Scores of companies are constantly placing newer models with the latest technologies on the market, costing twice as much as the one your bought previously. As a result, the freshest models draw more interest, rendering the older mobile phones practically valueless. Consequently, discarded mobile phones soon risk becoming potentially noxious waste.

Given that we are inclined to buy charming and attractive new technology, our old mobile phones will probably end up in the landfill, perhaps after some time at home unused. Pollution here is at stake though, since mobile phones contain toxic materials such as lead and copper. Toxic substances may also leak out and contaminate water. Thus recycling your mobile for cash, especially schemes with economic incentives, will improve even our most dire environmental concerns. Furthermore, mobile phones contain precious metals, which can be recovered during the recycling process, melted down and reused for many applications such as electronic circuit boards.

The recycling process thus plays a highly vital role in our society. Many recycling companies will accept old handsets and even broken handsets, paying out cash in return. The internet has seen the recent growth of websites that assist in replacing old mobile phones, or at least pay money for the old set.

Selling the old phones allows for the conservation of existing resources and reuse of older material. This helps in many sectors, such as mining, lowering the need for higher output and reducing chemicals used to extract the gold and silver required for manufacturing mobile handsets which contaminate the land, and thus preserving a broad array of interconnected sectors that go beyond a simple mobile phone manufacturing plant. In short, recycling assists in replacing older models by transferring reusable materials to the new handsets.

1. Budget

Whether you are just one person, a couple or a large family, it’s vital to create a budget and stick religiously to it. You have to know where you’re spending your money and how much. This will reveal problem areas and you’ll have a clearer picture of where you need to cut back. Rather than daunting, this exercise should be liberating, as you will take control of your finances.

2. Get Help

This is often the hardest thing for people to do these days. We’re adults, we like to think we’ve got the world in the palm of our hand and don’t need anyone to tell us what to do. However, turning your back on expert advice in anything is rarely a good idea. Certainly not when it comes to financial matters. The way out for your money problems may be easier than you think. So find someone who knows more about your problem than you do and see what they have to say.

3. Face The Music

If things have gotten out of hand financial, then you need to take action. Burying your head in the sand will not accomplish anything. As Shakespeare said we should “take arm against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them” and this is sound advice. You got yourself into this debt mess, it’s up to you to get yourself out.

4. Change Jobs

If you’re starting to feel a financial pinch, consider changing jobs. While still at your current job, use some of your free time to look into other careers. Ones that pay more than what you’re currently making. The extra money will help you stay on top of your financial situation and keep you stress free in the wallet department. That is if you’ve already followed the other items on this list. Celebrating your new position and salary with a trip to the Bahamas will also affect your financial stress. By making it worse. This approach will ultimately dig you deeper into debt and you’ll find you’re looking for a higher paying job all over again.

5.  Stop The Bleeding

Once you see that your debts are getting the better of you or that you’ve overextended yourself financially, then it’s time to rein in. Take immediate action where you can. Don’t just go with the flow until the future provides a quick fix to all your woes. Do something positive yourself. Right away.

The bottom line here is not to give in to despair. In today’s world there is always outside help along with the direct action you can take yourself. Stay positive.

Andrew Salmon works as a freelance writer. He contributes to a number of blogs with articles about financial topics for the website Life Insurance Canada.

