This negative price response seems to be due to the perceived lack of demand from official sectors to purchase the IMF balance – last year only 150 tonnes of a planned sale of 400 tonnes was sold.

Given the publicity that surrounded the Indian central bank’s purchase of gold, reluctance from other large central banks to take the IMF balance may be as a result of an unwillingness to disclose their views and subsequent moves relating to the dollar or gold. Instead they may be pursuing a strategy of steady accumulation over time in the secondary market.

2. In our view, recent euro weakness is the result of fiscal issues in Greece and other peripherals rather than a longer-term fundamental bearish issue. We therefore do not believe this is likely to be negative for gold in the longer-term.

3. Gold’s physical market – jewellery fabrication – appears to have been stronger in the early part of this year, suggesting acceptance of higher prices.

According to the World Gold Council’s latest update, global demand for jewellery dropped by 20pc in 2009, the biggest annual decline on record, while survey data was the weakest in over 20 years at less than 1,700 tonnes – nearly 50pc lower than 2005 – but it appears that this may now be reversing.

4. In theory, the longer-term impact of President Obama’s bank proposals on gold may be negative. Passage of his proposed legislation could curtail the volume of commodity trading, which on balance is likely to be negative for gold.

5. Actual and anticipated monetary tightening in China has also coincided with gold price declines this year. For example, on 12 January 2010 and 12 February 2010, the Chinese central bank announced an increase in bank reserve requirements in response to the rapid increase in bank lending.

The People’s Bank of China said it will raise the reserve-requirement ratio for banks by half a percentage point from Feb. 25, the second increase this year. This will make it standard for major banks to keep 16.5pc of their deposits on reserve, though rates can vary by bank. Further tightening may trigger similar declines.

6. Currently, there is the possibility that the Australian government may scrap the state-based royalty taxes that apply to mining projects and replace them with a uniform national resource rent tax in order to raise more revenue.

Should adoption of this tax discourage marginal gold production in the world’s third largest gold producer, the longer-term impact of the tax may be positive for gold prices.

7. We believe the result of January’s US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting is more bullish than bearish for bullion going forward.

Although the outlook for inflation is stable according to the Federal Reserve’s statement, we believe the reaffirmation by the Federal Reserve that rates are likely to remain low for an extended period should be supportive of gold prices in the long term.

Generally ISA accounts protect you from paying any tax on your savings– it’s a way for the government to encourage more people to save money securely.

Most people are confused as to how much they can save in their ISA account. Currently most adults save up to £7,200 in ISAs annually. The whole amount can be invested in a stocks and shares ISA or you could split it and put up to £3,600 in a cash ISA. In October 2009 anybody aged 50 or over was allowed a higher annual limit of £10,200, of which up to half can be saved as cash. In order to take advantage of this, you will need to be 50 on or before April 5 this year, to benefit in the current year. On April the 6th however, the limit will be increased to the same amount for everybody, regardless of age.

Just like ordinary savings accounts, there are different types of cash ISAs available- easy access, fixed rate and regular savings- meaning there is bound to be one that is suitable for your needs.

One point to consider when using an ISA account is that when you empty the sum from the account you will no longer benefit from the build up of interest. Those willing to save their money for a fixed period or who can accept other restrictions on their savings could benefit from a notice account or a fixed-rate bond.

If you have another ‘emergency’ savings account elsewhere and are only using your ISA to save for the long term then a fixed rate bond account could work best for you, although these accounts can tend to want lump sums paid in rather than smaller amounts deposited of money frequently. Clare Francis from moneysupermarket says, ‘Whether you opt for a stocks and shares, cash ISA or both will depend on largely on your investment objectives and time horizon.’

If you already have an ISA but have found an account which suits you better and wish to move to another provider, always make sure your account provider arranges the move for you. This will insure that you don’t lose any of the interest or seemingly exceed the ISA savings limit for the year.

ISAs differ from standard savings accounts in that interest is tax free meaning that those on the basic rate tax band will see a 20% return on their savings. People in the higher tax bracket could possibly benefit more- by around 40% interest.

Many people’s plans for the ”holiday of a lifetime” will be delayed – perhaps indefinitely – if the National Institute for Economic and Social Research is right about state pensions. But individuals who are willing to plan ahead – and save adequately to fund those plans – can still enjoy happy times after work.

They must be realistic, however, because – despite last month’s stock market rise – most pension fund values have fallen in recent years; and so have annuity yields. Here are 10 basic pre-retirement steps to help you make an informed decision about your plans.

