Money & Finance

In the modern world technology allows information to be instantly shared and as a result people are becoming financially savvy. We are tiring of bad exchange rates being offered by the high street banks as the perception of the bank as the most effective method for money transfer is quickly and justly becoming eroded.

Currency Brokers operate as FX specialists and generally offer exchange rates that are a lot tighter than High Street Banks, this means more money in your pocket!

The benefits of using a Broker does not stop there, customer service from High Street Banks can be entirely impersonal and often you will not speak to a Foreign Exchange specialist. This means (among other things) that they will not talk you through any of the market movements and explain other bespoke contract options that could save you money. Among some of the options on your Currency Transfer are:

* Spot Contracts
* Forward Contracts
* Limit and Stop Loss Orders

The majority of Currency Transfers, particularly through Banks are Spot Contracts. This is where a rate is agreed on the ‘spot’ to do a deal within a limited time frame and transfer the funds into another currency over an almost immediate time window. These type of contracts are particularly useful if the funds are needed urgently, however they are generally over used throughout the industry. A major criticism of clients when transferring funds is that there is a tendency to leave transferring funds right to the last minute, whilst the same people will negotiate to get that extra $1500 off a property they leave themselves at the mercy of exchange rates when sending money overseas. On a £200,000 Currency Purchase a 1% movement in the GBP/USD rate (Cable rate) will cost you over an additional $3,000. By choosing the right time to make your Currency Exchange and by ensuring you get a good rate by using a Currency Specialist over a Bank you can save yourself thousands on your transfer.

Is a Forward Contract apt for me?

Communication is vital in giving yourself the best chance to achieving a good exchange rate. If you leave yourself a time frame where funds are available then a Forward Contract can be utilized to maximize your transfer.

Forward Contracts are a great tool to safeguard your Currency Transfer from risk. It is said that 97% of people that gamble on the Currency Markets lose, a worrying statistic – especially as many of these people are self considered experts. If you know that you need a certain amount of money to settle on a house by not agreeing a rate you are effectively risking that purchase as the rate moves (which it does around every 3 seconds!). Again for many of us this property purchase is a significant amount (if not all!) of our savings and so getting the best rate is of paramount importance. If the rate moves against you (the difference between the high and the low on EUR/USD last week was approximately 3%) then a $400,000 property purchase could cost an additional €8,190.24 depending on when you make your transfer, and this is only over a week!

By utilizing a Forward Contract you remove the mercy of the markets, albeit you do run the risk of the market increasing but surely this is a better, safer option than the risk of the market moving against you and not having a rate tied in? At the very least by guaranteeing the rate you have extra information in that you can plan exactly for the amount of funds you have to play with and you can rest assured that the transfer is going to be affordable.

What is a Limit and Stop / Loss order and how do I use one?

Limit and Stop loss orders are another way of protecting your funds from market movements. Limit orders allow your transfer to process automatically if they hit a certain level. For instance if the mid market rate is 1.18 (the GBP/EUR rate at present) and you want at least €120,000 from your £100,000 transfer you can use a limit to automatically fill your requirement if the market moves in your favour (you need to note that the mid market rate will need to move above 1.20 to achieve 1.20). Limits are often used in conjunction with Stop loss orders.

On the same transfer if worst case scenario you need €110,000 on your transfer or your purchase becomes unaffordable then a stop loss order can be placed. As with a limit a stop, loss can be used to safeguard your rate from market movement, if the markets move very close to 1.10 then your rate will be filled so you can achieve no worse than €110,000 from your £100,000 money transfer.

By speaking to your Specialist Currency Broker all these options will be explained as well as any necessary data releases upcoming that may affect your transfer. On big data releases (interest rate decisions, GDP, Housing or Inflation figures) it is not uncommon to see the markets rise or fall up to 1% in a matter of seconds.

If you have any Currency Requirement upcoming please feel free to get in touch and I would be more than happy to explain exactly how any of these options could benefit you.

Current account what they are used for

Nearly every bank and building society will offer a range of current accounts not all of them are the same.

To decide which one you want to choose you will need to know whether you want to bank online or in branch, need lower interest on overdraft or extras like mobile insurance.

The wide range of current accounts available makes it worthwhile re-evaluating now and then to make sure your account package is the perfect one for you, if it’s not you should consider switching and finding the best deal.
Switching to a new bank account

Switching your current account is very simple in this time and age, almost every bank or building society will offer a service that will do all the work. The only thing you should need to do is provide the information and identification and the process should run smoothly and painless.

All of your direct debits and standing orders will transferred over with you, usually to make sure that everything is correct your new bank will send a check list to you to make sure nothing is missed. When there are mistakes made your new bank should cover the any charges that arrive because of it.

