November 2nd, 2007 at 07:31am
Under Press Release
Christmas is coming! Are you planning to start your Christmas shopping very soon? Watch your credit card balance - it goes out of control very easily.
There is a way to save money during this Christmas shopping craze. How about comparing the pricing, online, before buying?
Sit back and relax, have a cup of coffee. Then start your browser and go here: savebuckets.com
GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST HAUNTS INDEBTED BRITS
- New price saving site launches to save Brits up to 20% this Christmas -
As the nation approaches the final countdown to Christmas, new research rings alarm bells over the financial impact of Christmas in credit crunch Britain. The research from the new money saving website Savebuckets.com reveals that as Brits prepare for Christmas, many are still paying off last year’s festive spending.
With 41 per cent of Britons paying for Christmas on credit last year, almost one in five are still paying for last year’s festivities (17%), fewer than one in three having cleared their Christmas debts when their January credit card bill arrived (29%).
Following a year of consumer confidence in 2006, Christmas spending soared 52 per cent in two years (from an average £548 per adult in 2004* to £837 per adult in 2006), with over one in five Brits spending over £1,000 on Christmas last year (22%). This year, with spending power at its lowest level for 10 years**, consumers are feeling the financial hangover from a more confident Christmas enjoyed on the credit card and loans.
Alarmingly, it is cash strapped youngsters and low income earners who, having spent the most on last Christmas, are most likely to be feeling the repercussions of last year’s spending spree (see figures below).
The research into the financial impacts of last Christmas amongst a GB representative sample of 2,000 British adults was carried out by the new money savings website Savebuckets.com which launches this week to enable Brits to get more for their money this Christmas.
With these alarming figures in mind, Savebuckets.com will give shoppers the opportunity to save up to 20% on their Christmas shopping. Putting consumers back in control of their spending, the site searches over 700 retailers for the best price on around one million products. The site includes a unique price checker which allows consumers to set the price they want to pay for items, notifying them when the price of a product falls to within their budget.
By Leo
November 2nd, 2007 at 07:15am
Under Press Release
Superannuation is a must for Australian Employees. There are a lot of superannuation institutes in Australia, which manages your funds on your behalf, including savings, investments etc.
I have been transferring my funds between different institutes, simply because of change of jobs. I however feel that these institutes did not do much for me and they never did provide me information about my funds.
However, good news -
SPECIALIST financial planning company All My Funds is applying the discount broker model to Australia’s trillion dollar superannuation industry.
The Queensland-based All My Funds will target the 70 per cent of workers in the 30-45 age groups who are now using retail funds instead of industry funds.
AMF managing director Wayne Robinson said the All My Funds system would effectively transform retail funds into industry funds for AMF clients because the company would return all commissions paid to the client in exchange for a flat annual fee.
“The discount broker model has worked very well in both the sharemarket and the funds management sectors and there is no reason why Australians will not embrace it for their superannuation investments,’’ said Mr Robinson.
“As it stands, a working 30 year old with $50,000 in their super now could lose more than $98,000 from their retail superannuation funds through commissions over their working life.
“We want to change that and also to help people gain the greatest benefit from their retirement savings as possible.’’
Mr Robinson said All My Funds had made the decision to solely concentrate on financial planning issues for the superannuation sector.
“There are a lot of good financial planners operating within Australia but we saw there is not really anybody who is solely specialising in superannuation,’’ he said.
“When you consider the size of the industry, both in terms of investment and the number of participants, it is apparent there is certainly plenty of room for specialist firms in this arena.’’
The three main services that All My Funds will provide clients is:
* An annual subscription service where investors pay an annual fee of $385 and all adviser fees, commissions and trails are rebated to the client
* A consolidation service where AMF on behalf of its clients rolls multiple superannuation accounts into one larger account.
* A 25+ page superannuation checkup report (statement of advice limited to superannuation) for only $275. This will give an overview of a client’s existing superannuation, a comparison with other retail funds, an indication of what their income will be on retirement as a percentage of their current salary and much more.
By Leo
