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By Mark Lewin Staff Writer
7 August 2009
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Previous Money News Roundups
See our other recent Money News Roundups and other related news stories:
Money News Roundup (24 July 09)
A glance back at this week's personal finance news: the battle against credit card fraud, pricey wine, rising card transaction costs for holiday-makers and an interesting survey of car drivers.
Money News Roundup (17 July 09)
A glance back at this week's personal finance news: the £1million bill, the proposed 90% tax on city bonuses and how babies can help you to keep your wallet.
Money News Roundup (10 July 09)
A glance back at this week's personal finance news: why Barclays objected to changes to PPI, how a fine for E.ON has made no change for consumers and why Brits were in denial over saving.
Money News Roundup (03 July 09)
A glance back at this week's personal finance news: what a credit card crackdown actually involves, who thinks energy bills aren't high enough and why everyone's paying off their mortgage.
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HOW to get out of debt, £21 billion compensation for savers and how the 'bright young things' are deserting the city.
A Strict Budget is the Best Way to Reduce Debt
WANT to get out of debt? There are no magic solutions. According to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service the only way to do it is to budget properly.
"[The] first step should be to make a strict and truthful budget that will set out your finances and help you see where you are overspending," recommended CCCS spokesperson Tom Howard.
"If you then find that there is not enough money to make the required payments, it is important to get in touch with your creditors as soon as possible." He added, "Most are willing to help if you are up-front and honest about your situation."
It certainly won't be the first time they have heard this story. In the last year, the Citizens Advice Bureau claims to have had over 400,000 enquiries relating to store and credit card debt - a 13% increase over last year. Bankruptcy enquiries rose by an astonishing 24% in the same period.
Victims of Bank Collapse Get £21 billion
THE organisation responsible for bailing out savers whose banks have collapsed claims that it has paid out a massive £21 billion in compensation in just six months. This compares to just £1 billion during the seven years before the onset of the banking crisis.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme gives savers up to £50,000 each if their bank goes bust, a service which is funded by a compulsory levy on the UK financial services industry.
The FSCS reported dealing with over 3.5 million claims this year, arising mainly from the collapse of Bradford & Bingley, Icesave, Heritable Bank, Kaupthing Singer & Freidlander and London Scottish Bank.
Barclaycard Turning Away Over Half of Applicants
BARCLAYCARD, which in the past was seen by some as one of the easiest cards to apply for, is now rejecting more than 50% of applicants.
The credit card giant is also seeking to reduce its exposure in the mass market by closing accounts in trouble - more than 2.5 million in the last four years - and raising interest rates to discourage borrowing.
Barclaycard is also using sophisticated analysis software to identify accounts that may soon show problems, such as those which used to pay off the balance in full each month and now only make the minimum payments.
Graduates Avoid Banking
TOP graduates are shunning a career in banking, says senior executive of HSBC, Michael Geoghegan.
This is a complete reversal of the situation in previous years when the brightest of the bright typically made a bee-line to the City, lured by the promise of 'telephone number' salaries and huge bonuses.
Employment in the City will fall to 295,000 this year from its peak of 350,000 in 2007, according to estimates by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Safe Shirts for the Recession
SHIRT maker Charles Tyrwhitt is doing a roaring trade in shirts at a time when many in the City are losing theirs.
White shirts in particular have become incredibly popular in 2009 - up 50% on last year.
Founder Nick Wheeler believes that choosing a white shirt is a reaction to all the chaos in the economy: "A white shirt looks great but it is safe", he says.
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