Find property prices online
February 12, 2009
Check if are you buying or selling your property at the right price? Search for property sales prices via postcodes.
Forbes top 100 billionaire rich list
February 12, 2009
Ranking of the world’s top 100 richest people as estimated by Forbes.
Listings include rank, name, home country or state, age where known, wealth in billions of dollars and source of the money.
1. Bill Gates, Washington, 51, $56bn, Microsoft
2. Warren Buffett (pictured), Nebraska, 76, $52, Berkshire Hathaway
3. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico, 67, $49, telecom
4. Ingvar Kamprad and family, Sweden, 80, $33, Ikea
5. Lakshmi Mittal, India, 56, $32, steel
6. Sheldon Adelson, Nevada, 73, $26.5, casinos, hotels
7. Bernard Arnault, France, 58, $26, LVMH
8. Amancio Ortega, Spain, 71, $24, Zara
9. Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong, 78, $23, diversified
10. David Thomson and family, Canada, 49, $22, inheritance
11. Lawrence Ellison, California, 62, $21.5, Oracle
12. Liliane Bettencourt, France, 84, $20.7, L’Oreal
13. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia, 50, $20.3, investments
14. Mukesh Ambani, India, 49, $20.1, petrochemicals
15. Karl Albrecht, Germany, 87, $20, Aldi
16. Roman Abramovich, Russia, 40, $18.7, oil
17. Stefan Persson, Sweden, 59, $18.4, Hennes & Mauritz
18. Anil Ambani, India, 47, $18.2, diversified
19. Paul Allen, Washington, 54, $18, Microsoft, investments
20. Theo Albrecht, Germany, 84, $17.5, Aldi, Trader Joe’s
21. Azim Premji, India, 61, $17.1, software
22. Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong, 79, $17, real estate
23. Jim Walton, Arkansas, 59, $16.8, Wal-Mart
24. Christy Walton and family, Wyoming, 52, $16.7, Wal-Mart inheritance
24. S. Robson Walton, Arkansas, 63, $16.7, Wal-Mart
26. Sergey Brin, California, 33, $16.6, Google
26. Larry Page, California, 34, $16.6, Google
26. Alice Walton, Texas, 57, $16.6, Wal-Mart
29. Helen Walton, Arkansas, 87, $16.4, Wal-Mart
30. Michael Dell, Texas, 42, $15.8, Dell
31. Steven Ballmer, Washington, 51, $15, Microsoft
31. Kirk Kerkorian, California, 89, $15, investments, casinos
31. Raymond, Thomas and Walter Kwok, Hong Kong, ages unknown, $15, real estate
34. Francois Pinault, France, 70, $14.5, retail
35. Suleiman Kerimov, Russia, 41, $14.4, stocks
36. Vladimir Lisin, Russia, 50, $14.3, steel
37. Jack Taylor and family, Missouri, 84, $13.9, Enterprise Rent-A-Car
38. Vladimir Potanin, Russia, 46, $13.5, metals
38. Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia, 41, $13.5, metals
40. Oleg Deripaska, Russia, 39, $13.3, aluminum
40. Michael Otto and family, Germany, 63, $13.3, retail
42. Carl Icahn, New York, 71, $13, leveraged buyouts
42. Abigail Johnson, Massachusetts, 45, $13, Fidelity
44. Adolf Merckle, Germany, 72, $12.8, drugs
45. Barbara Cox Anthony, Hawaii, 83, $12.6, Cox Enterprises
45. Anne Cox Chambers, Georgia, 87, $12.6, Cox Enterprises
45. Mikhail Fridman, Russia, 42, $12.6, oil, banking
48. Vagit Alekperov, Russia, 56, $12.4, oil
49. Charles Koch, Kansas, 71, $12, oil, commodities
49. David Koch, New York, 66, $12, oil, commodities
51. Silvio Berlusconi and family, Italy, 70, $11.8, media
52. Nasser Al-Kharafi and family, Kuwait, 63, $11.5, construction
52. Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italy, 71, $11.5, eyewear
54. Alexei Mordashov, Russia, 41, $11.2, steel
55. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor and family, Britain, 55, $11, real estate
55. Spiro Latsis and family, Greece, 60, $11, banking
55. Birgit Rausing and family, Sweden, 83, $11, packaging
58. Forrest Mars Jr., Virginia, 75, $10.5, candy
58. Jacqueline Mars, New Jersey, 67, $10.5, candy
58. John Mars, Virginia, 70, $10.5, candy
61. Viktor Vekselberg, Russia, 49, $10.4, oil, metals
62. Serge Dassault and family, France, 81, $10, aviation
62. Charles Ergen, Colorado, 54, $10, EchoStar
62. Michele Ferrero and family, Italy, 80, $10, chocolates
62. Naguib Sawiris, Egypt, 52, $10, telecom
62. Kushal Pal Singh, India, 75, $10, real estate
62. Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, France, ages unknown, $10, Chanel
68. Susanne Klatten, Germany, 44, $9.6, BMW, drugs
69. Philip Knight, Oregon, 69, $9.5, Nike
69. Sunil Mittal and family, India, 49, $9.5, telecom
71. John Kluge, Florida, 92, $9.1, Metromedia
71. Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Russia, 58, $9.1, telecom
