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In this day when everyone is having all sorts of problems with money, more and more people are looking for ways to save. The United Kingdom may not have experienced the worst like the United States, but there is no saying as to what might happen. That is why saving money is an important thing in everyone’s eyes these days.
One of the best people to take tips from is Richard Thompson, a retired project manager. He is no ordinary retiree. As a matter of fact, Thompson has been named as Britain’s best money saver by Money Supermarket. So what does Thompson know that we don’t already? The Times Online recently featured him and had this to say:
So, how exactly does he do it? He investigates everything from home insurance to savings accounts to make sure he is always getting the best possible deal. Thompson, 60, then plays market-leading deals to their full advantage by, for example, borrowing money at 0% and paying it into high-interest savings accounts so that it is earning money for him, not the banks.
And if you think that credit cards are a no no, think again. You can follow Thompson’s example:
Thompson has three credit cards — from Virgin, Halifax and Alliance & Leicester — all with interest-free balance-transfer deals. With no credit-card debt to pay off, he transferred the cash into a current account, then moved £18,000 into a Tesco Internet Saver account paying 2.75%.
Thompson said: “Not many people realise that card firms will transfer a balance into your account, rather than paying off a rival card.” He transfers the required amounts back to the card providers in time for the end of the 0% introductory deals, thereby avoiding paying any interest. Over 12 months he stands to earn up to £495.
Interested in making considerable savings? Follow this Brit’s example.
The Prince is following in his mother’s footsteps – at least that’s what everybody is saying. He is currently on a visit in New York, and everybody there seems to be loving him. One of the things that people are raving about is the fact that he is continuing too champion the causes that the late Princess Di upheld.
While it is true that the Prince has had several mischievous incidents in the past, it seems that he is finally getting on the right track. He is young, after all, and young people should be allowed their moments of mischief, right?
Here are the thoughts of some people on Prince Harry:
Accountant Susan Docks, 58, applauded the visiting 24-year-old British royal for honoring the charitable efforts of his mother, the late Princess Diana.
“I respect how he’s following in his mother’s footsteps campaigning for issues like AIDS and poverty in Africa,” Docks said. “He may have made some foolish choices in the past, but blame it on his youth.”
Meanwhile, Capt. Ryan Miller, a 26-year-old soldier injured while serving in Iraq, praised Prince Harry for serving in Afghanistan as part of the British army despite his royal position.
“It was great to speak with someone who knows exactly what it’s like,” Miller told the Daily News. “Royal or not, he is one of us.”
It looks to me that the Prince has a bright future ahead of him. Here is to hoping that he will not be waylaid by other distractions that may change his current course. His mum is surely beaming with pride.
She catapulted into worldwide fame when she sang a song from the musical Les Miserables months back. Since then, Susan Boyle had become a household name. She even has a considerable following in Hollywood. On the other hand, she has had her fair share of critics. In fact, rumors that she was cracking under pressure came up several weeks ago, with an incident in a London hotel being reported. The singing sensation has repeatedly assured her fans that she is fine, though, and that singing makes her confident.
In the finals of Britain’s Got Talent, Ms. Boyle sang I Dreamed A Dream once again, to which judge Piers Morgan responded very well. He told her that she deserved to win the contest. However, it seemed that her confidence and talent were not enough to push her over the edge of victory. She came in second to the dance troupe Diversity.
So Susan Boyle didn’t get the $160,000 (about 100,000 GBP) or a spot in the roster of the Royal Variety Performance – both of which are prizes for the winner/s of the contest. What is in store for her?
Needless to say, her fame just might help her launch her career. If you think about it, previous runners up of the talent show (and other talent shows) have been able to make a name for themselves in show business, despite not winning. As for Susan Boyle, everybody loves her – even Oprah, and you know what that means.
I think we’ll hear more from her in the future.
The competition to become the host of the summer Olympics is always a tough one. After all, more than the honor and distinction that a country gets from being the Olympic host, the economy gets a major boost because of tourism.
The next Olympics, as you should already know, is to be held in London. 2012 is the year, and the UK won the bid as host. However, things are not going as smoothly as everyone has been hoping. The fact is that the British government initially was counting on private financing for a large part of the project. This is not unusual since many companies vie for a piece of the pie when it comes to this event as well. Millions of money that is spent on advertising and sponsorship will naturally turn into income for these companies anyway.
This time, however, it seems that the recession is really biting hard. The British government has been unable to get enough private financing for the 2012 Olympics. As such, they have been putting in a lot of money into the project. As a matter of fact, they recently used $491 million to create the Olympic Village. And since its taxpayer’s money that they are using, the Village is going to remain a property of the government, to do with as they wish when the Olympics is over.
While it may not seem to be a good thing for the taxpayers right now, it should work out just fine. After all, the sales and proceeds from the event will all go back to the government.
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Posted on May 31, 2009 by