Financial Advice

<BODY link="#800000"> <h1>Money</h1> <p><b><font face="Arial" size="2"><img border="0" src="Money.gif" alt="Money" align="right" width="177" height="225"><img border="0" src="../initials/m.gif" alt="M" align="left" width="70" height="47">oney is often said to be the root of all evil. In fact the correct version of the proverb says that it's the love of money that causes all the problems and it certainly stirs high emotions in people. Money actually represents the ability to buy things and do things and this is what we all want to do.</font></b></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">Dickens summed in up through the voice of Mr Micawber who said:</font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">"<i>Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds, nineteen shillings and sixpence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds and sixpence, result misery.</i>"</font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2"> A bit long winded perhaps, and you have to know a bit about pre-decimalisation money to understand it, but what he's saying is that if you spend more than you earn - by even a small amount - the result is misery. And vice versa.</font></p> <p><font face="Arial" size="2">In Dickens' day everyone used cash and you either had some or you didn't. And if you had no money you couldn't buy anything, even food. No credit cards in those days. Of course it was possible to go into debt if you borrowed some money or had groceries delivered on credit but you had to be fairly respectable to be able to do so - and if you defaulted you went to prison. It was a simpler life and we wouldn't want to go back to it. </font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2">But today's world is almost the opposite of the one Dickens lived in. Banks and building societies almost fall over each other trying to lend you money or extend you credit. The advertisements on this page may even be doing it right now! And it's very tempting to go along with them because there's so much in the shops to buy and, like most people, you probably have a wish list as long as your arm and you don't want to wait. But although you won't get sent to prison for being in debt Mr Micawber's advice is still pretty sound. Read on to gain the knowledge you need to live in today's fast-paced world.</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2">It's not just me who says you should learn about money. There's currently a growing pressure to include finance as a subject in schools because people in the UK are generally very lacking in knowledge about how to manage their money. This section contains the essential facts you need to know. Make the leap now and read on.</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2">Find out about:<a href="interest.html"><br> Interest<br> </a>Mortgages<br> Saving<br> ISAs<br> Tax<br> More coming</font></p> </BODY>