73. Rupert Murdoch, New York, 76, $9, News Corp.
73. Hans Rausing, Sweden, 81, $9, packaging
73. Reinhold Wurth, Germany, 71, $9, manufacturing
76. Ernesto Bertarelli, Switzerland, 41, $8.8, biotech
76. Pierre Omidyar, Nevada, 39, $8.8, Ebay
78. Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler, Germany, ages unknown, $8.7, ball bearings
79. Rafael del Pino and family, Spain, 86, $8.6, construction
80. Donald Bren, California, 74, $8.5, real estate
80. George Kaiser, Oklahoma, 64, $8.5, oil and gas, banking
80. George Soros, New York, 76, $8.5, hedge funds
83. Nikolai Tsvetkov, Russia, 46, $8.4, oil, banking
83. August von Finck, Germany, 77, $8.4, investments
85. Dan Duncan, Texas, 74, $8.2, energy
86. Mohammed Al Amoudi, Saudi Arabia, 61, $8, oil
86. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair and family, United Arab Emirates, 53, $8, banking
86. Kumar Birla, India, 39, $8, commodities
86. German Khan, Russia, 45, $8, oil, banking
86. Iskander Makhmudov, Russia, 43, $8, mining, metals
86. Sumner Redstone, California, 83, $8, Viacom
86. Shashi and Ravi Ruia, India, ages unknown, $8, diversified
93. Philip Anschutz, Colorado, 67, $7.9, investments
93. Galen Weston and family, Canada, 66, $7.9, retail
95. Enrique Banuelos, Spain, 41, $7.7, real estate
96. Stefan Quandt, Germany, 41, $7.6, BMW
97. Maan Al-Sanea, Saudi Arabia, 52, $7.5, construction, finance
97. Edward Johnson III, Massachusetts, 76, $7.5, Fidelity
99. Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Saudi Arabia, 87, $7.4, banking
100. Donald Newhouse, New Jersey, 77, $7.3, publishing
100. Samuel Newhouse Jr., New York, 79, $7.3, publishing
How to save money on your Car Insurance Online
February 11, 2009
1. Only buy car insurance online – Expect a discount on car insurance online from 5% – 20%
2. Pay car insurance in full. Most car insurers will charge you interest if you pay monthly as opposed to paying upfront in full each year. If you can’t afford to pay in full, you could pay for it using a 0% for purchases credit card, then make the same monthly repayments to that instead.
3. Use price comparison sites online to compare from all the car insurance companies.
4. Make yourself as lower risk as possible by parking your car on a drive-way or in a garage, and by fitting an alarm, immobiliser or steering lock.
5. Reduce your car insurance premiums by paying a higher voluntary excess and by adding named drivers only onto the policy
6. Driving fewer miles will lower your car insurance premiums.
7. Apply for cover from your current car insurance provider at renewal as a new customer as it’s likely you will be given a cheaper quote.
8. Look out for special offers as there are deals to be had on insuring more than one car with the same car insurer, like cashback or free breakdown cover.
How to save money on your home phone
February 9, 2009
Top money saving tips to cut the cost of your home phone bill online:
Read your phone bill online. Charges to mobiles, long-distance and International calls are all charged at different rates depending on when you make them. So read your phone bill and work out what types of calls you make so you know which phone package is best for you.
Use a price comparison site to compare home home deals for your area simply and easily.
