Future Funds

Spend Money Wisely

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:15:43 +0000

People are paying more attention to their own spending, it is natural that their sights also become set on public services and how efficiently public money is being used to support them.
While a global economic downturn may to some extent change the spending priorities of many individuals, there are some public services that people almost unanimously believe should be supported no matter what the world-wide financial situation may be. For example, the UK’s National Health Service, has faced many funding and financial problems over the years but the provision of effective and free healthcare remains a priority, even when money is tight.
Luckily, the help of best practice systems can afford organisations like the NHS ways to operate efficiently despite budget cuts. Prioritisation is key to ensuring that money is spent on the right thing and this is only more essential when money is short. By looking at long-term as well as short-term targets, it is easier for public sector managers to handle financial downturns and budget restrictions that could last for a matter of years rather than months. One way to achieve this is for organisations to ensure that theservices they deliver are as effective as they may be, even if this means cutting services.
Making sure that the services that are given priority are the ones that are most necessary might mean losing face in some instances, but by playing to a long-term plan the public are likely to see the benefits of such organisational methods eventually. In the same vein, when public sector managers are able to ensure that their staff, management teams and specialists are working to the best of their abilities and skill sets they will find that money can also be spent more efficiently.
As many people working in public sectors have advanced training or skills, their time is valuable and if workload is inefficiently distributed, this valuable time could be being squandered on tasks below their level. Therefore, by ensuring that the best person for the job is the one doing it, managers will find that they are able to show that public money is being put to good work.
With the spotlight turning on the global financial situation, and more and more people wanting to get involved in the decision making process and hoping to see money used efficiently, there’s never been a better time for public sector workers to re-evaluate their spending habits – for the benefit of everyone.

Tips: Saving Money Today

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:14:57 +0000

Tips
1: Give money to your self first
It doesn’t make any difference if you’re drawing a six figure salary or living paycheck to paycheck, never fail to take 10-20% off the top of every check and deposit it in a high yield bank account previous to paying anybody else – no exceptions. This might sound challenging, or even unnecessary, but is infinitely more simple than attempting to cut down on using the income you know is near by. After all, what you don’t see, you cannot miss. Should you possess a checking account, you can register for the automated savings programs offered by a variety of banks like ING Direct, AmTrust Direct, and many others to have money transferred into your savings account every month. An automatic savings program permits you to specify an amount you’d like moved from your checking account into your internet savings account on a regular basis. Even if you put away $500 a month, you’ll have $6,000 before the year is over, not including money from interest.
2: Lock your self out of your emergency/retirement fund
This generally uses the exact same theme as Rule 1. If it’s effortless to access, you’re likely to become tempted to take from it for scenarios that might not completely deserve the title of an emergency. The wiser thing to do is to generate a long and difficult password, jot it down, and hand over the piece of paper to a trusted friend. Let them know they cannot bring it back to you unless you’ve got a REAL crisis: natural disaster, medical crisis, emergency automobile repair, surprise emergency insurance costs, or if you lose your employment. And always, always keep in mind, that this out-of-reach account will assist you to cover the bills during a crisis, with out the threat of a maxed credit card, or it costing you far more in interest charges.
3: No credit. No credit cards. No loans. No buying on credit. Period. No exceptions.
It is going to be pointless to possess $1,000 in a personal savings account and $2,000 in debt. Don’t forget that you will definitely pay out far more interest for debts than you will earn interest on savings. Reports also show that men and women tend to purchase additional, and more high-priced, items whilst using a credit or debit card. Specifically with a credit card, most men and women often forget that the amount they are signing over will really have to come out of their own pockets. Alternatively, there is somehow a reality check whenever you have to hand over cold paper bills while making a product purchase. Thus, as far as possible, stick to cash payments.

