BBQ season could put homes at risk

Many people in the UK take out home insurance to protect both their belongings and their homes against damage, which can come in many different forms. One industry official has recently warned consumers to make sure that they stay safe when having barbeques at home, as there can be many dangers associated with this type of event.

With the lovely warm weather we have had recently and the summer season coming up there could be an increase in the number of people that are now having barbeques in their gardens and yards. These can be fun events for family and friends to enjoy but can also be fraught with danger, especially if there are kids around or a lot of people that are drinking at the BBQ.

Of course, consumers need to make sure that they do have adequate insurance in place to protect themselves financially in the event that something like this does happen during a barbeque. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has spoken out to urge consumers to be careful when they are holding a barbeque to ensure that they are taking precautions, having safety equipment at hand, and keep drinkers and children away from the barbeque to prevent any accidents that could damage the home and worse still cause serious injuries.

At this time of year the number of people having barbeques goes up and whilst this is great fun for those involved it does mean that danger levels also increase accordingly.

Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s public health adviser, stated: “Hopefully, the good weather will continue throughout the summer and taking care with barbecues will mean that everyone stays safe to enjoy it.”

Tags: accidents, home, number, fraught with danger, Hopefully, adviser, family and friends, Prevention

Be Wary of Christmas Clubs

Christmas Clubs are advertised as a way of saving money for the expenses you incur during the Christmas season. You invest an amount of money each month during the year and get your money back in December just in time to buy your Christmas presents. Actually you don’t receive cash that you can spend wherever you wish, but you get the money back in the form of cash vouchers that you can only use in specific stores.

Budgeting for Christmas is something that everyone should start doing in January of each year. By setting aside an amount of money each month, you will have the money you need for the season to cover the expenses of extra groceries and decorations as well as gifts for family and friends. In this way, you can avoid the headache of having bills coming due in January for the purchases you made on your credit cards during December and for which you have to spend the rest of the year making payments to bring down your outstanding balance.

When the Fairfax savings club collapsed just before Christmas in 2006 there were about 15,000 families who never saw any of the money they had paid into the club during the year. As a result, they incurred a lot of extra expenses for Christmas that year.

The Christmas Prepayment Association has reduced the possibilities of such a fiasco happening in the future. This is a regulatory body that has been established to oversee the operations of such savings clubs as Country Christmas, Family Christmas, Park Christmas, Variety Christmas and Post Office Christmas.

The regulations in place will ensure that if any of these clubs do encounter financial difficulties and have to declare bankruptcy, those who do have savings with them will get the cash vouchers they were promised.

One of the main problems with using such a club as a way of saving money for Christmas is that you can only take out the money in December. If you have an emergency at any other time of the year, you will not have access to the cash you have saved because it cannot be withdrawn during the year. Thus if you lose your job, as is the case with many UK families during the recession, you cannot get back what you have paid in to tide you over.

Another disadvantage of the savings club idea is that although you do get all the money back that you paid into the scheme you don’t make any money on the savings. The club does not pay any interest. Even though the amount of interest paid on savings accounts by banks is very low at the present time, at least you do earn some money.

When you want to save money for Christmas, it is better to open a savings account. There are many such accounts available in which you can make deposits of any amounts during the year from £10 to £250, such as that offered by Skipton Building Society Christmas Savers Account. You earn about 3.23 % interest on your money, but like the other Christmas clubs, you can only withdraw the money after November 25 of each year.

Tags: body, family and friends, outstanding balance, saving for christmas, christmas clubs, Banking, need

CTF week launched

Child Trust Fund (CTF) Week is being launched today by economic secretary Ed Balls in a visit to the Ann Taylor Children’s Centre in Hackney.

The week, running from January 15th to January 20th, is part of a drive to encourage parents to endow their child with a CTF.

In most cases a £250 government voucher is redeemable for the account when it is opened.

Mr Balls said: “The Child Trust Fund’s success has exceeded our expectations. At a national level, three in four parents are actively opening their child’s account.”

He added: “Performance between different areas of the country varies but the design of the Child Trust Fund means no child will miss out.”

Every eligible UK child receives vouchers worth £250 to get the tax-advantaged long-term savings account started, with the same amount being deposited again when the child reaches seven years of age.

Children in lower-income families receive two additional payments direct into their CTF of £250.

Parents, family and friends can contribute up to £1,200 a year in total into the account.

Currently, 2.5 million CTFs have been set up, three quarters opened by parents themselves.

Tags: success, family and friends, Trust Fund success, GBP, Ann Taylor, drive, account, long-term savings account