http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Gemma+Stanbury Finances Gemma Stanbury Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=296000&ca=Finances Perhaps the first thing to be said is that a prepaid credit card is something of a misnomer. If something has been prepaid, then it is not strictly speaking, of course, a "credit" transaction. But the name has caught on because prepaid "credit" cards can be used – for most intents and purposes – jus... Finances Gemma Stanbury Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=296001&ca=Finances Understanding how your mortgage works is the key to getting it at the best available price. You know that what you will be paying will depend on the size of the mortgage, the number of years over which it is going to be repaid, and the interest rate applied. But how do all these factors interrelate... Finances Gemma Stanbury Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=296002&ca=Finances There is no escaping the fact that finding a fixed rate mortgage is more difficult than a few years ago and it will certainly cost more. Furthermore, a recently commissioned Treasury report concludes that such difficulties will persist until at least 2010. This is true across the whole range of diff... Finances Gemma Stanbury Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295270&ca=Finances In this age of computerisation, it is easy to forget just how complicated are some of the calculations which we now take for granted. A prime case in point is the loan calculator – varieties of which can be found on numerous websites and which can be used to calculate, at the click of the mouse, the... Finances Gemma Stanbury Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295271&ca=Finances There are some ground rules about borrowing which can usefully apply to car loans in just the same way as any other loan. Simply, they boil down to this: avoid borrowing more than you need and aim to repay the loan as quickly as you can. By putting together as big a deposit as you are able to will r... Finances Gemma Stanbury Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295273&ca=Finances Selling cars is an extremely competitive business. Manufacturers and dealers are obviously thoroughly aware of this and will do everything in their power, therefore, to ensure that the consumer is presented with an array of options when it comes to actually financing the purchase. The choice of diff... Finances Gemma Stanbury Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295274&ca=Finances It stands to reason, of course, that if you can repay your debts at a cheaper rate of interest you will save yourself money. Furthermore, if you wrap up all your outstanding debts into a single larger one, you will not run the risk of overlooking the repayment of one of the debts. Overlooking or sim... Finances Gemma Stanbury Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295275&ca=Finances Health insurance, private health insurance, medical insurance, comprehensive medical insurance – they are all names for the same kind of insurance cover. They all suggest that the policy holder will be protected against the financial cost of medical bills, allowing them rapid access to whatever trea... Finances Gemma Stanbury Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295277&ca=Finances Where term life assurance offers financial protection against the policy holder’s life only for the duration of the insurance term, whole life assurance guarantees the payment of an assured sum on the death of the policy holder, whenever that might happen. From that simple definition, therefore, it... Finances Gemma Stanbury Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=295278&ca=Finances Newspaper reports in the early months of 2008 that life insurance companies will start charging overweight customers up to 50% more in premiums, begs the question whether they are being unfair or simply driven by actuarial logic. Some people might consider it "unfair" that because they are overweigh...