Co-op Cashminder Accounts

One other point about the Cashminder Account from the Co-op, see post about the account 2 posts before this one. I forgot to mention about branches. The Co-op has branches across the UK, you can also use any Britannia Building Society to manage your account, and also the Post Office for withdrawing and paying money in. They also have a phone number for telephone banking and you can do banking online as well!

Here is the branch locator page on their website.

http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1306391758157,CFSweb/Page/CFSCtplBlank

Payday Loans

Payday loans are loans that have been designed to appeal to people short of money before their next payslip. The idea is you get it a loan, then when you get paid you pay it back, but many people for many reasons struggle to pay it back, then once they've got you in their web their humongous will interest rates will ensure you become just another one of their debt slaves paying back interest to them, and never managing to pay back the amount you originally borrowed. The best advice is this AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

So, if you are short of money and have big bills that are due the first thing you need to do is contact the companies you owe money to and explain your situation, they might be able to spread payments over a longer period. If lets say you get a payday loan to pay a big electric bill, then one option is to call your energy supplier and request a pre payment meter is fitted, then you just pay as you go, topping up your card at the newsagents, and the energy company will arrange for the debt to go onto the meter and you it comes off a few pound each week. So you might put £10 on your meter, and in a week £3 might come off the debt and the rest will last to light your home etc.

Here is an article from the Daily Mail about Payday Loans,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094115/Instant-money-loans-Payday-loan-firms-ruining-lives.html

National Lottery Savings

OK, as the saying goes "You have to be in it to win it!", but really there is more chance of finding a lost key in Central London that fell out your pocket somewhere while you were visiting. So, how much have you won in the last ten years, a few tenners, perhaps four numbers and a £150 win. So lets say £200, and thats probably being generous for most people.

So, if you had not have bothered buying a ticket on a Wednesday and Saturday for the last ten years how much would you have 'WON', if ou had of put it in a savings account?

CONGRATULATIONS! You have £1,040 plus interest in your savings account. OK so it's not going to buy you a villa and yacht, but it would mean you could have a 2 week holiday in the sun. So, if you havent been saving you could start next week and in 10years time have a guaranteed mini windfall. However, if you do the same numbers every single week, then sadly you are probably trapped, as no doubt if you stopped this Saturday, your numbers would come up and you would have hit the jackpot, and I wouldn't want to be to blame for that!! ;0) So this suggestion is for those that wisely have just kept to sticking to random numbers or getting lucky dips, you've got nothing to lose and over a grand to gain!

Coop Cashminder Account

If you are having trouble with your bank, perhaps you have received a letter saying they are closing your account due to your bad credit score etc then you will need to find a new account that you can direct payments, benefits or wages into, without them being swallowed up by your current bank.

This might prove difficult if you have a bad credit score, or have defaults, CCJs etc. The Co-op has a current account called the Cashminder Account, its a basic account with no overdraft facility or cheque book. However, you can still set up direct debits, you can pay money in, and you get a debit card so you can still purchase items in the shops or withdraw money from cashpoints. It is a type of account they offer to people who have had financial difficulties and are lenient when it comes to accepting new customers.

You can apply to open account at any Co-op Bank or Brittania Building society, take some address id such as a driving licence or utility bill and £1 to open the account. You can also do it over the phone on 0845 602 7057. Hopefully they will be able to help you.

More info available here;

http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1193206368743,CFSweb/Page/Bank-CurrentAccounts?WT.mc_id=ask_va_link

Captain Crunch

Captain Crunch pages on the Sun website has some interesting save money articles.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/captaincrunch/

Radio 5 Live Baliffs

There was a phone in about baliffs this morning. Some shocking stories, it seems they think they can do what they want. WRONG. Do not let them intimidate you, do not let them in your house, they cannot force their way in, unless they have a warrant to install a pre payment meter for gas or electricity. Its time the ordinary people of this country stood up and demanded debt collections are done in a non threatening and reasonable way. How disgusting that councils who are supposed to be all politically correct and 'ethical' send round big threatening thugs to intimidate when there could be children in the house, who will find the experience very scary, seeing their parents panicked and upset and seeing strange men coming into their homes. Its an outrage and it's time it was banned.

Snob Falls on Hard Times

Daily Mail readers are having hissy fits about this article. To sum it up a man was left a house in the nineties and did it up and made £600,000 profit, this enabled him to buy a country mansion, and he built up a portfolio of 84 properties in Barnsely. He and his wife had 4 kids and sent them all to boarding school. He then got a multi million pound loan to buy land in a Romanian property deal. Well suprise, suprise, the deal was not as amazing as he hoped and now the bank is calling in his debts. I won'y spoil the story too much heres the link, but here is just one of his comments to give you a taster as to why readers are so fuming.

"I am worried about losing my place in the world and am deeply worried that my children have lost their place in society."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2085486/As-family-led-life-privilege-face-5m-debt-said-upper-crust-recession-proof.html#ixzz1jHDymcyE

Job Centre job search online

The Job Centre homepage is a bit cluttered and you might miss the main link to get to the search page. I think quite a few people overlook this site as a way of looking for jobs, especially ones which are more professional. You might get a surprise at some of them, for example I have just seen an Alumini Relations Officer job at the Physics Dept of Oxford University offering £35k so don't think all the vacancies are bar jobs or shop jobs, although there is plenty of these, and the good thing is , is that the site is updated very frequently.

Happy job hunting, heres the link -

http://jobseekers.direct.gov.uk/homepage.aspx?sessionid=0c3c80aa-bd97-4f7f-8773-ad5b917ca07b&pid=2

The Best Things In Life Are Free

A good article reminding everyone that the best things in life are free. So go for a country walk, visit an elderly relative, hold the door open and smile!

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/293834/The-best-things-in-life-are-free

New Job for 2012

Some good career tips about finding a new challenge, I think the point about not leaving your current job is a probably a good one, as employees seem to like it if you are working for someone else.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8992020/Careers-advice-How-to-find-the-job-you-really-want-in-2012.html

10 Frugal Living Tips

America orientated but still some good advice that everyone can find useful when it comes to trying to save money.

http://www.candofinance.com/debt-management/frugal-living-tips/

Ditch Northern Rock / Virgin Bank

The 'Bearded One' seems to like the business plan of charging all his customers monthly fees, even if its just for paying not via direct debit, or get your bill in paper format if you are with Virgin Media for broadband/phone. There is nothing wrong with companies wanting to make a profit, but my experience with Virgin is they want 100% profit and want no costs and try and get the customers to pay extra on top of what they are already paying. Now Branson has bought the 'good part' of Northern Rock (The losses have been made into another 'toxic' bank, that is a steaming vat of debt bubbling away.) he is planning on charging every customer £5 month, so £60 a year. As the French say ....Quelle Surpris!

The simple solution to avoid him helping himself to your hard earned money is to join the Co-op bank, 100% customer owned. That is exactly what Northern Rock used to be for decades when it was a great success, it was only when it demutualised did it a few years later become a financial basket case.

It's a new year, what better time to switch bank accounts to a company that does not pay millions to fat cats, but is run for the customers benefit.

A Prosperous & Healthy New Year To You All!

Readers, wishing you all a happy 2012, make a great start to 2012 by confronting your debts and seek advice. (see post about CCCS below) and if you have a credit card with a balkance cut the blinking thing up into 2012 pieces, it'll stop you using it and help you escape from being shackled to billion pound corporations who want you to remain forever in their debt.