Cindy Little

Interest rates have increased steadily throughout 2006, and once again already in the first weeks of 2007, and if analysts are to be believed they are set to increase again before the end of the first quarter.

Where does that leave us all, inflation is at an all time high, the highest it has been for many years, utility bills have all increased, interest rates increased, we are most certainly getting more and more out of pocket, if interest rates continue the next thing will be a drop in house prices, which again will see us feel the pinch. For the homeowners coming to the end of a mortgage deal, get in there quick and secure yourself another deal before the increase or you will end up finding yourself either on a variable rate that could see an increase in your monthly payments of anything up to £200 pcm or be left with no choice but to accept a new rate that is actually higher than the one you are on now.

January always manages to scare us not only are we just clearing up after the Christmas break, but we are also trying to juggle the bills incurred, and stretch our money that little bit longer, as a majority of us are paid prior to Christmas, which of course is nice at the time, but come January when you have spent it and the next pay day isn’t until the end of the month, seems like a horrendously long time between pay days.

Did you know that January also has the highest recorded number of defaults than any one month of the year, you are more likely to miss a mortgage payment or utility bill payment in this month for the above reasons than at any other time, this of course adds to your worry, and causes even more stress. We all want the extra money before Christmas to get those last few bits that always turn into those last few lots that cost the earth and you end up spending more than you wanted too, hence the problems in January needless to say in retrospect we would all probably benefit a damn site more if our bosses, actually left payment until after Christmas, I know we would all moan at the time, calling them all Bah hum bugs etc, but honestly we probably would be better off in the long run, we would force ourselves to budget for those last bits earlier, and have enough money to cover our usual monthly bills the next month. So in the long run they would be doing us a favour.

Tips for a better year and ways to avoid some of those high bills.

ü      Firstly check out Uswitch.com and see if you can save money switching utility provider, Gas/Electricity & Telephone, it takes two minutes and can save you loads, what’s more they make all the arrangements, once you have filled in the form the rest is down to them.

ü      Find out when your mortgage deal ends, if its within the next 3 months, then start talking to an advisor try www.mortgages-made-simple.net or call 08454283455, they offer free quotes sourced from the entire market, and get the new deal secured before the next increase.

ü      Then transfer your credit card balances to a 0% interest card, chop up the old one so that you are not tempted to use it again, and pay off as much as you can to reduce the debt, as quickly as possible.

When all this is done, try not to worry, you have done everything in your power to make your hard earned cash stretch that little bit further and all you can to save yourself some money.

Getting a mortgage, whether you are  a first time buyer or a seasoned remortgager it is still a maze of questions, dead ends and lets face it confusion.

I know its boring finance rarely brings a smile to anyone’s face, but lets all agree on one thing a majority of us at some point want to own our own home.

The problem is where do you start?

You have the job!

The partner, (if you are part of a couple). 

Now feel ready to make the single most largest purchase of your life after all we all know that rent is dead money.

You may have even seen a few properties that you like the look of, next step find the mortgage; here lies the problem, where do you go? Who is good? Who is out there to rip you off ?

Your not sure, who would be?

You could ask a friend! But then your always left with the same old doubts, could I have done better?

They are the same age as you, but what about their financial history is their credit rating as good as yours? What’s good for one person is not necessarily good for another!

You could try your bank. Again this is a good move, however you could be missing out on a better rate somewhere else, the competition is hot in the mortgage field as it is with all financial business, the best place to go would be to an advisor. I run an internet based business in the UK offering this type of advice for free, Like a lot of other mortgage advisors, we all guarantee to get you the best deal to meet your circumstances and your pocket, You are probably thinking that’s it just wants to sell her stuff on the net, of course I do I would be lying if I said different, but that is not my sole aim.

I was once a first time buyer and yes I did go to the bank, only to find out in my pre-advisor trained days that I could have saved a few hundred quid going elsewhere.

A mortgage advisor who is open to the whole of the market is the best place to go they can still get the deal with your bank if that’s the best on offer, but then another bank may be offering the same deal and saving you money at a lower rate down the road, so why just walk into your bank and stay there, why not go to an advisor and let them find the deal for you, after all when your insuring your car you shop around, you don’t just walk into your bank and ask do you?

By all means check out my website www.mortgages-made-simple.net, submit a quote if you like I will help you on the property ladder.

If you are unsure how much you can borrow, add your incomes together if you are a couple and multiply your annual figure by 4 this will give you a rough guide, obviously lending is always dependant on individual circumstances and other financial commitments, in place. You a free to shop wherever you like, this is the biggest most expensive purchase that you will ever make, don’t get confused get advice

Consolidation many of you will now be considering this as an option to your money problems, or just to basically place all your eggs into the same basket.

Its not a thing to be rushed into, your right of course it may well be cheaper as well as being seemingly the answer to your prayers, but is it really.

You know you have overspent, this could have been for many reasons, too many for me to list here and bore you to tears with, but none the less I can guarantee you it would be on the list if I had taken the time to compile one of course. You think your alone in this as no one else would have been stupid enough to have overspent on such trivial items that were not life dependant, well your wrong, most people fall into debt not because their lives depend on spending the amount that they have quite obviously spent but purely out of a need that was basically formed by a desire, after-all we all work why shouldn’t we have a little luxury in our lives surely life should not be about all work and no play, the reasons are endless as is the cause. Don’t for one minute think you are alone in this because these days the problem is much larger than you could possibly imagine and what’s more debt isn’t something to be sneered at anymore its not all bad doom and gloom. There are solutions, consolidation being the first, if you own a property and have equity in that property then this is most definitely an answer, I should say though this should only ever be done once after all your working hard you don’t want to loose all the equity you have managed to acquire paying off debts incurred. To consolidate the best solution is to remortgage and obtain a new deal from either your lender or a new one, secured loans are also another avenue however the rates tend to be slightly higher generally speaking.

The adverts on the television all state that Government legislation has now changed and that you could in effect erase part of your debt, this really is not something that I would recommend, unless you were in real dire straights and consolidation was not an option, this solution will leave you with an IVA, which basically is the same as bankruptcy in terms of your credit rating it will leave you in a very difficult position in the future when it comes to you trying to arrange further credit.

We at mortgages made simple are available to assist you in this or any other concern regarding debt issues, if you are worried about where to turn to for advice and are in full time employment and own your own home don’t delay call today we are here waiting to help you out, don’t suffer in silence talk to an advisor today, its not as bad as you think it is, a problem shared is always a problem halved, what’s more a little advice could help you turn the corner and make your life comfortable once more, don’t worry we are trained to help.