Blog Posts
HSBC Bank Account pays 6% on your cash
HSBC has launched a new promotion on its Bank Account, which allows account holders to earn a market-leading rate on their money.
When I was at school I worked at Next in my spare time so, for me, the phrase ‘January sale’ conjures up images of people desperately rifling through racks of clothes, barging each other out of the way in order to nab that £10 top.
But it’s not just the high street retailers that are at it – even banks now launch January sales, with enticing offers on select deals. And HSBC’s sale has included the launch of a current account paying an amazing fixed rate of 6% on balances! Banking with HSBC
As part of its January Sale, HSBC has revamped its current accounts, and now has a number of extremely attractive deals.
My favourite is the simple Bank Account. Whether you are a new or eligible existing customer, you can secure a whopping rate of 6% interest fixed on balances up to £2,500. However, in order to secure the deal, you will need to get your switching forms over to HSBC by 5pm on the 31st January.
You can also get this rate if you go with the HSBC Advance account or the HSBC Premier account.
With the Advance account not only will you get 6% on your money, but also life insurance cover up to £3,000, worldwide travel insurance, roadside breakdown assistance and exclusive deals on a rate of products and services. It will set you back £9.95 for the first 12 months, and £12.95 thereafter though. However, I’m not a big fan of packaged accounts like this, and the FSA has its own concerns too, as we highlighted in The new bank mis-selling scandal.
With the Premier Account you’ll get wealth management advice from an HSBC IFA, family banking accounts and all sorts of other personal services. However, to qualify, you’ll need to meet any of the following criteria:
• Joint savings or investments of at least £50,000 with HSBC in the UK. • An annual income of at least £100,000 paid into your HSBC Premier Account, as well as either: 1) a mortgage of at least £300,000 with HSBC or 2) a product taken out from the bank’s independent financial advisory service, excluding mortgage-related insurance.
In other words, it’s not an account for everyone.
Not a long-term answer
The HSBC Bank Account is a pretty incredible deal for the vast majority of us. However, it does have one rather significant fault to be aware of.
That enticing 6% rate does not last forever. Indeed, it’s gone after 12 months. And what’s more, the rate doesn’t just fall to something smaller, but still acceptable, like 2% say.
No, at the end of the year, that rate of interest falls to a bit fat zero. So if you want to continue earning any interest at all, let alone a market-leading rate, on your cash, you’ll need to switch accounts again.
The best of the rest
The next highest rate on offer comes from an old favourite of lovemoney.com readers, Santander, with its Preferred current account. You get a rate of 5% on your cash (again only for 12 months), but you can also nab a free overdraft for the first year too, of up to £5,000 (depending on your circumstances).
What’s more, Santander has extended the welcome bonus of £100 for another couple of months – that’s cash you get simply for signing up to the Preferred account and switching over your direct debits. Indeed, you could get a bigger welcoming bonus if you’re already a Santander customer – £200 if you have a Santander mortgage, or £300 if you have a mortgage and at least £10,000 in savings with the bank.
Of course, banking with Santander is unlikely to be a stress-free experience, with the bank notorious for its dreadful customer service. That said, I banked with Santander for a little over a year and had no complaints, so things are at least improving.
After that, the rates on offer fall off sharply. You can get 3% from the Lloyds Classic Account with Vantage, so long as you maintain a balance of between £3,000 and £5,000. Otherwise your rate will be 1.5% for balances under £1,000, or 2% for balances between £1,000 and £3,000.
Get £60 a year from an empty current account
But even if you don’t tend to have much cash in your current account by the month’s end, you can still secure a decent return from your current account, thanks to the very clever Halifax Reward Account.
So long as you pay in £1,000 each month, then you shall receive a lovely monthly reward of £5. That’s irrespective of your account’s balance. So you could finish the account £1,000 in credit, or even in your overdraft, and you’ll still get that £5.
What’s more, you can currently secure a £100 welcome bonus as soon as you apply for the account.
Article by John Fitzsimons Lovemoney.com
Four ways the supermarkets increase your spending
This article courtesy of Yahoo Finance
In marketing and retail, the price of a product is often the most important factor in determining the product’s success. Sure, quality and appearance play a large role in a customer’s decision, but shoppers are being manipulated by the pricing, and they’re often not even aware of it.
Ideally, every retailer would determine their costs to provide goods or services, and then tack on a modest surcharge to those goods or services to make a profit. But in the reality of your local Tesco or Morrisons, shopping is not that simple.
Finding the true cost or value of an item is muddled in rewards programs, rebates, discounts on multiple items, etc. More than ever before, retailers and service providers understand that a mix of the following pricing strategies will ultimately produce more profits than selling exclusively with a variable cost-plus pricing method.
Prestige pricing
Also known as “premium pricing,” this method capitalises on societies’ generally accepted belief that the higher the price paid, the greater the quality received in return. Most often, the premium price is accompanied by other suggestions of superiority to justify the inflated sticker price.
The car industry is ripe with examples. Nearly every major manufacturer creates a luxury line of cars that are founded on the same chassis and engine as lesser-priced models. Nissan uses the Infiniti badge to put a refined touch on mainstream models such as the Pathfinder, and Honda created the Acura label to change the perceptions of standbys such as the Civic.
Loss leader
This strategy seemingly undermines the moneymaking goals of every businessperson, as it dictates that you sell an item at an unprofitable price. However, the reason for making the item so affordable is that the sale of that item will lead to the sale of other high-profit items. Retailers will often create loss leaders to get customers into the store.
