Money Matters - Media at Home
With the increase in recent years of media options, particularly following the digital switch over there has never been so many ways to spend out on home entertainment and communications.
Do you need a digital TV package? Many homes pay out for digital TV, internet connection, landlines and mobile phones, but are all of these things necessary when money is tight? And if they are, are you getting the best deal?
How often do you find yourself (or even more annoyingly someone else in your household) channel hopping and moaning ‘there is nothing on TV’? There are now hundreds of different TV channels available to us. The UK is spending more and more time watching and (it seems) complaining about TV. According to the Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board the statistics show that ‘the amount we watch is increasing: the BARB average for all ages (including children) is 28 hours a week, which is three hours more than in 2001, not including the TV we now watch on equipment other than our TV sets’ . The cost comparison between paying for a subscription and buying a freeview box is roughly a £30 monthly fee for your TV package or a £30 one off fee.
Do you need a landline? And a mobile phone subscription? How many calls do you make on your landline? Does it work out cheaper than using your mobile? Perhaps surprisingly, this isn’t always the case. Equally consider whether you use all the texts and minutes you pay your mobile phone provider for. If you use if infrequently perhaps a pay as you go account would be more cost effective.
Do you need at home broadband connection? According to the Office of National statistics 77 per cent of households in the UK have internet access with 45 per cent of Internet users using a mobile phone to connect to the Internet. This begs the question do you need to pay for internet access and a mobile? There are now public spaces in which you can use the internet free of charge. Try your local library, local coffee shops, or even the pub.
If you answered yes to all of the above questions, then the next thing to consider is are you getting the best deal? You may have multiple subscriptions for different services which mean that you are overpaying for the services. You may be paying for more channels, more minutes, or more megs than you use. Here is where keeping your invoices and usage records is invaluable. Try visiting the Independent Digital Advice website for guidance. Phone up your current provider and re-negotiate. Contact competitor firms and see if you can get a better deal. Don't overpay for services you don't need or want.
And finally, do you need a magazine or online subscription? Magazine subscriptions are a great deal if you would definitely buy each edition individually. They represent a great saving for money. But if you have a subscription and are barely glancing at the publication or website is it right to pay for it? Could that £20, £50 or £100 per year be better spent elsewhere?
Money Matters - Saving Money on Groceries
In our last article, we looked at creating a monthly budget, this week we will suggest ways that a family of four could save a considerable sum each month on their monthly food bills.
Planning your grocery shopping can make a huge difference to your bank balance. Did you know that around £600 worth of food is thrown out by the average family each year? Common pitfalls include throwing out food that is past its sell by date, but not past its usability, buying ‘good deals’ for the sake of it and getting enticed by special offers.
Proper planning when food shopping could save families tens of pounds, if not hundreds, every month. Create a monthly food planner and stick to it. If you are not sure where to start lots of the supermarkets offer example plans on their websites. When planning the week’s shopping and meals consider how you could make one ingredient cover multiple meals to avoid wastage. If not, can you freeze excess ingredients or leftovers to eat next week? These things are very easy to do and will have an immediate impact on your expenditure.
At the supermarket, grocery store or market, stick to your list! Don’t get tempted by special offers that you don’t need for your meal plan. Some people find this easier to do by getting their shopping from traditional shops like the greengrocers and butchers or by shopping online.
Where possible why not try own brand products? Many taste very similar to big brand names and are considerably better value. Own brand tea bags cost approximately £2.47 compared to an equivalent branded version at £3.88 – a saving of 36%. Swapping branded cornflakes for own brand could save 40%. Preparing a beans on toast snack from own brand products would set you back around 23p per person. The same snack would cost 45p using branded products – very nearly double.
If you swapped down to own brand products for a quarter of your shopping, based on an average weekly shop for a family of four at £100 you could save around £10 per week. Even more savings could be found if you switched to the value brands.
Make sure you plan for meals and snacks away from the home when writing your meal planner and shopping list. You could cook extra and take the leftovers into work or prepare your own sandwiches. If you have a penchant for buying bottled water or soft drinks, take chilled tap water or squash from home instead. An average shop bought sandwich and drink will cost £3 per day. Preparing the same at home is likely to save at least £2 of that. Over a 20 working day month this would save £40 per person.
This is also true of the children’s packed lunches. Supermarkets make tons of money by offering parents ‘easy solutions’ to packed lunches. For example a pre-packed ham, cheese and crackers snack, a bag of fruit and a drink could set you back around £2.50 per day. A home-made sandwich, drink and an apple would cost much less.
