Money Nut

There are serious suggestions floating around, that the price of oil could fall to $25 a barrel in 2009 - a bit of a difference from the $150 prices we were seeing earlier this year. Why such a colapse?

Many people are suggesting this fall could be due to the decrease in demand due to the economic downturn, especially by India and China.

It will be interetsing to see what the oil producing countries will do about this - it's highly unlikely they will just sit back and watch.

For the first time in a long long time, we can see the price of diesel costing less than £1. Morrisons seems to be the first of the major suppliers to cut their diesel price to below £1 a litre - the first time it has been less than £1 for many many months. All the major retailers will undoubtedly be competing with this in the days to come, so cheap diesel should be seen in many forecourts soon.

Petrol has also fallen and is now below the 90p a litre mark - much much less than it was priced earlier in 2008.

Over 27% of us are planning on not spending as much this Christmas, and are cutting our budgets by 50% or more. 55% of people asked by Callcredit have also said that they will be spending less than they did in 2007.

Many of us have made the decision as part of their budgeting and debt management plans, to ease the current financial struggle.

It doesn't necessarily mean that this Christmas is gonna be a bad one. It can still be enjoyed, just with less spending.

You would think that people would be cutting back on spending, but apparently not when it comes to giving their children money. New research found that parents are extremely keen on teaching their young ones how to mange their money, and to do so, are giving them extra cash.

Apparently, it's the young parents that are the most generous - one in ten in their early thirties provide up to £300 a month for their children to manage. But, the number of things that children are being expected to pay for is also increasing. 60% of parents expect their kids to pay for their own travel from their pocket money. Not a bad idea really.

New changes, which come into force on the 1 December, will mean that internet shoppers won't have to pay customs on anything bought for less than £105 from outside the EU. The change extends the duty-free limit from £18, which will benefit thousands of consumers who want to buy items such as DVD players from the USA, which have a 14% duty rate.

Import duties vary and don't apply to all goods, but are charged on items such as:

• CD players - 9.5%
• DVD players - 14%
• Silver & Gold Jewellert - 2.5%
• Imitation Silver & Gold Jewellery - 4%

Mobile phones and books are already free from import duty charges.

This time it's on the front cover of this month's Glamour mag and it's a full sized 10ml bottle of Nails Inc nail varnish, worth £10.50. The mag is £2 and there are four colours to choose from:

• South Molton Street
• Tate
• Picadilly Circus and
• Victoria

That means nothing to me, but they are various shades of pink and red. It also includes the usual box - an ideal present for crimbo.

Don't get too excited though - it isn't predicted to happen until next year. As of next year, people will begin to feel a bit better off than they have been recently, as oil and food prices become cheaper.

However, the credit crunch is likely to continue, according to BestInvest, but inflation should ease as well.

Research by the Association of Investment Companies found that food and energy were seen as a bigger financial threat than recession, with 52% of the public believeing this and only 13% being concerned about the looming recession. They also found that 23% of those asked were saving more and spending less.

Over 5million people in the UK think they will be, one day.

Research has found that, despite the downturn in the economy, 15% of 18-24 year olds and 14% of 25 - 34 year olds believe they will earn over £1m in their lifetime.

Attitudes seem to change as soon as they reach 35 - the point where many of us own homes and have a family to support.

There was also a regional divide found - 19% of people in the South West thought they had the potential to be millionaires, whereas only 5% of Scots did.

According to banking firm Coutts, to live a millionaire's lifestyle, these people will have to earn around £3million. So, they will have to live out their hopes and aspirations - three times over.

Bonfire night is nearing, and, as with every year, pets are at risk. Pet owners have been urged to protect themselves and their pets, by investing in pet insurance.

In a recent poll of more than 2,000 people, only 26% had pet insurance for their pets, leaving 74% vulnerable to vet bills.

Bonfire night has for a while been a busy time of year for vets, who reported 682 incidents of animals treated for distress and injuries between October and November in 2004. Fireowrkd are believed to be the main cause of distress - up to 45% of dogs in the UK show signs of distress when the hear fireowrks, according to the RSPCA.

They seriously recommend the pet owners out there who don't have pet insurance to go out and get some. It can easily be done, especially on the Internet, and can save you a lot of hassle and worry if anything was to happen. The other advice would be to keep your pets indoors during the firework season.

Whoever this was must have had some nerve. Police in Milan are investigating a $1m (£628,420) robbery from a jewellery store in the heart of Milan.

Staff at Pederzani's thought nothing was wrong when a window cleaner arrived to clean some plate glass. Leaning his ladder against the window, the staff thought nothing was amiss, but instead of cleaning the glass, he unscrewed it, and stole $1m worth of jewels. Walking off into the bustling crowd, with the jewels in his bucket, he was gone, before anybody knew any different!