For example, supermarkets occasionally sell everyday goods like toilet paper and nappies at unbeatable prices because they know that customers are likely to buy other items that will produce a profit, and it gives them an opportunity to gain future business from those customers.
The shrewdest loss leaders are products like razors, mobile phones and video game consoles. Companies such as Gillette, Vodafone and Microsoft are happy to sell razors, phones and gaming devices, respectively, at or below cost because each company knows that customers will continually buy highly profitable razor-blade refills, data plans and video games.
Bundling
This pricing strategy involves grouping goods or services together to sell them at one price. For the most part, bundling is used either to attract customers by providing a truly discounted offer over the regular cost, or to confuse the customer so that it’s hard to determine the true value of the bundle.
An example of a true money-saving bundle might include combining your internet and cable with one provider for a discount. If the combined rate offers identical service to what you were getting with two separate companies, and it does it at a discount, common sense dictates that you sign on for the bundled discount.
However, bundling is often used to create a false sense of value, such as when infomercials will proudly announce, “But just wait, there’s more!” and begin to toss in “bonus” items with the featured product and then announce an inflated retail price that you of course will only have to pay a fraction of … if you act NOW!
Even if the advertised retail value is an accurate reflection of the bundled items’ value, you need to value or have use for everything in the bundle. As with any purchase, if your perceived value doesn’t reflect the price you paid, you will feel ripped off.
Decoys
This tactic succeeds because it reduces a customer’s ability to use logic when making a purchase. Product decoys are meant to promote the purchase of the product the retailer actually wants you to buy.
So, when Apple offers the new iPad in six different formats and price points, it isn’t to satisfy lovers of 32GB tech as well as 64GB fanboys. Customers see the £608 version and feel that they are getting a good deal if they snap up a £368 version with less than half the memory and no 3G capabilities. In addition, you could argue that the entire line of iPod Touches is a decoy to sell more iPhones, as the lowest end iPod Touch retails for the same price as the new iPhone 4S – £169.
Unless you’re adverse to data plans or mobile phones, it makes sense to buy an iPhone 4S and enjoy all the features of the iPod Touch, plus phone and 3G capabilities.
The bottom line
The competition for your money is hotter than ever, and in light of the current economy, your willingness to part with your cash likely hasn’t been lower. With that in mind, it’s understandable that companies are working hard to employ every retail trick they can imagine.
To keep as much of your money as possible, while ensuring as much purchase satisfaction as possible, you need the ability to spot a pricing strategy and assess whether you are truly saving money or just being duped into unnecessary spending.
The Pro’s & Con’s of Installing Solar PV Panels
As a result of the government promoting green energy there are many companies that now provide a full installation service for solar panels. There are 2 types of solar panels, the solar heating panel which simply has water pipes running through it to heat your water (not very popular) and the solar PV panels (photo voltaic) that actually generate electricity. The PV panels are the ones that are currently being installed to take advantage of the government pay back scheme and this works in the following way.
You pay for installation of solar panels (works best on south facing roofs, but can be installed on east/west facing), the average cost would be £10,000 to £14,000 pounds, depending on various factors.
The government guarantees to pay you for each Kw of power you produce for the next 25 years.
The electricity you generate is free and offsets that supplied by the power company, thereby reducing your electricity bill.
Any surplus power you generate over & above what you are using at any point in time goes into the national grid & you are paid extra for this.
The payback period for this is around 6 to 8 years depending on cost of installation, how much power is generated etc. and this is judged to be a good return on investment considering the current interest rates.
Alternatively, some companies are now offering free solar panels and this works in the following way.
An investor pays for all equipment & installation costs and effectively rents your roof for 25 years.
The investor receives the government grant and also the payment for any surplus energy that goes back into the grid.
You receive the free electricity when it is generated to offset your power bill and after 25 years the installation is yours.
This option is pretty much win/win as you pay no money out, you get any free electricity you generate and if the sun rarely shines you have lost nothing.
Which option do you choose?
Well if you have the capital sitting in the bank, you get a far better return investing in solar panels than you will get in interest (hence the availability of investors willing to pay for the installation), but you don’t have the money to fall back on for a ‘rainy day’.
If you don’t have the capital it is not a good idea to borrow it as the interest charged on the loan would negate any return you would get on the installation and so a free installation becomes attractive, as you get some of the benefits without any financial outlay.
A couple of points to bear in mind
You only produce electricity when the sun shines, and therefore you would always pay for any power you use during the hours of darkness during the evening/night and first thing in a morning and whenever the sun does not shine.
The return is calculated using the 3 major factors a)How much power you generate b)How much you save on your electricity bills c)How much surplus power you sell back to the grid
All these factors will differ dramatically, not least of all the weather.
So do you want to join the ever increasing number of homeowners generating their own power?, the choice is yours !
Satellite Direct Brings Thousands of TV Channels Straight to Your PC
What if there was a way for you to watch thousands of television channels, any time you want… and never pay another cable bill again? With Satellite Direct, there is.
Satellite Direct is a new way to watch TV- from the convenience of your own desktop PC or laptop. Why pay every month for a cable or satellite television subscription with limited channel availability, when you can get a lifetime of unlimited access to over 3,500 channels for less than half of that?
Just some of the benefits of choosing Satellite Direct over cable:
• 24/7 unlimited access to over 3,500 channels
• Hard to find international channels, as well as all the best movies, sports and news shows- at no additional cost
• No hardware to install
• No bandwidth limits
• No subscription or installation fees – EVER
• Automatic channel updates
And best of all… You’ll never have to pay another monthly cable or satellite bill again!
