As we know the cost of sending a child to university continues to increase every year but with the new coalition government it looks like many young people will miss out on the opportunity altogether as the average family will be unable to afford the new fees.

How much are university fees going to go up?
In England and Wales fees are set to go up from £3,290 to a staggering £9,000 a year, this will leave the average university leaver with debts of at least £43,500. The overall debt includes student accommodation, food, transport and other living expenses.

England will no longer be a place where students travel from all over the world to come and seek a university qualification as it will soon be known as the most expensive place to study in the world.  Those that take out a student loan to cover the cost of university fees will only start paying it back when the earn the minimum amount required usually between £15,000 to £21,000. The more money a graduate makes then the more he is expected to pay back a year. The majority of students will only manage to pay off their debts when they reach their 50’s and those that cannot repay in time will have the debt written off after 30 years.

As a result of this mind boggling increase in fees parents and potential students will seek university placements abroad instead of their home country. Many countries around the world offer scholarships and bursaries to encourage young people to come over and learn whilst experiencing a different culture. All top universities around the world will welcome this new fee as it will benefit their country more as more families will look at ways to save money.

One other thing that just doesn’t make sense is graduates from a few years ago are still struggling to find a job in their field so they have been forced to work in low paid jobs such as call centres and supermarkets whilst they search for their dream job. As a result of this many graduates are just about starting to pay off their students loans but when they want to settle down and buy a house they will find it even harder to get a mortgage due to unpaid debts.

Degrees are pretty much worthless in this country as there are simply not enough jobs to go around so I just don’t understand how it is justified to make people pay for something that they have no guarantee will pay off in the future.

As many people will be recovering from hangovers and over spending this festive period another blow awaits them in the coming year. Rent is set to increase nationwide as the demand for housing increases as first time buyers still struggle to get onto the property ladder. Most people putting their homes up for sale are refusing to reduce the asking price therefore most people who are on the average or lower than average salary are still not able to afford the strict requirements for a mortgage.

It has been 4 years since I last rented an average sized flat before buying my own house and I too can see how much rental properties are also charging ridiculous sums of money. In 2004 a one bedroom flat with a large lounge / diner, kitchen, bathroom and allocated parking in a well sought after location close to bus and train networks was in the region of £500 – £600 per month. The same type of accommodation is now more in the region of £700 – £800 so people who have invested in buy to let properties are still making money and the ones profiting in this recession. The hike in rent is expected to be between 10-15%!

Although landlords are not as successful as they were a few years ago they are still making more money than homeowners who need to sell their property as most are now just breaking even, falling into negative equity and making a loss rather than a profit.

Unfortunately there is little we can do about this sudden shift in demand for housing, even councils are struggling to re-home or find homes for people who are not able to afford private housing so councils are having to place people into temporary housing such as B&B’s and hostels. Buying a house may seem a stretch but it is well worth it in the long run, why work all your life with nothing to show for it? At least if you have your own home you will have access to some money by releasing some equity and also any children you may have will be left with some money when you pass away. Many first time buyers are also renting out a room or two to make some extra money during this hard financial time but remember that if you do this you will need to inform HRMC and may be liable to pay tax on such earnings.

Insurers have announced that they are taking more precautions when giving quotes on potential new customers. Instead of the routine questions of do you smoke, drink etc, questions such as ‘how much do you spend on petrol a week’ will also be included. Larger insurers such as Aviva are employing companies to monitor social networking sites so they can check what people are putting in their status update and check their photos etc.

Insurers are claiming that photos of you partying, staying out all night or going on holiday a lot will make a difference to how premiums are calculated. In total honesty how many people do actually tell the truth when answering the questions before you are given a quote? If you are a smoker looking for home insurance you won’t tell them that you are as you know the premium will go up. If you are a contractor and only work a minimum of 6 months a year then travel you won’t declare that either as they know the house is unoccupied for most of the year.

The solution is easy if you have a Facebook account then check the privacy settings so that status updates and photos are only available to view by friends only and not the whole public. It would seem like the most sensible option but most people forget that you can change the settings so the whole world can’t access your personal information.

