The Salary Calculator

UK economy turns around

So finally, the news we’ve been waiting for – the UK economy has come out of the longest recession since records began. In the 3 months to the end of December, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the UK grew by 0.1%. This is only a very small growth, but it’s growth nonetheless – for the previous 6 quarters UK GDP had been shrinking.

This is a very encouraging sign, especially since the UK was one of the last major economies to still be in recession, others having returned to growth some months earlier. However – before we break open the champagne we should note that these are only preliminary figures – often GDP figures are corrected up or down at a later date, as explained here. Also, 0.1% is only a low growth rate and most analysts are predicting slow growth for the rest of 2010.

Still, after the recent turmoil a few quarters of good, solid, sustainable growth should stabilise the economy and see the job market (and mortgages and loans) pick up as confidence increases. A stronger national economy should also help the Pound make back some of its recent weakness against other currencies – although, again, this is likely to be a slow process.

Tags: Economy, Foreign Currency, foreign exchange rates, pound, recession, recovery

Time to make some changes

2010 beckons and the start of a new year is for many people the time to sort out their career or their finances. The Salary Calculator is here to help you if you want to make some changes to your financial situation.

It might be time to look for a new job – the Christmas break gives one time to consider career plans, and you might think that in January you’ll start looking for new employment, or talk to your employer about a promotion. Use The Salary Calculator when comparing salaries so you know how much extra it would make to you each month if you got that pay rise.

If you need some extra money each month, to save up for a holiday or a new car say, then use the Required Salary Calculator to work out what salary you need to look for to get that extra take-home. There’s hope that early in 2010 we’ll hear that the UK has finally left recession and things will start to pick up – including the job market.

If you’re not interested in a new job, you can consider sorting out your finances. Use the Mortgage Repayment Calculator to get an idea of the effects of remortgaging in 2010, or the Debt Consolidation Calculator to see what you could save by taking control of all of your loans. Why not try to get debt free in 2010?

Here’s to a great new year for everyone, I hope that The Salary Calculator will help you with your money in 2010!

Tags: 2010, careers, debt, Economy, job hunting, Jobs, Loans, Mortgages, Pay As You Earn, pension, recession, recovery, tax rates, The Salary Calculator

Pound falling against the Euro

I have a trip to Paris coming up and it’s prompted me to check out the current exchange rate on the excellent X-Rates site. As you’ll see if you click on that link, Sterling has been falling over the last month or so.

As I wrote a few months ago, the Pound had improved both against the Euro and the Dollar during the summer months, which was good news for those of use on holiday there. It didn’t reach the highs of 2008, but it had improved since last winter. However, during August and particularly in September, a lot of the ground the Pound had made up was lost against both currencies. The pound is currently worth €1.09, from a high during the summer of €1.18, making travelling to Europe very expensive for us Brits.

I believe the reason for the Pound’s decline is the fact that the UK is still in recession whereas the powerhouses of Europe, Germany and France, have successfully grown their economies. Hopefully we will see in the next few months Britain exit from recession, and then the Pound will become a more attractive currency for investors, making it stronger and (importantly) worth more.

Tags: dollar, Economy, euro, Foreign Currency, foreign exchange rates, holiday, holiday money, pound, recession, recovery

Escaping from recession

Recently there have been some news reports of other countries such as France, Germany and Japan managing to get out of recession. What this means is that the total size of their economy, or GDP, has increased over the last quarter. Britain’s economy is still in decline, but since this is a global recession signs of recovery in other counties (especially those we trade closely with) is encouraging.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean very much for you and me. After a couple of quarters of stable growth, we should see loans and mortgages get easier to come by and unemployment start to fall – but right now I’m afraid that even if our economy stabilises or starts to grow again it will be very cautiously.

Tags: Economy, Loans, Mortgages, recession, recovery

Negotiate a price when buying online

The recently-launched website Aroxo is helping consumers to save money and negotiate a good deal in the midst of the credit crunch. Capitalising on the fact that when money is tight, sellers are often willing to bargain with buyers to secure a sale, the founders of Aroxo launched a site to allow you to negotiate a price even when buying online.

The system works quite simply – sellers have registered a list of products they stock and their “normal” prices. Buyers then browse the site and find a product that they wish to buy. Instead of comparing prices, or competing in an auction, the buyer then enters the amount of money they would like to pay for the item. All the sellers of the item are notified of this intent to buy, and make offers to the buyer – the buyer then reviews the offers and can choose to accept any of them, or to negotiate further if they wish. The buyer doesn’t commit to a purchase with their first offer, so there is nothing to lose.

Because it takes time for the offers to be made by the sellers, this approach lacks the “instant purchase” appeal of normal shopping online – but if waiting a day or so can save you a lot of money then surely it’s worth it – and the chances of buyer’s remorse are lessened also. Aroxo is currently focused on consumer electronics but they have plans to expand into other markets, and if you planned to make such a purchase it could save you a significant amount in these tight times. However, don’t buy things you wouldn’t normally have bought just because you got a good deal – that’s not the way to save money!

More details are on the Aroxo website.

Tags: consumer electronics, ecommerce, Economy, electronics, online shopping, recession