In these times of financial uncertainty we are all looking to reduce costs where we can whilst, if at all possible, retaining the quality of services and lifestyles we have become used to. I have been looking at motoring breakdown cover as it’s one of those things that most of us would not want to be without even though we hope we won’t require it’s services.

It can be a fairly expensive annual bill. The RAC and the AA charge around £135 for a years cover for Roadside, Recovery, Home Cover & Onward travel which doesn’t sound too bad at 37 pence per day and even sounds like good value but it is still £135 to be found each year. Today I discovered an alternative company, Gem Motoring Assist who charge quite a bit less for a similar sounding service.

Gem have been around since 1932 and were originally known as the Company of Veteran Motorists with the aim of reducing motoring accidents. They introduced their low cost Breakdown Cover service in 1978 and GEM Motoring Assist has recently been voted No. 1 for Roadside Assistance in the Driver Power Survey of over 32,000 readers of Auto Express magazine (July 2008).

So they have a decent pedigree and at £79.65 for a years cover they seem very well priced. They are currently offering a free extra family members cover as well, provided that the extra person lives at the same address.

I have tried to see what pitfalls there might be but the only significant differences I can see between Gem and the RAC is that Gem covers you only whilst driving whereas the RAC covers you even as a passenger and Gem don’t seem to cover light goods vehicles and left hand drive cars.

All in all they seem to be offering a very similar package at an excellent price and if you plan on getting motoring breakdown cover I suggest you take a look at their website…GEM Motoring Assist

If you are a current member of this breakdown service please feel free to comment with your experience of the service you have received.

Money Magic: Seven Simple Steps to True Financial Freedom (Quick Reads)

We live in a society where money is the oil that keeps everything flowing yet most of us have only a basic understanding of money. We understand the benefits that money can bring which is why we borrow money to achieve those aims but most of us pay little attention to the difficulties and problems that borrowing can bring until it hits us in the face.

The nation has been on a spending spree for the last decade, spending money we didn’t have in the belief that we were better off than we really were. We had good reason to think we could afford it. Why worry about the odd thousand pounds here or there when your house was going up in value by thousands each month.

Many people saw their increasing house price as money they could spend so they borrowed against their property to free up the cash. Unfortunately the increase in wealth was just an illusion and we are all being brought back to earth with a bump. Many people are discovering that their house which they thought was an investment has turned out to be a millstone around their necks.

We all got a bit carried away with this idea that house prices would just go on rising forever. It was clearly unsustainable but too many of the people giving advice had their own interests tied up in a continuing property boom so at best they were blinkered and could only see the positive side and at worst they were less than truthful or simply stupid.

So, we are where we are and no amount of tears will change the situation. We have to live with our debts and deal with them. Managing debt is essentially a simple process, though it gets more complicated the more debts you have but at it’s heart is the basic fact of money coming in and money going out.

You probably have a finite amount of money coming in to your household each month and you need to manage that money to make all your repayments, buy your food and pay your utility bills. You need to understand what your financial situation is and to do that, you need to analyse your income and expenditure.

Start keeping records of your spending on everything. Record every payment made for anything right down to that bag of crisps or bar of chocolate you were tempted by at the local store. It is only by having all your financial details laid out in front you that you will begin to get a true understanding of your financial situation and only by understanding your situation will you be able to start working to get yourself on a more secure financial footing.

Money Magic: Seven Simple Steps to True Financial Freedom (Quick Reads)

The Bank Of England has once again cut the bank rate by a massive one percentage point bringing the interest rate to just 2% which is the lowest it has been since 1951.

If the rate cut is passed on by lenders it should help millions of people who are struggling with debts and the cost of living and will make life a little easier for businesses struggling in the face of the consumer spending slowdown.

Most of the big mortgage lenders are likely to cut their rates to match the rate reduction though some mortgages which are based on the bank rate plus a percentage have limits on how low they drop. They have a limit that says the rate will not drop below a certain figure whatever the bank rate is.

It remains to be seen if the credit card companies can be bothered to cut their interest rates. They have shown little concern for doing so in the past and as we speak a typical credit card is charging around 19% and the bank rate as of today is 2%. No wonder the credit card companies can afford plush offices.

Let us hope that the credit card companies do respond and make some significant cuts in their interest rates. It would probably benefit more people than the cuts in mortgage rates though the amounts involved might be smaller.

Money Magic: Seven Simple Steps to True Financial Freedom (Quick Reads)