Personal Finances

This section of the website deals with getting your finances in order and securing your financial future.

I have two financial goals at the moment, retiring (or semi-retiring) at 50 and making sure my son is financially secure when he gets older. Neither are going to be easy, particularly in my current job where I just about make enough to cover my bills.

However, with better budgeting and making economies wherever possible, plus a few more competition wins it might be possible.

Child Trust Funds

We already have a child trust fund for our son. We opened it with our £250 government voucher when he was born and are making a small monthly contribution each month.

We got our first statement recently and the fund has grown by over 10% this year! A lot more than I thought.

The Childrens Mutual are one of the largest Child Trust Fund providers in the UK. They offer simple and straightforward child trust funds and have been named Best CTF Provider by independent financial magazine Moneyfacts Life & Pensions.

Prepaid Credit Cards

As an aid to budgeting we have now switched to a prepaid credit card. We put a set amount on the card at the beginning of every month straight out of the bank and that is our monthly budget for food/petrol etc.

It takes a little more planning but eliminates the impulse buys that can mount up and blow the budget.

The eclipse Prepaid MasterCard is perfect for everyday shopping, locally or abroad, while providing you with a valuable payment and budgeting tool.

You can load your card for free via bank transfer or at any UK Post Office branch. The eclipse Prepaid Card can be used to make purchases securely online, on the phone or in store at over 28.5 million locations and to obtain cash at over a million ATMs globally.

Some of the many benefits:

  • There are no credit checks
  • All nationalities can apply
  • No bank account required
  • Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go
  • Guaranteed acceptance
  • No hidden fees, no debt

Personal Finance and Loans

For those people with debt problems or just looking for extra cash for a new car, holiday, home improvements etc. visit Financeworx.

Yuo can find secured and unsecured loans, debt consolidation and debt management on their website.

Just one word of caution, if you are in debt please make sure you read all of the terms of any agreement you enter into, particularly in relation to charges, both up-front and ongoing.

Life Insurance

Nobody likes insurance (except insurance brokers and insurance companies!). You don't receive anything tangible for the money you pay unless you have the misfortune to make a claim.

I tend to avoid paying insurance whenever possible, the one exception being life insurance. I know that if anything happened to me my wife and son will be OK financially, able to pay the mortgage and get through that difficult time.

When taking out life cover it makes sense to use a company that searches hundreds of policies so that you get the best deal. Life Cover do exactly that, with rates starting from £5 per month.