If insurers will start snooping will it make a difference? I wouldn’t think so, most people will get up to speed of these things and they won’t be able to access everything on Facebook, but then again you shouldn’t be telling everyone that you are going on holiday or staying out all night etc. You can’t really blame insurers for taking on these extra measures as there are many articles that are giving tips on how to lower insurance premiums by lying. For example those that have more than one car but a driveway that allows parking for only one will lie and say that both are parked on a private driveway, just to bring the cost down.

Facebook is a great easy to keep in touch with family and friends that live too far to see on a regular basis, by having an account is allows people from all over the world to stay in contact. As many people have to save money on going out as people are being made redundant and jobs are harder to get and pay well Facebook is a way of keeping up to date with friends and their family as you may not be able to seem as often as you would like. If you have a Facebook account and are worried about snooping then check your privacy settings today to avoid having all your information made public.

As the countdown to Christmas begins many shoppers who have yet to start shopping for Christmas presents are penny pinching when it comes to finding the best deals. As this year’s bad weather has caused chaos on the roads shoppers are turning to the internet to do the bulk of their Christmas shopping to shield themselves from the arctic conditions. Those who have been brave enough to go Christmas shopping may find that the prices they pay are based on a postcode lottery.

Shoppers have complained that the price of goods vary from place to place, inner London has always been expensive but in the run up to Christmas people have found that prices for the same product in different areas but owned by the same store are different. People are having to pay as much as 80% in some areas compared to others; a Samsung camera was more than double the price in a Cambridge Curry’s store than anywhere else. Shoppers have been left outraged when this came to light just a few days ago.

It is a well known fact that competitors will also stage ‘50%’ sales because of a rival company but they are not always as competitive as they may seem. It would seem that those who have chosen to do most of their Christmas shopping online will save more money with minimum hassle. There are so many comparison sites that show you how much the prices for presents are varying this year. Also due to the bad weather retailers are enticing customers with free delivery and discounts of up to £20 off orders a set minimum total.

Tesco and Marks and Spencer’s are the worst offenders when it comes to overcharging and changing their prices, small inner city stores charge more than bigger outlets and supermarkets. But if you were to go on the website I am sure that the prices are lower that what is advertised in store. Retailers have hit back at these allegations saying that it is an error in pricing and the correct price would have been reflected when paying at the till, but one HMV customer found that the price for a DVD box set varied across 3 different cities, £18 in Birmingham, and £24.99 in Manchester and £28 in Cardiff.

Many shoppers will be caught out this year so it is worth checking well before buying; some places also have a price match guarantee so if you buy a product then find it cheaper elsewhere you will be refunded the difference. There are strict policies that need to be met before they refund the difference but if it was a large sum then just ask for a refund and buy from the cheaper rival company.

As you may have seen over the last few months Tesco have extensively promoted double clubcard points leading up to Christmas and like their motto says ‘every little helps’, but did it? The period for redeeming the points and turning those into vouchers have just expired over this last weekend but as many Tesco customers came to use their points the Tesco website crashed and queues inside Tesco to redeem points were too long.

Many people have been disappointed with the way Tesco have handled this promotion whilst others feel Tesco are not to blame. Customers who shop at Tesco on a regular basis would have seen a small difference when coming to redeem points whereas others would not have seen a major difference. Tesco clubcard holders should have been able to redeem their points with money off vouchers for champagne, toys, clothes and electrical items but there have been many people who were not able to do this in time and have missed out since the deadline closed on Sunday. It would seem that the nation is torn as to whose fault it actually is, were Tesco at fault for not being able to handle the volume of requests or were Tesco customers to blame for not redeeming their points sooner?

There are many happy customers who are loyal to Tesco and argue that Tesco were not at fault and customers should have redeemed their points as soon as possible but those who left it to the very last minute are the ones that missed out on being a loyal customer. With the recent bad weather most people have argued that this was the last thing on their minds when they have been advised to stay indoors and purchase only what they need. Tesco have still not confirmed if they will extend the offer for another week so that people can redeem their vouchers and save money on Christmas presents.

Double clubcard points at Tesco – if you missed out
If you are one of the unfortunate customers that have not been able to redeem your double clubcard points it looks like you will have a long wait before customer services can get back to you as it is estimated that hundreds and thousands of people have missed the deadline because of long queues in store and the website crashing or taking too long to load. They only thing people can do is to wait and see what Tesco will do but many angry Tesco customers have hit back and abandoned them and joined a rival supermarket instead claiming that they save even more money!