Even though new current accounts with great offers arise fairly often many people choose to stick with one for many years, usually a current account that is not very good and offers very little. You would have thought people would jump on the chance to save some extra cash in this current economical climate, also since it is so easy to do now.
Standard current accounts

A standard current account is what most people would call their bank account. This is how you get paid and pay other people, it can also be a very useful line of credit for people who need to go into an authorised overdraft. Should you think you might need to do this fairly often then you should look into and current account that specialises in that area, some will even offer a cash-back scheme on interest payments.

In the UK current accounts are mostly free to open, however some high street banks have started charging like the Santander 123 current account which has a monthly fee of £2 but has bonuses which could easily cover the £2 fee 10 times. You have to also be careful of charges that may be associated with going into your overdraft authorised or not.

Current accounts give you the chance to link direct debits to it and standing orders, you can also link other accounts, like savings held with the same bank, making cash transfers between them easier. They will usually require a credit check, identification and confirmation of address, also they sometimes require you to be 18.
Pick the right current account

The most important question to ask yourself when choosing the right current account is most definitely “how do I manage my finances”?

* Do I Bank online or go into the branch?
* Do I keep my account in credit or do I go into the overdraft?
* Do I go over authorised overdraft a lot and incur charges?
* Do I want extras like free insurance or reward payments?

Once you have asked yourself these questions, you will need to take the answers and use them when evaluating the market. Once you have made sure your account meets your needs, you will feel allot happier and have less hassle with it.

Why would you really need to use accountancy services? Well let’s face it, money matters. It can be the key to freedom, independence, more choice, and less stress. We work hard to earn it, but once it’s ours, we can often find ourselves working even harder to keep it.

Every year, the familiar commercials come on the TV and radio about self assessment and tax returns. If you’re self employed, the thought can send shivers down your spine. Hours of work, sifting through receipts, the dangers of making just a tiny mistake – and all this every year without fail. If you’re a freelancer or consultant, your time is money, and it can be especially smart when you consider how much time you spend dealing with tax returns.

Sadly, tax returns aren’t even the half of what it takes to make the wisest decisions about our finances. More precious time needs to be spent looking for the best accounts in which to store your money, how to invest it in the best way, and how to plan for the future. If the whole issue leaves you with a headache, then it’s probably best that you use an accounting service.

Basics to look for

Your accountancy services should take all the stress and responsibility for managing your money away from you. As long as you’re honest with them, they’ll take care of everything. It’s important to look for accountancy services that have knowledge of the arena in which you work. If you work in engineering, get an accounting service that knows engineering – it certainly pays off. Your chosen accountancy service should have a system that’s simple enough for you to understand, if it’s as complicated to work with them as it is to do it yourself, then it’s probably not worth the money.

You also want to keep your eye out for accountants that understand the value of two things: your time and your money. This should mean that they work to save you time by dealing with things quickly and efficiently, as well as giving you simple, clear and concise advice.

Those little extras

If you’re on the search for an accountant to take care of your finances long term, then there are a few points you may want to look out for. It’s beneficial to find an accounting service with a fixed fee package, so there are no nasty surprises at the end of the month. Finally, it may not seem initially important, but finding an accountant with whom you’re comfortable talking is invaluable. After all, you’ll be using their accounting service on a regular basis, so it’s best to find someone who’s friendly!

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now proposing new requirements for credit card agreements that make it easier for consumers to understand. The logic is that many consumers end up agreeing to credit card terms because they don’t understand all the financial lingo. Even those who read the agreements and believe that they understand what it says may at times have difficulty deciphering the code.

Now with this new proposal of a simplified, laymen’s terms credit card agreement consumers should be able to understand fully what they are agreeing to before they agree to it. According to experts even many people who typically understand financial lingo can get confused in some of the long and drawn out agreement terms. This is unfair to consumers and could lead many responsible people into bad credit that could have been avoided.

In a statement given during the announcement on this new proposal, Raj Date, a temporary leader for the agency said “The bottom line is that many credit card agreements are confusing and most consumers don’t understand them.”

Those working on the proposal developed a prototype of what a credit card agreement should look like and it is much shorter than the average. Most credit card agreements these days are around five thousand words, but this prototype is only about a thousand. The prototype also gets rid of all unnecessary legal mumbo jumbo. “Consumers won’t drown in page after page of difficult-to-understand terms,” Mr. Date said.

The new document that is proposed should now be much easier for consumers to understand. It will explain to consumers exactly how the credit card functions as well as what fees will be charged and when these fees will be charged and it will also explain to consumers what they can do if there is an error on the account.

But this won’t be the final document used. The administration will be making the document available to the public and will wait for feedback from both consumers as well as credit card companies to ensure that the document is understandable by everyone but still contains all the pertinent information to owning a credit card. In addition to that the administration is also in the process of compiling a database of current credit card agreements which will be organized by company. The database will be made available as a matter of public record.