Cash Strapped – A Payday Loan could be the only solution

Payday Loans can be a life saver for some people and for others can turn into a nightmare. It’s about how and when to use them. Usually it’s a last resort to turn to payday loans when money is running tight and you have no other means. This blog is mainly about money saving, but I think it would also be a good idea to share my view point on the lending side in case there are people out there who are cash strapped, who might be reading this blog and are unsure whether to use a payday loan to help them or not.

I’m sure by now you’ve all heard about payday loans; we’ve seen the adverts everywhere and maybe thought to yourself, why anyone would want to take out one of those when they have such huge interest rates!! I agree with you until you start to think about the situation people might be in, with no other options available to them. Often people will need access to money ASAP and are not able to get the cash they need quickly. Payday loans are flexible and offer loans in 15 minutes in most cases. Some reasons why they would need cash so quickly could be to pay for things like boiler breakdown, emergency car repairs, got rent to pay and simply cannot afford it this month.

The high interest rates can put you off even thinking about applying for a cash loan online. Some lenders charging as high as 4000% APR. It does seem ridiculous. You have to remember that this is the rate per annum. You will only ever take out a loan for up to 1 month, so the charges will be pro-rated. It’s often best to look at the amount of interest charges you will end up paying back. As long as you feel comfortable with this and feel you can pay this back next month then it could be the solution for you. However if can turn into your worst enemy if you aren’t able to pay it back because the interest will creep up on you. These loans are so easily accessible that it can be so easy cause you to spiral into debt. Much like credit cards can be.

So why not get a credit card then. This is certainly a better option in some cases providing you can wait up to a couple of weeks. It can take a while to apply and also seems to take a long time before you get accepted and are able to use the card. You can also use your overdraft facility if you have one but make sure to check the charges. Some banks charge daily fees so this can often work out more expensive that what a payday loan works out to cost you. It’s just that banks do not show the interest amount on these fees as they are fixed.

Getting a credit card or using your overdraft facility can be alternate solutions, however not always readily available to everyone. Usually you have to have a good track record and a good credit score. Maybe you are currently not employed and are unable to borrow off your family, so the only option is loans for the unemployed.

So if you find yourself struggling with no alternative, then a payday loan could be the only solution for you. Just remember to pay it back as quickly as possible. Consider cancelling your subscriptions to those ‘luxury items’ and also maybe eat beans on toast for a while. Take back any recent clothes you may have brought, consider walking to places instead of using the car. Do all you can to cut back until your finances are sorted.

Sit Back ,Relax, & See the Returns

The Internet has revolutionised our lives. Using the world wide web you can book a holiday, buy shoes or even make a whole new virtual life, if you have a mind to. The Internet has also changed the way we can earn and is a gateway to a world of money making schemes. From being able to sell samsung galaxy s, to selling your talents or even flogging your old clothes, there are a variety of easy and quick ways to earn extra money.

Sell your stuff

It may not sound like a particularly inspiring way of making money, but clearing your house of clutter can actually help you to earn some quick money. In amongst all the broken toys and torn clothes, you might actually find a few things of value. Anything that you have that you think might be worth a bit you can list on online auction sites. It’s very simple to put your things up on sites like ebay and the cost is minimal.

Vintage clothing sells particularly well, as do old records. However, if you find any electronics that you want to sell, it’s a good idea to try specialist sites, where you’ll probably find a better deal. If you’re selling an old phone then the best place to try is on an online phone recycling scheme, which can pay out a fair amount depending on the age and condition of your model.

Sell your time

In general, filling out a questionnaire form is fairly dull and not something that you’d do by choice. However, the internet has turned even this prosaic pastime into a potential money maker. Paid questionnaire sites include ipsosinteractive.com, swagbucks.com and onepoll.com.

Once you register with one of these sites you’ll start to get questionnaires in your email inbox. Although the money isn’t great, if you spend a lot of your free time diligently filling in the questionnaires you get sent you could stand to earn several hundred pounds a year, either in money or in vouchers.

Sell your talents

The current economic climate is making it harder and harder for people to find work; this is especially true for those without experience, such as those fresh out of university. However, in some professions such as graphic design and copywriting, the internet has made it easy to forge a career path on your own. Sites like peopleperhour.com, gofreelance.com and guru.com are designed to make working for yourself easy.

After setting up an account with one of these sites, you’ll become part of an online database that allows you to advertise yourself to would-be employers. If you lack experience you can make yourself more attractive to potential employers by reducing the hourly rate that you would be willing to work for. Once you’ve found a bit of work, finding more becomes easy, so you can sit back, relax and wait for employers to find you.

Family holiday’s and how to ensure you and your family have a safe trip

Family holidays are supposed to be a time for relaxation and enjoyment as you experience new surroundings in the company of the people that you care about the most. However, a break with the family doesn’t always turn out the way that you imagine: busy schedules, the dangers of unfamiliar environments and unruly kids can cause your meticulously planned holiday to unravel.

To help ensure that your family holiday runs as smoothly and as safely as possible, try these useful hints and tips.

To cut the cost of your family holiday, booking the break as early as possible is a great idea. If you’re flying to your destination of choice, you can book as early as 9 months in advance, when the cheapest seats are still available. If you’re travelling by bus or train, you can save a lot by booking just a few months in advance.

As well as saving your bank account, booking early offers several other advantages. With you travel arrangements out of the way you can focus your energy on preparing for your break. The first place to start is with insurance, which is vital if you’re going away with children. Kids can be particularly vulnerable to things like food poisoning, so make sure you’ve got adequate cover in the case that you have to make holiday illness claims.

Of course, prevention is better than the cure, and you can reduce the risk of having to make a claim for holiday accident compensation by doing a bit of research on the area that you’re going to.

If you intend to eat out when you’re away, try to learn about a few well recommended restaurants. You should also learn about the things you can do there and, just as importantly, the things that are prohibited, as well as any immediate dangers.

You should also check up on the weather conditions of the area and any necessary equipment that you’ll need when you’re away. For instance, you might need armbands if you’re taking your kids to an area by the sea or if you’re hotel has a pool. If the weather is particularly warm, then make sure you stock up on sun cream. It’s a good idea to buy these things off season, when the prices will be considerably lower than during the holiday period.

It’s a good idea to check up on local customs and tourist attractions. However, while it’s important to keep children occupied, don’t overload the schedule. It could become difficult to stick to which can be disappointing. Moreover, some of the most enjoyable times you can have are those that are unplanned, so leave plenty of free time for you and your children to go and explore the local area.

When you arrive in your holiday destination, it can be a little disorientating, however, it’s vital not to forget the basics: keep your children supervised at all times and remember to keep yourself and the kids hydrated, especially in an area with a warm climate.

Taking your kids on holiday can be a bit stressful, but you shouldn’t let that put you off from taking a break with them, after all, there’s nothing more enjoyable than keeping your little ones safe.

Learn from Your Mum how to save and make money

I wanted to share with my readers this interesting story that impressed me the other day.

I was speaking to my Mum the other night on the phone (she lives about 180 miles away from me unfortunately) and she was telling me about her recent eBay antics. She only started using a computer recently and has been doing some eBaying for a short while. She gets my Dad to take the pictures and help post the items for sale.

Recently she brought a designer handbag for only £15 off another eBay seller. She brought the item as she knew that if she didn’t sell it that she’d be happy to keep it. Think of her as the Imelda Marcos of handbags!!

She had already owned a similar designer handbag before and had kept the labels. The handbag that she brought looked brand new but didn’t have the labels.

She then decided to list it for sale, choosing to do this on the Free listing weekend so she didn’t have to pay any listing fees. She set the starting price at £29 thinking at least she would get her money back and profit if it sold. Bidding started and it went for nearly £70. I know its not a massive amount but over 4 times her initial investment with a little bit of her time. Lord Sugar would be proud! Well if he’s not I know I am.

