I’ve definitely picked the right girl – no doubts about that. All the major things for the ceremony are sorted – we have a venue, the future Mrs MoneyRaptor has picked out a lovely expensive dress to wear once in her life and we know more or less who we’re going to invite – but we still have a lot of the smaller things to finalise. We don’t know who we’re getting to do the catering, we don’t know what types of flowers we’re going to get (I didn’t know you got different types of flowers) and the bridesmaids have still got to choose their shoes. Decisions, decisions! Thankfully, the future Mrs MoneyRaptor and her mother (literally a fire breathing dragon) are taking care of most of it.

I am still worried though, and I’m typing the next part of the sentence touching as many different pieces of wood as possible – what if something goes wrong?

Now, I know this isn’t Hollywood – we’re both in love and we’re both going to turn up, neither of us has a secret lover or a horrid past that’s going to burst in the church to interrupt proceedings (wood, wood, wood), but what if one of us gets ill and can’t make it? What if someone – the dressmaker, the florist, the baker – doesn’t deliver on time and we’re lacking something to make our day perfect? What if part of the memorabilia – the photos, the video or the guestbook – goes missing? What happens to our day, our memories, our money?

The same goes for our new house – we’ve found one we like, we just have to hope no one else has spotted it yet – but we are worried about future problems. As well as all the normal and obvious needs, we need some sort of cover that will includes our garden equipment, protect us against accidents (dinos are very clumsy, you know) and, perhaps most importantly, a policy that doesn’t charge us extra every time we make a direct debit payment.

Coming back to our inherent clumsiness (mix clumsiness with sharp teeth and you don’t get a pretty sight), we’ll probably need some sort of policy to cover ourselves (do raptors need life insurance or pet insurance?), just in case, and neither of us are very medically minded so a policy that gives us access to information or a helpline.

Still, hopefully none of these thoughts will come to fruition and the firm grip I have on my desk will have fought off any fate that I may have tempted. I wonder if I can find an insurance policy that covers claw marks…

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So, what can you do to make sure that you’re not one of those unnecessarily lining the coffers of your credit card company? During this current round of postal strikes there are two risks – firstly, you may not receive your statement as usual but it’s unlikely that credit card companies are going to be too sympathetic if you subsequently don’t make your minimum payment or make it late. They will argue that the onus is on you to ensure that your payment is made on time so the sensible thing to do is to take a pro-active stance and either telephone your card company for details of your minimum payment or alternatively go online to access your statement.

After tussling with my local bank recently, I can testify that there are in fact more annoying things, than “being penalised by your credit card company for paying your bill a couple of days late”, however it is extremely irritating and it is definitely worth pointing out that even if you don’t receive your statement, that will not stop your bank, credit card, or utility provider wanting payment, so whilst the postal strike may at first seem like a simple nuisance, delaying a delivery from Amazon, it could actually cost you dearly if you don’t pay attention.

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I have just read the news section of the personal finance comparison site Moneynet, “Credit products should carry so-called ‘wealth warnings’, the ex-chief of Halifax has maintained”, and I cannot say that I am particularly surprised.
This news should also not come as much of a surprise to most people in the UK, however with the continually ever increasing debt problem which this nation is facing, perhaps there is a need to point out such obvious facts.

With credit card interest rates now averaging around the 16%APR mark, this put them on average at over eleven per cent above the Bank of England base rate of 4.75%. This situation is especially bad for many younger people who generally will not have time to have built up a particularly good credit rating and so will generally only be offered credit towards the upper end of the rate scale, and who are often the least well informed to make these types of financial decisions. Combine this with the sneaky raising of fees, charges and rates by many credit providers to compensate for the enforced reduction of late payment charges, alongside the implementation of card transfer fees to counteract the losses experienced due to introductory 0% offers, and then the subsequently bewildering different rates assigned for new purchases, currency conversions, credit card cheques (don’t ever use them!! They are evil!!), etc, and you have a very confusing brew of financial information for anyone to deal with.

The introduction of personal summary boxes, minimum payment boxes, and improved transparency from the banks is a big improvement, but with the constant financial reports showing the huge profitability of the larger institutions, as they claw back any reductions in profits from one area by increasing rates or introducing new fees in other areas, it is unlikely that any real financial benefit will be gained for the average consumer.