1. Try homemade savings: Instead of buying everything at the shops, you might consider making things from scratch. This can be anything from soap to chocolate chip cookies. The savings you will experience are significant. Each week, make a commitment to yourself to make one thing from scratch, whether it is bread, pasta, cookies, or whatever else you like. Then take the money you save and put it into that savings account.
2. Give up a little luxury: Do you enjoy takeaway food every week? Are you addicted to the pub on Saturday nights? Think about giving up one of your tiny luxuries each week so that you can put that extra cash into your savings coffers. It won’t hurt to make pizza at home and drink your pint in front of the telly.
3. Turn off the lights: Whenever you are not using lamps or electronic equipment, turn them off. In addition, you should unplug the equipment to save further on the electric bill.
4. Make your bathroom supplies go further: Before you toss that almost-empty shampoo bottle away, add a bit of water to it and make it last a few more days. And, when you buy cleaning products, forego the expensive brands and buy vinegar and bleach to take care of the problems. The simple products work just as well, are healthier, and are so much cheaper.
5. Line-dry your clothes: Instead of using a dryer to take care of your laundry, put it out on the line and let it dry naturally. This will save money on energy costs, and it will also help the environment.
6. Buy green kitchen appliances: Refrigerators and dishwashers with the Energy Saver label on them can help you cut back your energy costs by hundreds of Pounds or Euros every year. At the same time, you use fewer natural resources.
7. Walk more: Instead of cranking up the car or scooter to head to work or school, walk or take the bus. You don’t have to walk to work every day, but if you do it only a few days a week, you will save on petrol costs and help the environment as well
8. Think about solar power: Instead of using electricity to heat and cool your home, why not harness the power of the sun? While this may be an initial investment, solar panels pay for themselves in the long-run with the amount you will save each month on your electricity bill.
9. Buy energy-saving light bulbs: Instead of using the expensive track lights, install the less expensive and more eco-friendly energy-saving light bulbs.
10. Make your toilet low-flow: Installing a low-flow toilet will save you hundreds each year. And, if you don’t have the money to buy a new model, just add a small plastic drink bottle filled with water inside the tank in the corner. This will reduce the amount of water you need per flush.

There are ways to save money around every corner, and these are ten easy ways to help you get started!

So what should you do if you have accumulated so much debt that you cannot see any solutions? What kinds of possibilities are open for you in case you have serious debts and you are unemployed? Listen carefully! If you cannot see yourself paying back your financial dues within an acceptable period of time, you should look for an alternative debt-elimination method. These methods usually can help people who are in a difficult financial situation to clear their debts.

Generally speaking, unemployed individuals who have multiple debts consider bankruptcy as their only choice to make a clear sweep of their debts. It is true that there are certain circumstances within wh

ich bankruptcy can be the best option. Nevertheless, for the majority, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (or in short, an IVA) is a more suitable debt-elimination way. But how can an IVA help you? Why is it a better alternative than filing for bankruptcy?

First of all, we should understand how an Individual Voluntary Arrangement works. This is a legally-binding agreement between two parties: the debtor and his or her creditors. The parties agree that in the one hand, the debtor repays part of his/her unsecured debts, and, on the other hand, creditors will write off the remaining amount owed them. The amount of the debts a debtor has to repay is a percentage of the debtor’s debts both parties agreed to accept. Therefore one should not initiate an IVA unless he/she knows what kind of percentage of the total debt-amount creditors are willing to accept as a full repayment.

One might ask what the difference is between an IVA and another debt-elimination solution called debt settlement. Without paying attention to the details, these two methods are very similar to each other. Nevertheless, their terms and conditions are quite different. Debt settlement is a special way of consolidating one’s debts taking into account the following. A debtor stops making payments to his/her creditors for a while, and during this time period he/she tries to save money. These savings will be used to make a final and full settlement offer to one’s creditors: the debtor will ask them to accept a certain percentage of the original debts as a full repayment. This percentage, however, will be given to the creditors (if they accept the debt settlement offer) at once, in a lump sum. This is the main difference between the debt settlement and the IVA, as the latter does not imply giving back the money in a lump sum.

Instead of this, an IVA means that the debtor makes monthly payments to reduce his/her debts for a period about four to five years. Nevertheless, the terms of the IVA vary according to the debtor’s specific circumstances. For instance, if a debtor can pay more towards his/her loans, the IVA will last shorter than in case the debtor can pay a lower monthly amount. So the basic time-period an IVA lasts depends on how much the debtor can afford as a monthly premium after his/her basic expenses were extracted from his/her income amount. These basic expenses involve rents, food, transportation, education as well as other living costs. These should be accounted for first, before calculating the IVA premiums.