Just by implementing these simple measures a family of four could save as much as £195 per month on food, helping you to get your budget back in control.
Cutting food waste £50
Switching to own-brand for a quarter of your shopping £40
Preparing adults packed lunches at home £80
Preparing kids packed lunches at home £25
Total savings £195
Money Matters - recording your expenditure.
There is no doubt that people across the UK are experiencing tough times. With stubbornly high inflation even if people have had a pay rise, often they are left out of pocket. In this, the first of 3 advice articles, we will explain how to create a budget and start getting your finances in order.
It sounds obvious, but many people do not have an accurate picture of how they are spending their money each month.
The first step is to record your outgoings and set them against your earnings. If you have access to a computer, use a spreadsheet to do the sums for you. Email enquiries@getbackincontrol.co.uk for a template or grab a calculator and set pen to paper.
Make one table for your incomings. Make sure you record the actual take home amount and not the one which is before your taxes/ national insurance contributions/ student loan payments are deducted.
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January 2012 |
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Budget |
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Benefits |
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Other income |
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Total |
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In another table make headings for the different types of expenditure you have. While the list given is substantial it is not exhaustive, so it is important to gather all your bills and receipts to build an accurate record.
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Budget |
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Fixed expenditure |
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Mortgage /rent |
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Loans |
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Childcare |
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Insurances |
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Council tax |
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Semi-variable expenditure |
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Groceries |
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Utilities |
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Telephone/TV/Internet |
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Vehicle expenses, fuel & travel |
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Variable expenses |
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Leisure & going out |
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Sport |
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Clothing |
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Gifts |
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Miscellaneous |
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Total |
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Input all the information you have into the Actual column. If you have a lot of bills and receipts, you might find it easier to categorise each receipt first and put them into piles – one for groceries, one for clothing, one for petrol, for example, before you input the figures into your spreadsheet. To accurately reflect your expenditure create extra rows under the headings – for example, under insurances have you listed your car insurance, life insurance, home and contents insurance?
While you might get paid monthly or weekly, most people spend something almost every day. Don’t forget to input it all, however big or small. For expenditure such as MOTs, holidays and dental work it is a good idea to work out what you would spend annually on these often one of things and divide it by 12 to ensure that you are accounting for them in your monthly budget.
Once you have done this you will be able to make some judgements and therefore some adjustments. Firstly, is your expenditure exceeding your income? Secondly, where you could afford to cut back on your spending?
Could you negotiate better deals with utility providers? Could you cut back on grocery spending? Could you walk to work or car share? Now, in the right hand column labelled Budget, input a figure which you think you can realistically stick to. This is your target for next month.
Make completing this record a daily habit. The very act of recording your expenditure will help you limit it.
In Control Debt Solutions achieve full Debt Resolution Forum (DRF) membership status.
In Control Debt Solutions (ICDS) is pleased to announce that the company has achieved full membership status with the DRF, a leading industry trade body www.debtresolution forum.org.uk. Since gaining provisional membership earlier in the year the company has been inspected by the Insolvency Practitioner’s Association (IPA) and subsequently awarded as a full member.
The DRF promotes professional standards for resolving individual’s financial difficulty, it focuses its members on providing quality advice to individuals and sets out a clear code of conduct that it expects its members to adhere to.
The Debt Resolution Forum Website
"The Debt Resolution Forum promotes professional standards for resolving debtors' financial problems, focussed on the quality of advice provided to consumer debtors by all DRF members. This website publishes the standards to which our members have committed and provides a directory to help you find an organisation that meets your needs.
DRF members approach debt resolution by identifying the solution and outcome which is the most appropriate to the financial and personal position of the debtor, while demonstrating to creditors that the proposal made on the debtor's behalf is reasonable and achievable. "The Institute of Credit Management strongly welcomes the Debt Resolution Forum's efforts to create a quality mark for businesses helping consumers with their debt." "The DRF has made impressive progress and the launch of the new Certificate in Debt Resolution is tangible evidence of DRF's commitment to professional standards. The ICM fully supports these efforts and intends to engage in a wide-ranging dialogue with DRF on issues relevant to both organisations' members." Philip King, Institute of Credit Management "
The membership requires ICDS to undergo regular audits on a tri-annual basis, provides and independent complaints panel for clients and requires all customer facing staff to study the Cert DR training program. Cert DR is a level 3 BTEC advanced certificate that is fully accredited by Edexcel. Cert DR Prospectus
“The debt management sector of the financial services industry has quite rightly come under the spotlight form the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) as a result of shoddy working practices, poor advice and expensive fees” commented Luke Notley Director at ICDS he continued “In Control is committed to providing its clients with the right advice and great customer service and DRF membership is part of that commitment. As members we have agreed to operate to a strict code of conduct to provide our clients with a transparency of service but also the confidence that they are dealing with an accredited company.”
