Worries about finances affecting borrowing levels

It has recently been reported that the level of borrowing amongst consumers in the UK has been negatively affected as a result of so many consumers being worried about their financial situations. Read more

Tags: financial crisis, personal finance, Cognition, behaviour, External Commercial Borrowing, personal finances

Streamline your finances for the year to come

We have all had a gruelling year when it comes to our finances this year, and with the year starting with the continuing global credit crunch and ending with the recession things still look very bleak for many people, even though the base interest rate has fallen significantly. Many people have struggled to make ends meet in terms of finances this year, and many have become aware of the importance to try and cut back on outgoings. Read more

Tags: electricity, personal finances, alternative, base interest rate, rate, New Year's Day, interest debts, finances

January – the most popular month for taking out loans

January is the most popular month in the year for consumers to take out an unsecured personal loan, claims one financial expert.

Findings from Halifax reveal that, compared with other months, almost double the number of loans are taken out during the first few weeks of the year.

According to Halifax, the percentage of loans taken out for debt consolidation also increases during January.

Neil Chandler, head of Halifax Unsecured Personal Loans, said: “For many people, the start of the year is a time to get personal finances in order – transferring debt from more expensive products such as store cards or other loans.”

The research showed that men are more likely to apply for a debt consolidation loan than women regardless of the time of year.

Consumers aged between 20 and 29 years old are the most likely to take a loan for debt consolidation purposes closely followed by those aged 30-39 years old.

Meanwhile, Halifax is working with Experian in an attempt to re-unite customers with funds held in dormant banking and saving accounts.

At the start of the campaign, in March 2007, 110,000 accounts were identified as being dormant.

Tags: finance, taken out, personal finances, Unsecured loan, expensive products, March, consumers, January