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Personal Finance

Government proposals will see credit cards shape up

First comes the crash and then the suggestions on how to prevent it happening again. To put it another way, the government and its regulators are busy shutting the stable doors after the horses have already bolted.
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Inside Personal Finance

A question of money: Is fixed rate bond the best option?

Monday, 2 November 2009

Question: I am interested in taking out a fixed rate one year bond. Your best buys do not include the Post Office Growth Bond which pays out 3.70%. Why not?
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Who wants to be a millIonaire?

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

For months now we have been fed a daily diet of ‘doom and gloom’ headlines: job cuts, pay cuts, in fact, all sorts of cuts except price cuts. Reader, be aware, these are indeed hard times.
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Mortgage lenders braced for a crackdown on home loans

Monday, 26 October 2009

The mortgage market in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK is about to get shaken-up. The Financial Services Authority — which regulates mortgages — has announced new controls designed to prevent unsustainable house price bubbles being repeated.
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A question of money: Paying bills on a holiday home in the republic

Monday, 26 October 2009

Question: What is the best way to pay the bills on my holiday home in the Irish Republic?
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A question of money: Using a cash machine to withdraw euros

Monday, 19 October 2009

Question: What charges do I pay when I make a euro withdrawal from my sterling account from a cash machine?
Comment: 1

Pockets get hit as the pound heads to parity with the euro

Monday, 19 October 2009

Cross-border shopping is becoming much more expensive for people from Northern Ireland, with the pound's steady fall against the euro.
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A question of money: Cash ISA: top up or buy new?

Monday, 12 October 2009

Question: I have a cash ISA with Barclays, which is paying 2.55%, plus an introductory 1%. Other cash ISAs are paying more. I am over 50, so my cash ISA limit has just increased. Can I pay the extra into a new cash ISA? VG.
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New helpline ‘important part of local debt remedy jigsaw’

Monday, 12 October 2009

About 25,000 more people are unemployed today in Northern Ireland than a year ago. That probably means that 25,000 people here will be trying to work out how to survive on much less money.
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NI mortgage market show signs of recovery

Monday, 5 October 2009

There are at last the positive, if tentative, signs of a recovering mortgage market.
Comments: 4

Warm relief this winter

Monday, 28 September 2009

As we slide towards winter, we need all the good news on energy costs we can get. So it is a relief that domestic prices for both gas and electricity are falling.
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A Question of money

Monday, 28 September 2009

Question. I have been approached by a claims handler suggesting I use his firm to complain about the sale of an endowment policy that has not repaid my mortgage. Is this a good idea?
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A Question of Money

Monday, 21 September 2009

Question: My son is 24 and looking for work. For the past three years he has had a part time job, paying £70 a week. He pays no tax or national insurance. He is paying off a student loan of £8,000 at £35 per month. I am concerned at his lack of National Insurance contributions. Should he reduce the student load payment and pay NI contributions instead? SW
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Making the most of ISAs

Monday, 21 September 2009

ISAs are best because of their tax free status. For older savers, in particular, there are benefits in maximising the tax free allowance
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Woolwich drops mortgage rate

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

The Woolwich today became the second lender in two weeks to launch a mortgage with a rate of less than 2 per cent.
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Hillsborough and Antrim: financial fraud hotspots

Monday, 14 September 2009

THIS year will go down as one of severe recession: it is also turning into one of the worst ever for fraud. The two things are closely connected.
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A Question of money

Monday, 14 September 2009

Question. I have been made redundant. My savings are £140,000 and my mortgage is £115,000. Should I pay off my mortgage, or use my savings to live off while I look for another job?
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HSBC low interest rate mortgage explained

Monday, 7 September 2009

Q. HSBC is offering a new, low interest rate, mortgage. What can you tell me about it? Is it for me? RS
Comment: 1

Investing for the children

Monday, 7 September 2009

As children start a new school term, thoughts inevitably turn to what happens when they leave school and start their adult life.
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What's best way to invest £50,000

Monday, 3 August 2009

Q I have recently inherited £50,000 from my grandmother and would like to invest it in the most tax-efficient way. I am working and my earnings for last year were about £25,000 before tax. I do not have any other savings or loans but I have a bank overdraft of £8,000. Can you advise me? JK, Cookstown
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Tax: What costs that I can claim when working from home

Monday, 3 August 2009

Q My employer has closed its local regional office as a cost cutting measure and I now have to work from home. Are there any costs that I can claim as an allowable deduction against my tax? SD, Londonderry
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