We mentioned some weeks ago a new trick to part you from your money when you’re abroad, whereby businesses offer to charge you in sterling rather than the local currency, but sting you with a …
Always deal in local currency when on holiday
Category: Personal Finance
Why savers should return to Northern Rock
I’ve never been one for tying my money up in long-term products of any kind. But I’m beginning to find myself looking rather longingly at some of the fixed-rate savings bonds on offer. Right now, …
Don’t rely on the FSA to protect you from scammers
How easily we are conned. Last week I was phoned by a successful friend in his mid-30s who runs his own business and is normally no fool. This time however, he had taken temporary leave …
UK ‘resident’ versus ‘domicile’: why it matters
“Tax doesn’t need to be taxing,” say HM Revenue & Customs. But it is. Take something as basic as whether you are liable to pay UK tax. This isn’t necessarily determined by where you were …
Don’t be tempted by mortgage insurance
“Wouldn’t it be great if you could insure your mortgage against a significant rise in interest rates?” asks Paul Farrow in The Daily Telegraph. Well, now you can, thanks to a new insurance product from …
Sacrifice your salary for a bigger pension
The idea of salary sacrifice is that you give up some of your salary in return for a pre-tax benefit of some kind. This saves any income tax and national insurance (NI) contributions you would …
How to get cheap tickets for Wimbledon 2009
As anyone who has ever tried to get tickets for Wimbledon knows, you rarely get them cheap. But a bit of forward planning and a lot of luck could mean you get to sit in …
Should you rediscover thrift?
It is getting harder and harder to dig up any sympathy for Gordon Brown. Here we all are at the beginning of what looks like it will be one of the most unpleasant economic periods …
Should you take out private health insurance?
We hear so often these days that the NHS is dreadful, that most of us are slowly becoming convinced, if we can afford it, that we should take out private medical insurance (PMI). But should …
Keep the rainy-day fund safe
Since the drama at Northern Rock last summer, British savers have felt understandably nervy about the security of their savings. Now chancellor Alistair Darling is trying to curb those fears by improving the UK’s deposit …