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Even though the UK appears to have left the worst depths of the recession, all of us have been looking for ways to save up to make sure we’re prepared in case we hit another financial rough patch. Preparing for an economic downturn may be tricky, but we’ve listed the three most straightforward ways you can ready your saving accounts for the worst.

1. Establish a cash ISA. Save over £5,000 every year (and rising, as the deposit limits increase with inflation each fiscal year)without paying tax on your money. With so many ISA products on the market, be sure to compare cash ISA rates online and select the one with the best interest rates from a reputable bank that offers the accessibility you need.

2. Switchinternet savings accounts. It’s easy to compare online savings accounts to find the ones with the highest interest. While some will require your funds to remain in place for a certain period of time (at the risk of a harsh penalty if you access or transfer them), once that period is up, you should always look for the best offers.

3. Set up automatic monthly deposits. Willpower often ends up derailing our best savings goals – it is hard to plan for the future when you see something you want right at that time. But if you automatically siphon some of your wages to go into a savings account, you can avoid accessing the funds for more frivolous purchases. This means you’ll have a guaranteed income in that account every month, allowing you to more easily plan for the future.

Actually getting hold of the spare cash to put in your savings accounts may still be tricky, but knowing how to handle the money you’ve got is the most effective way to ensure that your nest egg is thoroughly protected.

There are numerous examples of people adding to their home or changing rooms completely; it’s a great way to make your home better and saves the hassle of moving house just to get a new conservatory or a bigger kitchen.

The only problem with that is that it can be terribly expensive and rising costs can drain your bank account. Although there are no estate agent fees or solicitor intervention, you do have to worry about how it’s going to be built, the equipment that will be required and dealing with your local authority if you need planning permission.

There are ways, however, that would enable you to save money on such necessities.

Doing the work yourself (or as much as possible!)

Many people who plan to build on their own home are trained in the relative skills that will enable them to do most of the work. The costs of hiring labour can be vast and if they go over the proposed schedule, then you’ll have to pay out more money.

You might find that some businesses will purposely provide a longer schedule to make more money, so it can be worthwhile to shop around to see who can do the work in a decent amount of time and for a reasonable price if you can’t do the work yourself.

If you are able to do some work yourself, you may still need to outsource someone to do something like loler testing and inspection to make sure you can go ahead with your build and get your certification for safety.

Hire, don’t buy equipment

If you are able to take on the work yourself, you’ll obviously need to get the correct equipment, whether it be lifting equipment, handling equipment or drills and mortar. However, make sure that you hire and not buy, because you’ll only use this equipment once and so it’ll be fie to hire lifting equipment from someone like Lifting Gear UK.

The expense of owning such equipment is very high and remember you’ll have to keep in the best of shape so that means maintaining it and making sure it’s always working safely.

Complete the project all in one go

Cost often spiral when projects get dragged out further and further because your budget usually only applies to the planned schedule. The longer the project lasts, the more labour costs will be required and most likely equipment and material costs too.

Energy prices have risen rapidly recently, and as a result, many households and businesses have looked at their monthly gas and electricity bills with a look of astonishment over how much they’ve been charged by their supplier. As a result, many energy companies are trying to persuade unhappy customers that, by switching to them, they can get a better deal, but is this actually true? It might sound tempting, but some energy suppliers contact people either door-to-door or via telephone without actually giving them a better deal after switching, which can be misleading.

Energy regulator Ofgem, which oversees energy companies in the UK including the so-called ‘Big Six’, says that if businesses and households are unhappy with their current energy supplier because they’re paying too much, they could switch in order to save money. Ofgem state that by failing to switch supplier, businesses could be spending at least £100 a year more than is necessary on their energy bills, which for smaller companies can be a significant amount of money that’s wasted.

To make sure that consumers are aware that they can find a cheaper deal elsewhere, Ofgem and Citizens’ Advice are launching a switching campaign called Energy Best Deal. The campaign claims that, by switching to a different energy supplier, businesses and households could save up to 40% on the cost of energy. The campaign states that, by making enquiries to several energy companies, trying to take advantage of special offers and visiting price comparison websites such as Make It Cheaper energy saving, it’s possible to cut energy costs without too much hassle.

However, switching supplier usually takes between six to eight weeks, so to get it done businesses need to allocate themselves time for it to happen, and they should remain patient. Also, businesses are advised to look at different companies, including smaller energy suppliers, to see what they have to offer. An increasing number of businesses are making the decision to switch to a smaller energy supplier from one of the ‘Big Six’ energy companies for several reasons. A spokesperson from makeitcheaper.com explained why:

“A number of our customers said that they trusted smaller energy suppliers more than the Big Six, especially because of their more reasonable prices and customer service. On top of that, 55% of those we spoke to said that billing issues were problematic, with 40% talking about poor customer service provision. Make It Cheaper was set up so that anyone who came to us would find the best possible deal for energy prices and customer service.”

or any businesses who may be interested in saving money on energy costs, they are hosting a two-hour free event in Twickenham, where Liberal Democrat MP and Business Secretary Vince Cable will be doing a Q&A session on small business issues. Anyone who attends can also network while receiving advice on how to save money for their company. It takes place at The Albany, 1 Queen’s Road, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham TW1 4EZ, and is on from 6pm-8pm.