Black Friday is an American tradition that is usually held the Friday after Thanksgiving, retailers advertise top of the range products at bargain prices to encourage people to come and clear the stock before more is brought in. It’s extremely popular in the US and the UK has since followed suit with online retailer Amazon advertising its first ‘Black Friday’ with many products having 70% knocked off the price.

As many people geared up for 9am to buy these products they were sold out in as little as 2 seconds! The Advertising Standards Authority has agreed to an independent investigation and many people have complained about the lack of stock available. It would seem that it was a scam there is no way that an item can sell out in a click of a button so Amazon must have had a very limited supply to begin with.

It’s very cruel to be promising great bargains at this time of year when people are desperately trying to save money on their Christmas shopping. Maybe next time shoppers should try their luck on other internet retailers such as eBay or other auction sites as many of these must have items are unwanted gifts that are still new and unused.

If you find that you have been a victim of mis-selling or find a retailer who is promising bargains that don’t materialise then it’s worth contacting the Office of Fair Trading who will investigate and penalise them if necessary. Many people have complained about B&Q and Homebase in the past and have been successful, many retailers think they can get away with mis-advertsing and selling products do not let them get you and act fast.

Black Friday may be short lived here in the UK but in the US it is said to be far better with retailers having more stock than they need so the chances of getting a bargain in the US is higher than in the UK. Prices on Amazon US are also cheaper than the one in the UK but this has been for years and it doesn’t seem likely that US prices will be reflected in the UK any time soon.

There are still many people who have yet to start their Christmas shopping and very few who have finished so the next couple of weeks will be madness as shoppers continue to hunt down bargains to save some money. Everyone loves a good bargain and cannot resist the next must have gadget at a price too good to be true but at what lengths will people go to, to get luxury products on a small budget?

Retailers are taking advantage of the festive season and slashing prices on many expensive items such as food, drink and larger electrical items such as televisions. Christmas and New Year can get expensive as families usually drop in throughout the day so finger food and drinks should be plentiful. Many large supermarkets have been caught falsely advertising promotions that simply ran out too soon or were ridiculously low in the first place.

Most common scams to be aware of this Christmas

Bait sales – stores advertise a heavily discounted sought after item that isn’t in stock when you go to the store and buy it. Usually these products have a small quantity available in the first place so the likelihood of being able to purchase one is slim unless you camp outside the store from the early hours of the morning and are one of the first to enter the store. Marks and Spencer’s have been caught out just recently when a £30 bottle of champagne was advertised for only £10, customers complained when they ran out of this promotion as early as 9am!

Offers on bulk buying – supermarkets are guilty when it comes to advertising bulk buying as cheaper than buying smaller individual packs of the same item on offer. For example 3 for 2 or buy one get one free are not always cheaper than buying only what you need. Just the other day I found 500g of custard selling for £1.46 whereas 1kg of the same custard selling for £1.47, yet they were on the same shelf next to each other.

Drip pricing – this was once more popular with airlines as a small price is advertised then when other charges such as credit card fees and delivery are added on the original price goes up considerably more. High streets are doing this when it comes to items such as large electrical items that have failed to include delivery charges and holidays.

Limited period offers – offers that have a small time frame to lure customers into buying on the spot or in a very short time frame. Often these are done by furniture and electrical stores who claim that such offers are for a limited time only but in fact there is no end date as the stock needs to be shifted first. This puts many people in a difficult situation as they may think that they are missing out when in fact they are being forced into making a decision there and then.

Recommended retail price (RRP) reference – many shops are being cheeky by advertising a very high RRP price but selling for as little as 25%, in some cases they are hugely inflated and not at all realistic. Some retailers claim items costing £500 are reduced to a mere £50 but it is up to the customer to use common sense and a little research to see what the true cost is.

Try not to fall for the Christmas scams this festive period and shop around first before deciding if the deal you have found is a realistic one. People are known to travel far just to buy a present that looks too good to be true, if it seems just that then the chances are it is too good to be true, steer clear.