The Office of Fair Trading have said that more than 20 elderly victims were subject to a prize draw scam, and collectively handed over £350,000. The scam also tricked the victims into laundering other people's money.

The fraud involved people being phoned, and told they had won a prize draw, up to £500,000. To claim, all they had to do was pay "refundable" taxes and insurance fees... to Canada. The victims were then told that their prize was at a UK airport, but further money was required to "release" it. They were told to send cheques to UK "agents" - often for £thousands. These "agents" were typically other victims in the middle of a big laundering scheme. Scammers really are getting devious in their attempts to deplete people's life savings. People need to stop falling for them, which I guess is easier said than done in some cases.

Tesco have urged homeowners to be vigilant this Halloween, and ensure they protect themselves as much as they can from getting a trick if they don't offer enough treats. Homeowners should remove items, such as garden gnomes, plant pots and statues and to secure their garage and shed, to prevent theft or damage. They have announced that home insurance claims can increase by 150% over Halloween, so it's best to take precautions.

Tesco also suggest stocking up on sweets if you want to get into the Halloween spirit.

They recommend to check home insurance policies and ensure they are up to date and protected, so that Halloween can be as enjoyable as possible, without any nasty tricks.

Like I have said in a previous post, I like the look of Zopa - The institution is even tempting me to lend money from them, rather than banks, for my future wedding.

And it seems more people are bigging them up every day.

This year, for families feeling the crunch and worrying about their xmas shopping, the Asda Christmas Savings Scheme may help. With just 12 weeks to go, Asda have offered a helping hand for Brits worrying about how they are going to fund their Christmas - shoppers can add the change from their weekly shop into their savings plan, with the swipe of their savings card.

Setting aside a few pounds each week will help then to save money to pay for the treats they need, and, as an added incentive, on November 17th, Asda will give a £6 bonus to all customers who save the maximum £144 per card.

Customers who save up to £97 will get £3 bonus and those who save £49 will get a £1 bonus. There is no limit to the number of cards each person can have. The money can be redeemed at any Asda store, for anything. You just have to pick up a card at the checkout next time you are in store.

A report has recommended scrapping the assembly government's support for all Welsh students to pay lower fees than in England.

Welsh students studying in Wales pay £1,200 in fees, rather than £3,000 for students from other parts of the UK. A review proposes a targeted system, linked to family income, and could be in operation from 2011 - this could mean student's from poorer backgrounds receive up to £6,000 a year. The review team propose helping those students with homes in Wales, whose families are on the lowest incomes.

I can only imagine that English students are hoping this review will be put into force in England as well.

The number of fake £1 coins in circulation has doubled in the last five years - now standing at more than 30 million. This means that one in every 50 pound coins in circulation is fake.

The Royal Mint have said that it was illegal to make or use fake coins and said that people must hand them in if they thought they had one. They are relatively easy to detect, but their sheer numbers creates problems for shopkeepers, taxi drivers and other small traders.

So how can you check to see whether your pound coins are fake? Have a look at the cross on the edge - this is quite hard to fake. Also, check whether the queens head is orientated the same as the image on the back, and are the markings central to the coin? These are easy ways to spot a counterfiet.

Nope, I haven't spelt pedestrian wrongly, it is the rise of the podestrian. Pedestrians, that wear iPods. It seems there has been a rise in figures related to insurance claims where motorists have names them as the reason behind accidents - having the tendency to walk out into roads without looking out for oncoming vehicles. Swinton also add that it is mainly due to the volume of theur music, muffling the surrounding noise.

Their actions are forcing more and more motorists to sharply brake causing a domino effect of cars. And the problem isn't just iPod users, but 'texters' as well. It seems to be more problematic on the quieter roads, rather than ones with traffic lights and crossings, but it's still proving to be a problem.

The Post Office have stated that the average Brit believes that their life is worth £350,000... if you don't include secured loans they may have, that is. This value includes their home, car, salary and possessions.

They also found that 75% of adults have no life insurance, which could cause huge financial difficulty if something was to happen. And if the £350K valuation was true, what's the point if you have no life insurance?

More and more people seem to be throwing their common sense out of the window, as they keep chasing the free money, gifts and prizes online. There's no such thing as free money, and when people are chasing it, it can create serious ramifications. It can also be virtually impossible to find the fraudster, so just don't chase the dreams!

A lot of the online scams don't make sense if you read into them, but people are chasing them more than ever before, on the offchance it may be a valid prize. It's not. Don't go there.

