How do I… budget?

Whether in debt or not, we should all learn to budget. For some of us budgeting will come naturally, but for others it can be more difficult. Therefore we have put together a guide to show you how to prepare a budget:

Gather all information together to calculate your income.Gather all information together to calculate your current expenditure.Split your expenditure into two categories – fixed and variable. Fixed will consist of your mortgage or rent, council tax, utility bills and insurances amongst other things. Variable will consist of shopping, fuel, public transport, mobile phones and leisure outings amongst other things.Look at your variable expenditure and see where you can make instant cut backs – change your supermarket, download apps to make free phone calls and send free text messages, use coupons and vouchers to reduce spending on going out and walk or bike instead of using your car.For your fixed expenses look at ones that can be changed such as insurances when they are up for renewal and utility bills and see where you can save money.Set yourself a weekly spend limit and stick to it. Using cash instead of cards will usually help with this.Review your budget every few months to make sure it is still affordable and that you are sticking to it.

Do you have any budget tips? Share them with us by leaving a comment in the box below.

And remember if you are struggling to make ends meet and make you repayments to creditors then please call us on 0800 2945205 or fill in our online referral form and we will call you.

Written by Gemma on May 11th, 2012

Filed Under  Budgeting   |  Trackback  |   Leave a Comment

View the original article here

Read more »

Posted in: budget

How do I… deal with my creditors?

When you are in debt and beginning to struggle with the repayments, you may find that your creditor(s) increase their communication with you. At Payplan we hear a lot of people say that they are unable to cope with the constant contact from their creditors or they don’t know how they should be dealing with them.

This blog is going to look at ways in which you could deal with your creditor(s) to make the repayment process as stress free as possible.

When you take out credit, whether a credit card, store card, overdraft or loan, you sign a credit agreement to say that you will maintain contractual payments towards what you borrow until it has been paid in full.

Creditors are aware that unforeseen circumstances occur; such as redundancy, illness or additional expense. If something happens and you suddenly find yourself unable to make your monthly payments, it is extremely important to contact your creditor(s) as soon as possible to inform them. By doing this you can discuss with them how you are going to proceed with future payments. If your situation is going to last longer than one month, to avoid your creditor(s) pursuing legal action against you, you should come to an agreement to make reduced payments until you find yourself in a better position.

Most high street lenders have the capability to deal with customers that are in financial difficulty, so by speaking with them you could get advice on how to deal with your debts. Payplan have a good relationship with a lot of these lenders, and they often direct their customers to us for free to client debt advice.

As well as maintaining contact with your creditors it is important to maintain some form of payment to them. We would usually recommend our client send in whatever they can reasonably afford.

To conclude, when you find yourself in financial difficulty it is always recommended that you keep in contact with your creditor(s) at all times and to maintain small payments.

If you find yourself struggling, it is important to seek help as soon as possible. You can speak to one of our trained specialists on 0800 2945205 or fill in our online referral form and we will call you back.

Written by Gemma on April 27th, 2012

Filed Under  debt advice, Payplan   |  Trackback  |   Leave a Comment

View the original article here

Read more »

Posted in: creditors

Money Saving Apps

With the growing popularity of Smart Phones and Tablet computers, we are seeing more and more ‘apps’ that are aimed at helping people save money and help with budgeting. We have looked through lots and lots of apps and put together a list of our favourites.

Quidco The Quidco website offers cash back deals on a number of high street stores and products. They have now made it even easier for us by bringing out a free app for the iPhone and Android which allows you to “check in” to different shops and restaurants as you enter them. You will then be rewarded with access to offers and in-store cash backs in some of the stores.

Vouchercloud Vouchercloud is a website offering extensive deals and discounts for all kinds of shops, restaurants and other services. With their free app available for most smartphones you can access dozens of amazing deals close to where you are, like 25% off your restaurant bill. The Vouchercloud app uses GPS technology to allow you to view the best offers and discounts closest to you on your own mobile phone screen.

RedLaser An exciting, new, free app which allows you to scan the barcode of an item that you may want to buy and instantly compares to see if you can buy it cheaper anywhere else. Available for the iPhone and Android, it means you’ll always know where to find the best bargains.

Pricerunner Pricerunner is an extensive UK shopping comparison website. The website offers impartial comparison and lists millions of products and special offers from retailers, both big and small as well as online and offline. Pricerunner will show you the best prices and offers for a variety of products.

iSpending This handy free app allows you to keep track of what you are spending. You can add both income and expenditure as and when it occurs. The app will then total each area up and you can then see where you are spending your money and see if there are any areas in which you are overspending. Beware there is also a paid for version of this app that costs 69p, this gives you a few added benefits.

My Voucher Codes Similar to vouchercloud, My Voucher Codes offers you deals for shops and restaurants in your area. There is no need to log into their website as they can send you the voucher code straight to your Smart Phone.

mySupermarket If you have used their website you will know how they work. You register with them and tell them where you usually shop, you can then go through and add your grocery shop into your basket. Once everything is added you can compare all of the major online retailers – Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Ocado to see which is the cheapest. The app works in the exact same way, with the added advantage of being able to scan items straight to your basket.

If you have tried and tested any of these apps, let us know. And if you’ve found any, then please share them with our other readers.

Written by Gemma on April 4th, 2012

Filed Under  Budgeting   |  Trackback  |   1 Comment

Sim Ilyas says

Good list. I use many of them. I’d also like to put forward: 

A great new app from MSE an essential for train travellers: http://splitticket.moneysavingexpert.com/

And:

The first ever interactive debt advice app, includes a comprehensive income and expenditure section which many people have found invaluable: http://www.debtology.org.uk/

View the original article here

Read more »

Posted in: money,saving

Reducing your outgoings.

In this current climate trying to reduce your outgoings is a constant uphill struggle as it seems on a weekly basis we face rising costs in gas, electricity, water, phone bills, food or fuel. However if you are savvy with your spending and really look at where your money goes you can start looking at areas that can be reduced.

Here are some handy tips:

Take a packed lunch to work instead of buying lunch out. This could save around £3 a day, over the course of a week that’s £15, over a month that’s £60 and over the year that’s £780!Re-evaluate your gym membership, do you need this? Do you go to the gym on a regular basis? Why not take up something that costs nothing like running? Or something that costs very little, like a workout DVD?If you drive to work, could you walk instead? If you can, you could save yourself a lot of money in fuel as well as maintenance of the car. If you need to drive, have you considered car sharing? This way you can split the costs with one person or several people.Look at what you pay each month for your mobile phone contract, do you use all of your minutes and texts? If you don’t, then why not see if you can reduce your contract and save yourself some more money each month. At the other end of the scale, if you find yourself constantly going over the allotted allowance and receive more charges, then look into increasing your contract to save yourself more in the long run.Do the same as above with your internet and satellite TV package, do you watch all of the channels that you pay for? Look at what add on packages you can remove and once again save more on your monthly expenditure.When it is time to renew your insurance policies, make sure you shop around and get the best deals that you can.When doing your food shopping, make a list of everything that you need to avoid any overspending and try and resist any impulse buys as these can add unnecessary costs onto your weekly shop.It is also a good idea to make a list of exactly what you are spending each month, use old bank statements to see how you’ve spent your money over the last three months. You can then see where you are overspending or buying things that you don’t necessarily need.

There are many more ways in which you can save money, these are just a few to get you started. If you have any tried and tested ideas then please feel free to share and help others out.

Written by Gemma on March 7th, 2012

Filed Under  Budgeting   |  Trackback  |   Leave a Comment

View the original article here

Read more »

Posted in: outgoings,Reducing

How do I…apply for an IVA?

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement, or an IVA, is a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors. It is one of many solutions to help people who are in financial difficulty.

An IVA allows you to make regular monthly payments to your creditors with the security of knowing that they are legally bound by the agreement. This means that they cannot apply interest and charges or pursue you with any further legal action, such as a County Court Judgement.

An IVA generally lasts for five years, however it can be longer with one of the most common reasons depending on whether you have a property and whether you are able to release equity from it.

With many people delaying the chance to get debt advice some may find themselves in a worse situation. We would always advise people to seek debt help as soon as they can. Here is a guide to show you what to do in preparation for applying for an IVA.

The first thing that you need to do is to do your research and find a recommended company…

Contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau or contact National Debtline who will be able to provide you with a list of recommended companies.Speak to friends, family or your employer as they might be able to recommend a reputable company to you.Visit forum or review sites to see what other people have done in your situation and find out about their experiences with different companies.

Once you have found a company that you are comfortable with you will need to gather the following information together in preparation…

A list of all of your creditors, including account numbers and amounts that you owe.A list of your income and expenditure, as this will help to determine what surplus you have available to pay your creditors.Gather information about your assets such as your car, home (including your outstanding mortgage balances and value) and savings.

This should help you in your journey to become debt free through a IVA.

If you would like to speak to one of our debt specialists, then please call 0800 2945205 or fill in our online referral form and we will call you back.

Written by Gemma on April 18th, 2012

Filed Under  debt help, Payplan   |  Trackback  |   Leave a Comment

View the original article here

Read more »

Posted in: Iapply

Online Surveys – Are they worth it?

Online surveys seem to becoming more and more popular with posters on forums like Money Saving Expert and IVA.co.uk. Many posters use survey sites to earn points that then turn into vouchers.

How do they work?

They work by using a simple format: you register with a survey site and enter details about yourself. These details will then allow the sites database to send you relevant surveys. Once a survey is available to you, you will be asked a series of questions to answer; with the survey times varying but it will usually state how long it should take at the beginning.

How do you get paid?

Each survey site is different, as some give a monetary value for each completed survey, while others give a point’s score. Each site will have a threshold for when you can redeem your completed surveys into vouchers. Some sites offer High Street shopping vouchers, while others offer supermarket and retail vouchers. Some do offer payment by cheque; however you may find that the payment threshold is a lot higher.

How do I find these sites?

Money Saving Expert has a good list of sites that are worth looking at. The list tells you all that you need to know about each site. Click here to see the list.

Are they worth it?

One of our clients wrote to us to give us her opinion on survey sites…

“I would like to recommend people signed up to marketing websites for some extra cash in the form of vouchers. I have used Amazon vouchers for purchasing discounted books and even a Kindle (£15.00 six times per annum adds up to nifty money). There is a good choice of vouchers. At the moment I have £20 in J Lewis / Waitrose and expecting £15 any time soon for use at Amazon. I am saving up for new curtains.

I have some £15.00 on Nectar card and  £11.50 in Tesco vouchers. All these little sources of vouchers add up to nice sums for extra treats. I have managed to buy lovely furnishings incl. table lamp, dining chairs, fireplace and mirrored coffee table which adds light to my otherwise dark and sparsely furnished living room. Rome wasn’t built in a day and I can be patient.”

Have you ever used a survey site and did you find it worthwhile? Let us know.

Written by Gemma on March 28th, 2012

Filed Under  Budgeting   |  Trackback  |   Leave a Comment

View the original article here

Read more »

Posted in: online,Surveys,Worth

How do I… declare myself Bankrupt?

For some people, Bankruptcy is the best solution to help deal with their financial problems. For those that fit the Bankruptcy criteria, the process can seem long and, sometimes, confusing.

With the correct guidance the process can be a lot less stressful, so here is a brief guide to help you understand the process.

The first part to the process is to locate your local County Court and contact them to request an application form. You would also need to confirm with them the court fee. To locate your county court, you can either look up under Courts in the phone book or visit http://hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/ to find your nearest court. You can also visit http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/About-us/forms/england-and-wales to download the forms, they are forms 6.27 and 6.28

Once you have received your application form you will need to make an appointment to attend court. You would always need to attend court in person as you will need to present your completed forms to the judge. Whilst at the court you will be required to make your payment for Bankruptcy including court fee and an administration fee.

Once you have attended court, you will then be assigned an Official Receiver. Your Official Receiver or OR will then work with you to determine how long Bankruptcy will last, how much your contributions will be and how much your assets are worth.

For more information about what Bankruptcy is then please click here or visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

Written by Gemma on April 25th, 2012

Filed Under  debt help   |  Trackback  |   Leave a Comment

View the original article here

Read more »

Posted in: bankrupt,declare,myself