Trade Body Working To improve Standards
The Debt Resolution Forum (DRF) has released the criteria that will help its members to improve standards in the debt management sector in response to the recent consultation issued by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The reality is that the DRF has introduced membership for lead generation companies and subsequently any company applying for membership will be monitored annually by the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA). This measure is already in place for member debt management companies to ensure that they adhere to the DRF’s code of conduct and will also allow those companies to source business from trusted and audited partners.
The DRF has also recognised the need to improve the Cert DR qualification by introducing annual training. The requirement for staff training has been highlighted by the OFT in the consultation paper as an area where the industry standards must improve. The professional development scheme as part of Cert DR will require licence holders to annually demonstrate a minimum standard of competence to maintain their licence.
The OFT’s consultation is as a result of its debt management review which highlighted widespread problems in the sector and has resulted in a number of companies either surrendering or having their Consumer Credit Licence revoked after being deemed unfit to continue.
In Control Debt Solutions are currently provisional members of the DRF and are waiting for full accreditation to the trade body which will be given subject to a full inspection by the IPA.
“In Control are committed to improving standards within the debt management sector. We see that transparency of our organisation and the regular training of our employees as paramount to maintain the level of service our clients and the OFT expects.” Charles Greed Operations Director
OFT publishes new guidance for the debt management sector.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published its revised guidance in the debt management sector for consultation.
The guidance revision is following a comprehensive review of the sector in 2010 which found systemic problems in advertising, quality of advice and the handling of client money widespread among fee charging companies. The review in tandem with targeted OFT enforcement aims to address these issues.
Debt management businesses can be under no illusion about the standards that the OFT expects the sector to maintain. They must be fully transparent about the services offered and the fees charged, explain to consumers the risks as clearly as the benefits of any solution. The use of miss-leading advertising such as impersonating a free provider or intimating they are government backed is forbidden. The licensee must implement policies and procedures that ensure that the advice given is in the best interest of the client and provide them with clear advice so they may make an informed decision.
David Fisher, Director of the OFT’s Consumer Credit Group, said:
‘This guidance is designed to leave firms in no doubt about the standards the OFT expects and what they must do to comply with the law. The failings identified by our recent review are unacceptable and show that debt management businesses must raise their standards or face enforcement action.’
The OFT’s move to improve standards is a positive step forward for the industry and the requirement for training and regular auditing improve practices and reduce the number of less reputable providers.
Luke Notley, Director at In Control Debt Solutions Ltd, said:
‘ We welcome any measures to improve standards as we feel that for far too long the industry has been blighted by companies who are not acting in the best interest of their clients. The guidance will ensure that clients are provided with a transparent service, this is a firm belief at In Control that our clients should be very clear about the solution we provide but also receive excellent customer service once they have decided to instruct us.’
The revised guidance is out for consultation to the industry for 12 weeks.
NEWS - Options
OPTIONS
Your situation is unique to you and therefore the correct solution will be dependent on various factors such as debt level, employment status and affordability. There is a very useful guide, written by the Insolvency Service called “In Debt – Dealing With Your Creditors” which covers in great detail the best way to deal with creditors if you are experiencing problems with debt. You can access this document by clicking HERE. At In Control, we operate a ‘best advice’ policy meaning that our debt advisors will only ever offer a solution providing there are measurable benefits. Here are the big 4 debt solutions and information on their benefits, disadvantages and qualifying criteria.
NEWS - Problems with debt
ARE YOU...
Suffering from stress and sleepless nights caused by debt?
Hounded by multiple creditors on a daily basis?
Confused by legal and financial jargon?
Worried about your financial future?
Personal debt levels in the UK are at their highest in decades meaning that more British citizens than ever are suffering from the stresses associated with owing money. A culture of 'buy now, pay later', incentivised credit card schemes, and easy access to credit is in effect. There are now more credit cards in this country than there are people, and when you also consider student loans cause many Britons to start their working lives thousands of pounds in the red, it's easy to see why people get stuck in the hole.
