Often, you do not need to own a house to get an unsecured loan. Unsecured loans, also known as personal loans, are loans that do not require collateral of some sort (such as a house) as a condition of borrowing. Secured loans do require collateral, and often this collateral is in the form of a house. The big danger with a secured loan backed by your house as collateral is that you could default on the loan and lose your house.

If you are self-employed, or if your credit history is less than pristine, then you may have no choice but to seek a secured loan (assuming you own a house or something else that could be used as collateral). But if you have the credit history for it, an unsecured loan is not only possible, but desirable in most cases.

Cheap loans are unfortunately harder to come by than they were a few years ago due to the credit crunch. Lenders are more selective, and loan applicants with less-than-stellar credit ratings may find they’re faced with high interest rates. That’s why it is so important that you compare personal loans before signing anything. Compare not only interest rates, but fees as well. Sometimes an interest rate can be deceptively low, because the lender makes it up by taking large fees, although this will become less of a problem when the display of  Representative APRs is made compulsory in February as part of the Consumer Credit Directive. Compare all loan costs before choosing a lender for your unsecured loan.

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Prepaid cards are an easy and simple way to let you manage your spending. You top up the card with a cash sum and then you can spend up to your limit.

While free prepaid credit cards are growing in popularity in the UK, there are a number of fees associated with these cards. Keep an eye out for the following five fees on prepaid cards:

1. Deposit fee

You may have to pay a fee if you want to top up your prepaid cards. For example, if you top-up your card over the counter at a bank or Post Office, you may be charged for this deposit.

Avoid this cost by topping your card using telephone or online banking.

2. Card replacement fee

Your free prepaid credit cards might come with an admin charge if you ever need a replacement card. This may happen if your card is ever lost or stolen.

3. ATM withdrawal fee

Some prepaid cards may charge you if you use the card to withdraw cash at an ATM. This may be particularly true of a prepaid currency card which is designed for use when you are overseas.

Make sure you know if there are any ATM charges on your card. If there are, you may want to make fewer, larger withdrawals rather than using your card regularly for small amounts.

4. Purchase/online fees

Some prepaid cards may charge you a fee each time you use your card to buy goods or services. Different cards may make different charges depending on where you use your card (online or in stores) and may charge more if you use a prepaid currency card when overseas.

5. Card renewal fee

Although you may benefit from free prepaid credit cards, make sure you won’t be charged a fee when it is time for your card to be renewed. When your card expires, your provider may levy a fee to re-issue your card.

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When you sign up for direct debit payments to your gas and electric providers, the money is taken straight from your bank account by your provider on a specific date. This may be a monthly fixed amount, or a variable amount based on actual usage. Companies like direct debit payments because the payment is guaranteed, and they are easier to process. Therefore, many offer discounts to customers paying with direct debit. When you compare gas and electric, be sure to check for discounts for paying by direct debit.

Other advantages are not having to remember payment dates, thus avoiding late fees and penalties, no cheque writing or stamps, and the use of fixed payments allows you to spread energy costs throughout the year, which can help you budget. Your supplier is required to give you 14 days’ written notice if they want to change your payment date or amount. If they collect incorrectly, your building society or bank must give you a full and immediate refund, even if the supplier made the error.

When most people think of lower energy bills, they think of things like energy saver light bulbs, switching off appliances, and lowering the thermostat, but by simply switching to direct debit payments, you can have lower energy bills with very little effort on your part.

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In the current economic climate, moving home is difficult. Falling property prices mean that many people cannot afford to sell, while the difficulties in obtaining mortgage finance are well documented.

So, more and more people are choosing to stay put and improve their homes instead. And, secured loans are one option for funding your home improvements.

How does a secured home improvement loan work?