If you don’t use your phone much go for a simple phone tariff with no monthly charge where you simply pay for the calls you make.
If you make a lot of weekend and evening calls it might be worth paying a few pounds a month in exchange for free evening and weekend calls to landlines.
If you make a lot of phone calls at all times of the day, it might be cheaper to pay around £8 – £15 per month for free anytime calls to UK landlines.
You could always try Skype’s free software, which works seamlessly with your internet connection, to chat away with free Skype-to-Skype calls and never worry about cost, time or distance.
How to make your savings go further
February 8, 2009
1. High interest current account. If you’re drip feeding regular payments from a current account into a regular savings account, then make sure that you’ve chosen a high interest paying current account to earn the maximum amount of interest possible.
2. Pay off your debts. It’s always wise to pay off any personal loan or credit card debts before you start saving, however, you may incur an early redemption charge when paying off a personal loan so it’s worth checking first. The cost of interest on debts is usually much higher than the interest you’ll earn on any savings.
3. Cash ISA. They work just like a normal savings account, but the interest you earn is tax-free. You can save up to £3,600 each year in a Cash ISA.
4. Switch your low interest Cash ISA. Transfer it into a higher paying Cash ISA without loosing your tax-free allowance.
5. Regular Savings account. Regular savings accounts typically pay higher rates of interest than standard savings accounts. You can make regular payments into your regular savings account from a current account. Most regular savings accounts let you save up to £300 per month, so they if you have a lump sum to save then they may not be as suitable as a fixed rate bond, notice account or internet savings accounts.
6. Fixed rate bond. If you’re happy to tie your money up for a set period of time, you can earn higher rates of interest on a fixed rate savings bond.
7. Don’t forget notice accounts. If you’re happy to tie your money up in a 90, or 180 day notice account, you can earn higher rates of interest.
8. Internet savings accounts are currently paying higher rates of interest because Financial Institutions don’t have to pay for staff or branches to manage these forms of savings accounts.
How to save money on your Gas & Electricity
February 8, 2009
1. Pay monthly by direct debit as suppliers often offer a discount if you set up a direct debit
2. Use a price comparison site to compare all the Gas & Electricity suppliers
3. Choosing online billing may also reduce your gas and electricity bills. It’s also convenient and better for the environment too!
4. Gas and electricity suppliers also offer discounts when you have both your gas and electricity with one supplier.
6. Reduce your electricity usage by turning off lights and appliances and by using energy efficient light bulbs.
7. Reduce your gas usage by turning down your thermostat degree, closing curtains at night and by insulating your loft. Read our Saving Energy guide for more energy saving tips and advice.
8. Switch now if you’ve never switched gas and electricity supplier.
9. Energy grant There are grants available for improving home heating and insulation. Go to the Energy Saving Trust’s energy grant search for more details.
10. Think twice before you sign up to a price capped tariff. Whilst they have the benefit that the price won’t rise for a fixed period, the cheapest capped tariffs can be more expensive than the cheapest uncapped tariffs and you may be locked in to the tariff for a year. It’s better to have the freedom to switch and save whenever you want.
How to save money on your Broadband Online
February 7, 2009
Top money saving tips to cut the cost of your broadband bill online:
1. Look at combined deals which offer cheaper deals when combining your broadband, TV, home phone and mobile phone with one provider.
2. Use a price comparison site to compare broadband suppliers and prices for your area simply and easily.
3. The longer the contract length the cheaper it can be. If you’re happy to sign up for 18 or 24 months then you can sometimes get a cheaper deal.
4. Go for a 2 Mbps connection. Unless download loads of videos or music files, speeds of 2 Mbps should be enough and these deals tend to be cheaper than the 8 Mbps packages.
5. Avoid cheap deals with low download limits. If you go over your monthly download limit the additional charges can be steep. Look for a package with unlimited downloads, or check your typical monthly download usage before you sign up to a new package.
6. Consider the true cost. Look at all of the costs involved, such as activation/connection costs & hardware costs.
7. Watch out for hidden extras.
8. Nothing in life is ever ‘free’. Some mobile operators have been offering a free laptop of playstation with their broadband packages. Multiply the monthly subscription cost by the contract length to work out the true cost and compare that to a cheaper deal to find out how much you’re paying for the freebie. Failing that, you could always sell the freebie on eBay to pay for your broadband!