Only by constantly reviewing all aspects of your personal finances, keeping an eye on small print and noting any changes that are introduced to the products, and then compare credit cards on a like for like basis of what is available, is it possible to get the best deals.

After all, it is your money, you should keep it, not the banks.

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As part of their latest survey of soon-to-be students, they discovered that about 11% of the respondents were seriously considering the idea of taking advantage of the relaxation of the UK bankruptcy laws to get them out of trouble, should they get into too much debt during their studies.

The trouble is that a bankruptcy declaration will follow them for many years to come, and can often block possible future career options, such as the financial or legal services, where self control and the ability to maintain effective management over personal finance is seen as very important.

A better way to deal with debt is to to be careful and if in serious trouble, contact the Citizens Advice or National Debtline.

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Two days later, post arrives from the bank. You open it up thinking it’s a statement, or important info regarding the account, only to find it is a wad of un-asked-for credit card cheques. Straight in the shredder.

A few days later,….

It is like entering the banks equivalent of groundhog day. Every time you destroy one set of cheques, these wretched things reappear with some chirpy letter about how you can use them to pay off another credit card, book a holiday, or some other fatuous way build up greater levels of debt.

The problems are not only that these cheques are completely unwanted, have never been requested, and require effort on the customers part to be rid of them each time to prevent them being fraudulently used by someone else, but if you were to believe the chirpy letter and use one thinking it is the same as spending on the credit card, you would be in for another unwelcome shock.

Not only are there additional charges that get added, but there is no interest free period with them, and you also don’t get the same degree of protection as you do when using the actual credit card.

These cheques are so terrible, that various financial information sites are warning to, “avoid credit card cheques like the plague”. Which? has said that they, “want unsolicited credit card cheques to be banned, especially as we have found that companies use them to encourage indebtedness, for example cheques have been sent out with marketing literature suggesting they can be used to pay for holidays or gifts.”

There is currently a Government discussion going on with credit card representatives at APACS as to whether these cheques should be banned, but it looks as though there will simply be an opt out clause added to stop receiving them.

Until this option is added and this form of potentially financially dangerous junk mail can be stopped, the best thing that you can do is shred them and make sure they are completely unusable, the moment they arrive.

Rant over.

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The Peace Tax Seven comprise seven individuals who are withholding a proportion of their tax to express a conscientious objection to contributing to military expenditure through the tax system.

According to their website ( http://www.peacetaxseven.com/legal.html ):

“The PEACE TAX SEVEN are taxpayers with a conscientious objection to contributing to military expenditure through the tax system. They want to pay their taxes in full, while diverting the appropriate proportion of their tax contributions away from military expenditure and towards peace – building and international development.

In previous years there have been a number of attempts to uphold the right to freedom of conscience regarding military tax expenditure, one (in 1993) involving a future member of the PEACE TAX SEVEN, Brenda Boughton.

All of these were rejected by the courts. However, we believe that, since 2nd October 2000, the European Convention on Human Rights (http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/echr.shtml ) under the terms of the 1998 Human Rights Act, has vouchsafed freedom of conscience in a new, direct and specific way. This case is therefore the first time that the right to freedom of conscience has been asserted in these terms, relating to UK tax law on military expenditure. The novelty of the legal situation is the legal basis for this case.

In a word, the legal case the PEACE TAX SEVEN are making is that, in principle, UK law recognises freedom of conscience as a basic human right, in such as way as to empower individual taxpayers to deny the use of their taxes to prepare for war. However, current UK tax policy refuses to recognise this right. We believe that this refusal itself breaches UK law. We are seeking a legally binding declaration to this effect by means of a judicial review in the High Court. Such a declaration would place the UK government under the obligation to take further action to resolve the issue.”

Visit their website and make your own mind up:

http://www.peacetaxseven.com/

Cashzilla supports them!