Secured loans allow you to borrow using the equity in your home. A lender will lend to you based on:

• Your income and outgoings
• Your credit rating
• The value of your property and the amount of equity in it

Home improvements at the lowest loan rates

Home improvements aren’t cheap. Recent research from channel4.com found that the average cost of a new bathroom is £3,250 if you hire a professional or £1,300 if you fit it yourself. Similarly, the average cost of a new fitted kitchen is £5,000.

So, if you are looking for the cheapest way to fund your home improvements, secured loans could be the answer. Make sure that you research the lowest loan rates by heading online and comparing the various loan providers.

Compare personal loans and secured loans for the best deals

Another option to fund your home redecoration is a personal loan. These are unsecured loans granted by banks to people with a good credit history and are generally for lower amounts and are taken over shorter periods than secured loans.

Personal loans may ensure you pay less interest over the term of the loan, but they can be more difficult to obtain and more expensive on a monthly basis. However, secured loans (as their name suggests) are secured on your home which means your property is at risk if you don’t keep up repayments on your loan.

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If you are planning to take a holiday outside Europe, you may think that purchasing a “worldwide” travel insurance policy will cover you wherever you may go. While in most instances you will be covered, there are almost always exclusions, and you should read through them carefully so you’ll know what’s covered and what is not.

If you are traveling to a country that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised staying away from, your travel insurance provider will almost certainly refuse claims from your travels there. Diseases, civil unrest, and terrorism are, for the most part, not covered by travel insurance policies, even worldwide ones. Go to the FCO website to check country by country for UK government travel warnings.

Also make sure you have adequate levels of coverage outside Europe. An air ambulance from the eastern coast of the U.S. can cost up to £45,000, while a scheduled flight with medical escort from Australia can run up to £20,000, so it’s vital that if you travel outside Europe you have enough coverage to provide at least partial relief from these high costs.

Always compare travel insurance, whether it’s single trip travel insurance, annual cover, European cover or worldwide cover. Your travel cover should correspond closely with your most probable needs, and you should be well-versed in any exclusions before you depart.

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The overwhelming majority of Brits have stuck with their internet service provider for ages – well beyond what they are required to by their contract. The good news is that nearly 90% of high speed broadband customers are in a position to compare broadband and immediately switch if better offers are available.

2011 will continue to see the rollout of optical fibre, though the final bit of connection to the house will still be copper in almost all cases. However, this will increase access to high speed broadband and make it easier for customers to find and take advantage of the best broadband deals.

Those who are only partway through their contracts, and who find themselves tethered to a higher tariff while new customers can grab cut-price deals, will find that calling up a provider and pointing out this discrepancy will often result in the provider offering to change up a contract to make it cheaper.

The continued extension of fibre optic broadband will allow ISPs to provide consumers with the on-demand videos, HD movies, and other applications they demand. Though North America and Western Europe have the greatest broadband penetration, it doesn’t mean that broadband has saturated the market yet. Consumers in the UK should continue to see their options increase for getting great broadband at reasonable prices in 2011.

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If you have alternatives to prepayment meters for your gas and electric services, then it’s well worth your while to compare gas and electric and consider them. While in theory prepayment meters may seem to save money and cut energy bills, in reality, it is not always the case.

Although a 2004 EU directive prohibits energy suppliers for charging higher tariffs for prepayment customers, many providers either ignore it or get around it by saying the extra charges are for maintenance on the meters themselves. The result is a higher rate per unit with prepayment meters than with other payment methods.

Additionally, if you’re on a prepayment meter, you have to be able to access a Post Office or PayPoint shop to buy credit when your supply runs low. You’ll also be paying a bit towards service charges and past money owed when using your prepayment meter today, and of course the meter collects for appliances that have to be left on all the time, like fridges. You also do not have the option of spreading payments out over warm weather and cold weather seasons the way you would with other payment methods, although you will of course use less energy in the summer so will have to put less in the meter.

If you are unable to change to a payment method (such as direct monthly debiting) other than a prepayment meter, you do still have the option of switching to another provider with better rates while still using the prepayment meter.

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Buying broadband isn’t easy.