Why settle for other TV for PC services that deliver poor sound and picture quality, or come loaded with hidden fees? With world class customer service and support, making the switch to Satellite Direct will be one of the best decisions you’ve made for your family in a long time. (And with no hardware to install and no waiting around for hours for the cable guy to show up… it will be one of the easiest, as well)
Switching to Satellite Direct is simple and straightforward: Just answer a few questions using our safe and secure registration process. After your one time payment, you can download our easy to use software directly onto your PC or laptop.
Then sit back and enjoy thousands of premium channels, any time you want. That’s it!
Check it out at Satellite Direct, now available in UK
The 5 Worst Money Myths
The five worst money myths
Stop believing these money myths and you’ll never be short of money again… It’s depressing, isn’t it? When your salary goes in your account, and then — inevitably — disappears? The trouble is, for most of us, the thought of trying to make cutbacks in order to have money left to save at the end of the month is, well, about as appealing as a dinner of dog biscuits. But believe it or not, your choices aren’t simply:
1) Sit back and accept that your money is going to go into a black hole of spending on who-knows-what.
2) Sado-masochistically deny yourself all of life’s pleasures, just to save 20p here and there throughout the month. Whether you’d like to save more or spend less each month, there are simple steps you can take to successfully learn to budget. But most of us don’t know about them. Instead we believe these five money myths:
MYTH 1
Try to cut back everywhere, all at once If you try to cut back everywhere, all at once, you are not only setting yourself an unrealistic goal, you are going to spend a lot of time and energy doing lots of little things that will make hardly any difference. Instead, the right approach is to focus and prioritise your cutbacks. Think about the different ways you could realistically rein in your spending in one area, and work on that primarily each month. If you find cutting back more difficult than usual one month, then I’d suggest working on your next biggest problem area that month, instead. Once you get to a point where you are now comfortable with your spending, then move on to focus on the next biggest problem area more permanently.
MYTH 2
It doesn’t matter what day you pay your bills on You might think it doesn’t matter what day you pay your bills on, as long as you pay them on time. But you’d be wrong. One of the easiest ways to learn to budget successively is to simply set up all of your direct debits and standing orders so that they go out on the same day — the first day of the month, or straight after you get paid. This means that you will always know exactly how much money you have got left to see you through to your next payday. That way, you can keep a figure in mind of how much you should spend each day, and each week, to stay within budget. Save up to £464 a year on gas and electricity bills
MYTH 3
You can easily control your spending You’re only in control of your spending if you’re well-informed about it. So try to use a debit card, instead of cash, for example. That way, your spending will show up on your bank statements, and you’ll be able to categorise it. Again, it helps if you check in your statements regularly. I try to do it every day, to make sure I am where I think I should be, throughout the month. Get a better bank account
MYTH 4
It doesn’t matter when you buy yourself treats If I’m tempted to buy myself a treat — like this month, I’m debating whether I should get some new shoes or maybe get my hair highlighted — I always try to leave off buying it until the last day of the month. First of all, I find the temptation to get it often passes, and that I am happily living without it. But more importantly, it’s only at the end of the month that you can actually see whether you can afford it that month. If it’s going to tip you into the red, then the answer is simple: Don’t buy it. Wait until you can afford it. In other words, reward yourself when you’re so disciplined with your money that you deserve a reward — and not before!
MYTH 5
Credit card debt is affordable You may have credit card debt which, for you, is affordable. You’re gradually paying it off every month, and you’re not too worried about it. But if you have credit card debt, you’ve got a big handicap when you’re trying to balance your budget. You’re effectively punishing yourself this month for the spending you didn’t count in your budget from previous months. So, if you have credit card debt, make paying it off a top priority. Take out the best 0% balance transfer card you can get and figure out how much you need to pay off each month so that you will be interest-free by the time the 0% deal ends.
Article courtesy of Lovemoney.com
Ten ways to make money in your lunch hour!
I came across this article I featured some time ago in a newsletter, but it is still as relevant as ever, most of the suggestions I have featured at one time or another, it’s by Rachel Waite from Lovemoney.com.
Ten ways to make money in your lunch hour!
Boost your income in your lunch hour in 10 easy steps!
In times such as these we could all do with a few extra pennies in our bank accounts. So if you need to make some money but don’t reckon you have the time to do it, these quick and easy tips might provide you with some inspiration…
1) Online surveys
Many marketing firms will pay you to complete an online survey. These surveys can take between 10 minutes and half an hour and you’ll usually earn between 50p and £10 per survey. You can sign up at numerous sites such as YouGov, Panelbase and Toluna.
Make sure you sign up to a registration-free website and avoid signing up to American websites as you’ll probably need an American bank account. It’s also worth opening an email account specifically for registration purposes as you’re likely to receive a lot of mail once your email address is out there!
2) Social networking
Yuwie is a social networking site that pays you – yes, really! The site allows you to do whatever you do with all other networking sites, but you’ll earn money at the same time through a share of the advertising revenue.
Make some extra money
It’s easy to increase your income if you know how! Check out these innovative money-making tips to find out more…
How much you get paid depends on how many page views you rack up. You get a page view every time someone looks at your blog/video/profile and every time you add content to your profile – such as pictures. So the more content you have and the more often you use Yuwie, the more page views you’ll get, and the more money you’ll receive.
What’s more, you’ll also be paid for your referrals activity. In other words, if you invite friends to join you’ll make money off their activity too.
3) Blogging
If you love a good rant or just enjoy writing, setting up your own blog can also be a good way to make some money. If you join a free programme such as Google Adsense, you can earn commission from advertising banners on the side of your blog. Every time a user clicks on one of these adverts, you’ll earn some cash!
4) Sell your photos
If you’re a keen photographer, it’s worth seeing if you can sell your photos to stock photography websites. These websites will pay both amateur and professional photographers for their pics. Websites worth a look include Alamy, where you’ll get 60% of each sale, Fotolia and PictureNation.
5) Use a cashback website
Rather than heading out to the high street on your lunch break, why not do a spot of shopping online? If you make any purchases, make sure you use a cashback website such as Quidco, TopCashback or GreasyPalm. These websites will pay you money every time you do your online shopping via their links. It’s that simple! To find out more about which cashback sites offer the best deals, read Grab some free cash today.
6) Sell stuff!
Got a cupboard full of old clothes and other items you no longer need? Why not sell them on eBay or Amazon Marketplace? It’s quick, it’s easy and you don’t have to go to much trouble! Just watch your bids stack up and the money come in – cha-ching! You can read more about this in Why eBay is better than Amazon.
7) Switch your current account
Yes, believe it or not, switching your current account during your lunchbreak can make you money! By simply switching to the First Direct 1st Account, you’ll be given £100 – just like that! What’s more, you’ll be given another £100 if you decide to leave after six months. That said, First Direct is well known for its excellent customer service, so it’s highly likely you’ll want to stay put.
On the downside, you will need to pay £1,500 into the account each month and you won’t receive any interest on the money you keep in the account.
Finally, consider sticking any savings you’ve got in a current account. You can earn as much as 5%, and still have instant access to your money.
Rent out
If you have a spare driveway, shed, room, storage space, why not rent it out and make some money from it? Great websites to use are Spareground and Parkatmyhouse.com.
And even if you don’t have any spare space to rent out, you can still pocket some extra cash by renting out anything from handbags, to kitchen gadgets, to boats! Just have a browse on Rentnotbuy. Easy!
9) Complain
We Brits are good at whinging. But when it comes to complaining, we’re not so on the ball. Whether it’s train delays or shoddy customer service, if there’s something that’s made you grumble, it’s worth taking the time to write a formal complaint.
See the guideMake sure you’re assertive, but don’t come across as aggressive, and you never know, you might be rewarded for your efforts. Quite often you’ll receive money back or vouchers to use against your next purchase, and this is well worth it – believe me, I’ve done it! Read more on how to complain.
10) Do the grocery shop!
This won’t necessarily make you money, but it will certainly help you to save money. By buying your food online, you’re less likely to be tempted by unnecessary items you spot in the supermarket aisle, helping to keep the total cost of your trolley down.
What’s more, if you use the fabulous mysupermarket.co.uk, you’ll be able to track how much your shopping would cost at each of the UK’s four major supermarkets (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, and Ocado/Waitrose). You can then buy your entire trolley of goods from the one you choose.
So there you have it – ten top ways to make money in your lunch hour. So what are you waiting for?
All about PPI Reclaims
What Is PPI ?
PPI (Payment Protection Insurance) was designed to cover a person by ensuring that the relevant payments on their loan, would be covered by the insurer if they were unable to make payments for some reason. However, it has been determined that in many cases this insurance was mis-sold and therefore the person who took out the loan is entitled to a full refund of any premiums paid for PPI. This payment protection covers loans (where your loan payments or more commonly the interest part of the loan payments are met by the policy), mortgage payment protection (which covers your mortgage payments), and store and credit card payment protection (where either your minimum payment or interest payments are covered)
How Was PPI Mis Sold ?
It is estimated that more than £10 billion of PPI has been mis-sold and as many as 30 million policyholders may have a claim, many consumers don’t even know they have ppi, never mind realise they have been mis-sold.
There has also been evidence of firms forcing customers to buy it, wrongly claiming it’s compulsory when it isn’t or refusing to give a quote without it. There are even cases where the insurance has been added without the permission of the customer. In the worst cases, already expensive PPI is paid for up front and the money to pay for it is added to the loan you are taking out. This way of selling ppi, known as ‘single premium’, means that you end up paying interest on the cost of the insurance. When customers go to cancel the insurance they are told that it cannot be cancelled without recalculating the entire loan.
Which? principal policy advisor Vera Cottrell, said: “of the two million people we reckon have been mis-sold PPI, only a minority ever complain. It’s outrageous that so many consumers are still waiting for fair redress, and we hope that this decision encourages more of them to persist. Our advice to people is: don’t let your bank fob you off”. The competition commission dismissed an appeal from the banks against a ban on the sale of PPI policies alongside loans and credit cards. The commission introduced the ban last year.
PPI restrictions are very tight, so when many people find themselves needing to claim on their insurances they find they are unable to. PPI will not cover you if you stop working due to a pre-existing medical condition, if you are self employed, if you stop working due to stress or back problems, if you are over 65, if you voluntarily leave your job and several other restrictions. At issue is not PPI itself, but rather the manner in which it was sold to uk customers, who were not told that they could shop around for the best PPI packages or that were told it was a mandatory commitment. Another typical case study are those that were not even told they were making PPI contributions – these were bolted on to their financial package without their full knowledge or even acceptance. If it had been explained that there are cheaper, more suitable options available and if firms were really spelling out how the policies worked, what they cost and that other options were available then it is unlikely they would have sold very many at all. Sometimes borrowers were coerced into accepting a PPI when they were told that it would increase their chances of an approval.
