The new coalition government have released details of how they intend to get the economy back on track with a handful of measures aimed to reduce the countries spiralling national debt. Having finally had a chance to look at the books to gain a more accurate insight into the ’debt crisis’, David Cameron and his counterpart Nick Clegg clearly feel that drastic action needs to be taken. The Tory leader pledged before the general election that he would hold an emergency budget within 50 days of coming to power and he’s done just that by announcing the 22nd June as the date it will take place. Much speculation surrounds this, but the £6bn in scheduled deficit reductions is tipped to be made up of spending cuts rather than tax rises. Child tax credits and trust funds are likely to feel the pinch and many controversial quango’s are set to be culled. The new Premier feels the need to lead by example by announcing the reduction in ministers travel expenses including the abolition of ‘first-class’ rail concessions. Needless to say many measures will be unpopular, but only time will tell as to whether they have been successful. Regardless, the newly formed government is likely to have another 5 years to appease those most harshly affected.

If the recession has left your finances in a similar state to that of the government, you too will have to make some serious decisions regarding your future spending. For expert advice to get your finances back on track, leave your details with us and one of our expert advisers will guide you through these turbulent times.

Blackpool dramatically secured promotion to the Premier League yesterday in a thrilling Championship play-off final played at Wembley. Thousands of travelling fans watched their team come from behind against Cardiff to win the most lucrative prize in football. Entry to the top tier of English football is estimated to be worth around £90m to Blackpool, but manager Ian Holloway has already declared that money won’t change him. Blackpool were tipped to be relegation strugglers at the start of the season which is testament to the fantastic job that Ian has done, however the Premier League is quite literally ‘a whole different ball game’, so like so many teams before them the Play-off winners will be hot favourites to go straight back down.

With so much extra income at their disposal, Blackpool may feel like they’ve hit the jackpot, but promotion can sometimes be like a double-edged sword. Much of the additional finance that has been quoted is made up of ‘Parachute Payments’, on the assumption that Blackpool will go straight down next season, but before that can take place Blackpool are going to have to spend big just to be able to compete at the next level. Blackpool are going to have to manage their finances extremely carefully otherwise the elation that they are feeling today could be replaced with feelings of utter desperation. You only have to look at Portsmouth’s situation to realise how wrong it can go.

If you’ve experienced a similar situations when one minute your ‘high-rolling’ and the next minute the rugs been pulled from under you, you may need some expert advice. Leave your details with us and a highly trained debt advisor will contact you to discuss the best option available. Don’t suffer in silence, speak to someone today!

Its common knowledge that 99% of all students at some time in there student life will end up in debt and struggling to get by, most people take on a part time job to support there student life or get a loan that they can pay off once qualified in there chosen profession.

When I was a student I was lucky to get a government bursary to help me with my money issues but I still ended up in debt every month.

It has been reported recently that students are facing new debt worries because of apple and its iPhone. Its very easy when your a student not to worry to much about the consequences of buying the odd 99 pence iPhone application, but as the iPhone has so many helpful and fun apps student are getting carried away.

As the iPhone can hold about 11 pages of apps, 16 per page, it equals a potential 176 apps. The apps can be deleted and you can buy as many apps as you like.

The problem is as the minimum cost of an app except for the free ones is about 99 pence, and if you fill the phone once, it totals a monthly bill of £174 billed via email and not always dealt with.

Lots of students are reporting debts because of the new apps and are living out there student lives in more debt than usual.

If you in debt and need help or advice then fill in our form or contact us via our comments section and we will contact you to help.

British tourist have again been warned to avoid the capital of Thailand, as the stand-off between government forces and the Red Shirt protesters remains extremely tense. The streets of Bangkok remain a no-go zone as the ceasefire which has been in place since yesterday looks decidedly flimsy. Leader of the Red Shirts, Nattawut Saikuwa offered the ceasefire after 5 days of clashes which saw dozens of people killed. This recent bout of violence is the culmination of  two months of occupation in down town Bangkok by protestors intent on overthrowing the current Prime Minister and force new elections. Their anger stems from what they call the underhand tactics of the current P.M  Abhisit Vejjajivi to gain power, claiming he was brought to power undemocratically through intimidation and minipulation.

Greg says, “The main instigator for a change in power appears tp be a desire by the poverty stricken people of the rural areas, to be better represented by the powers that be. They feel the current distribution of wealth is unjust and unmaintainable, and leaves them with insufficient income to survive. The situation in Thailand parallels the situation of many people in Britain who are struggling to make ends meet, and highlights just what an emotion of desperation it can leave people feeling. If your struggling to survive on your current income, and bills are mounting up there may be a solution that is less drastic than the option taken by The Red Shirts. Leave your details with us and a trained debt advisor will call you and discuss the best options available so that you can start taking control of you life again.”

Most people who are in debt normally have more than one outgoing every month, for instance a recent clients list of debts goes like this:

Mobile phone

Mortgage

Gas/Electricity

Water

Car

Council tax.

Now the list above is probably a standard list for most people with a normal income, but all the above for my last client were all being paid for by her income support as she had lost her job, as you can imagine the amount she received from the government did not cover the monthly outgoing.

We looked at many different solutions for this lady and what her future would entail, i.e. how quick will she get a new job and how much can she expect to take home after tax to pay of her debts.

Once we had established this set about contacting all her creditors offering them a solution so they got the money they were owed and the client did not have to pay all the funds back instantly.

