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Archive for September, 2007

Is Green Card Effective?

Friday, September 28th, 2007

Recently Barclaycard came out with a new credit card called the Barclaycard Breathe, which is a card that claims to offer a greener solution by offering 50% of Breathe profits to be donated to environmental projects dedicated to reducing carbon emissions around the world.  Breathe has also claimed to offer a greener customer experience with no paper statement, environment friendly produced credit cards, and a credit card recycling scheme for the old cards.  Breathe customer’s will also benefit from discounts such as £50 off British Gas home insulation and other offers.  Despite all these benefits, one has to ask whether using a green card is worth it.

The size of the Barclaycard Breathe contribution to the environmental projects depends on the profit levels that are made by Breathe.  This means that the further you are in debt the more Breathe will contribute, as profits will be generate by cardholders who rack up their interest payable as they are unable to make more than the minimum monthly repayments.  Those who pay off the entire balance on the credit card every month will find that their contribution will be minimal.  Although you will be making a contribution by paying off your debt on time, you will find that you can make an even bigger contribution by falling into debt and sinking into the red zone.  This is not the ideal solution to help protect the environment.  So before selecting a credit card that sounds good, you will want to research the product and ensure that it will be as good as it claims.

Consumers who are prone to debt on their borrowings are wiser to take out cheap loans to cover their expenses and look at other ways of helping the environment. For example, using a ‘green’ credit card to pay for repairs to an old car is not as environementally friendly as taking out a personal loan to buy a more fuel-effiicent model, and yet once interest rates are accounted for, both can cost the consumer the same amount.

Posted in Borrowing, Car finance, Car loans, Consumer Credit, Consumer debt, Credit Card, Debt management, Financial news, Financial products, interest rates, Personal debt, Personal loans, UK Finance | No Comments »

How Much Do Your Shoes Cost?

Friday, September 28th, 2007

One of the most common methods of making a purchase is on a credit card or store card. Shopping is fun. It is one of the most popular methods of relaxation and amusement. There is nothing more fun for a woman than spending an afternoon with friends, browsing the shops, looking for a special pair of shoes or a dress.

Shopping alone is not a serious problem. It is easy to leave the £200 pair of shoes at the store, but shopping with friends can make it harder to use common sense.

Many people spend hundreds of pounds when they are shopping, buying clothing, shoes, and jewellery they may never wear, and do not need.

However, the purchase of a £200 pair of shoes will come back to haunt the buyer for a long time. When a purchase is made on a credit card, the interest is calculated until paid in full.

When the minimum payment is made each month the interest continues to be calculated until the entire £200 is paid off.
The credit cards go one step farther to increase their profits. The largest purchases are paid last. That means, a £200 pair of shoes may not be paid off for months, adding 25% to the capital yearly. It is very easy for that pair of shoes to cost £300, or more, before the final debt is paid off.

A single shopping spree can still be costing the shopper, in interest, a year later. To reduce debt and protect your credit rating, shoppers should budget their shopping, and try to keep the balance on their credit cards low. If you are still paying off shopping sprees long past, consider a debt consolidation loan. This type of loan is used to bring together store cards, credit cards and other bills under one umbrella, preferably at a low interest rate, with maximum payments each month to clear the debt quickly.

Posted in Borrowing, Consumer Credit, Consumer debt, Credit Card, Debt Consolidation, Debt management, Financial products, interest rates, Personal debt, Spending, UK Finance | No Comments »

Selling a House Quickly

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

The housing boom is helping countless UK homeowners build wealth. The increase in house prices, compounded by smart equity building schemes, are helping homeowners walk away with fifty to one hundred thousand pounds in profit.

Building equity does not require a large investment. In many cases, some minor improvements can dramatically improve the value of a property.  One of the quickest ways to improve the chances of selling a home at a profit is by adding luxuries. Another way is to have a professional decorate a and furnish a room, and sell the furniture with the home.  These are relatively low cost methods of improving your chances of selling a home quickly, and for a nice profit.

A short term secured loan is a cost effective method of adding luxuries. Many homeowners are unable to resist the added comforts like sunken bathtubs, walk in closets, arboretums, or entertainment rooms.

A more practical method of increasing a home’s chances of selling is to add features that will remain when the home sells.  Modern front loading washing machines, stylish refrigerators, built in home theatres, modern water heaters, water and air purification filters will all make a home stand out from the rest of the neighbourhood.
The more a home stands out, with products the buyer may keep, will not only increase the speed it takes to sell a home, but it also increases the amount a homeowner can ask for a home.

This is called perception selling. A homeowner may borrow a home improvement loan of twenty thousand. Then buy appliances and electronics and use them to increase the value of the home by thirty thousand.

Many home buyers will not realise that they are being charged an extra ten thousand for the appliances. All they will understand is that they can move into a house pre-fitted with all the luxuries with none of the hassles of choosing and fitting them themselves, so they are getting value for their mortgage money.

Posted in Borrowing, Consumer Credit, First time buyers, Home Improvements, Homeowner Loans, Homeowners, House buying, Housing news, mortgages, Property, Secured loans, UK Finance | No Comments »

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