An Age of Magic

Do you borrow from Peter to pay Paul?

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Many people in the United Kingdom are doing just that right now. Well, just have a look at the current economic climate there; they expect over 150,000 house repossessions this year alone due to the situation with the mortgages and people just cannot afford to keep up their repayments. What a sad situation it has come to. And we are not just talking about meeting mortgage payments - what about the everyday bills and the tough job it is to maintain a constant cash flow?

It’s no wonder that the payday loan companies are doing a roaring trade right now; being a relatively new and alternative form of borrowing they obviously suit the circumstances of the average person. You borrow a small amount - up to £750 - no more than that though, and the repayment is debited via your bank account either at the end of a fortnight or a month. The concept of payday loans is not original, being kind of based upon the principals of the pawnbroker, but the interest is usually lower and you can only borrow a relatively small amount of cash and the loan is ’set’ for a short period of time.

One thing though - you really need to be disciplined when opting for this as you could find yourself in the position of needing to defer your repayment. In this case you face additional charges and not only that, but you could find yourself trapped in a nasty cycle. However having said that, if you need a quick loan for an emergency and have your head screwed on right you might find them to be an easy option.

Popularity: 75% [?]

Phone cards make great sense

My son recently left to return to his country of birth and he had a 23 hour trip ahead of him. I was worried about all the things that go wrong so I bought him an international calling card so that he could phone me from where ever he was if he needed to get in touch for whatever reason. And it was a really good choice - the best purchase for him.

He got standed in Hamburg, Germany.  We needed to reorganise his flight and could not have done this had he been solely reliant on a few coins in a phone box. Consider though that most phone booths do not accept coins these days - a phone card, indeed, international calling cards are really the way to go now if you or your loved ones are travelling abroad.

Don’t risk it. You always need to be able to make a phonecall no matter where you are in the world.

Popularity: 77% [?]

The credit crunch takes a huge bite

The current economic woes being experienced in the United States are being closely monitored by economists in the United Kingdom for any similar signs. Many people are feeling the hit with thousands opting to sell their homes rather than lose them to the banks.

Those people who basically live off their credit cards are especially hard hit with those companies offering credit counselling and bad credit credit cards doing bigger business than ever before. Not too long ago once your access to credit was pulled that was basically ‘it’ as far as getting another credit card. It just goes to show how times have changed that there is now an alternative way around such a situation.

Popularity: 62% [?]