The advantage of an IVA also known as Trust Deeds in Scotland is that upon its successful completion, the debtor will legally be free of debt. Nevertheless, those who intend to take advantage of an IVA should consider the following. First of all, those people who intend to initiate an Individual Voluntary Arrangement should be aware of the fact that this process requires a high financial commitment. This means that during an IVA, the debtor will have a very little amount of money to spend each month.

Moreover, if a debtor receives an increase in income during the process of an IVA, the additional amount should go towards repaying the debtor’s financial dues. Second, if the debtor has an own house or another valuable property, he/she might be asked to release part of the equity of his/her home in the IVA’s last year.

Another important feature that needs to be taken into consideration is that an IVA has an essential influence on debtors’ credit rating. This is quite important as credit ratings affect people’s ability to get a loan in the future. Therefore all these negative elements should be considered before applying for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement.

All in all, an IVA can be a real solution for those who have multiple debts. This is a relatively easy method for a debtor to get rid of his or her debts even if they are unemployed. Nevertheless, an IVA is only suitable for those who have a certain amount of disposable income to be constituted as an IVA-premium. Generally speaking, a debtor needs to commit to regular monthly premiums which should be generally at least £200-250 monthly. This amount will go towards your debts each month, until you finally become free of debt. Therefore people need to understand that they should only choose an IVA if they are able to make their monthly commitments towards their debts.

So be aware that you cannot be sure to be suitable for an IVA if you are unemployed! So whether because of you have lost part of your income, or because you have been forced to take a sick-leave for a longer period of time, you might realize that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement does not suit you. In this case, you might consider bankruptcy or the so-called debt-relief order as a better alternative. Compare several solutions, and choose the most appropriate one!

Internet sales have increased by 18% since 2008. November the 29th, now dubbed ‘Cyber Sunday’, saw British consumers spend approximately £320million over in the internet to purchase holiday gifts (and the occasional personal treat). On the 30th, more tenuously called ‘Mega Monday’, VISA expects £2.4 million’s worth of purchases will take place. By Christmas Day itself, almost £4.6 billion is likely to be spent on the season of goodwill. Last year, Amazon’s busiest sales day saw almost 16 order per second – this year looks set to break this record. Internet trading group IMRG predicts the online sales totals to break £13 billion.

And, as Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium, points out: “just over 95% of all retail sales happen in the shops.” With the internet making it far easier to compare prices around the world, the once peculiarily American tradition of ‘Black Friday’ has begun sneaking its way overseas. For example, Apple offered numerous discounts on iPods, Macbooks and many other hotly desired items.

But despite more people than ever spending, the overall amounts in play were not as impressive as previous years. A National Retail Federation poll in America found that despite an increase of 23 million people heading out over the weekend to shop, the average consumer spent $29.26 less than in 2008. Marketing Specialist Dr. William Rice notes that what makes this figure so concerning is that these low figures were in spite of the marketing industry’s most creative year in decades.

As people are less willing to get into credit card debt, similar amount of creativity has been required by credit card marketers. Despite the many of the best credit cards rewards offered by companies like MBNA, there has been a general tendency towards more cautious spending. ‘America’s Research Group’ research commissioned by Reuters showed that only 26% of the weekend’s shoppers used credit cards for their payments.

Beyond the immediate appeal of access to an obscene amount of cash, there are far more sensible reasons to be drawn back into the habit of using credit cards – as long as you can afford to pay them off. Samantha Owens, Head of Personal Finance at MoneyFacts, suggests “you could even profit from your Christmas spending” by combining cards with a high-rate of limited cashback (such as Abbey National) and cards with lower, but unlimited, amounts (as with Capital One).