Saving Money from Earlier Age

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:14:06 +0000

one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is the ability for them to be able to provide for themselves in the future. This is why it’s a great idea to help get your child into the habit of saving as early as possible.
If you educate your child about saving when they are young, you’ll have the chance to help them build a habit – and an incentive to save – that could last a lifetime.
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What can offer a parent greater peace of mind than knowing that their child has self sufficient understanding and motivation to look after their finances no matter what happens?
One way to start teaching your child about the value of money early on is to turn it into a game. Buy some toy money and set up a shop in the house. As long as you keep your prices consistent on a day to day basis, you’ll be providing your child with an understanding of how money is used and the kind of things it is used for. When they become a little older, the time will come to consider pocket money. Start off with very small amounts of money and don’t despair when it is quickly spent on sweets or treats – young children tend to find it difficult to plan for the future so they are likely to be more concerned with immediate gratification.

However, this stage doesn’t have to last forever. As your child’s tastes become more expensive, you’ll probably need to increase their pocket money. When you do this, make sure you also drop the amount of money you spend on their favourite toys accordingly. This means that they will have to hang on to their pocket money if they want the latest toy. By doing this, you’ll teach them the benefits of saving in a way they understand. Some parents find this hard, so a nice compromise is to tell your children that when they have saved up for half the cost of the toy, you will pay the other half.
Additionally, it can be a great idea to encourage children to help around the house by paying them for their time and effort when they take on extra chores. This is another excellent way for children to understand the way money works. Parents keen to get their kids off on the right foot are also likely to look into saving options such as Child Trust Fund savings account and accounts for young savers.

Teaching children about money from an early age helps prepare them for later life as their confidence grows in knowing about transactions and savings. As a parent, setting them off in life with a positive first few steps will give you a sense of satisfaction and your child a huge debt of gratitude for your efforts.

Repair Your Credit

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:12:39 +0000

When you want to repair any bad credit, you need to pay all your bills on time. Any late payments are bound to have a negative effect on you credit rating. By reducing the amount of credit cards that you have could help, as this will stop you from spending more than you have. Avoid getting to the point where you want to declare bankruptcy because this will stay on your credit report for up to ten years. Unpaid tax liens will stay with you forever and they will never be removed from your credit rating file.

By getting a secured credit card, you could help with any bad credit repair. But make sure that you ask your creditors to reduce any credit limits so that you have the lowest amount available to you. This way you won’t be able to spend more than you can pay. Another good form of Bad credit repair is to close any accounts that you may have forgotten that you even had open.

Having a good credit score is more important now than what it was before because you need a good credit to be able to get more credit. To even get insurance you will have to make sure that you have the bad credit repair. It will all depend on you as a person as to how fast you can repair your bad credit, and then you will need to keep it up afterwards.

By law, any company that you are going to be dealing with must give you a written contract that states your right and obligations. You must read these and understand them fully before signing anything. Your contract must always tell you what your payment terms are for the particular service involved, and it must include their total cost, with a detailed description of the service that is going to be performed. As well as how long a bad credit repair is intended to take.

Payment Protection Insurance?

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:12:00 +0000

This type of insurance can be a great benefit to people borrowing money as it can offer them security and peace of mind protecting them should there be an issue with keeping on top of repayments. You can never anticipate what is in store in the future and many people have suddenly found themselves out of work or unable to work for a significant length of time due to illness or an accident. Even a few months without money coming in can financially cripple someone and can make keeping up with payments an impossibility. If you miss payments you can incur bank charges and your credit rating can become damaged. This all adds to the stress of the situation at a time when you need to focus on getting through a difficult time.

However PPI is not for everyone and you must ensure that you are well informed about the workings of the policy. You should always be informed that PPI is being added to your finance agreement. If you are self employed there is little to be gained by such a policy as you will not benefit from the redundancy cover.

Remember it is not a compulsory charge although some banks may give you that impression. It is optional and if you have been forced to take cover out you can reclaim PPI. At Empire Claims we can help you to reclaim bank charges, mis-sold PPI and credit card charges.