1 Review your expenditure

You should start with your current outgoings and then revise this to take account of items that will change after retirement. You may, for example, have to replace a company car with your own – but you will save on commuting.

2 Make a list

Detail all your financial assets – not just pension funds – which have the potential to generate a future income, even if they are not doing so at present. That will allow you to calculate the maximum possible income that could be available.

3 Think about the real return

The results of points (1) and (2) above will determine whether you can afford to retire now and/or in what degree of comfort. One critical factor that needs to be accounted for now is the potential effect of inflation. While none of us knows what might happen to the rate of inflation, one sensible approach is to focus on the difference between the inflation rate and investment returns. It is that margin that is ultimately of greater importance than the headline rates on either side of the equation. For example, an inflation rate of 3pc per annum and an investment return of 5pc provides a real return – that is, in excess of inflation – of 2 per cent.

4 What is your attitude to risk?

This may change once you cease to enjoy a salary and are reliant on invested capital to produce income. This, in turn, may lead to a change in some of the investments held in your portfolio to reflect the most suitable asset allocation for your revised circumstances.

5 Can you defer your retirement?

While there are those who effectively have to retire at 65, there are others who have some flexibility over the timing. If the above process reveals that money is tighter than you would like, then perhaps it would be sensible to defer retirement until financial markets improve.

6 Should you buy an annuity?

Annuity rates have dropped recently so if you do not have to buy one just yet, it might be worth waiting for rates to improve. However, you must beware the risk that yields could fall further.

7 Are your assets in cash?

If you are thinking about retiring soon, then it is imperative you move your assets into cash, or near cash, before your retirement date. In the present climate, with annuity rates low and equities having fallen in value it makes sense to be in cash to protect the fund from further possible falls in value while you consider an annuity purchase.

Alternatively, if you have a fund of £250,000 or more and are considering an unsecured pension, otherwise known as income drawdown, then having a portion of the fund in cash to fund the first couple of years’ income payments is sensible.

Deferring annuity purchase and covering the income requirements with cash from your fund could mean by the time you look again at an annuity, equities will have recovered – boosting the potential value of your retirement fund – and annuity rates may also have improved. It is important, however, to beware the risk that share prices and, as mentioned earlier, annuity yields could fall further.

8 Cut your coat according to your cloth

In the current environment, it might make sense to consider not taking that expensive holiday or buying that sports car when you retire. Market conditions might dictate that instead of using a tax-free lump sum to fund a luxury purchase, you consider using it for more practical purposes such as covering living expenses.

9 Are you aged between 50 and 54?

It is worth remembering that from April next year, the earliest age at which we can access our pensions will jump from its current level of 50 to 55. It means anyone now aged between 50 and 54 has the option to take benefits immediately. However, from April 6 2010, you will have to wait until your 55th birthday.

10 Make provision for living longer

Improved longevity needs to be considered. According to the Office of National Statistics, (even allowing for the rise in state pension age for women to 65 being phased in between 2010 and 2020), the proportion of the population over state pension age is projected to rise to 23pc in 2031 – it was 16pc in 1971. Even though our activities and expenditure decrease with age, income will still need to cover the cost of living longer.

These steps should help you to decide if the financial goals and time frame you previously set yourself remain achievable in the present economic conditions. If you do need to replan then it’s important to take action sooner rather than later and to avoid leaving things to chance.

If you can afford to lock up your savings for a year or more, then you will get the best return on your money. Banks and building societies are struggling to raise money on credit markets, so need to attract money from retail savers, you and me in other words.

To this end many are offering gravity-defying rates to customers who are prepared to hand over their money for six months, one year or longer. Remember it is not a good idea to lock up all your savings in a fixed-rate bond, as you should keep a "rainy day" fund in an instant access account for emergencies.

2. Get online

Rip up your passbook and hang-up your telephone bank account, the best rates are usually reserved for internet-only accounts. These are cheaper for banks to run, so consumers can benefit with preferential rates.

3. Pay less tax

The Conservatives have pledged to abolish basic-rate tax on savings, while Gordon Brown has said Labor will do more to "help savers". But until politicians’ promises become policy savers can help themselves by ensuring any money squirreled away is saved tax-efficiently.

All non-taxpayers should complete a form to ensure all interest is paid gross, and that 20pc tax is not deducted automatically by your bank or building society. Those that pay tax should ensure that the first £3,600 (£5,100 from April 6 2010) they save each year is in a cash Isa, where returns are paid tax-free. Higher-rate taxpayers, may want to hold savings in the name of a spouse if they are in a lower tax bracket.

