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By Julia Kukiewicz Staff Writer
Friday, 8 May 2009
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Money News Roundup
If you only do one thing with your money this week...
Beware of financial advice, your bank may not always be giving you the most impartial guidance.
Always check out and compare at least 3 different financial products before signing on the line.
Previous Money News Roundups
See our other recent Money News Roundups and other related news stories:
How to Switch your Energy Supplier
Find out how you can switch your energy supplier and why now is the perfect time to do it with Julia Kukiewicz.
Money News Roundup (01 MAY 09)
Find out why Iggy Pop is out of a job, how the changes to Egg credit cards could affect you and who would buy their botox from ebay in this week's money news round up with Julia Kukiewicz.
Money News Roundup (24 APR 09)
In this week's budget money news with Julia Kukiewicz: why are credit card companies closing their ears to the budget's warnings and how could the 50% tax and deflation affect you?
Money News Roundup (17 APR 09)
Find out why Swansea's Citizen's Advice Bureau is linked to crime, why PR firms are doing well in the recession and how much kids cost in this week's money news with Julia Kukiewicz.
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Men are shallow, NatWest aren't offering impartial advice and your partner may be hiding a credit card from you in this week's money news roundup.
Men Shallow, Women Easily Pleased, says Survey
ACCORDING to a survey from Smile this week the average man needs 27% more money than the average women to be 'truly happy'.
The poll of 3000 people found that men said they wanted an average of £1,249,619, while women would settle for a mere £983,799.
The survey also found that men are happiest between 6pm and 7pm while women are at their happiest an hour later, between 8pm and 9pm. Always good to know.
The results of the poll were released to mark the recent success of Smile and The Cooperative Banks' current accounts, apparently customers have increased by 123% in the past year.
NatWest's MoneySense Dubious
NATWEST'S MoneySense programme was accused of failing to deliver free and impartial financial advice this week.
Although the scheme is advertised as an opportunity to consult an impartial financial advisor many consumers have reported that advice tends to focus, almost exclusively, on NatWest products.
Which? magazine reported this week that just four of the twenty MoneySense sessions they attended offered truly impartial advice.
70% of consumers have never spoken to an independent financial advisor, Which? added.
Secret Credit Cards
THERE are around 217,000 'secret' credit cards in the UK, research from Halifax Credit Cards claimed to have discovered this week.
According to the poll the majority of secret card holders are leading their financial double-life in order to hide purchases from a partner. 1% of credit card holders in a relationship were keeping it a secret.
The second most-cited reason for secrecy was a desire to hide debts from a partner, while the third was keeping a card aside for use in emergencies.
Switching fails to Appeal
FINALLY, in a week in which British Gas have cut the price of their electricity bills research was published which found that many people prefer to sit rather than switch.
This is hardly surprising since the British Gas savings will save the average customer just £43 and that switching is plagued by rumours of difficulty.
uSwitch.com found that 43% of Brits concede that switching would probably save them money but that other energy-saving measures such as installing cavity wall insulation or buying the most efficient appliances available were likely to be rejected on grounds of cost.
Switching your energy supplier can save more money than you think, however, just under £500 a year for the average London family switching for the first time.
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