The main thought from the client was to renegotiate her mortgage and put the outstanding debts on to the mortgage, but the problem there was, she could not change her mortgage to do this as she was tied in for another 3 years.

In turn we have opted for debt consolidation. The lady in question is now working again and has a steady income. As we have consolidated her outstanding debts into one monthly payment we are lead to believe that she is very happy and having a good normal financial life, enjoying lots of things she couldn’t afford before, why not contact us and see if we can help you?

Many English sports fans will have their sights firmly focused on winning the upcoming Football World Cup in South Africa next month, but Englands’ cricketers did the nation proud today by beating Australia by 7 wickets to win the ICC World Twenty20 trophy in Barbados.

Englands’ bowlers did a fantastic job in restricting the opposing batsmen to 147-6 on a pacy wicket, leaving their own batsman a highly attainable 148 to win their first ICC silverware in 35 years. After a shaky start which saw Michael Lumb caught off the bowling of Shaun Tait, Kevin Pieterson and Craig Kieswetter set about destroying the Australian pacemens’ attacks with a succession of boundaries. Nerves set in when when Pietersons’ then Kieswetters’ wickets were lost in quick succession, but by that point all the hard work had been done and it would have taken an almighty batting collapse  for England to hand victory to their opposition. Regardless of that, English sports fans know all to well not start counting chickens before the winning runs are scored, so many fans were crossing fingers and holding their breath right up until the moment Englands captain fantastic Paul Collingwood secured victory with a strike into mid-cover. It was at that point that players and fans alike erupted with pride and elasion as their dream to achieve something that many before them have failed in, was realised. With Pieterson and Kieswetter both being of South African descent, lets just hope that Englands affinity for the country and our recent trophy success continues next month as our nations footballers challenge for the World Cup.

Fulham are tonight travelling to Hamburg to compete in the final of the Europa league. Lots of Fulham fans are realising that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch their club compete at the highest level. The problem is, with all the hype and excitement most people are forgetting their money problems which is great, but at an average cost of 250 euros a ticket its a time to perhaps watch the game at home if you are already in debt.

Not being a massive football fan, the choice is easy for me, but as some of the blokes in the office are Fulham fans, I can see why the hype is so big.

What is the most expensive mistake you have made? I know when I was a student I went to a publicity Ball/Auction and drunkenly bidded on a rude painting as I thought it was funny. This in turn cost me around £300 of my monthly bursary of £400. Big Mistake.

Think Fulham fans, if you haven’t set off yet or your considering still going and your in debt, think of the possibility of selling your ticket and making a profit, paying off some of those outstanding debts.

If you do travel and come back and you have got even further into debt, contact us and see if we can help with your money worries.

Kerry Katona is planning a fresh start in the Sussex country side in a last ditch attempt to turn her life around. Bipolar sufferer Kerry was axed from her lucrative contract with Iceland after covert footage of her allegedly taking cocaine was leaked by a tabloid newspaper. She was declared bankrupt at the end of 2008, and more recently has seen the breakdown of her marriage to former cabbie Mark Croft who once bragged about squandering her £6m fortune on cars and partying.
Her planned move to Sussex is rumoured to have been brought about by a desire to be near her new manager Claire Powell, who has overseen the rejuvenating fortunes of one of Kerry’s close friends Peter Andre. Since Claire took Kerry under her wing she has slimmed down by 2st and is looking well again as a healthy size 8. She wants to be closer to Claire so she can receive her full support. It is also seen as an attempt to distance herself from Mark who many see as the catalyst of all her problems.

With the climax to this terms election nearing, what bearing will the outcome have on you and in particular on the money in your pocket.
Whether it’s a tax break on the first £10k you earn promised by the Liberal Democrats, easing the thresholds on inheritance tax under Conservatives, or Labour’s plan to extend free nursery care to 3 and 4 year olds, tomorrows result is likely to affect you in many different ways, but which party is best for you?
The truth is there are so many different elements to our lives and our finances that, what the government gives us with one hand it will take away with the other. The real defining thing that will shape our lives is the strength of the economy. It’s all very well promising tax relief and improvements to schools and hospitals but it all needs to be funded and the only way to do that is by having a strong and affluent economy.
We need to look to whichever government is voted in to make difficult, but necessary decisions that will define the future years of prosperity that our economy requires. Only then will we have the right conditions for us to be able to shape our own futures, rather than rely on gimmicky ‘vote winners’ designed to cloud our heads with short term gains.

John Higgins was thrust into the spotlight during this year’s world snooker finals for all the wrong reasons after being accused of taking bribes to lose frames. He is now facing up to the prospect of being kicked out of the sport for good after a tabloid newspaper released covert footage of him appearing to agree to ‘throw’ frames in exchange for a €300,000 ‘bung’.
John has been suspended by the president of the games governing body, Barry Hearn while a thorough investigation is launched, but in the meantime several of the games legends have stepped forward to give their opinions on the matter. Steve Davis has urged the ‘powers that be’ to “cut the cancer out of the sport”, while John Parrot said the incident was “disappointing”.
John, on the other hand was unrepentant insisting that he only agreed to the match fixing plan because he was in fear for his life after he thought he was being targeted by the Russian Mafia. He has agreed to co-operate fully with the resultant investigation, describing his attempts to clear his name as, “the biggest match of my life”.