The sale of these policies in the uk was collectively banned in may 2009 but still there are about 20 million policies active with consumers and they may not be even aware of why and how they are being charged unreasonably with respect to the policy.
It is believed that PPI misselling is likely to result in even bigger compensation payments than the endowment sales scandal.
Am I Eligible To Claim ?
You can claim if:
•You are paying for PPI
•Your policy started in the last six years, whether you’re still using it or not.
•Your policy started over six years ago and you are either still using it, or it ended within the last six years.
•Your policy ended over six years ago and you have the paperwork. However, you can’t reclaim if your policy ended over six years ago and you do not have the paperwork.
And/Or
•You did not request PPI
•You were told you must have PPI as a condition of the loan
•The PPI was not properly outlined or there may have beeen some boxes that were pre-ticked.
•There was a lack of explanation of the exclusions of the PPI
You can make multiple claims if you have had several loans over the last 6 years, all claims are different but on average they take between 2 and 6 months.
What Else Do I Need To Know ?
There are many companies who offer this service, but any potential claimant should compare each one to ensure that they are getting the best service possible.
Things to check
•If your claim is rejected you pay nothing.
•That the company you engage will return 100% of your premiums without holding back any commission.
•That the company is covered by an MOJ (Ministry of Justice) Licence to ensure that it meets current regulations.
•Read any agreement carefully before you sign it.
The company that MSS recommends is www.ppiclaimsmadesimple.net , if you need to claim or just want more information use Ref: PBC1 for priority service.
Make Money from Blogging for the Beginner
How to start a money making blog for less than the price of a night out
Blogging is becoming more & more popular on the internet and covers a hugely diverse source of subjects.
Whether you want to create a blog just to document your daily life or to connect people with the same interests like hobbies, music followers, car enthusiasts or even milk bottle collectors!!, it is easy to do,
You can even make good money from blogging if you set things up correctly by using Amazon & Google Adsense and several other ways to monetize your blog. If the blog is about a particular hobby or craft, you can review products related to the hobby for money or become an affiliate for products and promote them on your blog.
Some people set up several blogs with the sole aim of promoting products on a particular subject or niche and can make a substantial income from them, and even the posts you publish on your blog can written by someone else. This article directory is an excellent source of blog posts and if it is a hobby or craft site etc. you can get other members to write and submit blog posts to you for publication. Quite often one particular post will attract lots of comments from readers and this in itself will be a constant addition of original material to create interest and keep people visiting your blog.
It really is worth looking at this seriously, particularly if you want a source of extra income working from home and once you have the complete instruction guide (which costs less than a few pints on a night out), there are NO further costs involved. This alone makes it very popular as we are all aware of ideas to make money that require you to pump more & more money into them after the initial investment.
For details click here:
Are condensing boilers a waste of money?
With the recent cold spell and hundreds of people having major problems with their condensing boliers, this article from thisismoney.co.uk is very interesting.
By Michael Hanlon
29 December 2010
Five years ago, they were heralded as the modern, clean and green way to heat your house. As a result, today there are already eight million ‘condensing boilers’ in homes across Britain.
In fact, since 2005 it is illegal to fit any other kind.
At the time, the Government claimed they would massively reduce your carbon footprint and slash your fuel bills. As a result, every year some 1.2m old-style ‘dirty’ boilers are scrapped in Britain and replaced by this wondrous new variety.
However, the recent cold snap has revealed a major problem with them. Tens of thousands of people found themselves shivering as their shiny new boilers cut out without warning.
British Gas is understood to have had 60,000 call-outs in Yorkshire alone. And the cost to call out a plumber? It can be between £200 to £300 on a bank holiday. And don’t forget about VAT.
‘We’ve had double the number of call-outs as in the same period last year,’ says Charlie Mullins, MD of Pimlico Plumbers in London, the country’s largest independent plumbing company.
‘It is a massive problem. Some customers were ready to move out because their condensing boilers broke. If I had a choice, I’d put in a non-condensing boiler every time.’
It’s all the more infuriating because the problem causing these breakdowns is so simple. In cold weather, the pipe that takes waste water from the back of the condensing boiler — which isn’t there in a normal boiler — freezes solid, shutting down the system and in many cases causing permanent damage.
But this problem is just one of many that have plagued this boiler design since they became popular in the Nineties. Many plumbers consider them to be little more than a multi-billion pound con-trick.
In a regular boiler, the hot gases produced when the methane fuel is burned heat water for your radiators, dishwasher, taps and so on. But about 25% of the heat vents out of the exhaust pipe in the form of hot steam and CO2.
In a condensing boiler, a condenser claws back much of the lost heat because as steam condenses into water, it feeds heat back into the system. This can increase overall efficiency from 75% to as much as 93%, and reduce CO2 emissions — and your bills — by a commensurate amount. That, anyway, is the theory boilermakers and politicians want you to believe.
In 2005, the then-deputy PM John Prescott drew up a masterplan to help Britain meet its CO2 emissions targets, as dictated by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. This involved a new law ordering that all new and replacement boilers fitted to British homes — some 1.4m annually — must from that date be of the condensing type.
A ‘boiler scrappage’ scheme followed in 2008, which offered people £400 towards the cost of a new condensing boiler if they replaced their old one — even if it was in perfect working order. Boiler manufacturers and plumbing and installation firms could hardly believe their luck.