If you have several credit cards that you use frequently you may find yourself with an unexpected charge or a late charge because you are not aware of a change in one or all of your credit card provider’s policies or charges. A single late fee or an added service charge can cause you unneeded and unnecessary credit problems.

Credit data is not just a matter of your current balance and available credit. You need to have current updates about your APR (Annual Percentage Rate) changes to your APR, due date for new charges to your cards, late fee charges, credit limit changes, deposits, and due dates for each card you have and use.

This information can help you avoid extra unnecessary late fees and keep you advised of what you Credit Card Company is doing to make money using you as their source of income.

Businesses need credit data like the number of transactions per day, payment due dates, alerts to high transactions, and an up to the minute transaction summary with details to manage their cash flow and insure profitability.

Individuals and businesses need a single website to go to check all their credit cards and get all the unique credit card data they need to know for every credit card they own and use. You need credit card data provided to you that is timely and fresh and provides you with all the information you need to make informed choices and avoid paying extra fees that you do not know are coming.

Credit data like new bill notification, bill due notification, balance limit near 80 percent, balance limit near 90 percent, and balance limit breached can alert you to take action that saves you money.

APR rates can change on a daily basis and a surprise change in APR can wreck even the most carefully planned budget.

Fresh credit card data updated on a weekly basis that covers every major credit card and all the credit card data you need to know to keep your credit card from causing you a credit problem or even a bad mark on the big three credit reporting agencies is essential.

If you own or use several different cards finding all the credit data you need to manage your credit cards successfully can be a real chore if you have to look at every card site individually and hunt for the data you need. Most credit card companies are really good at hiding the information. They have a reason. The reason is making money from you.

One place you can go to get all the credit card data you need to make informed choices with up to date information is pageone.com. You will find all the major credit cards with an easy to understand updated listing of all the credit card data you need to manage your credit cards to your advantage. This is the only site on the Internet that provides all the data you need for your individual or business credit card accounts. This assessment is based on pageonce.com user statistics.

Knowing and using credit card data intelligently has many advantages

Knowing when a bill is due has several advantages. You avoid late fees of course but there is more. You can time the payment of you bills so that you maximize the amount of interest your money makes in your checking or savings account. Paying a bill at the very last minute means credit card companies do not get to use your money to make money. You get to use your money to make money.

Knowing when bills are due and how close you are to your credit limit keeps you from going over your credit limit. One late fee can change the APR and the credit limits on every card you have as soon as a credit reporting agency updates your file with a let charge and spreads the news to every credit card company you have a card with.

Knowing when a change in fees, APR, and charges has occurred with your credit card puts you ahead of the curve compared with most people. This means no surprises on your next credit card bill and no paying extra fees.

Credit card companies want your money from added fees but you do not have to ever pay a surprise fee again. You just need to have a timely adviser that lets you know when new fees and charges have occurred.

Any small business is exposed to a range of risks. An elegant small business shall take the essential acts to alleviate the risk and one important risk administrator is insurance. In several circumstances, there is no requirement your small business requires insurance except you have equipments, workers or it’s a loan condition. However, this is no background not to acquire small business insurance. No any small business is invulnerable to man-made or natural potential liabilities and disasters. Having considered the above mentioned facts the following are the needs for small business insurance.

Business Property Insurance

It is a must to look after your small business’s assets. This type of insurance is an intelligent investment to restrict your liability and is able to cover a range of losses, comprising damage from electrical surges, fires, even misuse by a worker.

Business Disability Insurance

What would occur to your small business if you were physically unable for about one year or acquired eye harm for six months? To the not ready small business possessor, a sickness or misfortune ensuing in disability can be shocking to your business and life. Disability insurance shall substitute your revenue in the occurrence of a sickness or misfortune. Before you say it could never occur to you, think about the hard truths.

According to the source books on issues related with disability management, harsh disabilities have augmented four hundred percent over the past twenty five years from the age of seventeen to forty four. Before the age sixty five, one in seven individuals will turn out to be disabled for 5 years or more than that.

Business Liability Insurance

Evidences show that over seventy eight percent of all U.S. small businesses are organized as sole proprietorship or a partnership. For the largest part of small business proprietors, this type of possession puts your personal liabilities and business at risk. Having small business liability insurance safeguards both your personal life and business from monetary damage.

A widespread misunderstanding of a LLC (Limited Liability Company) or an incorporated company is guarded from personal accountability and liability insurance is not obligatory.

Errors and Omissions Insurance

We exist in a progressively more controversial community. For small businesses specifically, the possibilities of having prosecuted for professional liability are larger than the previous years. Nevertheless, the majority small businesses with the remarkable exclusion of real estate and health care are not conscious of how to create an insurance portfolio, which shall alleviate the risks of such court case.

Preventing your small business from the potential risks is the basis of achievement. Take the essential time to examine your business insurance requirements with an insurance delegate, your industry alliance, and peers. It would be the most vital resolution to the survival your small business.

In general, small business owners should take into consideration that having insurance in relation with the above mentioned cases is the most vital and should be given emphasis similar to the emphasis given for the day to day activities of the organization.