Financial fear of the dentist worse than the drill
It used to be a fear of the dentist that kept us away from the dental chair but today it is more than twice as likely to be the cost of dental care that’s holding us back, according to research from Tesco Bank.
Over a third of us (35%) haven’t visited the dentist in more than 18 months and one in ten hasn’t been for more than five years. Just 13% admit to staying away for fear of the drill. However, for almost a third, it is the high cost of treatment that stops them from visiting the dentist and a further third (34 per cent) have not registered with a local dentist.
The survey, examining our oral hygiene habits, also reveals that a lack of available NHS treatment is causing people to travel further for their dental treatment. So highly-valued is NHS treatment that, on average, a UK adult would travel nine miles to secure a place with an NHS dentist.
These journeys, or “dental miles”, increase to as many as 16 for the people of Aberystwyth or 13 for Geordies.
Prepared to travel the most “dental miles” to register with an NHS dentist:
Rank City Average miles
1. Aberystwyth 16 miles
2. Newcastle 13 miles
3. Swansea 11.5 miles
4. Gloucester 11 miles
5. Aberdeen 11 miles
Head of Tesco Dental Insurance, Jeremy Sutton, commented: “Far from being a nation of ‘dentophobes’, the research actually suggests we are prepared to go the extra mile, or even ten, in order to receive affordable dental care. Dental health should be a major part of everyone’s daily routine and regular check-ups can actually reduce the risk of needing expensive major procedures.”
5 Quick Tips to avoid debt
A recent Press release from Debt Free Direct has shown that less people in the UK are using loans for debt consolidation, which raises the questions - Are there any other simple ways to avoid debt?!
Many people find themselves in debt through circumstances that are beyond their control, but for others, debt can be avoided by following some simple guidelines.
1. Manage your salary.
By breaking down your monthly income and working out exactly how much money you have left over each month will help you to understand how much cash is available for you to spend. Keep a record of what you have spent so you don’t feel tempted to spend money that you do not have.
2. Don’t be tempted
If you cannot trust yourself with a credit card, don’t be tempted to apply for one and if you have any in your wallet, cut them up. Do not have an overdraft facility on your bank account if you feel that you will not be able to stop yourself from using on to buy unnecessary items.
3. Don’t overspend
At certain times of the year, such as Christmas it is easy to spend more than you can afford. Gifts are constantly being advertised, enticing us to part with our cash to give our loved ones nice presents. Your friends and family would not want to see you in debt, struggling for money just so that you could buy them more presents.
4. Shop around
Shop around for the cheapest prices on any major purchases. If you are making an expensive purchase then the amount that you could save by shopping elsewhere could be the amount that stops you getting into debt.
5. Save for a rainy day
If you can afford it, try and put a little bit of money away into a savings account each month. This way, if an unexpected emergency occurs, you will have some money saved up and it may be enough to stop you getting into debt.
Debt means different things to different people, but ultimately, a debt is when you have spent more money than you own. By spending less and saving more, we can all help keep our bank accounts in the black and stop them going into the red.
Mortgage lending still on the slide
Mortgage lending has continued to worsen over April after hitting an eight year low in March of this year, according to a Bank of England report.
Total mortgage advances during March were the lowest since February 2001 and Britain’s major lenders said lending fell further April, according to the Bank’s second Trends in Lending survey. It is suggested that the fall in lending during the last eighteen months has been fuelled by a poor level of re mortgaging activity, as home owners opted to stay on their lender’s variable rate when their existing deals had expired.
OFT look into credit card competition
The government’s OFT (Office of Fair Trading) will be looking into equality and competition within the UK’s over saturated Credit Card industry.
As spending on plastic skyrockets, major credit card companies will come under the watchful eye of the OFT, which will assess the fairness of business operations in the highly competitive, but unsecured consumer credit market.
The OFT recently made public its plans to deal with the knock on effect of the credit crunch, and how this has affected the financial services sector. One of it main priorities within the UK is to increase the overall responsibilities of lenders within credit card companies, to the obvious benefit of the consumer.
“With our focus on credit, we are addressing the area in which there is a real risk of short-term consumer harm while also ensuring that the sector that emerges from the current crisis is competitive and behaves fairly and responsibly towards consumers,” said OFT chief executive John Fingleton.
The G20 meetings, which were wrapped up last week, led to promises over improving the global financial services industry and to ensure tighter regulation on financial markets. The OFT however, have a big task in hand, ensuring that government changes to the finance sector don’t weaken the already problematic credit sector.
G20 effect helps boost global stock markets
G20 deal boosts global markets
The world’s stock markets rose sharply following the $1 Trillion deal agreed at the G20 summit, aimed to curb the worsening global economic downturn.
One broker deemed this sharp rise as the “G20 effect”, which saw the london FTSE 100 index close at nearly 4% up, the Dax up 6% and the French Cac 40 up 5%.
The Dow Jones, Nasdaq and Nikkei also saw strong improvements, at 3%, 3% and 4% respectively.
The weakening dollar has seen ‘the market’ improve after consecutive dismal months for many of the worlds exchanges.
Global leaders announce $1 Trillion Deal at G20
In response to worsening global economics, leaders gathered at the G20 summit in London, have announced a $1tr deal to help get the worlds finances back on track. For more details, and to read more about the G20, visit BBC news.
House prices to fall below £100,000?
Will we see average house prices of under £100,000? Some economists think so.
House prices are currently tumbling across the UK, but is this a trend that is likely to continue? Normally house prices, and ultimately lenders were happy to give out mortgages in a comparative ratio to individual’s salaries and their credit rating. A little outdated say some, but this is still a realistic way of measuring the affordability of mortgage repayments for many first time buyers. Although the days of 110% mortgages may be temporarily gone, the banks are still a little timid when it comes to handing out huge amounts of money. But as the economic situation in the UK worsens, will we see house price averages drop below £100,000?
How does the credit crunch apply to falling house prices?
Graph showing house price to earnings ratio
According to a number of economists, and the presence of included graphs, you can see how the house price to earnings ratio dramatically swings during boom and gloom periods within the economy. We are already in desperate times, so we are heading for another dip, which means the smart buyer may wait a year or so until the ratio is between 3-4x the annual salary before signing the dotted line. This also negates the over-exaggerated house prices that have forced out many new buyers in recent years.
The ratio has already dropped to around 4.4 x salary from a peak of 5.8 in the middle of 2007 or £200,000. Some economists foresee the figure dropping as low as 2.75-3x or around the £100,000 mark. My guess is that the house prices will bottom out in around 2011, but for the most accurate idea of when this will happen – just look to the official figures available from some of the big lenders.