1. 1.Call Your Credit Card Company - While this may seem like common sense, many consumers fail to take this important step. Ask for a customer service representative or department manager and let them know that you are currently shopping for lower credit card offers. Ask what their current, best interest rate offer for you is. Once they provide you with a number, let them know that you will be back in touch with them. You will often be surprised at how much lower your current credit card company will go with your interest rate just with a simple phone call.
2. 2. Shop Interest Rates - Now that you know what your current credit card companies are willing to offer you in terms of interest rates, begin to shop around with other companies to see what they will offer. Search for 0% introductory interest rate offers, begin to collect any promotional credit card offers in the mail and even speak with your current banking professional to see what kind of credit card interest rate offer they may be able to offer you. Compare the interest rate offers that you have collected to determine whether or not they are lower than what your current credit card companies are willing to offer you. But, before you make a switch, also consider a consolidation loan.
3. 3. Consider a Consolidation Loan - The next step in the process is to review your options for a consolidation loan. These loans are often offered through your current financial institution. Set aside some time to speak with your current bank officer and communicate your desire to consolidate your current credit cards into a single loan at a lower interest rate, in order to pay off the consumer debt off quicker.
4. 4. Compare and Contrast - Now that you have collected information about all of your available options, you can compare and contrast the interest rates and the offers. In addition to the interest rates, you also want to take time to review how long the promotional or lower interest rates are offered. Also review whether new purchases will qualify for the reduced interest rates or whether they only apply to balance transfers. With all of this information, you can make the best financial decision regarding your current credit card interest rates.

Working through these steps will not only help you to lower your current credit card interest rates, but will also lower your monthly minimum payment amounts and the total amount of time it takes you to repay your consumer debts.

This development is a response to a damning report on the ambiguity in most banking charges. As part of the changes, banks are required to provide an end of year summary of account charges to their customers. The Banks are expected to have fully implemented these new measures by 2011.

In the interim, the banks will make it simpler for consumers to move their direct debit payments from an old account to a new one. This will make possible for consumers to become fully aware of the cost of running their accounts and thus become confident about the value they are getting.

Many customers usually are discouraged from changing their current accounts because of the potential hassle of moving their direct debit payments to the new account. However, under the new policy, it will become easier for this to happen.

These changes will force Banks to offer more competitive and innovative products and services to attract as well as retain customers.

Background

In July 2008, a report by OFT revealed that many account holders were uninformed about the interest rate on their accounts and fees they pay on services. The report estimated that banks made about £8.2bn from consumer current accounts.

A recent report by the European Commission last September confirmed the OFT report of 2008 and said that information given by some banks to custom were either confusing or vague. It also revealed only 9% of EU consumers changed accounts in 2007 and 2008, compared with 25% of car insurance customers. However, other consumer research have indicated that consumers have stuck with their banks because they are pleased with the services they received

These would enable consumers to compare the cost and benefits of the different types of accounts so as to choose better deals.

Change

Early this month the banks agreed to a new system which will allow UK customers to able to compare the interest gained and their current account maintenance charges.

Hopefully beginning 2011 – customers may expect to receive an annual summary which explains how much interest they gained and the fees for services such as overdrafts. Charges will also be clearly printed on monthly statements.

The issue of unlawful overdraft charges was also raised in the OFT report. The fairness or otherwise of such fee charges is yet to be decided upon in a court.

‘Promise’

Though it is heartwarming to note the BBA’s pledge to carry through the reforms, it is important that this commitment is viewed as a basic human right of consumers and not a favour. It is the right of consumers to know what they are gaining and what is being charged for the services. Any attempt to conceal such basic information is equal to lying and stealing and a breach of the social contract and trust. That will not be in the  interest of banks and the society at large.

The new incentives are: lower interest charges, reimbursement of interest payments, and other to get cardholders to make early payments of their debts.

New reward programs

Some card companies like MBNA are giving consumers top ups and reduced yearly interest rates for honoring on a regular basis the repayment terms as well as keeping to credit limits (that is, from 0.25% up to 2% cutback in interest rate each time a cardholder makes a bare minimum payment for three successive months)

Other incentives are based on the percentage of balance paid off. For instance, payment of 10 percent off or more wins the lowest interest rate, while a 5 percent pay off attracts the highest interest rate. Some banks give as much as a whole month’s interest back following a six successive on time payment by their clients.

