You have to hand it to them – payday loans companies don’t miss too many tricks. And we’ve grown familiar with plenty of them.

Last year, lest we forget, Wonga was caught out targeting its extortionate rate loans towards students. In its defence, Wonga said that the page in question was out-dated and ‘gave rise to misunderstandings’. I challenge you to try and misconstrue the plain English.

Now, a television advert featuring that paragon of financial prudence, Kerry Katona, has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for luring customers into high-cost loans – over three months after it launched across 26 channels.

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We’ve all heard of the postcode lottery. But it seems that residents on our doorstep in Leicester are among the most likely to be rejected for their credit card or overdraft applications due to a poor credit score.

The ‘Mind the Credit Gap’ survey commissioned by Aqua, a provider of higher-cost cards for those seeking to improve their credit rating, has determined that residents in the East Midlands are most at risk of rejection by lenders.

According to the survey, which asked participants questions that would help to constitute a credit report, almost two-thirds of people in the region (65%) are not expected to meet credit approval criteria.

The next most vulnerable areas for applications are Wales and the North-West, where it is estimated that 63% would not meet creditors’ requirements.

Regions with more creditworthy residents include London, where 52% would apparently struggle to obtain credit, and Northern Ireland, the only region of the UK where the majority (albeit a small one) would expect to be successful in their application.

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Here’s a new one in the grand list of rhetorical persuasions that has glossed the UK since the onset of the financial crisis. According to Barclays, Britain is “a nation of Financial Ostriches” – on account that its good citizens bury their heads firmly in the sand when it comes to the state of their finances.

Collectively, we suffer from chronic Banxiety, the bank says – the dextrous art of deliberately ignoring bank statements. Over one third (36%) of those that receive one of the nine million paper statements issued per year admit to being reluctant to open them or preferring not to do so at all.

The younger generation are particularly fearful, with 55% of 18-24 year olds admitting that they shun their statements. Overall, 45% of people are unable to say how much money is in their main bank account.

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Getting out of debt may be not as easy as it seems but it can be done. Figuring out how to get out of debt is one of the most common questions when it comes to personal finances. There a variety of ways you can get out of debt but some ways may be better than others, depending on how they are implemented. Preventing additional debt accumulation, keeping spending to a minimum (preferably less than what you make) and using what you have left after paying necessary expenses may help you get the upper hand on financial control. The following tips may help you create a personal plan you can stick with to help you successfully get out of debt, you will also find additional information on how to get out of debt at www.askinz.com

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Last year, we sparked a little bit of interest through a story about people hiding their savings from partners and spouses.

More than one in ten, it was revealed, kept a secret stash of over £1,000 in secret savings accounts, either because they were unsure about their marriage or because they didn’t trust their partner’s financial decision making.

One of the deeper issues at stake was that, to a certain degree, finance remains a taboo subject. One in five of those polled (aged 40+) said that they had never discussed retirement finance with their partner, with most admitting that they were uncomfortable with the idea.

And the culture of secrecy is one that spreads far beyond this localised scenario. Not long ago, I wrote that secrecy and spending was hardly a new phenomenon; rather, it’s the hallmark of some of the most fascinating periods of monarchical history. [Read more.]

It’s turning into quite a fashionable subject. We cannot quite help ourselves but want to know what others are getting up to behind closed doors, not least during a recession when behaviour can change so radically and self-preservation comes to the fore.

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Financial comparison websites are there for consumers to purchase financial services products such as general insurance, credit cards, loans and savings accounts. One purpose of price comparison websites is to see everyone have access to appropriate financial products, and the confidence and capability to use them to make a positive difference to their lives.

Many people, particularly those living on low incomes, cannot access mainstream financial products such as bank accounts and low cost loans. This financial exclusion imposes real costs on individuals and their families, often the most vulnerable people in our society. It also has costs for the communities in which they live.

For many families, debt means that substantial parts of their weekly income are spent on servicing loans, and usually for goods already consumed, such as food, petrol or clothing. The consequences of servicing high levels of debt are financially crippling, and have disastrous effects on these families’ health and wellbeing. Access to affordable and available credit would go some way to ameliorating this situation.

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