Homeowners struggling to cope with their energy bills have been warned that prepay meters should be considered a last resort as they can be more expensive in the long run.

Ofgem, the regulator of the UK's gas and electricty supply, have released their Social Obligations report, which shows that 5.9m people are currently on prepaid meters, which cost around £116 more than a standard direct debit plan and £244 more than an online energy tariff.

It seems that in the midst of the credit crunch, and seeing their elder siblings struggle to stay afloat through their university life, children as young as 11 are starting to put money away in their savings to help towards university.

Is this too young to be worrying about university funds? Or just plain old common sense?

We have all seen the prices of petrol and diesel sky rocket over the past months - and now they do appear to be dropping again, if only temporarily.

There are ways of cutting your fuel costs though, without waiting for the price of oil to go down to a more friendly level.

• Tyre Pressure - This can add around 3% to your fuel bill. Make sure your tyres are pumped up correctly
• Air Con - It's a nice luxury, but it also adds up to 8% on your bills.
  
• Regular Servicing - Amore economic car will use less fuel!
  
• Shop Around - Use your noggin though - Dno't drive for miles just to get cheap petrol, but do have a look at your local stations.

I don't know much about this area, but I was doing some browing. When I was pricing up my next car insurance policy, I was reading more into the legal cover it provides. You normally have to pay an extra fee for this, and usually comes under the "optional extras" catergory, like the courtesy car and windscreen cover.

This got me thinking. The price of legal cover can be quite expensive, my one was offering it me for £50, which is quite pricey considering my whole policy was only £200. So then I thought some more, and wondered whether you can get this cover as a stand-alone policy like you can with Payments Protection Insurance.

Well, it seems like you can. I was recommended this site. I had a read, and found that the company was based in my home city, and the solicitors involved are a pretty good name. This company are offering legal cover for just £4.99! Bit of a difference isn't it? I haven't read all the small print yet, but definately worth consideration.

Ther's loads of packages which off the chance to learn a new language. Lots of these charge you for the trouble. But, there are some packages out there that don't charge you a penny, and they are just as good. Here's a few which may be of interest, no matter what your fluency:

• BBC Languages - Best for French, German, Italian and Spanis
  • They have comprehensive online courses, from beginner to advanced. Materials include games and puzzles, as well as more serious learning tools.
    
• LiveMocha - Best for interactive learning with native speakers
  • Uses the web to put learners in touch with native speakers.
    
• MIT OpenCourseWare - Best for university-level course materials
  • Academic style learning
  • Plenty on local cultures
• OU Learning Space - Best for German, French & Spanish
  • Simple to navigate, detailed courses
  • Audio & Video methods
• Podcasts - Best for Audio/MP3 learners
  • Freely downloadable
  • Worldwide Languages
• Before You Know It (BYKI) Lite - Best for quick conversational skills
  
  • Aims to improve conversational skills by teching bitesize phrases
  • £30 to upgrade to deluxe version

Yep, that time has arrived again, where all those graduating from uni throw their caps in the air, and celebrate their qualifications. It can get a bit pricey though, so here's some money-saving tips for you graduation.

• The hire of robes and caps typically come in at about $40 (plus £10 if you want to keep it for an extra week). You can't really get around this cost, as most universities contract one supplier, limiting the competition and also the potential saving.
  
• Photographs can cost a fortune - You can ask the photographer to put your photos onto a disc, so that you can get them developed for much cheaper. That way, you can just stick to one or two high quality prints. Or, take a camera with you to get some, to prevent hefty price tags!
  
• Take advantage of the train and any rail cards, rather than paying through the roof for petrol.
• Most universities offer their halls of residence for accomodation, at a reasonable rate. If not, a budget hotel may be cheaper, so check the prices of B&Bs. That's if you are planning to stay overnight.
  
• If you want to celebrate with a meal or something, book ahead or find places that do meal deals. Look out for lunch menus.
  
• If people are asking what to get you in terms of a graduation present, perhaps a deposit into a cash ISA may be more handy? Especially if your student debt is anything like mine.
  

Just a few tips to try and keep the prices down!

The price of oil has continued to rise, with Brent crude rising above $146 a barrel for the first time. It rose by $2.08 in London. US light, sweet crude rose by more than $1 to $145.22.

A barrel of Brent crude has risen by almost $4 since the beginning of the week and the AA estimates that a $2-a-barrel rise in crude oil equates to an extra penny being added onto fuel at the pumps. This takes a few weeks to filter through to the stations, but it is predicted.

Currently, the average petrol price is 118.95 per litre, and the cost of diesel is currently an average of 132.20 per litre, according to Experian.