My mum has taught me a lot in life and she still keeps on impressing me to this day. In the past she has saved up her eBay profits and used it on the grandchildren which is lovely and we thank her for it. We only hopes she treats herself too!

I hope this post inspires you, as it did me. Got anything to sell, then head over to eBay.co.uk now

Mother’s Day – Have you left it too late?

First of all Mother’s Day seems to have come around very quick this year. It seems early, and in fact it’s only a week earlier than last year here in the UK.

Here is a useful table of the mothers day dates to help you remember for years to come. Actually its to help me

Last year I remember seeing lots of tweets around May time for Mothers Day. I had to question myself. Basically my wife almost celebrated 2 mothers day. She will tell you my short term memory is pretty rubbish!

if you are looking for last minute mother’s day gifts then your best bet is to get a bunch of flowers. I know it may seem a bit boring to get the same type of gift, but you can’t go wrong. As a man, my wife has mentioned in the past ‘I’m not really that fussed’ about flowers, only to find out a few years later that I was wrong. I was being tested and she now tells me she does like flowers.

I ordered some flowers for my Mum the other night from marksandspencer.com. They have a really nice range. The only glitch I had which made me panic for a moment was the flowers I wanted couldn’t be delivered in time for that special day this coming Sunday. Luckily enough for me I was able to choose another nice bunch which did allow delivery for the Sunday. A bit odd but hey ho!

If you can’t afford to buy anything then the best gift to any mum will be to make sure they just don’t have to lift a finger and can enjoy a relaxing day while you take care of the kids, tidying up, cooking and any other chores. Just give them a big cuddle, breakfast in bed and they will be happy.

Some Random Mother’s Day facts for you, courtesy of James Murray from Hitwise…

New Year and time for a new web project

As you may have noticed I don’t tend to blog that often on here. Mostly when I want to promote a new website, but when I do I hope to provide something useful to help people save money generally. However this time, my new web project isn’t about saving money, its about helping people learning something new, putting a smile on peoples faces. I have decided to setup a website about Random Facts and post daily with interesting, weird, fun, cool and mostly random facts and hopefully stuff that you will not have seen before.

There is way too much negative stuff these days, with the economy, people out of work, sad news and bad press that I want to liven up the online atmosphere and provide something that will make people happy and laugh. After all don’t they say laughter is the best medicine and all that!!

So head over to my new website here: http://www.toprandomfacts.com

Follow on twitter for the latest updates here: https://twitter.com/TopRandomFacts Or like our page to get updates via facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/TopRandomFacts

We’ll also be pinning on Pinterest here too soon: https://pinterest.com/toprandomfacts/

If you have seen a fact and would like to share it and join the social community then please get in touch. We will be promoting this heavily over the next few months so watch this space.

Are you looking at the long term when buying your garden furniture.

Spring is just a couple months hence, and the promise of nice weather might have you turning your attention to your garden area. If you plan to host family and friends for outdoor events this spring and summer, consider investing in new garden furniture that will withstand the test of time. Here’s what you need to know about thinking long-term when buying new furniture for your garden seating area:

Which Type of Wood is Best?

While many types of materials are used to make garden furniture—including plastic, resin, iron, and aluminum—wood is one of the most attractive choices not only in terms of quality, but also aesthetics, as it seamlessly blends into the natural surroundings. Pine is one of the least costly options, but it may not be your best bet in the long run, as it is more susceptible to decay and damage than some of your other options. If you do opt for pine, make sure it’s pressure treated, a process that helps to safeguard the wood from rot and decay for up to 30 years.

A better option for garden furniture is red cedar, a wood which is notorious for repelling pesky insects due to its scent. This rich reddish wood contains naturally-occurring oils that help protect against insects and decay as well. It’s a good middle-of-the-road option if you don’t want to spend a fortune but want a high quality, durable wood. Cypress is also a good mid-budget option that, like red cedar, is highly resistant to rot and decay.