4. Watch out for short-term bonus rates

Although these are less prevalent than they used to be, many banks and building societies propel their savings account to the top of the best buy tables by offering short term hefty "bonus rates". But once these disappear your savings account may be barely keeping pace with inflation. By all means take advantage of these short-term deals, but make sure you switch once this bonus period ends.

5. Keep a watchful eye on your savings

Best buy account rarely stay at the top of the tables for long. But banks know if they lower rates, many of their savers will never switch. If you want to get, and to keep getting a good return on your savings, check every six months or so to ensure you are still getting a competitive returns.

But there is no need to suffer in silence. Simple steps can cut hundreds of pounds off annual fuel costs. I know because I have. In May, I realised my home was extremely energy inefficient. But eight months on, my gas bills have been cut from £69 a month to £25 a month – a saving of £528 a year.

In this, the third update in my year-long quest to cut my energy costs, I’ve also managed to reduce the amount of electricity we use with energy-saving gadgets, and cut back on our gas consumption by battening down the hatches with loft insulation, wooden blinds and adhesive foam tape.

And I even managed to grab a few freebies and take advantage of cashback offers along the way.

Find freebies before you switch

When we bought our house just over a year ago, I signed up for dual fuel with British Gas for its cheapest tariff, but 10 months later, I noticed the energy provider had brought out a much more competitive deal.

Many people wrongly assume that you must wait at least a year before you change tariffs, when in reality you could easily switch every six weeks, ensuring you are always on the cheapest deal. But remember to double check that you will not be charged hefty exit fees.

Before I switched, I took a few minutes to see if there were any incentives or freebies if I used a switching service. I was pleased to see that by switching through uSwitch.com via Moneysavingexpert.com, I was able to get 12 bottles of Virgin wine, which was conveniently delivered just in time for Christmas.

There are loads of freebies available when you switch energy providers. For example, you can earn £30 cash back from Moneysupermarket.com or the choice of £35 to spend at Amazon or John Lewis vouchers from SimplySwitch.com, provided you visit the websites through Moneysavingexpert.com first. Or simply switch dual fuel tariffs through Confused.com via cashback website Quidco.com and you could earn £24.

But remember, while it may seem logical that dual fuel should be cheaper, that is not always true. Always make sure when shopping around that you compare the cost of dual fuel with the price of separate gas and electricity tariffs.

Add to your savings and sign up for separate gas and electricity through uSwitch via Quidco and earn £23 for each one, meaning £46 cash back.

Avoid estimated bills and pay for what you use

Over the past few months, I have been submitting regular meter readings for my gas and electricity with a British Gas application that I have downloaded on my mobile phone. Free to download, the application also has a handy illustrated guide on how to read various types of meters.

Less than a quarter of people make sure that their bills are correct by double-checking them against meter readings and previous energy bills, according to uSwitch, the price comparison website.

If your gas and electricity meters are not read regularly, bills based on estimated readings mean you could pay for more gas or electricity than you actually use. And more importantly, if you do not submit your own meter readings, you will not be entitled to a refund should you find you have overpaid.

Say goodbye to standby

People normally assume that it’s the big electrical items in the home such as plasma televisions and computers that burn the most electricity, but it is smaller devices that are the worst culprits.

For instance, according to research by Tesco Compare, heated towel rails can cost about £10 per month to heat; while leaving the coffee machine on standby could add about £10 to your monthly electricity bill.

Another way to avoid unnecessary energy costs is by unplugging mobile phones. More than 9m households charge up their gadgets overnight, with 22m needlessly charged every day.

Gareth Kloet, head of utilities at Confused.com, said: "Until more smart chargers are introduced, which cut off when the mobile is fully charged, people will continue to waste both money and electricity by leaving mobile phones and other electrical items plugged in unnecessarily.”

Tom Wiggins, news editor at the gadget magazine Stuff, said: "Many people think it takes much longer to charge their mobile phones and iPods; normally it only takes a couple of hours."

Thinking about how both my partner, Gareth, and I charge our mobiles overnight made me consider all the other ways that we are wasting energy. I visited the Ethical Superstore (www.ethicalsuperstore.com), a website overflowing with more than 4,500 environmentally friendly gadgets, and became inspired.

Measure electricity usage and minimise it

One mistake we often make is leaving the laptop plugged in and charging, but this shop had the answer.