Benefits

Card companies believe that the new rewards will enable their customers to manage their finances and debt much better and at the same time enjoy more options to choose from including on-line services that help consumers to know the amounts they need to pay every month to clear the balance of payment by the set date.

They further argue that the available choices will encourage card users to pay their debts more easily – on time and enhance their credit worthiness. Indeed some banks claim to be recording a fall in customer default rate as a result of some of their products.

The challenge for card companies is how to balance increasing benefits to consumers as they pay up interest fees each month and ensuing that they do not default on payment.

A recent survey has shown that 57 percent of card users with the new reward system pay off 70 per cent of their balances each month.

Who really benefits?

These new deals do not always come in the interest of all consumers.

According to experts, while card users generally may benefit from improvement in their credit as a result of these programs, they are best suited for card users who maintain a balance on their cards regularly. Such users will benefit more from getting a card that offers very low interest rates.

Consumers who are not usually able to pay off significant portions of their balances at each month are better-off going for a low interest rate card.

At the end of the day it is the consumer’s decision to choose between the rewards. But the consumer must be well-informed on the benefits and the terms.

Rule number two: card companies will now have to post bills to customers 21 clear days before payment is due instead of the previous 14 days.

These rules are only the first set of the new regulations. The remaining far-reaching changes will start early in 2010 when the credit card act goes into full force. The law will restrict the conditions for card companies to raise charges and will require companies to pay off a customer’s highest interest rate debt first before a new credit is given, and many more changes.

Mixed reactions

While consumers are happy with the reforms, the banks are not and have threatened to increase interest rates and fees, cut down on card benefits and other measures before the credit card bill goes into implementation next year. There are reports some consumers are already suffering from such reactions from card companies.

The question is, is it legal? And why was there not a technical backstopping mechanism put in place to ensure that banks could not raise the figures to certain levels before the implementation of the act in February 2010?

Key Beneficiaries

The reforms actually target to protect consumers who are currently under much pressure to pay off their debts and while in the middle of doing this, the interest rates and other fees are being increased arbitrarily by their banks

A survey will be useful to determine the extent of the impact of the reforms on consumers and especially opinions on the actions by some credit card companies.

Perhaps, this is a real good opportunity for credit card companies to prove to consumers that they are there for win-win outcomes and not exploitative machines. Card companies which prove ethical and stay faithful to the reforms will stand to gain increased patronage which will pay off.

Indeed measures such as arbitrary raising of interest rates and fees and use of crafty terms are unethical and should be discouraged.

Consumers should ensure they research and understand the terms of payments adequately before taking a credit. A thorough check on the website of a credit card company like MBNA to see if they are one of the companies who have implemented increased rates and fees and other reactions to the reform will be a useful thing to do.

Another free advice to consumers is that, they have the choice on what to spend credit on. It is a smart thing to borrow to invest and not just to “consume”.

It is believed that BOA intend to provide services in the area of wealth management with an eye on rich Chinese consumers.

Bank of America has set up a special internal workforce to complete the plans and it will likely formally apply to a Chinese banking regulator for a local incorporation license soon.

The U.S. government has injected $45 billion into the Bank of America, which has struggled with rising credit losses and the Merrill purchase.

Earlier this year, a government order that the bank add $33.9 billion of capital prompted the bank to sell one-third of its stake in China Construction Bank. Observers believe that connections in China will help the bank to diversify.

China: a preferred investment destination

Incorporating in China can allow foreign banks to operate the same range of businesses as domestic counterparts. Chinese regulators may then grant approvals to open new branches or offer new products more quickly.

But under Chinese securities rules, Bank of America still needs to find a local partner for a joint venture to handle high-profit investment banking businesses such as underwriting shares and bonds for local companies in domestic markets.

Bank of America’s retail expansion in China is restricted by the China Construction Bank, which prevents banks from competing directly with their retail banks.

Instead, Bank of America will probably focus on providing prosperity management services under the Merrill brand to rich Chinese customers.

Few foreign banks are considering entering into China because of the recession..

Earlier this week, Bank of America said it intends to decrease its 6,109-branch U.S. network gradually over the next three to five years.