5 January 2011

Our Top Tips for a Successful 2011

Follow the MoneyMaxim top five tips to drive down your expenditure in 2011. Our customers can save hundreds of pounds year on year - lets see how we help you!

Reading some of the papers and watching the TV over the past two days would have made you think that survival in 2011 is almost impossible – financial melt downs, dramatic price increases, tax and VAT rises – its all going to happen – but we have been there before and come through so why shouldn't we again!

However we at MoneyMaxim think there are steps we can all take to get one step ahead of the game – and make sure we avoid as much pain as possible – and to help get the ball rolling we have suggest 5 resolutions everyone looking to save money should make in 2011.

Focusing on the biggest moneysavers for MoneyMaxim customers in 2010 these tried and tested methods can trim hundreds of pounds from the average family budget.

Review Your Life Insurance: Checking your life assurance arrangements on a regular basis can result in big savings. Not only are there life changing situations such as marriage, birth of children, employment changes, divorce and retirement, to take into account but there are lots of other reasons why regularly reviewing your life assurance can bring you big benefits. Many factors influence what you pay for life insurance premiums and with longer life expectancies, better health provision, better housing and food, as well as changes to your own lifestyle, there is every possibility that you could be paying too much for your life insurance, mortgage protection, private medical cover or income protection policy. Call us now and we can introduce you to our specialist team.

Find the Best Mortgage Rates: Mortgages are for most of us our single biggest outgoing each month, but are you getting the best mortgage rate available? With Bank of England Base Rate still low, but expected to rise and many banks offering enticing offers to remortgage with them now, January could be the right time to bag a bargain that could cut your monthly outgoings considerably, lock in low rates and save you money. It takes literally minutes to discover what options are open to you so visit our mortgage pages or call us today to obtain personalised help from our whole of market fee free specialists.

Compare Gas and Electricity: Energy prices are going up, leaving consumers out of pocket. Customers should compare the price of their energy against those of other providers to find the best deal for their own individual needs ensuring they are benefiting from online discounts, dual fuel offers and fixed price deals. Anyone who is on a standard tariff, accepted a tariff suggested by their utility company at the time their last contract ended or has signed up to a tariff sold directly by a utility company either in a supermarket, at the door or over the phone should immediately review their options. Everyone else should either note their calendar to check their arrangements remain competitive every four months.

Prepare now for your 2011 insurance renewals: Check all your insurance renewals for 2011 and then note your calendar or diary four weeks before each date - then you can make sure you have time to find out what the competition will offer you before your current insurer sends you through their renewal note.

Make a resolution to stop buying ‘tied products': Big business works hard to make sure they can entice you with exceptionally strong headline prices - and then works equally as hard to sell complimentary products which are big profit earners for them. You can get a great iPhone or Blackberry deal and then the mobile insurance policy costs you over £100 a year more necessary, or you find a mean car hire price for your holiday only to discover the car hire insurance excess policy from the car rental firm costs more than the rental charge. We are on a mission to ensure their customers are aware of ways they win both ways - great deals and independent comparison of areas such as gadget cover and car hire excess insurance.

Mark Bower, Managing Director and Founder of MoneyMaxim explains; ‘We all know 2011 is going to be tough financially for many of us – although hopefully not as tough as some pundits are suggesting! However with a little bit of planning in some key areas there are ways to save money and protect what you already have, too.'

‘Anyone looking to cut costs and save money should seriously look at our 5 top tips for 2011 and for those who do not have access to the internet or prefer to chat over the phone our phone service is available on 0800 520 0699 where we can offer a full review of your personal finances with one of our experienced team of money saving experts.'

YOUR HOME OR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE