Daily Archives: January 13, 2010

Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Management, Financial Services, Insurance, Investment, Money, Personal Finance

The Children’s Mutual Launches New Pocket Money Site To Help Families

According to new research from The Children’s Mutual, the old saying that good manners cost nothing is not strictly true, as 44% of children are now financially rewarded for good behaviour.

Award winning Child Trust Fund Provider, The Children’s Mutual, has revealed that as well as good behaviour, parents are also offering an ‘honest wage’ for a hard day’s work. 37% of children ‘earn’ their pocket money by helping out with chores around the home and 19% fill their piggy banks by helping out with the family pet.

As the Government announces plans to make financial education compulsory for children as young as five from 2012, leading Child Trust Fund provider The Children’s Mutual has launched a new Pocket Money Petz microsite which has been created to help parents teach their children about pocket money and saving.

Children can choose a ‘virtual’ pet, from a dog to a dinosaur, to help them learn to boost, manage and save their pocket money earnings, and while children have fun deciding which character to accompany them through PocketMoneyPetz, their parents can put a value against each chore to help them learn the value of money.

Tony Anderson, Marketing Director at The Children’s Mutual, said: “As children are receiving more and more pocket money in return for undertaking household chores, helping with the family pet and their good behaviour, we created Pocket Money Petz to help spark their imaginations about earning and saving money.”

According to The Children’s Mutual research, the going rate for pocket money has increased by a whopping 83% in a single generation from when their parents received pocket money until today. Parents are already giving an average of £2.85 a week to their child, with many (27%) parents expecting to increase this amount by £1 each year.

However, despite the rise in pocket money, The Children’s Mutual research showed that parents are often unsure of how much to ‘pay’ their children and can feel pressurised to compete with how much other parents give. Nearly one in five (18%) said there was pressure to conform to a ‘market rate’ and 16% said they feel they pay too much but ‘have to go with what everyone gets’. In response to these concerns, The Children’s Mutual has also created a Parents’ Pocket Money Guide which offers advice on teaching children about money, how to give pocket money, when to start and how much to give and how often.

Via EPR Network
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Banks, Checking & Savings, Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Money, Personal Finance

Barclaycard Reveals Christmas Spending Increased In 2009

Barclaycard Payment Acceptance reveals spending on credit and debit cards was up this Christmas compared with last year.

Barclaycard Payment Acceptance, one of the largest processors of debit and credit card transactions in the UK has announced that shoppers spent more on debit and credit cards from 19 December to 31 December 2009* compared to the same period last year. This new data from Barclaycard provides a snapshot of how customers of all UK banks and credit cards were using their cards over this period.

The data showed that the busiest day prior to Christmas Day for turnover came on the 23 December with £497m being spent. After Christmas Day, sales peaked on the 29 December with £376m being spent.

Other highlights from the data include:

– Total turnover over the period was £4,085m compared to £3,989m in the same period in 2008 – a 2.4% increase
– Post Christmas spending up in 2009 against 2008 – £1,683m versus £1,642m
– Christmas Day – £24m over 0.7m individual transactions processed
– Christmas Day transactions peaked at 12.08pm with 32 transactions a second
– Boxing Day saw an average credit card transaction of £72.46. This was largely driven by the DIY and electronic stores sectors
– Online retailers saw £9.5m of turnover on Christmas Day compared to £8.1m for Christmas Day 2008 – an increase of 17%

Marc Pettican, Head of Sales at Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance said “Our retailers have seen an increase in turnover compared to the same period last year with over £4 billion being spent. We’ve also seen a stronger post-Christmas performance as shoppers take advantage of the sales discounts and consider the effects of the imminent VAT increase.”

Via EPR Network
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Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Management, Financial Services, Insurance, Investment, Money, Personal Finance

One In Five Parents Has A Will

According to new research by leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider The Children’s Mutual, just 18% of parents have written a will, yet many are unaware that should the worst happen and the parents die without having appointed a guardian, the child may not be looked after by their chosen carer and it will be up to the courts to decide where they live. The Children’s Mutual is therefore urging parents to make and keep just one New Year’s Resolution this year – to write a will.

According to research by The Children’s Mutual, the majority of parents who hadn’t written a will said it was because the task was ‘sitting on the to do list’ but wasn’t a priority (35%), 32% said they hadn’t found the time and 27% said they couldn’t afford to write a will. To help address these concerns, The Children’s Mutual has put together a simple Will Writing Checklist which is available on request to assist parents ahead of writing a will and is offering a discounted rate for a standard will of £50 plus VAT through its Will Writing Service in partnership with Flint Bishop Solicitors.

The Children’s Mutual is calling on parents to act to protect their children and is urging the one in three (27%) parents it surveyed who said they planned to write a will, to do just that this year.

Tony Anderson, Marketing Director at The Children’s Mutual, said: “The majority of parents have writing a will on their to do list but we’re urging them to put their New Year’s Resolutions to good use in 2010 and make it happen. While it’s something no parent wants to think about, getting a will written and their paperwork in order so they know their child will be cared and provided for will be a huge weight off their mind.”

Of the parents questioned who have a will, their top reasons for writing one were to ensure their partner inherited their estate and because they wanted to decide who would look after their children should the worst happen.

Via EPR Network
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