More women responsible for household finances than men
April 10, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
Women are more likely than men to be responsible for financial decisions in UK households, according to new research.
A study by Family Investments, a Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, found that 59 per cent of women are in charge of decision-making regarding family money.
These findings corroborate research by Norwich & Peterborough Building Society released last month which showed that although 74 per cent of men are still the primary earners within a family, most financial decisions are either made together or by women.
In particular, women were found to take control of day-to-day spending on their children and homes.
“Indeed, this puts the myth of the father as the financial head of the family to rest,” commented Gary Lacey, group product manager at Norwich & Peterborough.
Two-thirds of women prefer to do their banking over the internet, even though only 20 per cent open their online bank account via the internet, according to the study.
Women also seemed more knowledgeable about children’s savings products than men, with over 60 per cent identifying that CTFs are a tax-efficient savings option.
Consumers using bonuses to ‘pay off’ mortgage
April 13, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
Almost one in ten diligent Britons are using their annual bonus to pay off chunks of their mortgage, new research carried out by Birmingham and Midshires shows.
Figures released by the financial provider indicate that Britons are proving to be particularly savvy when using their bonuses, with nearly two-fifths having saved all or most of their bonus over the past year.
With regard to their mortgage, people from the Midlands and Wales are found to be the most financially astute, with nearly two-thirds paying off their mortgage.
In total, Britons collected more than £24 billion in bonuses last year, with the average employee receiving £1,758 from grateful employees, allowing many to invest in other avenues than their mortgage.
While some saved their payouts, over one in ten splashed their hard-earned cash on holidays and electrical items.
Jason Robinson, director of savings operations for Birmingham Midshires, said: “It’s easy to be tempted to splurge when we get paid a bonus so the fact that more than half are using their extra cash sensibly is great news.
“You don’t need a huge amount to save or invest so lucky bonus recipients should try to find a healthy balance between rewarding themselves for a year of hard work and squirreling their cash away,” he added.
Men splash cash on romantic gestures
February 10, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Insurance
The size of the rock is clearly a concern for couples thinking of getting engaged, with nervous suitors now spending as much as four months’ salary on getting the perfect ring.
Many men splash out more than £4,000 on engagement rings, breaking the traditional convention that one should choose a ring that costs about one month’s salary.
Research from specialist insurer Hiscox shows that nearly two thirds of married and engaged men spent three months’ salary on a ring, whilst a further 11 per cent spent even more.
Despite the rising spending on the symbol of intention, 13 per cent of women surveyed admitted to still being disappointed with the ring they received, saying they either had wanted a different style or a bigger stone.
A representative for Hiscox, Kevin Kerridge, cautioned that despite the amounts being spent, purchasers are not taking out insurance or assume it falls under their house insurance policy, which may not necessarily be the case.
“Having spent so much hard earned cash you stand to lose a small fortune if it is not insured properly,” he said.
“The golden rule is to check your policy carefully – never assume an item of that value will be covered under your standard policy unless your cover is with a more specialist household insurer.”
And try and be sure she’ll say yes!