Most home computers and laptops feature a little-known setting known as ”eco mode”, which places the machine into an energy-saving state, without losing data. With the Ecobutton, £14.95, you press a button to activate your computer’s eco mode. When you are ready to start work again, press the button and your machine will be instantly reactivated at the same place you left off.

There’s an additional bonus, each time your computer is put into eco mode, the ecobutton software records how many carbon units and how much power and money you have saved by using the ecobutton.

Mr Wiggins said: "These types of products don’t necessarily save you electricity on their own, but they do a very good job of showing you exactly how much you’re using. Sometimes that wake-up call is exactly what you need."

When I started this mission in May to cut energy costs, we began using an OWL electricity monitor to watch our usage. But now, this addictive gadget goes one step further and will send all the information such as cost, kilowatts and carbon dioxide emissions, straight to your computer.

The software is simple to use and creates an easy-to-understand picture of your electricity consumption. It can build graphs, charts, make comparisons over specific periods and helps you to set electricity-saving targets and track progress.

The OWL USB Connect will work with all the OWL electricity monitors and costs £17.95.

British households are estimated to spend about 8pc of their electricity bill just powering appliances on standby, according to research by the Energy Saving Trust. I had a look around my house and counted at least five appliances that I had been leaving on standby every day.

So now I plug in the television, DVD player, set top box and stereo into an OWL Multi-Socket Power Saver Strip and make sure that when I leave the house or go to bed I turn off everything with the remote control.

There are two versions of the four-socket system with remote available. The Power Saver Strip with Individual Socket Remote Control (£23.99) allows the user to turn off each appliance one by one with a corresponding button on the remote, whereas the All On/All Off Remote version (£15.99) will turn all appliances off with a single button.

The former comes in handy if you wanted to leave just the set top box on to record something while you were out, for example.

The range of OWL sockets and remotes available means that you can build your own electricity-saving system according to where you need to manage usage and minimise standby time.

To get an idea of how much you could save by pulling the plug on gadgets and switching off standby, see the energy savings calculator (www.energysavings calculator.com).

Let there be some (solar) light

After I looked at all the wasted electricity indoors, it was time to look outside.

Starting in the front garden, I replaced the small spot lights that used to illuminate some of our shrubs with a set of Viva Solar Spotlights from B&Q. These lights retail at £42.95, but will last for years and can easily be freshened up by replacing the rechargeable battery inside. All solar lights at B&Q (www.diy.com) are currently on sale at 15pc off.

Looking in the back garden, the shed light and motion light by the back gate could also be replaced with solar-powered lights. We now don’t have to worry about leaving the shed light on and we installed the Eclipse Solar Shed Light (£11.03) from B&Q, which provides six hours of light once charged.

Beware of thieves, however. Our solar lights were recently stolen – along with one of the shrubs they illuminated – in what must have been a case of nightlight robbery. The shrub has mysteriously returned, but the lights are still missing.

To find the right solar light, look at www.mydeco.com. This website is like Google for homewares and will search more than 1,000 online shops in seconds. A quick search for solar lights returned 339 results at 18 different stores – 16 of which I had never even heard of before.

Wrap up and stay warm in the cold

With the coldest winter in decades upon us, I was so glad that I sought the advice of energy-saving specialists Ecocamel and draught-proofed our home before the cold set in at Christmas.

Over the past few months we have installed two more wooden blinds in the kitchen and front guest bedroom to keep out the cold and we have be amazed at the difference in the room temperature.

We ordered these made-to-measure window blinds from www.247blinds.co.uk and they cost £115 for the pair – much less than the cost at most high street stores. Because I bought them through the Quidco website, I even managed to earn 8pc cash back.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, just draught-proofing your doors can save about £25 a year on heating bills. A quick trip to Homebase and we found draught-excluder strips for just £7.99 for the bottom of each external door and a roll of soft foam draught-proofing tape to stick around the door frame for £4.99. To find a Homebase near you, visit www.homebase.co.uk.

Or insulate your home cheaply and effectively with a cold-protection curtain from the Ethical Superstore. This ultra-thin heat-reflecting curtain, which costs £3.33, is easy to hang on a curtain rail or tensioned cord, and can be cut to size.

Take a few minutes completing the online questionnaire at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk and receive a personalised report showing you how much energy and money you can save in your home.

If you would rather have a paper copy to complete, call 0800 512012 and speak to your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre.