An estimated eight million homes in Britain made the switch, often encouraged by persistent salesmen who produced an impressive-looking audit offering a seductive assessment of how much money you could save by switching to a new, ‘clean’ boiler.
But even ignoring the freezing pipe problem, it is clear that in most cases it makes no economic sense to scrap an old boiler that is still functioning.
For an average home, replacing even a very inefficient old model with the best new boiler on the market will, at most, save a couple of hundred pounds a year in gas bills. That sounds good until you realise that at £2,000 for one of the better condensing models, a new one will take at least ten years to pay for itself.
And the problem is that these boilers simply do not last anything like ten years.
‘You might get 20 years out of one of the old ones,’ Charlie Mullins says, ‘but it is more like three to six years out of one of these new ones. In fact, if it goes wrong after four years, you are better off replacing a condensing boiler altogether because of the horrendous cost of the parts.
‘On the basis of efficiency, they certainly do not pay for themselves. It makes no sense to take out a working old boiler and replace it with a condensing one.’
That’s not something the enthusiastic salesmen will tell you. They also won’t tell you that those touted increases in efficiency are theoretical, often not matched in reality. These boilers rarely operate at maximum efficiency anyway.
Explained simply, the water returning from your radiators back to the boiler has to be below 55c for the condenser to condense the steam in the boiler into water. For most homes using standard radiators, this will probably not be the case — the returning water might be as hot as 65c, especially when the radiators are turned up in cold weather.
One impractical ‘fix’ would be to fit oversized radiators, which can warm the room to the same degree despite being slightly cooler. Another solution would be to fit the latest radiant heating technologies, using pipes embedded in walls and floors.
But fitting these hi-tech systems, which are fairly common on the Continent but rare in Britain, would cost thousands of pounds for most homes.
The problems don’t stop there either. The condensed water vapour produced in the new boilers is slightly acidic (as it contains dissolved nitrogen and sulphur oxides), which inevitably causes corrosion of the delicate boiler components and also leads to breakdowns.
So the message is clear: if you have an old boiler, provided it is working properly and is serviced regularly, you are almost certainly better off keeping it until it is beyond economic repair. Parts will be cheaper, it will be less likely to break down and there is no danger of it stalling on the coldest night of the year.
If you’re worried about your carbon footprint, just remember that the touted efficiency savings are theoretical figures and might not reflect reality. In a well-designed, well-insulated new home that incorporates the latest heating technology, a condensing boiler might be more efficient.
But most of us do not live in such homes — we have poor insulation and ageing pipes and radiators. Remember, also, that manufacturing each new boiler has a ‘carbon cost’ in itself that must be ‘paid back’ by the new boiler.
There is no doubt that the great switch to condensing boilers was motivated by the best intentions. But that’s small consolation if you find yourself shivering in a freezing house this winter, wondering when the plumber is going to arrive.
Benefits of Electronic Cigarettes
You can buy an Electronic Cigarette kit for less than the cost of 1 WEEKS traditional cigarettes. Full details here:
Personal Finance Software
To manage your finances effectively you need some sort of money management program. Yes, it is possible to use a basic spreadsheet, but this does not provide all the benefits that a tailor made program does. After extensive research I have come across Home Accountz, which fits the bill perfectly & has a string of excellent reviews.
“For years now I’ve been searching for a straight forward software package to look after my home accounts. I’ve tried many packages, but most are too complex (probably intended for things more inclined toward business activities). You have come up with the goods. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys looking after their own money particularly if it includes a variety of holding such as, bonds, ISA’s savings and current accounts. Perhaps something to track shares in the future? Thanks Accountz it’s made my life more fun.” – Colin F Brittain
Can I just say Home Accountz has arrived and it is a very good package. Having now had a week to get used to it I am finding it an excellent tool, it is easy to master and once you have grasped the basics easy and intuitive to use. A vast improvement over personal accountz. Having used both Quicken and Microsoft Money in the past – Home Accountz is far far superior, well done. – Richard (surname withheld on request)
Computer Shopper March 2010. Another 5 star top review.
“Accountz Personal is straightforward and easy to use. Entering transactions is simple…. it’s this simplicity that makes Accountz Personal such a great choice for most users.”
Computer Shopper Oct 2009 5 stars BEST BUY Award
“Great value, easy to get to grips with and straightforward to use, this is ideal for home finances. It’s a great choice for anyone who wants control over their finances, and wins the Best Buy award”
All in all an excellent progam which is highly recommended, you can download a FREE TRIAL by going here:
Brian Philips
A Guide to Earning Money Working From Home
There are 100’s of different ways to earn money from home, some of them fairly easy & others a lot harder (this is not counting the scams, of which there are many!!). One thing that you should always do if you are considering earning income from home, is to research the company, offer, type of work etc., by simply going online in Google and typing in any details you have, or even asking a question like, “information on xxx company” or “is xxx a legitimate offer”. If there are any forums, blogs or sites with other people who have used the product, they will soon become evident and the feedback will be invaluable. Anyone can fall foul of the scam artists, as I nearly did recently when I saw an offer that looked to be viable, was professionally presented, involved well known names and seemed to be reasonably priced. However, a few minutes after having Googled the offer I found several posts & sites with dissatisfied customers from 3 or 4 different countries, telling how they had been ripped off, misled & were out of pocket by a lot of money, needless to say I took the offer no further. Any good product provider will offer a no quibble money back guarantee so check they are a reputable company & if so then you have nothing to lose by trying the product. If it is a service you are signing up for (that is to do work for someone else or similar), never part with any money, accept if there is stock involved & the employer needs a deposit to cover the cost in case you don’t return any goods, equipment etc., but then there should be a clear contract stating that this is fully refundable when said product/equipment is returned & it should be a reasonable outlay. Beware of company’s that are in effect ‘selling’ you products in this guise, which are then left to you to sell on, once again research on Google will reveal any likely problems.
