Tol Records Finance and Money Management Tips

Archive for February, 2012

52% of us have moved our savings because we were unhappy with customer service, according to the latest moneyfacts.co.uk user polls. 42% of us have avoided a particular account provider due to a friend’s bad experience.

With bank account providers, 46% of us have moved current account because of bad customer service and 45% have avoided a certain bank because of a friend’s bad experience.

Accessing our banking and savings via the internet is becoming increasingly popular but still many of us prefer to pick up the phone or visit a branch. Our finances are something that we need to take seriously and can cause a lot of stress. This means when we want to discuss them or need help, we need to be treated fairly and receive a good service.

Banks are continually being slated in the press for unfair charges and for things such as going overdrawn. This, along with hearing about people close to us having had a bad experience, would be enough to put many of us off choosing a certain account provider. However important good service is to us, we should still be aware of interest rates being offered by different providers.

The average rate of interest paid on current accounts is 1% gross on a balance of £1. However, current account best buy charts on moneyfacts.co.uk show that rates of over 4% can be earned on these accounts. Banking facilities should also be looked at when choosing your current account. For instance, is it important to have a branch near to you? Do you want to use internet banking?

As well as these things, if you use an overdraft on your current account it is wise to compare rates of interest on these. Moneyfacts’ research of overdrafts shows that some providers are charging EARs (Effective Annual Rates) on authorised overdrafts of over 20% and for unauthorised overdrafts over 30%. Again, best buy charts on moneyfacts.co.uk show that better deals are available with rates on authorised overdrafts as low as 0% (introductory) and unauthorised at under 6%.

Rates on savings accounts also vary greatly. On no notice accounts at £1,000 the average rate of interest is around 2%. The savings best buys charts show that rates of over 4.5% can be found. Again, account facilities should be considered.

Forex trading has one of largest market share in the world.  It earns about $3 trillion every year worldwide.  But Forex trading is mainly speculative, the profits and losses are based on the currency movement.  The big turn-out in profits attracts a lot of investors.  Even those who are still beginning in this field are interested in joining, to make it easier, there is an automated Forex trading system that could help them make the transition easier.

With an automated Forex trading system you would have a programmed system that could monitor the progress of the Forex trading real time.  It utilizes an expert advisor and a set of indicators that interprets the Forex trade and can even show you an opportunity to trade.

What is good about utilizing an automated Forex trading system is the quick way of picking things up.  If you are a newcomer in trading, this would minimize the lengthy process of learning the market and its rules.  You do not have to stay glued with the Forex market 24 hours to understand the Forex trading market.  The software would keep tabs on the trade 24 hours a day.

This would keep you abreast with what is happening real time.  This would enable you to make changes to your account real time based on changes happening in the market.  Major trading changes could happen in a matter of just a few seconds.

Aside from that, the automated Forex trading system gets rid of the emotional and psychological aspect of trading.  There would be times when series of losses can affect your way of thinking and analyzing the market. This could result to bad and rash decisions in the market.  But the automated Forex trading system and software would help you deal with it.

The software is also easy to use and simple to install.  It can be allowed to run into autopilot.  Configuring the software would only last for a few minutes and then it can be allowed to do its work and its magic.   You can be successful in automated Forex trading especially, if you are using a system that is suitable for you and at the same time, you are familiar with.

This would also enable you to be flexible and have diverse Forex trade.  The automated Forex trading system can work with different types of brokers and different types of currencies.  You would be able to trade with different markets and currencies.  You can trade while on travel.

But the automated Forex trading system is not perfect.  If it is, then a lot of people would be winning the trade.  Money management is still important. You have to know how much you are willing to risk.  To be successful, most traders would always have a fixed percentage of their equity at risk.  They could increase the size of their trade in winning or decrease if losing.

If you already have an automated Forex trading system, then it would be better not to make any changes on the settings or the configurations.  Having an automated  Forex trading system does not guarantee success.  Nor, is it the only thing that you should rely on to be successful in trading.

There are some factors that could influence trade.  Forex market changes very fast depending on different factors and situations.  Aside from having an automated Forex trading system, the investor or trader also needs to have knowledge of  the trading system.

Are you considering putting your house up for sale, but not sure where to start? Afraid it will take too long to sell, or that you won’t get the price you want? Think about “staging” your home, or in other words, setting the scene for immediate buyer interest in your property.

To be really effective, you need to look at both the outside and the inside of your home. Here are 3 tips to get you started with the inside of your home:

1. De-clutter. This is one of the most important things you can do. It might be easier to think of de-cluttering like this – you’re moving anyway, so why not start packing now?

Pack up everything you don’t need and store the boxes out of sight in the garage (or consider temporarily renting a small storage locker).

2. Organize your closets – put similar colors together, pants together, skirts together, shirts together etc. Why? Because it will make the closets look bigger. (Really.) An organized closet appears bigger, and you want your closets to look as spacious as possible.

3. Make your home look like a model. You want to de-personalize as much as possible so potential buyers can imagine themselves and their own belongings occupying the space in your house. That means minimizing – putting away everything you don’t need or use. Clear off kitchen counters as much as possible – stash all those appliances you don’t use, and put miscellaneous small clutter in a few attractive baskets or boxes

And the biggest tip of all? Imagine yourself as a potential buyer looking at your property for the very first time. What impressions are you getting? Would YOU buy your house? What would you like to see changed before you put an offer on your house?

And don’t worry about spending several thousand dollars to get your house ready to sell – you’ll get it all back when your house sells. Proper staging helps you sell your house in a shorter time and at the price you want.