Easy Cash Loans

Posts Tagged ‘recession’

We all know that getting married these days is going to set you back a fortune. Whether you want a small do or a massive do you are going to end up paying a big fortune. Even if you don’t opt for a horse drawn carriage to a castle hotel, the costs soon mount up. This is why people now ask for money instead of gifts for their big day.

There is a lot of costs involved when getting married.
1) Buying the perfect dress and suit
2) Organising and booking reservations
3) Catering
4) Transport
5) Flowers

But this does not stop there, because even after the wedding you have to pay for the honeymoon and anything else that comes along with that, including spending money, eating out and the transport around the destination and too and from the airport.

So I know now is the best time to look at getting married, as we already know we are in the midst of a big credit crunch, therefore one niche that will be suffering is the wedding sector. People will definitely be pulling back from getting married at the current time, but I feel that is totally the wrong decision to make, because now in my opinion is the best time to get married.

With companies struggling, everywhere has lowered their rates and you could in fact get married for around 40% cheaper than usual. With the flux of weddings abroad you could also get a good deal on getting married in a different country as flights and hotels have also been dramatically lowered. In fact there are more places to get married than ever before, as lots of hotels and venues that previously did not offer marriage services, have opened their doors to happy couples in order to benefit from additional revenue streams.

So the credit crunch is not all bad, for some people marrying with no costs is a dream come true.

Technorati Tags: budget, low cost, Marriage, recession, weddings

When will this recession be over?

They talk about the green shoots of recovery; well I have not seen any, have you? I personally think that it is a form of increase confidence trick; an attempt to make people believe that the worst of this current recession is over.

They, and when I say they I am talking about the Government and business leaders, are no doubt hoping that this new confidence (false as it undoubtedly is) will spur people on to start spending money again; to start buying houses etc. In reality the only way this credit crunch will ease is when the banks start to lend money again, at reasonable interest rates. Already we hear stories of the bankers going back to their bonus culture, will they never learn? The bigger question is why are the Government allowing them to make the same mistakes again when we, the taxpayer, are the major shareholder? What our great country needs is a strong hand at the top, a person who can be a “real leader”.

Now I am not some financial whizz kid who thinks he has all of the answers. I am in fact just an average working class guy from the UK who runs a web promotion company and who also has a partnership in a company that offers a professional DVD duplication service. I do however watch and listen in amazement at times when I see what some of the politicians and greedy bankers say – they really are not in the real world – they probably would have absolutely no idea as to the average cost of a pint of milk or loaf of broad – they are complete jokers and a waste of space.

I personally believe that this current credit crisis will last until the end of 2010, at least. I know that this seem rather negative but it is just my opinion on the situation. I may well revise my opinion if we were to change in Government or a new stronger, dynamic leader? Bring in Vince Cable I say as the new Labour leader!

Technorati Tags: business leaders, credit crunch, government, greedy bankers, Labour leader, recession, Vince Cable

Economic downturns are never especially fun, but as Adam Smith noted over two centuries ago, these cycles of paucity and plenty are a fact of life. Though no one can say for sure when this most recent slump will reverse, there are at least sure ways of stretching your cash in the meantime. Here are some penny-preserving techniques tailored to our 21st-century lives:

1. Plenty of people are in the habit of cutting out paper coupons, but even though many of us do some of our shopping on the Web now, not as many of us seem to have learned to coupon-hunt on the Internet. Sites such as CouponCabin.com, CouponMountain.com, and DealofDay.com list thousands of current offers at merchants all across the Web.

2. Use price-comparison sites like Shopping.com, Pricegrabber.com, Google Product Search, and mySimon.com to find the best deals online.

3. When you’re out at a brick-and-mortar store, send a text message to 46645 (Google’s number) and enter the letter “f” followed by the name of the item you’re shopping for. Google will reply with a message quoting its online prices. To compare prices at stores near you, check out ShopLocal.com.

4. If you don’t already belong to one, consider joining a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s Club and buying in bulk. This can be especially helpful if you have a large family.

5. Buy generic instead of brand-name products. A lot of the difference is usually in the marketing ballyhoo and not the product itself, anyway.

6. Withdraw your green from surcharge-free ATMs, which can be located on AllpointNetwork.com and MoneyPass.com.

7. Buy locally-raised food at farmer’s markets or stores that sell local produce and meat. Prices there are often lower because the food doesn’t have to be transported far.

8. Shop at dollar stores. You should have an easy time finding them nearby since they’ve been popping up all over the place in the recent past.

9. Purchase discount prescription drugs from online pharmacies. You’ll often end up paying well under half as much for the generic medications available at these discount prescription drug stores than you would for the same brand-name medications at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

10. If your car is seven or more years old and/or worth less than $2,500, consider dropping comprehensive and collision from your insurance.  Your deductible may be closing in on the worth of your car anyway, in which case a major collision would send your car to the junk yard and you to the dealership.

11. Keep cell-phone expenses under control. Today’s kids love to send text messages, so save yourself from unexpected high bills by paying the flat monthly fee for unlimited text messaging.

12. Use online classifieds to buy used items. Sites like CraigsList.org and Kijiji.com are superb resources for finding everything you need, from vintage furniture to baby gear. By buying from local sellers, you can save on shipping costs too.

13. Go to matinees. The matinee showing is frequently more reasonably-priced than peak-time showings.

14. Install Power Planners (see www.energycsi.com/energysmart) to lower the power usage of your electrical appliances.

15. For your next date, have a romantic picnic instead of going to a high-end restaurant. Pack a blanket and a cooler full of your favorite foods and you’ve got yourself an inexpensive rendezvous. Spice it up a little with a bottle of wine.

16. Instead of buying software, look for (legal) free software from places like Download.com and SourceForge.net. Depending on how you use a given type of application, the free alternatives will often be just as good as the commercial versions.

17. If anybody in your house is a student, get the Student Price Card from SPCLive.com. It’s only $8.50 and it will get the holder 10% to 15% off in scores of participating stores.

18. Control your thermostat. Using a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature will reduce energy usage when you’re sleeping and away from the house. Prices range from $30 to $120, but you’ll reduce your bill by 10% to 20%.

19. Consider leaving your health club. More economical options might include a gym at your work, in your building or community, or at a nearby parks and rec. center.

All rights reserved. Article may be reprinted as long as content remains unchanged and links remain active.

Technorati Tags: coupons, discounts, how to save money, money management, money saving tips, Personal Finance, personal finances, personal management, recession, save money, savings, the recession, ways to save money

During the past year we have been watching quite a number of issues go wrong with our much heralded financial institution.  Last year will be recorded in the history books as one that should’nt be repeated, however should not be forgotten.  Jump to the present and we are in a horrible recession and our national deficit is rising at an alarming rate.  

At this point 12 months ago gas prices were very exorborant and American consumers were singing the blues, if we thought that was terrible jump forward to the present and we are wishing for something to change.  

The trickle down effect began last fall when most of our giant banking institutions started to fail and ask for money from the government.  This ignited chaos for millions of Americans, countless amounts of consumers lost their life savings in the stock market.  Speaking of which the market at one point slipped so low consumers were scared we were days away from an all out depression.  

The next market that got enormously affected is the mortgage industry.  Were now witnessing all time highs in the amount of home repossessions and the worst most analysts believe has not yet hit.  The scams being used in the sub-prime mortgage industry are what began this entire headache and still continue to plague it.  Many speculate it might take up to five years for the real estate market to be running smoothly again.

Finally the automobile industry has run into some massive problems.  A lot of the major automobile institutions are in need of bailout money or are filing for bankruptcy.  If this is an indicator of things to come it is very scary.

One more enlarging problem for tens of millions of US taxpayers is the growing number of credit card defaults.  Credit card debt has climbed to an all time high as well.  Many debtors are going through a extremely difficult time trying to get out of debt.  The good thing is there are debt solutions that can enormously assist debtors in escaping the endless cycle of monthly minimum payments.  One of the more helpful systems of credit card debt relief has become credit card debt settlement, particularly during this economic collapse.  This process assists consumers in saving a lot of money.  

The reason getting rid of debt is important for so many is because unemployment is also soaring.  Debtors need to keep more funds for themselves to budget their homes and keep them afloat.  With such difficult times saving income has become so important, nobody experiencing hardship as of the moment should put off on attempting to get their families out of debt.

Technorati Tags: debt negotiation, debt relief, debt settlement, economy, finance, get out of debt, getting out of debt, recession