A good philosophy to adopt is “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” and then you won’t fall foul of the scammers too easily.
The opportunities fall generally into 4 categories, which are:
Home working doing work of some kind for an employer from your own home
Selling products online Ebay, Amazon, etc
Internet Marketing setting up a website or blog to sell your own or other peoples products whether you actually sell the product on a site or possibly incorporating Goole Adsense or similar advertising and selling via links to other products
Affiliate Marketing promoting other peoples products that do not involve you handling or selling them, but give you a commission for every person you send to the affiliate website, that buys the product. This does not need a website and can be done via Google Adwords or similar when you direct the potential customer straight to the sellers website.
Other this basically covers a combinations of any of the previous categories and includes Email marketing which uses either internet or affiliate marketing but via a list of subscribers that you build up yourself to market to.
Before deciding which area you want to get involved in, remember they each have their own unique positive & negative aspects and these need to be understood before committing to anything. For instance Home Working is fairly secure and should give you a regular wage with little or no risk, but returns will be very low. Similarly, selling your own products, either on EBay or your own site involves buying & storing products up front as well as delivery requirements, with the risk that they may not sell, but the possible returns will be a lot higher, and so on. My particular favourite is affiliate marketing where you simply direct potential buyers to the sellers site & have no other involvement with customers, product etc., you simply refer people. I say ‘simply’ refer, but this involves cost on your part to advertise in one form or another to point the customers to the affiliate site, and this can be the costly and more difficult aspect.
Hopefully this has given an insight to anyone thinking of this course of action, but remember these ventures are always best started on a part time basis as they will not make you rich overnight (watch out for anyone claiming they will), and once the venture is proven and bringing in money, then you can decide whether to “sack your boss” and work for yourself full time. Specific details of opportunities available can be found here:
Beware: Your Wi-Fi network is at risk
Hackers can access your home Wi-Fi network in seconds. Here’s how to protect your network…
Recent research from life assistance company CPP has revealed that nearly half of home Wi-Fi networks can be hacked in less than five seconds.
In an ‘ethical hacking’ experiment conducted across six UK cities, almost 40,000 networks were revealed as high-risk, opening up the personal data of thousands of people. Nearly a quarter of private wireless networks were found to have no password attached, making them easily accessible to criminals.
This is pretty scary stuff. After all, no one likes the thought of others being able to access your personal information. Not only can this help hackers to hide criminal activities, such as selling on stolen goods, they can also view any private transactions you might have carried out. This will give them access to passwords and user names, which, in turn, gives hackers access to emails, social networks, and online banking sites, allowing the criminal to commit identity fraud.
What’s more, many of us are now using publicly available networks – such as those in coffee shops, restaurants and airports – and are often unwittingly logging onto a fake Wi-Fi network. In fact, the CPP study showed that more than 200 people logged onto a fake Wi-Fi network without realising it over the course of an hour. Meanwhile, hackers were able to ‘harvest’ usernames and passwords from unsuspecting people at a rate of more than 350 an hour. Eek!
So just how can you protect yourself whether you’re using your network at home or away? Here are 11 tips for using your wireless network safely.
1. Use encryption on your wireless access points (WAP)
The first and most important way to protect your wireless network is by encryption. This scrambles data on your wireless network so that only computers with the encryption key can read your communications.
There are two encryption Wi-Fi standards – Wireless Equivalent Protection (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). However, the problem with WEP is that it’s easily cracked. WPA is much more secure.
If your wireless router and all of your wireless computers and devices support it, WPA2 encryption should be your first choice as it provides the highest level of encryption available.
Use a strong password for your encryption key – for example, a combination of letters and numbers of 14 characters or more.
2. Install a firewall
A firewall helps to protect your PC by preventing unauthorised users from accessing your computer through the internet or a network. It acts as a barrier that either blocks information coming through or lets it through. So makes sure you have a firewall installed and that it’s switched on.
You can view a list of popular firewalls here. And read 12 tips to keep you safe online for more information.
3. Be obscure!
All wireless routers should have obscure identities. Don’t make it obvious who owns the connection or put in any real information that will reveal your location or business name. Be vague and use something like ‘wireless’ or ‘router 1’ that doesn’t give anything away.
4. Position access points correctly
Access points transfer data between your devices, so try to position them away from the outside wall of your building to reduce leakage of radio signals. This will minimise the chance of interception from outside.
5. Monitor your employees!
If you run a business, make sure your employees don’t add access points without your authorisation.
6. Implement a VPN
If you’re using your laptop at a public hotspot, the best way to protect a public wireless link is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This encrypts all of the data that passes over the ‘insecure’ network so it can’t be accessed by any snoopers!
7. Turn off file sharing
You can use file sharing on your home network, but if you’re using public hotspots, turn it off to prevent anyone close by being able to access files from your system.
8. Check the public hotspot is legitimate
Some hackers have been known to set up a hotspot themselves at a public location and then steal your personal details when you connect. So make sure you check with someone before you connect at a hotspot. For example, if you’re at a cafe, ask the waiter for the name of the hotspot to ensure you’re using the right one.