The research from Aviva found they will have less than £750 a month, of which £490 is spent paying a range of bills, including housing, utilities, transport and clothing.

It came as a separate study warned that pension incomes have plunged 70 per cent in a decade.

Clive Bolton, a director at Aviva, said: “It is concerning to see that many people may be struggling to get by on such a low income in their later years. While we often think of retirement as ‘golden years’, the reality is that for a lot of people, the outlook is much bleaker.”

Those retiring in January 2000 could secure an annual pension of £9,000, but the figure has fallen sharply to a mere £2,500 for those retiring today, based on monthly contributions of £100 into a pension pot over 20 years.

The group said people in this age group typically had savings levels of just £8,593, while 40 per cent of pre-retirees admitted they did not manage to set aside any money at all on a regular basis.

At the same time, 20 per cent of people still owe at least £75,000 on their mortgage and only 76 per cent own their own home, compared with 84 per cent of people aged between 65 and 74 and 81 per cent of the over-75s.

Experts blamed the economic turmoil of the past decade and falling annuity rates, warning pension contributions need to rise to secure the same level of retirement income. They suggested those retiring now would have needed to save £355 a month.

Richard Eagling, of Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts, said: “Given that the last decade presided over a dotcom crash and a credit crisis, it is hardly surprising that pension funds have performed so poorly. However, unless individuals increase their contributions and take greater interest in the returns generated, the next decade could prove just as disappointing.”

The rates on annuities – which are used to convert a pension pot into an annual income for life – have declined in recent years due to falling gilt yields and increased life expectancy.

Annuity rates are set by the yield – or annual return – on a Government bond, known as a gilt. This is because insurance companies, to finance a pension, buy gilts. If the yield on a gilt falls the insurance company is forced to cut its annuity rate.

A male aged 65 retired with an average pension fund of £103,000 in January 2000 and could secure an annuity rate of 8.6 per cent, according to the figures produced by Moneyfacts. By contrast, the average pension pot has shrunk to just over £40,000 and average annuity rates have also dropped to 6.2 per cent today.

After two decades spent building up a property portfolio of more than 700 buy-to-let properties and becoming two of Britain’s most successful landlords, the time has come for former maths teachers Fergus and Judith Wilson to sell.

“Old age, dear,” explains Fergus, 61, of his motivation to rid himself and his 59-year-old wife of their £180 million portfolio at a time when most British buy-to-let investors are only just starting to see hope again.

The seed for their property empire was planted in 1986, when Fergus and Judith realised that in order to move to a larger family house, they could keep their existing home and rent it out. The new mortgage cost them £10 a week more than the rent, which seemed a cheap way to own a second property. “But I knew if we grew, we couldn’t afford to lose £10 a week on every property,” says Fergus, so in 1991 they began buying tenanted properties at rock bottom prices. The rent covered their outgoings and the capital values rose in the mid-Nineties, so they would remortgage and reinvest.

They have received requests to buy anything from one to 100 of their properties, but they are looking for someone to take over the entire stock. “We are looking for vacant possession prices, which are going up by on average £1,000 a month per property. But the buyer will get the benefit of not having to find tenants, as every one of our properties is rented out,” Fergus says.

Fergus is keen to impart his knowledge to others thinking of becoming landlords. “It’s a matter of when you step on and step off,” he says. “The property market… follows a linear progression and, if you follow common sense, property of the right sort will always go up in value.”

So here is buy-to-let common sense the Wilson way.

1 You are in the business to make money, not to help people

Property is an investment and a commodity. Don’t get emotionally involved with your tenants. “You may have to reject them if they don’t have the deposit or a guarantor. Don’t let your heart rule your mind,” says Fergus. Decide whether you are a professional landlord looking to earn income from your rent, or – as most people are, including the Wilsons – a property investor expecting the rent to cover the outgoings while the house rises in value.

2 Buy two or three-bedroom houses – and never flats

Except if you’re in London, where flats will be in greater demand than in suburban areas. “One-bedroom starter homes are no good as people want to move on within six months,” Fergus says. There is also limited demand for four-bedroom houses. “Why would anyone pay £1,300 a month in rent when they could get a mortgage for less?” he asks. “Rock-bottom rates have shifted the balance, but generally it should be cheaper to rent than buy.”

3 Buy new or nearly new

Avoid the cost and time spent doing DIY. “You don’t want the hassle of having to fit a new bathroom and kitchen. Most people with about £200,000 to spend are older and not the DIY type,” Fergus says. New-build properties have the added benefit of a NHBC warranty, boiler guarantees, double glazing and tend to attract more professional tenants.

4 Choose your tenants carefully

“I had no trouble [with tenants] for 19 years, then four people inviting me to a punch-up in a year – luckily I’m a big man,” says Fergus, a former rugby prop-forward. “You’ll see all sorts if you do it as long as we have, but generally it’s a bed of roses.”

Do checks to ensure they are creditworthy and have a guarantor who is a home-owner. And the best tenants? “Middle age couples who have recently got together from previous relationships,” Fergus says. “They won’t be moving for promotion so are likely to stay a long time.”

5 Leverage your money

If you have £200,000 to invest, don’t buy one £200,000 property, buy two and put £100,000 down on each house, says Fergus. He then recommends getting a 50 per cent interest-only mortgage on each. “If you can find interest rates under five per cent, the rent will cover your outgoings,” he says.

6 Magnolia wins every time

“Don’t impose your tastes on others by painting your house lots of colours. Stick to bread and butter houses. A two-bedroom mid-terrace house painted in magnolia and white is what most people want to rent,” Fergus says.

7 Avoid ex-council houses or bungalows

“In ex-council houses, rents will be lower as you will only get as much as the rents office will pay. Ask yourself: ‘Who will want to buy it?’ ” Fergus says. “[With bungalows] you can pay 65 per cent more and receive only 15 per cent more rent than you would for a two or three-bedroom house on the same size plot.”

8 Buy close to home

All of the Wilsons’ properties are within 30 miles of their home, mainly concentrated on new-build estates in Maidstone, Ashford and Hawkinge. “Go for an area such as the M20 corridor, where there is rental demand and rising prices. The prices of our houses returned to July 2008 levels by July 2009 and have risen since,” Fergus says. Don’t, on the other hand, buy in an area with a big retirement community. “You don’t want economically inactive tenants.”

9 No smokers or mechanics – but dog owners welcome

These are personal preferences of the Wilsons, “but generally dog and cat owners tend to keep the house in better condition as they are always hoovering up the hair,” Fergus says.

10 Enjoy the experience of being a landlord

Ah yes, enjoyment, easily forgotten for those who have spent the past year watching property values fall and then rents plummet when too much unsold stock came on the rental market. “If people find themselves in trouble, it’s because they didn’t use their common sense. Otherwise, it’s like real life Monopoly. What could be better than watching the money roll in?” Fergus says. You get the feeling he’ll know just what that windfall feels like soon enough.

Here are 10 simple steps on how to buy an auction property.

1. Identify
Identify your desired property and take note of relavant information according to your preferred location and budget.

2. Inspection
Understand the state and condition of the desired property. Conduct an external inspection of the property to ascertain the condition.

3. Independent Research
Conduct a thorough research with the relevant Land Office and make general enquiries wit the developer or management office.

4. Registration
Register your details prior to the auction. You may also register on the actual day itself before the auction. You have to get a copy of the Proclamation of Sale and Condition of Sale.

5. Preparation
Take note of the auction time, date and venue. Prepare a bank draft or cashier’s order for the deposit amount equivalent to either 5% or 10% of the Reserved Price before the auction date. Also, prepare additional cash on the auction day to top-up the difference on the deposit sum between the successful bidding price and the reserved price.

6. Auction Day
Ensure that you research the auction venue early and register at the auctioneer’s registration counter. If you are unable to attend the auction, fret not. You can authorise anyone who is above 18 years old to bid on your behalf. However, remember that he or she must bring along the original authorisation letter together with a photocopy of your identification card and bank draft to the auction.

7. Bidding Time
The auctioneer will announce the commencement of the auction, and then provide a briefing on the bidding process. He will then read out the important clauses in the Conditiona of Sale and the property information. After the auctioneer announces the starting price, the bidder should raise his/her bidding card to signify interest and also to indicate the bidding price.

8. Success Bidder
The bidding process will stop when the highest price is called out three times by the auctioneer and not further bids can be made. At the fall of the hammer, the property is sold.

9. Signing the contract
The successful bidder is required to sign the Contract of Sale and pay the remaining difference on the same day itself if there’s an increment to the successful bidding price. The balance of the purchase price must be paid withing 90 days from the auction day.

10. For Unsuccessful Bidding
If you are not the successful bidder you may redeem your bank draft or cashier’s order at the registration counter immediately after the auction.

