KL.FM 96.7 - Monday money matters

Paul Garner Paul has been involved in the Financial Services Industry for over 17 years, the majority of this time has been spent as a mortgage specialist. Paul has worked for large corporate brokerages as well as smaller independent companies during his career.

Monday money matters tips


The average family will spend almost 700 pounds this Christmas, including gifts, decorations and food and drink. A report says that's marginally more than last year, despite the continuing tough economic climate. Shopping comparison site Kelkoo says gifts will account for two-thirds of the total amount. It claims Britons will spend more on Christmas than anywhere else in Europe.
Almost half of small firms are being warned they risk damaging staff morale by cutting back on festivities this year. A survey of 500 companies found 48 per cent aren't planning a Christmas party and most will spend the same as or less than last year. The firms say they're making savings because of the state of the economy.
The amount of money the Government gets from petrol pump prices has gone DOWN in the last decade. Hard-pressed motorists may not believe it, but the Government's share dropped from 81 per cent in 2001 to 2 to 66 per cent in 2009 to 10. The Office for National Statistics found UK households spent, on average, more than 677 pounds on fuel duties in 2009/10.
More than half of us are already cutting back in our spending because we fear another recession is on its way. A survey's found 85 per cent of the British public think the European debt crisis has put our economy in danger. Fewer than one in five think Britain should contribute more money to help fix the problems of Eurozone countries like Greece and Italy.
Parents are less likely to have cash put aside for their retirement than people without children. That's according to HSBC, who say that just 56 per cent of people with kids have saved some money - 11 per cent less than people without. Researchers also found that 65 per cent of parents have never made a will.
A report's warning that a pint of beer in a pub with friends is becoming more unaffordable. The British Beer and Pub Association says they continue to suffer from lost sales because of "sharp rises" in tax and VAT. Pub beer sales were down by 4-point-3 per cent from July to September compared with last year - while sales increased in supermarkets and off-licences.
Pocket money soars to £6.25 a week Youngsters have seen an end to a seven-year piggy bank recession after figures from the Halifax pocket money survey showed pocket money surged to an average £6.25 a week in 2011. The typical child now has an extra 36p to spend every seven days. Locally, children in East Anglia, were seen to have an average pocket money £5.79 per week, which is 46 pence lower than the national average, however they are better off than children in Wales, who receive 82p less than the national average at £5.43 per week.

August house prices: Nationwide House prices edged lower last month but the overall market is relatively stable, Nationwide has said. The average price of a house fell 0.6% month on month in August to nearly £166,000. On a positive note though, according to property website Zoopla, prices in Kings Lynn are recovering, showing a 1.39% increase on the average house price over the last 6 months, taking the cost of an average home in Lynn to just over £178,000.

Most young people aspire to own home by age 30 More than eight out of ten young people aged between 18 and 24 still aspire to own their own home by the time they are 30, according to the latest quarterly consumer survey published by The Building Societies Association Only 16% of respondents said they were concerned about future falls in house prices, which is down from the 51% who thought so in September 2008 and the 27% that thought so this time last year.

Rent rise is fastest for a year, says LSL The cost of renting a home rose at its fastest rate in a year – with the average tenant paying £713 a month, a survey has said. Tenants paid 1.2% more on average to rent a property in the UK in August than they did in July, according to LSL Property Services, with costs rising quickest in Wales and the South East of England in the last month.

Thursday 23 February 2012

KL.FM 96.7