Cash, Cars and Babes

The number of Brits with overseas properties can change depending on who you are talking to, but it is thought across the board that there are in excess of 2m overseas homes owned by us and this figure is set to rise sharply over the next few years due to high living costs, high inflation and the general delapidated state of the UK at the moment.

A survey by Cater Allen Private Banking has found that over 17% of the over 45s were looking into acquiring a property abroad within the next 2 years.

HSBC have had to axe 1,100 jobs worldwide and have blamed the current financial turmoil for the decision. Almost half the cuts will affect back-room jobs at its global banking and markets operation and will take place in the UK, and they aren't the only high street bank to cut jobs lately.

Many of the losses will be from HSBC HQ in Canary Wharf, London.

Many of the job-losses will be at the headquarters of HSBC's investment banking division, which are in London's Canary Wharf.

Parents who are on low incomes and who have not provided their children with computers and the Internet will receive vouchers to do so. The scheme is to attempt and tackle the 'digital divide' and will be available across the country in approximately a year. The scheme will cost £300m and will cover broadband access, software and if necessary, computers.

The Home Access package for families in receipt of income support or unemployment benefits will include:

• broadband for all young people between 7 and 19 whose families are eligible
• Free laptop or other computer with relevant software and hardware, bought with a Home Access voucher
• Support covering important areas such as internet safety, effective use of technology and a technical support helpline

But what about the costs that will be incurred after the initial provision?

Secured loans could be the answer for parents who are concerned about supporting their child through university.

Confused.com have also advised parents to ensure their budding student takes out insurance for their stuff whilst at uni. Car insurance and energy providers have also been recommended to be thought about to ensure their cjild gets the best deal.

Opting for a secured loan could help parents fund their child's further education, and by searching online for the best deals out there, they can be sure to find a competitive rate with terms that suit them. 

With the credit crunch in full swing, more and more people are turning to their parents for debt help. Research by moneysupermarket has found that when applying for a loan, or mortgage, 23% of people in their 20s have used their parents as guarantors.

Younger people have been found to be particularly vulnerable in the current situation as they are more likely to not be a homeowner or to have missed payments on bills - a huge impact on their credit rating.

The Liberal Democrats have backed plans to make cuts to income tax, for people on low to middle salaries. Their annual conference approved a document promising big reductions for struggling families at the next election.

This move is additional to an existing one, to cut income tax by 4p.

Employees are most interested in receiving good pay. A poll for the Trades Union Congress found that 98% value good pay above all other job perks. It also found that we rate our colleagues very highly considering what makes us happy at work - 90% of respondents said that this was an important factor when finding job satisfaction.

73% of those polled said that promotion opportunities kept them happy in their job.

46% complained of increasing workloads, 42% said pay hasn't kept up with living costs and 30% claimed promotion prospects were poor.

These offers seem to come around so quickly. Not like you will hear me complaining though.

It's that time again, where Tesco are offering 5p off every litre of petrol when you spend £50 instore. What's good as well is that you can also do your shopping online, and still get the voucher. Which, with the current food prices, shouldn't be too difficult to achieve. Offer ends 21 September. Until next time.

Homebuyers won't have to pay stamp duty on properties costing £175,000 or less, for the next 12 months. The current £125K threshold will be raised from Wednesday, in a move to try and kick start the housing market. This means that someone buying a home for £175,000 will save £1,750 under the scheme, which is likely to cost the Treasury £600m.

Other housing moves announced by the government include:

• "Free" five year loans of up to 30% of a property's value for FTBs of new homes in England - HomeBuy Direct is the system, and will offer loans free of charge for 5 years, to households with an annual income of £60,000 or less.
  
• Extension of powers for councils and housing associations to be able to pay off debt for homeowners who can no longer afford mortgage payments and then charge rent
  
• Shortening from 39 weeks to 13 weeks the period before Income Support for Mortgage Interest is paid
• Bringing forward spending from future years, to encourage more social housing to be built
  

Hopefully moves like these will help to bring back the housing market from the slump it's in now - Just looking at the figures shows it needs a drastic injection.

The National Consumer Council have been into all eight of the major chains of supermarkets, and found that over half of the promotions were for unhealthy food - thats double the figure in 2006.

They have said that this reflects how far supermarkets will go to attract customers during the credit crunch. They went into Asda, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose in Sheffield, and assessed how much they were contributing to their customers healthy eating.

The number of promotions such as two for one deals, had risen to 4,300 - 17% up since their 2006 report. But only 12% of these deals were for fruit and veg. they also advise that 7% of a diet should be made up of fatty foods, compared to the 54% found.

Morrisons were deemed the worst offenders, with 63% of their promotions being on sugary or fatty foods. Sainsbury's came top overall.