Even better than red cedar is grade A teak, a tropical wood that is primarily native to Indonesia. What makes grade A teak so desirable is that it is incredibly strong and durable. Teak also contains natural oils that make it repel water and moisture, which proves to be a huge advantage in the wettest spring and summertime months. Of the options, you’ll find that teak is the most expensive, but the amount of usage you would get from teak garden furniture over its projected 50-year lifespan would make the investment well worth it.

Don’t forget to check out some garden lighting it will enhance your new furniture.

Maintenance Tips

Increase the lifespan of your garden furniture by following some simple care and maintenance tips. First of all, make sure to cover your furniture with waterproof covers when it is not in use, and store in a cool, dry place during the bleakest winter months to protect it from decay. If your garden furniture does become wet, make sure to move it from the grass to the patio and pat it down with a cloth to help it dry more quickly. Scrub down your furniture every few months with a stiff brush and warm water to eradicate dirt, which can deteriorate your furniture, and scrape off any sap you find with a small knife. Apply a water or oil-based sealer to pine, a water-based stain to cedar, or specialty teak oil to grade A teak every six to twelve months to help prevent colour loss as well as damage and decay. The silvering of wood furniture is ultimately unavoidable, but you can slow down the process with proper maintenance and care.

Unusual Christmas Gift Ideas 2012

If you are like me, you leave Christmas shopping right until the last minute. Planning ahead helps when you decide you want to buy all your presents on Xmas eve. Below are some Christmas Ideas which might help you plan and where best to buy these gifts.

It doesn’t matter who you are buying for, sometimes it can be difficult to come up with fresh unique ideas. Below are a few ideas to help you out:

Slipper Socks
Socks are one of those gifts that most people expect to get at Christmas, so why not break that habit and get that person some slipper socks instead. They are suitable for both Men and Women and even children too. They won’t break the bank and are a nice cosy gift, like pyjamas which you may look forward to wearing while watching those Christmas movies. Need an extra idea to fill your children’s stocking then we found these hello kitty slipper socks online.

Where to get them – goto slippersocks.org.uk

Monopoly Millionaire
A classic game with a twist. Monopoly has become a household name as so many people own the original board game. This game has a unique selling point and we think it will be a hit this Xmas. Basically the first to win a million wins.

Where to buy – we found amazon had the best price listed here at £13.99

Afternoon Tea for Two
Enjoy a bit of luxury once in a while. Need a break from the kids in the new year. How about Afternoon Tea at Harrods. Something a little different and a nice surprise for your partner. It’s always a nice treat to go up to London. Look out for deals as there are often so good offers available.

Where to buy – buyagift.co.uk are offering Afternoon Tea for 2 at Harrods for only £58 with a best price guarantee

Novelty Sports Golf Balls
Most Dads love golf and golf gifts, so why buy them something different when its what they’ll like. How about getting some of these bright novelty golf balls. Perfect for those sports fans.

Where to buy – GettingPersonal.co.uk price £9.99 only

Personalised Teddy Bear
No matter how old you are sometimes you will never grow to old for teddies. Not me, but I know someone very close who still likes to snuggle with some teddies. Our daughter loves them and now has a huge collection, so large we are going to have to move out of our double room and share her single bedroom so she can have it!!

GettingPersonal.co.uk have some lovely teddies that can be personalised here. Price is £22.99 but what a perfect gift.

Save on Sky TV, Broadband and Phone Calls

A few months back we had a letter from Sky saying that our TV package is going up in price. God damn it!!

Although it was only going up by about £1 something, my wife and I were even talking about how we were thinking about cancelling sky and going to Freeview as we didn’t think we used that many of the Sky channels. Anyway we noticed a few friends on the social networks had called up and threatened to cancel sky and managed to negotiate a discount on their monthly payments.

