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Experts predict little reprieve for savers in 2010. The past 12 months have been a bleak time for savers, with the Bank of England’s base rate dropping from 2% at the start of 2009 to 0.5% in March. This rate marks an all-time low since the formation of the Bank in 1694 and is still in effect at the present time.

Low savings rates

Rates on savings accounts have been squeezed to reflect the low Bank rate, leaving even the most careful savers with a poorer return than they might have hoped for. Just 12 months ago, savings accounts offering 5.6% or higher were not unheard of. Full Article…

It may come to mind that charge cards have always been with here, however, charge cards are a very new invention with a rather scary financial history. In 1958, Bank of America created the first all-purpose credit card by simply ‘dropping’ 60,000 of them on Fresno California, (by mailing them out to people who had not asked for them).

The idea was to throw in a new kind of revolving credit line, that when using it anyone could buy whatever they wanted and pay the for it over time. Ban

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A leading mortgage broker Australian Finance Group, who says it helped secure finance for as much as 10 per cent of the Australian mortgage market, says that Westpac’s decision to raise its interest rate by 45 basis points or 20 basis points in excess of the official rise in interest rates, resulted in rivals picking up market share at its expense. <

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Update – Thanks to all who participated

for a chance to win our $1000 grand prize and our $500 referral bonus in the SpendOnLife Eliminator Challenge. Two players made their way to the top spot and will be splitting the winnings.

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I married a man just like me. He had no debt going into our marriage and no desire to incur any. This has made it very easy for us to create a financial life together that we both agree on and enjoy. I know many other couples who are not so lucky and this has made their financial lives miserable. The worst cases are where one partner does not want any debt and the other partner could care less about the loan and credit card balances.

My friend, Jane, is a perfect example. The man she loved had a lot of debt going into their marriage. He owed about $50,000 on various things and his credit record was trashed. Worse, he had no plan and no desire to pay any of it off any time soon.

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