I have had a strange issue going on for almost 2 years now for which I have only just found a solution – my credit card has been declined online for no apparent reason on multiple websites.
It doesn’t happen every time that I buy things, but maybe only about 10% of times. Continue reading Credit Card Declined Online
There was a post on a facebook group I am on recently where someone asked on ideas to feed 4 people for 8 days for less than £20. In fact the specific amount was £17.64 and they actually wanted lunch and dinner but I thought that this was a good challenge to undertake so here is my list of dinners for that amount: Continue reading Feed 4 People for 8 Days for Less Than £20
Raiding your child’s piggy bank is not something that I would generally suggest although I am sure there are plenty of people who have suddenly found themselves short of cash or just some change that have needed to do it in the past!
But it might be important that you do it before the middle of October 2017!
The reason for this is the introduction of the new £1 coin that is happening on 28th March of this year. The new £1 coin will be completely different to the old round one as it will be 12 sided and not round for starters. There are many other aspects of the new pound coin that will be different from the old one in a bid to stop counterfeiters.
You will still be able to use the old £1 coin until 15th October 2017 but after that nobody is obliged to accept the coin. However you will be able to pay it in to most post office and bank accounts, even though you will likely not be able to spend it.
So it is probably a good idea to maybe empty out that piggy bank and either swap it for new coins when you get them, or maybe pay it in to a child’s savings account if they have one.
It will be easier to do this before the 15th October deadline as you (or they) will be able to spend it in shops along with the new one pound coin.
So on 15th October 2017 the old one pound coin will no longer be legal tender.
If you are reading this and it is after the 15th October 2017 deadline and you have found a stash of the old £1 coins then take them into your bank and they should be able to credit them to your account.
No doubt there will be plenty of people finding £1 coins down the back of sofas and in clothes for quite a while to come!
If you run a small business and want to take credit and debit card payments when you are out and about then you might be interested in one of the mobile card payment options that are available.
Sum Up is just one of the those that is available and below I have a discount code for you!
Personally I have been using Sum Up for around 2 years now and I find it really easy to use with only a 1.95% charge on transactions. it enables me to take credit and debit card payments wherever I am with little fuss and the payments are sent over to my bank account within a few days.
All you need to use it is the terminal and a smartphone to connect to (and 3G/4G/wireless) and you can take payments from most cards including American Express.
This can be really useful if you are somewhere there isn’t a cashpoint nearby or even if you sell stuff that is at a price point where people may not have that much cash on them.
So anyway, if you are interested in taking a look at Sum Up then you an get a £20 discount on the price of the terminal if you follow the link below:
Many people die intestate and leave assets that can be worth a lot of money. But if no relatives can be found then these assets can go to the Crown. A list of estates that remain unclaimed is held and is called the Bona Vacantia list.
Whenever someone dies in England, if they do not leave a will advising who they wish to leave their assets to, and if no-one comes forward to claim that inheritance within 12 years of their death, their entire estate goes to the Treasury – i.e. the UK Government gets it all.
Because the government say that they would rather have the money go to the rightful heirs than themselves, the government have set up a list which can be accessed by anyone online, which shows all of the names of the estates that they have registered where no-one can be found to claim the inheritance. That list is called the Bona Vacantia list which means ‘vacant goods’. Anyone can search through this list to see if any of their deceased relatives are on the list and liable to leave an estate that could be valuable.
Only certain people are allowed to claim against an estate and that is close relatives, further details are given below.
Only certain relatives are able to claim against a Bona Vacantia Estate. The simple explanation is that the person must be a blood relative of the deceased and be one of the following:
Obviously it can get a bit more complex than this but this is the essential list of beneficiaries. If any of the beneficiaries have themselves died and left children then they will then become entitled to that share.
In order to claim an entitlement the beneficiaries must have evidence that they are who they say they are and that they are related to the deceased in the way they claim. This can be done by getting appropriate copies of birth, marriage and death certificates from the appropriate Registry Office.
You can find a full list of names of those who have died intestate (without a will) and for whom no relatives can be found, on the website in either the form of a list or by searching for a particular name or area where someone may have died. Obviously if the deceased has quite a common surname then it is going to be difficult to find relatives – for example, there are over 100 names on the list with the surname Jones so those are going to be more difficult to solve.
However, there are names on the list that are more distinctive and rare like the following:
Ignat Bladezki
James Anthony Blenkey
Frank Arthur Booton
Gertrude Maud Chitty
George William Flippance
Alan John Hankinson
Edward Lish
Edward Onions
Ellen Deborah Parker-Husband
Jean Albert Recordon
May Kathleen Sackett
These are just a small selection of names from the list, there are many more unusual and common surnames of people who were residents of England when they died. To find out the full list of names or to search through them you can check here.
If you do not have a will and you die then there are strict criteria set out by law, as to who will get the value of your estate on your death. Obviously then, if those people are not the beneficiaries that you would actually want to receive all your worldly goods then you need to make sure that you have a will specifying your wishes.
A lot of people do not think about making a will until they feel like they are ‘getting old’! It is put off from year to year because we either do not want to think about it or just think it will not happen to us at any time soon.
However, it can be quite simple to make a will (as long as your affairs are not too complex). Although it is best to get a will drawn up by a solicitor, you can also get a kind of ‘readymade’ will where you just need to fill in the details. Once you have specified your wishes in this document and completed it according to the instructions, it is valid in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
With a will costing less than £20 there is really no need to put off completing one, even if this is a more simple version for the interim until you get a solicitor to draw up a more complex will. You can get legal forms to complete a will online – see the link on the left for one particular example.
