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10 Weird Things To Do With Your Money
Throughout the recession we have continually been warned to be creative with our money. However, it is doubtful that the financial experts issuing such warnings had the following in mind when they recommended creativity! Some people appear to have taken creativity to the extreme by differing origami shapes from bank notes take a look at the 10 best money origami produced so far.
10. Fish
Could these fish possibly be the most expensive around?
9. Toilet
Talk about flushing money down the toilet! All that’s needed now is toilet roll made of money to complete the look.
8. Camera
This camera certainly looks expensive but does this latest gadget have the quality credentials to match?
7. Elephant
This is fantastic; the creator has even managed to give the elephant an eye and tusks!
6. Shirt
Is this going to be the next big fashion trend amongst men in the office?
5. Snail
Who knew that you could make a snail out of bank notes?
4. Hang Glider
This is very inventive and with the level of detail in this particular origami it is likely that a lot of time and effort went into this one.
3. Flower
A flower made of money, which woman wouldn’t be happy to receive a bouquet made up of such flowers this Valentines Day?
2. Queen Elizabeth’s Hat
The Queen adds a new hat to her already really rather extensive collection.
1. Spider
Most people are scared of creepy crawlies but it’s doubtful that people would shy away from this spider.
Which one’s your favourite? Let us know with a comment below!
How Not To Go Bankrupt
One alternatively to being bankrupt is not to be in debt in the first place. That’s easy for me to say, since I have this knowledge first hand. There’s so many simple rules that you can live by to ensure this never happens and I will try to outline the lessons that I have learned herewith.
Make a budget; you can never underestimate how much this saves you, work out your monthly incomings and outgoings. If you want to be really thorough keep a diary of all your spending over a month. Cut out all the unnecessary things, cut out the things you can live without and shop around for anything at all you can find cheaper. Every penny helps.
Secondly, cut out the vices in your life, drink, fags, gambling, woman or whatever is your passion for spending too much money unnecessarily. Lastly, don’t buy things that you don’t need, it sounds easy but it isn’t, impulse buying was always a weakness for me and its easy to bang it on a bit plastic and worry about it later. Avoid the worrying about it later part.
Communicate with debt
It really depends on your situation. If you are still in an early and fledgling relationship then I think that you shouldn’t have to share your debt problems with your partner. It is more about diverting the actual truth rather than lying.
If you’re in a long lasting relationship then couples should share debt problems and should not lie to each other about their problems. This is what I do, and I find that a problem halved is a problem solved. I often share my financial problems with my mother who is also willing to lend a helping hand whenever I need it.
My sister has suffered from debt in the past, and did not share it with her husband for a long time. He was unaware that she had huge debts on her credit card. Eventually it all came out, and they divorced suddenly. She is now financially solvent and has no more debt problems.
Keep your credit cards safe this Christmas
While we’re all hoping Santa Claus will break into our house and leave us a bounty of presents, there are plenty of other yuletide security-breaches that won’t leave such a warm glow. And despite credit cards getting savvier than ever, they will never be impenetrable. In fact, Wired has shown just how easy it is to fake a credit card, which will prove harrowing season at a time when people will need to rely on plastic far more than usual. CPP predict that 315,000 shoppers are likely to experience card fraud this winter, with the average sum lost hovering around the £600 mark.
Richard Hurley, communications manager of the UK’s Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System, offers a timely warning: “the festive season traditionally reminds us of the high street threats of thieves and pickpockets stealing our wallets. We must, however, protect ourselves equally from their latter-day counterparts who target our identities.” CIFAS noted at the start of December that 68,000 people suffered from online identity theft in the first ten months 2009 – a 37% increase from the year before!
But just as serious a problem as actual fraud is the perception of fraud; if consumers have no faith in online security, they won’t be willing to take advantage of the many great online offers and settle for more expensive, but seemingly safer, real world purchases. A survey from Verisign claims 22% of British consumers are “held back” from shopping online this Christmas due to fears of having their identity stolen and 14% automatically distrust ecommerce sites on principle.
While is is always more comforting to have rely on picking up tangible goods from a trusted brick-and-mortar store, it isn’t as though real-world credit card purchases are truly much safer. Last month, the BBC reported on the largest credit card recall in history. In Germany, over 100,000 German credit cards were replaced due to the threat of personal data theft. The breach supposedly took place by a Spanish company, potentially posing a threat to any visitors to the country over the last few months.
What is important, no matter where you shop, is to spot the tell-tale signs that suggest your credit card is in safe hands. At present, there are numerous safeguards shoppers can look out for ensure they are as protected as possible. Most importantly, make sure the URL in the address bar either begins with https:// or has a padlock sign, to see that any data you enter will be encrypted. To check the security of the encryption, it is worth checking to see if the the payment service has been verified with an ISIS (Internet Shopping is Safe) or Shopsafe logo.
Jack Dorsey’s ‘Square’, a portable phone-based card-reader, stores no transaction data, making it far safer than any contemporary practice – so perhaps we are headed to a more secure future. But as they won’t be ready for Christmas, caution and common-sense are two of the best friends you can have over the holiday season.
This is a Guest Post from the team at Financial Facts, a great UK personal finance blog. If you’d like to write a guest post for MoneyStand, get in touch!
Dreaming of being debt free? Three tips for today!
The first step is to notice that you have a problem so well down you have completed the first step and hopefully the only way is up! It will take a lot or determination and maybe even some sacrifices however it will be worth it in the end. The second step would be to stop spending. Of course there are always the essentials you need to buy but could you cut down on luxury products and nights out etc. Also it does help to cut the cards up; it means the temptation has been removed.
There are many things that you can do to get you started.
- How about looking at the interest rates on credit cards. Is it possible to switch these over to something that is 0% and stop you wasting money on just paying off the interest which can take years to clear off the balance?
- Earning more money is also a good way to chuck some extra money at the debts to get them paid off quicker. How about extra shifts, a second job or even selling unwanted items on the internet. It can be hard work but remember your aim – to be debt free. It can help setting yourself a goal and give yourself something to work towards.
- Something that is definitely worthwhile doing is drawing up a list of all your incomes and out goings. This way you can pin point areas which may need a bit of work and help to save any money which you can throw at the debt. A budget for food etc can stop any wastage. Also it is a good idea to work out which debts need the most attention, these are usually the ones with the high interest.
Three Steps Away from Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy should only ever be seen as a last resort. The consequences are serious, affecting the person’s ability to retain their home or earn a living through their own business, for up to 15 years. The increased pressure from being in such a dire long-term situation puts pressure on the person emotionally, effecting personal well-being and relationships. Possible alternate avenues to clear debt include:
Option 1
Review current finances and consolidate debt; take into consideration incoming and outgoing finances and prioritise payments. There are payments that you must not miss at any cost and these include your mortgage and household utilities. Cut out non-essential outgoings and lower loan or credit card payments by consolidating debt into lower monthly payments.
Option 2
Use a debt management company to devise a debt management plan and act as a middleman between yourself and your creditors. Debt management companies will review what you must pay, for instance household builds, and split the remaining money between the creditors. Beware: not all creditors will be willing to go down this route and County Court Judgements (CCJs) may ensue.
Option 3
Many of us will have already seen the glossy television ads promising to wipe away 75% of our debt. Individual Voluntary Arrangements or IVAs is a formal arrangement between the debtor and creditor, arranged by an Insolvency Practitioner (IP). Unlike bankruptcy the IVA should protect your home during the term of the arrangement. However, IVAs are complicated solutions and should be investigated in detail before being pursued.
Kids and Money
Are your money management skills effected by your upbringing? As with anything, the best way to learn — for people of any age — is through hands-on experience; I believe the best way for kids to learn how to manage their own money is by letting them taking control of it.
This doesn’t necessarily mean giving your child the rights to their university fund before they are ready, or even letting them take money when they want – as this would no doubt start a bad habit that is very likely to lead them into debt. Instead a good idea would be to set up a child account with a bank such as Nationwide or HSBC that gives the child a card to use with their account (a debit card, of course) with a monthly limit on how much they spend. This way they can see their savings grow over time – if they choose to save that is. Pocket money can even be added to this account monthly by standing order straight from your account.
As for schools, It is my personal opinion that ‘citizenship’ and the such should be kept out of schools as it interferes with the teaching of traditional subjects. However an introduction to Economics for children to young to study it may help the country out of the financial grave it is digging in future generations.
If you’ve got an opinion about ways to teach kids to save, let MoneyStand know. From my experience, frugality, managing money and money saving is something valuable to learn as a child, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!
From the MoneyStand inbox: Come clean about debt
It seems our post in July about Debt and relationships has sparked a few conversations! Here’s another guest post this week from someone who was inspired to write in after reading a post from another. If you want to write us a post and have your opinion on a debt topic heard, get in contact with MoneyStand.
I would never lie about anything to a partner, as I believe that a relationship should be based on honesty. Fortunately, I was brought up with the attitude that debt is something to be avoided. Sadly, with today’s attitude of instant gratification, debt threatens the relationships of many couples, especially if both partners are not jointly responsible for getting into the situation.
A former partner, however, did have a habit of spending in secret, as they knew that I would be upset to know they were wasting such large amounts when we could not afford it. Finding the credit card bills, and knowing that these had to be paid for, caused numerous arguments, as I was concerned that our budget could not cover this expenditure.
Concealing financial problems is understandable, but secrets have a way of emerging, and a partner may well be more upset if the facts are kept from them. Anyone in debt would be well advised to be honest about it; of course the initial response may be anger, but they may find that the partner is more understanding than they expected, and will work with them to find a solution to the problem.
Getting out of debt means talking about debt
The first and most important step in getting out of debt is to admit that you have a problem, and to realise that it is really nothing to be ashamed of. There are thousands of others in the same boat, many of whom are too ashamed to admit to being in debt.
Websites like MoneySavingExpert.com can be invaluable in helping you to face the truth and start to take steps to turn your finances around, as well as having many members in the same position who can support and advise you on what to do next. The very first thing to do is to draw up a statement of your assets, where you detail your income and every single expenditure each month – not just your mortgage and bills, but things like money you put aside to pay your TV licence, or for holidays and treats etc. Once you have a realistic statement you are in a better position to see where you can make savings and see what spare cash you have each month to put towards reducing your debts.
Speaking to advisors at the Citizens Advice Bureau can also be very useful, as is the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (cccs.co.uk), who can give the best advice on bankruptcy, IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) and Debt Management Plans and help you to contact your creditors to arrangement affordable payment plans if necessary.
It takes time, effort and a whole lot of commitment, but the hard work is well worth it when you can finally see the light at the end of your debt tunnel.
- Remember to TALK about your debt!
Taking a Stand: Five must read posts of September
Each week I read a vast amount on blogs about debt, investing, saving money and there’s always a special few that are too good to be kept a secret. Now that October is upon us it’s time for me to check back on my personal finance bookmarks and choose a few to share with anyone stopping by at Money Stand. Here’s my favourite blog posts from around the net that were published in September:
1. Execellent Post at GenX Finance on saving money by doing your own home maintenance. This is great advice and a very comprehensive list.
2. Such a great idea which I will personally be taking on board is this post from Growing Money about getting money back from those who have borrowed from you. I’ve lent out more money than I care to remember and it’s so difficult to ask for it back.
3. I came across this post on Debt Kid yesterday which is really how to acheive debt free living in a nutshell. It covers the three main points I always talk about on MoneyStand and is really well written.
4. Over at Debt Management Tips they wrote an article at the start of the month about tackling student debt. If you’re a recent graduate like myself, it’s worth a good read.
5. If you’re considering buying your own home or trying to find out about mortgages, read this inciteful article about how to pay off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years at Consumerism Commentary.
If you missed these posts and any of them interest you, I thoroughly recommend you take the time to have a read!
Tagged blogs, debt, Money, personal finance