Online Mortgages tips
February 7, 2009
Headline-grabbing interest rates
If it’s too good to be true then it probably is. Remember, mortgage lenders want to make money, so wont give something away for nothing. Watch out for hidden catches and other strings attached
Don’t just look at the interest rate. Look at all of the associated fees too. This will help you work out the true cost of the mortgage. There are a whole range of fees which you may have to pay, for different things:
House Buying Process Fees
Legal / conveyance fees
Conveyancing is the legal process for transferring the title to property. You’ll probably need to pay a solicitor or conveyancer for this, although you can do it yourself if you know what you’re doing. If you’re buying and selling a house, you have to pay for both deals. The solicitor usually also deals with any stamp duty that is payable.
Survey Fees
You should always consider whether to have your own survey done, which will highlight any shortcomings in the new property, like damp or dry-rot in the roof. The price of the survey could save you a fortune on unforeseen repairs in the future.
The seller of the property in England or Wales must provide a Home Information Pack. This may contain a Home Condition report, which is effectively a survey report. This may save you time and money as a buyer.
Brokers’ fees
If you are arranging a mortgage through a broker, they may also charge you a fee for their service either before or after you mortgage application has been completed. All brokers are required by law to show you how much commission they will earn from the lender in a Key Facts document, so make sure you get this up front.
Valuation fees
A lender has to be sure that their mortgage offer is based on a sound property. For this they will require a valuation of the property, which will usually be paid for by you.
Arrangement fee
Most mortgage lenders charge an arrangement fee when you take out a mortgage. Some mortgage lenders will let you add the cost of this to the mortgage. The fee depends on the mortgage lender and the mortgage offer
Booking Fee
Usually with a fixed rate mortgage there will be a fee for the lender ‘booking’ the funds they use to lend to you. This is usually non-refundable if you withdraw your application.
Early Repayment Fees
If you have a fixed rate mortgage or discounted rate mortgage, you may have to pay an early repayment if you pay back your mortgage early or switch lenders before your deal has expired. You can filter this out in the mortgage best buys.
Extended tie-ins
Extended tie-ins are early repayment fees that apply even after your deal period ends. They may force you to stay with the lender for a longer period of time than you want to, and should be avoided if possible.
How to save money on your Travel Insurance Online
February 7, 2009
Here are some top money saving tips to cut the cost of your travel insurance online:
1. Only buy travel insurance online only. Travel agents offline often charge up to 50% more than online providers.
2. Use Travel Insurance Comparisons services:
3. Change the cover to the minimum. Online websites allow you to change the level of travel insurance to what you require.
4. Choose Annual or Multi-trip insurance - If you are preparing to travel more than twice times a year, you’ll be better off with an annual travel insurance policy.
5. Think about where you’re going. If you’re traveling to a country with poor medical facilities it’s essential to make sure your travel insurance policy will pay full repatriation costs. Check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website for travel advice by country.
6. Are you doing anything hazardous? If you’re going to be doing any hazardous activities, such as scuba diving, bungee jumping etc, make sure that your travel insurance policy covers these.
How to save money at University online
February 7, 2009
1. Look for cheaper services. Use comparison services to get the cheapest deals on mobile phones, utility bills & credit cards etc to save money.
2. Best student bank account. Choosing the right student bank account is vital. Get the best interest-free overdrafts, credit card limits, credit interest and unauthorized overdraft charges.
3. Student loan. The Government based Student Loans Company loans offer the cheapest long term loans you’ll ever. You don’t have to repay anything until after graduation and the amount you have to pay back is linked to how much you earn.
4.Use Cash. Studies have shown that paying with cash has a greater psychological impact and makes you think twice about what you’re spending your money on. Studies have also shown that people tend to spend whatever’s in their wallet, so taking out less cash from the cash point than you usually do could help stop you wasting money.
5. Get a Grant or a Scholarship. Go to Scholarship search and Educational Grants Advisory Service websites.
6. Budget. You need to sit down and set yourself a budget.
7. Make extra money. Getting a part time job or selling products
8. Being frugal Identify all the money you waste on things you don’t need – magazines, takeaways, cigarettes and alcohol etc.
9. Get a NUS student card. The NUS card available for students giving you access to a wide range of student discounts, deals and offers from high street companies