9. Be careful about information
When using a public hotspot, avoid typing in any sensitive information such as username, passwords and credit card numbers. If you really do need to enter financial details, check that there’s a locked padlock symbol in the bottom right hand corner of the browser window and check the web address starts with ‘https’ rather than ‘http’ as the ‘s’ signifies it’s secure.
Find out more in 14 ways to protect your privacy.
10. Check your bank statements regularly
Always keep a close eye on your bank statements so that you’ll immediately be able to spot any suspicious transactions.
You can easily do this with the lovemoney.com online banking tool as this amalgamates information from all your different providers, allowing you to see all of your different statements at a single glance, with a single log-in. (You can also categorise all your transactions, so you’ll know immediately if some of your spending seems out of place.)
Read Online banking: How to stay safe for more information.
11. Turn off your wireless network when you’re not using it
Finally, if you’re not browsing on the internet or checking your emails, but you’re still using your computer/laptop in a public hotspot, disable your wireless connection or remove your wireless card.
The Importance of Knowing Your Credit Rating
If you are refused credit, it is not because you are on some ‘credit blacklist’, (there is actually no such thing), it can be for a host of reasons that your rejection has occurred.
Here are just some of the possible reasons;
a) Your unique, personal record of your credit history could show that you already have a number of loans and the lender may be worried that you will not be able to repay another.
b) A credit card issuer may only give cards to people who already have fewer than three, or a mortgage lender may specialise in first-time buyers.
c) You may be a non-standard, more than one in five adults in the UK are deemed non-standard. They may include the self-employed, others who cannot provide sufficient proof of income and people who have an outstanding county court judgment (CCJ) against them or have had their homes repossessed for non-payment of mortgage.
d) Credit companies look for stability – for example, living at the same address for at least three years or having a long-term relationship with the same bank. So, if you move around a lot or switch banks often, this may tell against you.
e) Lenders generally base their decisions on a credit score, which they calculate using the information in your credit report and your application. Every lender has a different formula which can even vary from one type of loan to another.
The result of all this is that it is essential that you know what information your credit report contains so that you can not only work towards improving it, but actually see the information that companies you have dealt with, have added to your report. It is not uncommon to find that an entry has been made incorrectly because you have the same name as someone else, or someone at an address you previously lived at has had a credit problem or a host of other possible inaccuracies. Additionally, if you subscribe to a credit report company, you will receive alerts when your credit record is checked and this is a key factor in preventing identity fraud as it alerts you to the fact that someone has applied for some type of credit, and if it wasn’t you then it is usually the start of some fraudulent activity in your name.
The service that I recommend is Credit Expert from Experian, you can get a 30 day FREE Trial with no obligation, click below for details.
How to save money by building your own computer
How to save money by building your own computer
It is surprisingly easy to save a large amount of money by building your own desktop computer, the higher the specification that you require, the more money you can save. Whether it’s that high end gaming machine or just one for the household accounts and word processing, it’s easy to build it yourself. Most computers use exactly the same components, the only difference is the performance of each component and the price. There are loads of online computer component suppliers, I have always found cclonline.com to be the best and they have won awards for their service. The first thing to do is pick up a good manual on how to do it, there are plenty around but go for one with a money back guarantee & email support if you can. Read the manual through thoroughly so that you understand what it is you have to do and so that you can put together a component list. It really is possible to build one with no prior knowledge whatsoever, I did it myself, and it’s not nearly as difficult as the computer suppliers would have you believe. Once you have your components list go online & look for any offers or end of line parts that the supplier is offering, don’t worry about this it is just like a car, when a new model comes out the dealers always sell the older model at a discount. The parts will still be covered by the suppliers guarantee, it is just that a newer slightly faster or more sleek component has replaced it and the geeks will want the latest kit, which is to our advantage. I have been in the position where I have bought a component & within a few weeks it has been slashed in price as an updated line has been released. This happens all the time in the computer industry and is purposely done to appeal to those people who ‘chase technology’ and must have the latest & best of everything. Once you have everything on your list lay it out on a clear table, taking any handling precautions listed on the component, and check each part with the manual to ensure they look the same. It is then just a simple task to slowly assemble all the parts in the exact order that the manual specifies and carefully progress until the hardware is completely assembled. At this point the computer is complete from a hardware point of view, but now needs an operating system (software) loading onto it, once again the manual will take you through it step by step until the operating system is loaded and all drivers are installed. You then need to decide what additional software you want to install, anti-virus, word processing, spreadsheets, games etc. You do not need to buy all of these as there are free options for such things as anti-virus and office suites available online, which are fully functional and do the same as the branded software, as well as other free software. The whole process should take no more than a day, to a day and a half once you have shopped for all the components.
Get a complete manual with money back guarantee & email support here:
Get your components here: www.cclonline.com
Brian Philips
Lottery Win System for the UK?
6/10/10
I’ve just been looking at details of a book from an American maths professor showing you how to win the lottery!!. Yes, I know what you’re saying (the same as I did, b*****s), but the more I looked at it the more intrigued I was. The system apparently works 5 out of 10 times, which makes my 1 out of 500 seem a bit sick, and should start working within 2 weeks, but get this, there is a 60 day money back guarantee (this is totally legit as it’s from Clickbank) and the guy is offering a further hundred dollars if you don’t win any money !! (the 60 day refund is ‘no quibble’, but to get the extra $100 you have to prove you used the system, which is fair enough). It is hyped up with the usual American BS, but it supposedly works in most countries including UK, there’s a list of the UK games it works with. If you want to have a look at this, (it seems to be a ‘no lose’ situation) you can find the details here:
