Debt and money worries may be fuelling a rise in depression in England. According to data obtained by the BBC, prescriptions for anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac have risen by over 40% in the last four years. Additionally doctors and charities are increasingly being contacted by people struggling with financial worries. Head of the Royal [...]
Posts under ‘Personal Finance’
Budget changes will cut income by £200
The recent budget is likely to leave UK households £200 a year worse off according to financial education charity Credit Action. Changes outlined in the March budget include a 1% rise in National Insurance and a lower threshold at which the higher rate of tax applies. Credit Action says that of the 44 changes to [...]
Take home pay drops by £1000
UK workers are more than £1000 worse off than they were in 2009, according to new research by the BBC’s Panarama programme. The average employee has seen their take home pay fall in real terms by 5 per cent. According to the study the average annual salary is currently £20,419 after tax. However when inflation [...]
Personal debt repayments reach record high
Research by unbiased.co.uk has shown that 2010 was a record year for UK borrowers repaying their debts. In total just over £12 billion of debt was repaid last year. Unbiased.co.uk’s research revealed that during the final quarter of 2010 borrowers paid back 14 pence of debt for every pound saved. In the first quarter of [...]
UK unemployment reaches 17-year high
In figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), it has emerged that UK unemployment currently stands at the highest level since 1996. During the three months between November 2010 to January 2011, the figure grew by 27, 000 to a total of 2.53 million people without jobs. At present, the unemployment rate stands [...]
Complaints against UK banks increasing
The latter half of 2010 witnessed a rise in the number of financial complaints to the Ombudsman. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 15% more official grievances in the second half of the year than in the first half. Coming in at the very top of the list of annoyances was the UK’s largest bank, [...]
UK unemployment rises
In the closing quarter of 2010, UK unemployment figures were up by 44,000 to a total of almost 2.5million. In data shared by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), it is revealed that the unemployment rate now stands at 7.9%. The figure for youth unemployment rose from 66,000 to 965,000 to a significantly higher rate [...]
£150m wasted on credit card charges
In a survey conducted by confused.com, it has been revealed that a combined total sum of £150 million is being overspent on tardy payments by holders of credit cards. The late payments incur charges, meaning that many credit card users are actually making payments of a sum much higher than is necessary. It has emerged [...]
Personal insolvencies hit peak
The number of personal insolvency declarations reached an all time peak in 2010. The Insolvency Service reveals that there were 135,089 separate cases of people declaring themselves insolvent last year. This is the highest figure since the beginning of such records, dating back to 1960. The figure refers to insolvencies in England and Wales. Although [...]
Are Your Child’s Savings Stagnating?
Child Trust Funds may be on the way out, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your child’s existing investments. Simply switching accounts could make a big difference when it comes to protecting your child’s future. We show you how. As you are probably aware, the new coalition government has recently announced that CTFs will [...]