Loans and Credit Cards in Berkshire

Whether you live in Berkshire,or Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or anywhere else in the UK, to keep your financial affairs in order, you should try to make sure that you never spend more than the money you earn either as a salary or in interest or a pension. When your outgoings start to pile up that is when problems will start. It doesn’t take an accountant to recognize that if you continually spend more than you earn, you will need to take control of your personal finances. Whether you live in Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford, elswhere in Berkshire or somewhere else in the UK, the problem is the same!

But, thinking carefully about the bank you use for loans and general banking and about your credit cards may be able to help you manage your finances better whether you are in Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or anywhere else in Berkshire. Why not take a look at the online banking service offered by Cahoot , an offshoot of the Abbey and a bank that wins awards for it's products and services.

How to budget
For people in Berkshire, however much their income is, a budget will help to ensure that when they are out shopping in Berkshire they keep control of their personal finance and don’t overspend and need a loan.

Find your recent bank statements covering at least a month and as many of your regular bills as possible. The telephone bill, the gas bill for your home in Berkshire, council tax for Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or wherever you are based in Berkshire and water rates for Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or elsewhere in Berkshire together with any other bills you have to pay regularly when you live in Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or elsewhere in the UK.

At the same time you might like to see if you can save on your utility bills by using an organisation like U Switch. On average, you should be able to save up to Ł200, whether you live in Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or somewhere else in Berkshire.

Now, list all your outgoings for living in Berkshire on a spreadsheet, if you can access one or in a column on one side of a large sheet of paper if not. If a bill is quarterly, remember to mutiply it by four and if it is monthly, by twelve. Add in an allowance for clothes, entertainment, food and holidays based on your monthly bank statements and if you expect to have a large one off expenditure like a new car make a note of that too Now add up the amounts you know you will have to spend. Add everything up - don't forget existing credit card and loan repayments. Check up whether you can save any money with an organisation like U Switch where you can find great deals on all your utility bills. Then, replace the old figures with the new rates that U Switch offer. That is your annual expenditure to live in Berkshire

Now, in a column on the other side of the page, make a note of all the money you have coming into your bank account in Berkshire. Your salary, any interest on savings or investments, any rental income you have for example. The total is your annual income for living in Berkshire. Now, take away the expenditure from the income and see how much money is left (if any). If your income is lower than your expenditure, act now to see where you can save money. For instance, you may be able to spend less on clothes in Berkshire or holiday at home in Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or whereever you live in Berkshire rather than going abroad this year.

If you still can't make the books balance, the long term solution of course is EITHER to increase your income OR to reduce your expenditure. But, if you have a short term shortfall and need some extra cash now, people who live in Berkshire might consider taking out a loan, a second mortgage or getting a new credit card. There are number of options that can help you with short term budgeting issues and E-lending is a good place to start looking for the options available to people in Berkshire. For example, you might be suprised to find that the Post Office now offers both loans and credit cards.

The 2in1 credit card through the Post Office™ is a new kind of credit card, offering a great standard rate for your everyday spending and an even lower rate for the bigger things you occasionally buy.

On the one hand it’s a great value credit card…
0% p.a. on purchases for first six months
Free purchase protection**
Optional payment protection**
A choice of three cards to meet everyone’s needs
No annual fee
Competitive standard rate of 14.9% APR typical (variable)
On the other hand it’s like a personal loan…
You can choose to use it like a pre-arranged loan with our unique payment plan feature
The Post Office™ MasterCard® is provided by Bank of Ireland. **Provided by AXA Insurance UK plc Subject to status. Applicants must be 18 years or over and a UK resident.

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Getting a Mortgage in Berkshire

Wherever you live in Berkshire,England when you look for a new home make sure you are close enough to somewhere decent to go out for a drink...The Greyhound in Tidmarsh for example. You'll find that it makes a big difference to your expenditure if you don't have to travel to the centre of Reading from somewhere else like Pangbourne, Slough, Hungerford or elsewhere in Berkshire, England for a night out. And, when you first get a mortgage, you really do need to budget carefully. Use companies like USwitch and find out how much you can save on your utility bills, by picking a different telephone supplier, broadband supplier and by taking out new credit cards with a lower APR. So why not be one of a growing number of the over 350,000 people living in Reading and Wokingham alone who save money on their utility bills by switching to USwitch.

Budget Dining in Berkshire

If you live in Berkshire and you need to cut your monthly expenditure, you might want to find some good value places to eat out. For Berkshire dining we recommend trying Yates in Reading town centre where there is a good fixed menu offering great value for money. Or if you really only like British food, how about Sweeney Todds, where people in Berkshire can eat great value pies for around Ł10 a head. Berkshire dining doesn't have to use up all your credit or force you to take out a personal loan.