You want the best broadband in terms of reliability and speed, but you also need it to be easy to use. You then have to choose between a number of providers, each with different payment plans.

So, to find the best broadband, follow our simple guide.

What is broadband?

Broadband is the most popular way of connecting your computer to the internet. Unlike the old ‘dial-up’ method, access to the internet is always available around the clock, whether you are using your home telephone or not. You typically pay a monthly fee for your broadband service.

Broadband allows you 24 hour access to the internet for shopping, sending e-mails, using social network sites or to download music or movies.

How does broadband work?

Most broadband comes into your home via a traditional BT telephone line or through a cable connection. Many people then have a ‘wireless router’ which ‘broadcasts’ the broadband signal and makes it available throughout your home.

It is now also possible to get mobile broadband. This is broadband internet access via a mobile telephone signal (often called a ‘dongle’.)

What should I take into account when I compare broadband?

When looking for the best broadband, there are various factors that you should take into account.  These include:

• Availability – not all broadband providers operate in all postcode areas. Use an online service to find the best broadband in your area
• Speed – Faster broadband speeds allow you quicker access to the web. Downloading music and movies from the web is also quicker if you have the best broadband
• Download limits – A low download limit may restrict your ability to watch movies or download music online
• Broadband bundles – A common way to buy the best broadband it to include it in a so-called ‘broadband bundle’. You pay one monthly charge for broadband, landline telephone calls and a digital TV subscription

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Everyone wants to reduce their electric bills. However, in the 21st century, many of you will also want to help the environment by going green with your energy supply.

Now, it is possible to get cheap gas and electric and also help the planet. Green energy tariffs are increasingly common with energy suppliers so, you can literally save the earth.

What is green energy?

There are three main types of green energy:

• Solar – energy from the sun
• Wind – energy generated from the wind using wind farms
• Water – energy from running water such as waves and rovers

An agreement called the Renewables Obligation requires licensed electricity suppliers in the UK to source 10.4 per cent of electricity from renewable sources, such as water or wind.

Compare green gas and electric

Most of the major UK energy suppliers have a ‘green tariff’ and many of them don’t charge you any extra on a monthly basis.

Energy suppliers have various different methods of providing cheap gas and electric on environmental tariffs. Common green energy plans will:

• Match all of your electricity usage with energy from renewable sources such as hydro-electricity and wind power
• Contribute to funds which promote the research and development of alternative energy sources
• Give you free energy saving guides and products to promote green energy
• Offset existing pollution

As most energy suppliers offer a ‘green tariff’, it is vital that you compare gas and electric prices from the major suppliers to ensure you are getting the best deal for you. The easiest way to do this is to head online and use a reliable utilities price comparison site. You can compare gas and electric prices as well as the green energy commitments of the major energy suppliers.

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Choosing the right caravan insurance is, like with car insurance, a matter of finding policies that meet your needs, and comparing prices, voluntary excesses, and other details. But, where do you start when you want to buy caravan insurance? Answering the following questions will help you narrow down your options:

1. Will you be using your caravan for overseas trips?
2. How many miles do you plan to put on your caravan in a year?
3. Where will you store or park it when it’s not in use?
4. Do you want new-for-old cover, or the less expensive market value replacement cover?
5. Who will be driving or towing your caravan? (Age limits may apply with some policies.)

Once you have this information, you can then begin comparing policies for coverage and price. Not all policies offer the same cover, so it’s important to find one that corresponds well with your plans for using your caravan. Like with regular motor insurance, you can compare caravan insurance online, saving time and money.

For tourers, adding alarms and tracking devices can help keep premiums down. Some policies may require the use of hitch locks and wheel clamps. With static caravans, a flood-free location will help with premiums and with motor homes, generally, the older the driver is, the better.

Whatever the type of caravan, membership in a recognised caravan club can result in a discounted premium, because it generally indicates responsible use. Secure storage for your caravan when it is not in use is also viewed favourably by many insurers.

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