I called up Sky last night and spoke to someone in cancellations. I basically said we have been talking about cancelling sky and then you increase our monthly payments. We are not longer able to afford to pay and wanted to know what our options are. They guy went away for a few minutes and come back and said they could offer us 25% off for the first 6 months. However this was only off our TV package. No discount off the broadband and our Line Rental and phone calls are managed by BT.

We are only on the Entertainment Extra package which was costing us £21 per month. Sky broadband is costing us £17.50 as there is no Sky Broadband in our area. They basically piggy back on BT broadband and charge us. At the time when we took out sky 4 years ago, this was the condition of our package deal.

So I wasn’t that excited about the £5.25 per month saving. I went on to say I may have to cancel as I don’t feel this is that good a saving. I explained you get better deals as a new customer. He wasn’t budging. He went away and come back and said, all we could offer is 20% off for 12 months which is less saving per month but will save us more in the long run. So I ended up going for this with the view we may still cancel and go to freeview at some point.

So for a quick phone call to Sky you can save save money. Albeit not a lot in my case, it’s still a saving. Some people are saving as much as 50% in some cases but I suspect they have much bigger tv packages.

TV total saving over 1 year = £50.40

Next I get a phone call from BT on the same day, offering to reduce our broadband payments if we move to them. They offer me free broadband and free line rental for 6 months. They also say the broadband speed will be approx 17gb and I’m only getting 8gb at the moment. After 6 months the monthly payments will be £13 per month. There is a 10GB download limit per month but to be honest we aren’t using that much as we don’t stream videos etc. So we will save £4 per month on our broadband but won’t be paying £17 for the next 6 months. Happy days. This is on an 18month contract.

Broadband total saving over 1 year = £150

BT also mentioned that in January the line rental will go up to over £15 per month. At the moment its about £14.50 or something. I don’t remember the exact figure. The BT guy advised me that if we phone up BT Customer Services and ask to be put on the annual saver which you pay upfront you can save this way. At £15 per month for 12 months this would cost £180 per year. The annual saver is only £129 if paid upfront. This is a saving of £51

Phone Line Rental saving over 1 year = £51

Total saving by reducing our sky package, switching broadband provider and paying upfront for line rental is £251.40

Now what can we spend this extra money on

Have you managed to save on your SKY TV, Broadband or Phone Calls and Line Rental? What tips can you share?

Why do people turn to Payday Loans?

Payday Loans have been getting a lot of press coverage lately and so I thought I’d share with you why people turn to Payday Loans to help with their finances. Understanding this may hopefully give people a different opinion on these loans.

Yes these loans have huge interest rates associated with them and this can seem like they are ripping people off. The fact of the matter is that the interest is only charged over a short period of time so the APR which is for the year doesn’t reflect the true cost of interest. It’s best to work out how much you will need to pay back.

Everyone has different financial circumstances. Many people will struggle to make ends meet every month. Their are people that have bad credit history and have no other means to get the cash. Their are people that need the money to pay for emergency situations and they simply haven’t got the money at that time to pay for whatever emergency has arisen, such as boiler breakdown, faced with huge repair bills.

Some other reasons why people use Payday Loans

• Cars broken down
• Emergency medical treatment
• Unexpected travel costs whilst abroad
• Short term car finance – to pay the deposit
• Banks won’t lend you the money

If you are in a situation where you need short term cash quickly, consider your options. Can you borrow off family or close friends? Does your bank account allow you to go overdrawn without hefty fees? Can you wait until payday? If you really need the money today, then go to a same day loans company but remember to pay it back on time, otherwise the interest will mount up and that’s when you’ll get into financial difficulty.

How to avoid the need for Payday Loans

• EBay stuff you don’t need
• Budget your outgoings so you can manage your finances better
• Create an emergency savings fund for these situations
• Cut back on luxuries

If you are faced with an urgent need for cash, why not ask for an advance from your employer. Some employers will agree a payment plan to help you out and usually interest free.