http://www.where-does-it-go.com Keeping tabs on personal finance - including tips with mortgages, personal loans, insurance and pensions. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:09:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Could Google be a way to predict trends, enough so that it could point to investments? Its an interesting idea, introduced by Hitwise when they ask if the housing market has hit rock bottom - pointing to a levelling off of the decline in Google searches for "Houses For ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/finance/mortgages-finance/judging-the-economy-via-search-volumes/49 More doom and gloom on Radio 4 on the way to work last week - Centrica who own British Gas have announced that average annual gas bills could raise to £1000 a year - an increase of 60%.As oil prices have risen, gas which is an immediate product of crude ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/anything-else/marx-cackling-in-his-grave/45 A very informative YouTube video on how the sub-prime market rocked the UK, ending up with the nationalisation of Northern Rock. It includes a very easy to understand guide on how the banks planned out the sub-prime lending scheme, using Collaterised Loan Obligations (CLO).The Collaterised Loan Obligations bankers used ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/finance/mortgages-finance/how-the-banks-bet-your-money-uk-us/43 A new bill to factor into your expenses this year are the new car tax rules - if you're buying a car first registered after 2001 then the car tax you pay is set to change, due next year. If you buy a very fuel efficient car, you could pay no ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/taxes/car-tax-rules/41 There are various online planners these days, here are a few of them. The Snowball Calculator I've mentioned before, a great way to organise your debts and it really works. Various Flash graphs to see how your money grows or falls in the future, including pensions. Quick Salary Calculator to work out ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/budget-tips/online-finance-planners/37 An interesting study by the Joeseph Rowntree Foundation was published today, which claimed a single person in Britain needs at least £13,400 a year for a minimum standard of living (as reported by the BBC here) This is compared to the national average wage of £26,000 as reported by the National ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/anything-else/13400-how-much-it-costs-to-live-in-britain/36 I keep meeting self employed people who haven't heard of this scheme - which is a real shame as its brilliant.  Basically the motive is to make it worthwhile for people to work - a lot of Tory propaganda in the 80s was aimed at the council estate single parent ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/taxes/working-tax-credits-do-it/35 I moved into my new house, and had to go through the ordeal of arranging a phone line with broadband.  Telecommunication companies have to be the worst public services I've ever faced - BT, Tiscali and Wanadoo have all raised my blood pressure on several occasions. (Check out some of ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/budget-tips/a-phonecall-worth-60/34 I live in a pretty seaside town in Cornwall which has a lot of Londoners coming down buying up holiday homes; great for them but the locals are now priced right out of the market.  Buying a house in my parents day was a natural step to adulthood; these days ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/finance/mortgages-finance/renting-vs-mortgage/32 After consulting the snowball calculator, the figures indicated it'll take me around 2 years to pay off the debt s I have on my credit card at the moment.  After digging around a little in www.MoneySavingExpert.com, I gave Martin a bit of cash by clicking his affiliate link to the ... http://www.where-does-it-go.com/finance/credit-cards/just-got-a-29-card-over-two-years/29