And if you’re in London on Monday 25th July – why not go an support them?

http://www.peacetaxseven.com/#Anchor-YO-56481

“

YOUR CHANCE TO HELP THE PEACE TAX SEVEN
- at this most critical Point

The Peace Tax Seven are to present arguments at the Royal Courts of Justice, London on Monday 25th July. The group applied for permission for a full judicial review hearing on the right to conscientious objection to taxes going towards military spending. The challenge is based on the right to freedom of religion, conscience and belief under Article 9 of the European convention on Human Rights. Although Judge Wilson refused permission, he has allowed the group to renew their application and argue that this is a case which merits a full hearing. A 2 hour hearing has been allowed as opposed to the conventional 30 minutes for such an application. This will take place on 25 July any time after 10.30 am and will most likely be in the afternoon. If the group’s arguments are accepted, permission will be granted for a full judicial review hearing.

In his observations, Judge Wilson stated that our case was ‘unarguable,’ quoting decisions of the European Commission of Human Rights from the 1980s to support the view that our circumstances do not engage Article 9 of the European Convention. This decision ignores our legal arguments based on more recent developments in human rights law and that the Convention is a “living instrument” – that is, its interpretation is subject to change and development over time.

Our campaign is now at a crucial stage. We need to rally all the supporters we can to come to this hearing in order to impress on the judge that there is considerable public interest in this case. As our lawyer Phil Shiner has put it: ‘As I understand the position, you all have plans to have the court room full of supporters. I thoroughly approve of that plan and think that it will be helpful to make the point that there is at stake here a point of public interest.’ If we can pack the court and have a peaceful demonstration outside, so much the better. So we are calling on everyone to come to the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL on that day. We cannot stress enough, how important it is to have the physical presence of as many people as possible in and outside the court. This is our only chance to get our case heard”

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Mr Brown has urged world leaders to follow up their decision on debt cancellation for the poorest countries with a doubling of aid and fairer trade rules.

The Chancellor said, “This is a day for the people not for politicians. It is the people’s voice that must be heard.”

Whilst the support from such a prominent member of the British cabinet with his accompanying statements that the world was “angry” and “outraged” over the poverty in Africa, which has continued despite repeated past pledges from the richer nations, has been welcomed by many who believe that the various organised events could have an influence on the leaders who attended the summit, others see his words as hypocrisy.

Human rights lawyer, Aamar Anwar, said “Mr Brown, along with Tony Blair and George Bush, are the people who are responsible for poverty and starvation around the world…The G8 is proposing spending £30bn on the alleviation of poverty…It sounds like a lot but it is absolute peanuts when it is compared to the £280bn that was made available for the war in Iraq.”

The trouble is that although there has been much talking and finger pointing at the rich and powerful Governments of the world, with claims that the way they are running international finances does not stand up to moral scrutiny, how many people can genuinely look at their own finances and state that they themselves are doing everything they can to help, and that they are ethically above reproach? Does their bank or building society lend their savings to companies who are involved in activities that can range from weapons manufacturing, gambling, pornography, tobacco, scientific animal testing to child labour, or do they instead direct their investment towards activities which have a positive social and/or ecological impact?

Most people do not think about where their money is being invested, when they pay into a mortgage, pension or savings account, they just think about the return they will get on their money. This does appear to be changing however.

Following consultation with its members, the Co-operative Insurance Society, which has more than £20 billion of funds under management, has become the first insurer to launch an ethical engagement policy and said it would lobby businesses at every opportunity to improve their ethical performances. The Co-op already tries to ensure ethical compliance by making new business customers fill out an Ethical Policies questionnaire, which is assessed by the bank before agreeing to provide business services.

Financial comparison sites such as Moneynet are now releasing guides providing information on ethical investment covering all aspects of personal finance from bank accounts, investments and pensions to choices of domestic energy providers.

Other organisations such as the Ethical Investment Research Service have been set up to provide information into companies’ ethical behaviour for independent investors, fund managers and charities alike.

The world is gradually waking up to the idea that responsibility needs to be taken for our actions, whether those actions are at the global, national or individual level. Lobbying of politicians and the interest that has been engendered by the Live 8, and MPH campaigns can help to make a change, but these need to be continued beyond the present media furore if we are to make a real change. An ethically responsible nation is only possible if we also make changes on our own doorstep. Until we really get our personal finance into perspective, the MPH becomes just another fashion label.

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