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra’s Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner ( in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away ), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?

A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program ‘Boss’ Day Out’:

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled ).

The Evidence

Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

Some Excerpts:

· Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.

· Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.

· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive ( maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line ).

In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising ( marathoning! ), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep ( 7 hours ), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep.

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail/article to as many of your colleagues/friends as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.

The banks will invest the CMAs’ funds in government, semi-government and bank backed securities and bank loans which yield higher interest returns.

Unlike the bank saving accounts and investment accounts, CMAs require larger opening balances and have larger minimum deposits and withdrawals which are suitable for businesses.

Because the CMAs’ funds are so closely attuned to the volatile money markets, the interest rates are reviewed periodically (once a week or longer) or the sponsor will reserve the right to change rates without notice. The historical interest rates will provide an idea what various financial institutions were paying customers around the same time. Interest on such accounts is usually paid on the full balance. 

Pitfalls to watch out for include accounts that require you to leave funds in for 7 days before you earn anything.

While minimum for additional deposits can be as high as $5,000, this may be waived for direct payments such as dividends or salaries which are for smaller amounts.

You might be able to choose between a CMA with or without cheque facility. If you choose the cheque option you can make payments by cheque and draw cash from your branch.

If you avoid the cheque facility, you also avoid the Bank Account Debit Tax, but will probably be able to withdraw funds only at the branch which oversees the account.

For some customers who make frequent deposits, such as commercial customers, some banks allow a more favorable calculation of government charges on deposits. However, this advantage only accrues over a fixed minimum balance.

Banks realizing that they may loose such customers, came up with another option that offer more attractive interest rates to the customers.  That started what today known as the investment accounts or investment saving accounts.  Such accounts have overtaken the standard saving accounts in popularity especially for customers who have a lot of cash.

Investment Accounts 

Opening an investment account requires larger minimum balances because interest rates are tiered and higher balances can earn more.  For instance, if you had $5,000 to invest, you would have earned between at least 2% on an investment account over a standard saving account.

The trade off for the higher interest rates is that you must leave your deposits in the investment account for fixed longer period. If you withdraw the deposits before the expiry of the said periods, you will loose the interest earned.

Investment accounts are more restrictive than the standard saving accounts. You do not have the convenient of accessing your funds through an ATM.

The following summarized the advantages and disadvantages of an investment accounts :

Advantage :

1.  Ability to earn higher interest.

Disadvantages :

1.  Minimum withdrawals may be the rule.

2.  You may have to leave money in the account for a set period before any interest is paid.

3.  Transaction charges may be applicable.

4.  Minimum balanced needed fro higher interest rates.

Investment accounts have since evolved since the day it started. Today you can find various types of investment accounts such as online investment accounts, gold investment accounts, cpf investment accounts, offshore investment accounts, money market investment accounts and investment retirement accounts.

In today generation, the whole scenario has changed.  Parents not only bring their children to banking hall to open bank saving account and also teach them about saving account passbook, saving account interest rate and some even let them have an ATM card.

Bank Saving Account

When parents teach their children how to saving money, they are actually teaching the the first step of managing personal finances involuntarily.  Bank saving account is the simplest and easier form of financial investment. The main advantage of such account is that you can open it with as little as a dollar and your balance is usually up to date. There is no cost in maintaining this account.

You do not need any monthly statement. You are given a saving account passbook. Bank saving account usually pays low interest which is often below the inflation rate.

Per recent survey done, the bank saving accounts comprise of about 10% of total bank deposits compared to more than 40% twenty years ago.  The main reason for the drop in such accounts is because when children grow up and start working, they are more aware of the other investment options.

For people who do not have plenty of cash to play with, bank saving account is the logical choice.

The saving account interest maybe calculated daily or monthly. Some maybe calculated on the full balance or it may be tiered.  For example you might get an annual rate of 2% on the first $1,000 and then 3% on the next thousand.

The following summarized the advantages and disadvantages of a bank saving account :

Advantages:

1.  Low opening balance

2.  Easy to open

3.  No age limit

4.  Zero cost or minimal cost

5.  Risk free.

Disadvantages:

1.  Low interest rate.

2.  Must present passbook when withdrawing cash from counter.

3.  Not very convenient especially moving big amount of cash.

If you start saving £150 per month when you are 25, you could end up with a fund worth £395,000 (assuming annual growth of 7 per cent). But if you leave it another five years, your fund would only be worth £270,000. That is a difference of more than one-third, and illustrates the power of compound interest over time.

