if they have been declined credit before, and this stops them offering any. This is a totally myth as while creditors can access credit files, they can only see what credit has been applied for, not the result.

Emma continues: “We realise that lots of complex financial copy on a webpage can be overwhelming for customers, so creating an infographic was the perfect way to explain a detailed topic in a clear and concise format.”

The information in the What is Credit Rating? infographic has been compiled with the help of the expert finance team at aqua card. For more information on how to repair bad credit visit www.aquacard.co.uk.

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Stress levels increase when the monthly payment decisions are made and it is at this point when one considers taking a loan to pay off the credit card account. This is false economy and, in fact, increases your liability.

The little gimmicks some companies use when advising indebtedness should also be considered with care. Where a company allows skipping a monthly payment or states a minimum amount payable, this must also be viewed carefully. By doing this the company eventually extract more money from the customer by charging interest for a longer period.

It is no use dealing with payments by using one card to pay off another. More money is paid back in the long run. There are a number of standards or ways that can be employed to alleviate the debt crisis.

Speak to the credit card company and request a lower repayment plan or schedule. Discuss a lower interest rate with them. Some banks and credit card companies are very flexible especially if they get the idea that changing the account to another institution might be an option. The banks make more money on a long term loan than they do if a loan is paid up.

Concentrate on paying one credit card account off at a time rather than paying equal amounts to a number of cards. Never consider consolidating your debts unless all the implications have been carefully thought out. There are far too many pitfalls in this choice. The ultimate objective for anyone who owes money is to reduce the borrowings to a minimum and solutions that suit best should be investigated.

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The areas covered by Defaqto’s Insurance Bond Guide include:

• A market overview of onshore and offshore bonds
• The investment types available
• Charging structures and fees
• Policyholder protection
• The taxation of bonds
• Bonds without guarantees
• Trusts and their use in estate planning
• Likely future developments and platforms

The Insurance Bond guide is free to download from www.defaqto.com/adviser

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