Moneynet in The Press
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don't let an early christmas payday turn into a new year financial hangover
Published: 14/12/2009 |
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Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.co.uk warns consumers that failing to keep tabs on their current account balance over the Christmas & New Year period can prove a very costly mistake. December is undoubtedly the most expensive time of the year for many people so it’s a great help if your employer shows a little Christmas generosity and pays your salary a week or two early at this time of year. However with all those presents to pay for plus additional parties and nights out celebrating with family and friends, by getting paid earlier than usual it’s even easier to lose track of your finances. Failure to check the state of your current account and adopting a worry about it later attitude could see you run out of cash and faced with some hefty bank charges early in the New Year. If you don’t have an agreed overdraft or you think you could do with a little more financial breathing space, contact you bank or building society and arrange an authorised overdraft to see you through to January payday. This can usually be arranged very quickly either online, by telephone or popping into your local branch. Once you’ve got your limit arranged, make sure you check your account on a regular basis – there’s no excuse not to do this these days with the information available 24x7 online or via a cash point machine. To highlight the importance of staying within your agreed limit, the table below shows how much it will cost you if your bank agrees to pay two £75 cheques presented on the same day that take you £150 over your limit and then your account remains overdrawn by this amount for 7 days until your January salary is received. The problem with unauthorised overdraft charges is that there’s no common policy – some providers charge daily, some charge monthly, some do both and the level of charges varies widely.
*£25 not payable if this is your first overdraft increase in last 6 months Source: Moneynet research 14.12.2009.
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