Retirement may seem a long way off, but the reality is that if you hope to save a fund large enough to provide you with an income equivalent to two-thirds of your final salary, you would have to save nearly half your income from your 20s until you retire. Most of us will have to make do with a lot less after we retire, and complacency is not a good approach to saving for retirement.

Most young people have other pressing needs such as saving for education costs, paying a mortgage or even starting a business, which can get in the way: many people this age are understandably reluctant to tie up money in a fund which may not be touched until the age of 55.

While pensions offer the benefit of tax relief – which will help your savings grow even more over the long term – other investment vehicles such as individual savings accounts (ISAs) can provide more flexibility, as you have access to your money should you need it urgently in the future.

One way to compromise is to use ISAs to save while your earnings are lower, and to transfer savings to a pension once you qualify for higher rates of tax relief, and when more of your financial commitments are behind you. “We would certainly encourage ISAs as the first port of call at this stage for savings,” says Matt Brunwin, from independent financial advice firm Bestinvest.

You can afford to take more risk with your investments at this stage as you have more time to make up losses on the way – although you should never invest in anything which will cause you to lose sleep at night. “Try to take the emotion out of it,” advises Brunwin. “If you think the stock market will be higher than it is now in 10 years time, then now is a good time to invest.”

Consider using your age as a yardstick. If you are 30, then have 70 per cent of your investments in equities, and the rest in cash or lower-risk fixed-interest investments such as gilts and bonds.

In your 40s
Your 40s is “the golden decade” when it comes to retirement planning as you are likely to be at the height of your earnings, says Martin Bamford from independent financial advice firm Informed Choice. “This is when you should be putting as much as possible into your pension. Your contributions still have time to grow and the expenses of mortgage plus small children are starting to fall away.”

This may mean that you can lock up assets now, so consider switching ISA holdings to pensions to benefit from your higher rate of tax relief. Everyone can save up to 100 per cent of their income or £245,000 – whichever is lower – each year.

Use a wide range of assets, but try not to be too cautious with your savings just yet. “Stay in equities,” says Brunwin. “If you are 40 now, you could easily live until your 90s, so your investment time horizon could run to the length of your life again.”

In your 50s
Many people will be coming to the end of a mortgage and children are leaving home. So now is the time to get smart with your investment strategy. “The final decade before retirement is often the most important from an investment perspective as short-term market volatility can knock your confidence and be difficult to recover from,” says Bamford.

He recommends you aim to build even greater levels of diversification into your retirement funds, with around half of your money in non-equity assets. These could be cash deposits, bonds, or other fixed-interest securities such as Government gilts.

This is also a good time to request a state pension forecast so you can get a reasonable idea of what this form of income will be in retirement. You can find out how to do this at www.direct.gov.uk and click on Money, Tax and Benefits and then Pensions and State Pension.

In your 60s
Start reducing risk more significantly in your 60s. You will need to decide whether you need to secure a fixed income, or if you can withstand any investment volatility after you have retired.

If you need certainty now, you should buy an annuity with your pension savings – although you do have the option to take 25 per cent of your pension fund as a tax-free lump sum, perhaps to reinvest elsewhere.

If you are put off by low annuity rates, one option is to use a drawdown facility. You leave your pension invested, but receive an income from the fund. However, you must be absolutely certain that you are happy with the additional risk. This stage of life is not a time to take risks with your retirement fund and many people have been badly stung by the income drawdown route in the past 12 months because of stock market volatility.

In your 70s
Most people will be required to use their pension savings to buy an annuity by the age of 75. When it comes to buying an annuity, there is a vast array of options. You can choose to inflation-proof your annuity, or buy a guarantee so that it continues to pay out for at least five years. You might want an income to continue for your spouse after your death.

All these options will reduce the amount of income you receive initially. Generally, the older you are, the higher the income you will receive, but even the best rate is unlikely to exceed around seven per cent – that is just £7,000 of income per year for every £100,000 in your pension.

Make sure you search for the best annuity rate on the open market – do not just take the rate offered by your pension provider. In your 70s, you are more likely than not to qualify for an enhance annuity rate or “impaired life” annuity, if you are unwell or have a poor lifestyle. Make sure you consult an independent financial adviser who can help to find the best annuity for you.

Hosting a party can be an expensive business once you have factored in food, drink, decorations and entertainment but, provided you are prepared to do some research, there are plenty of offers around to ensure you don’t blow the bank.

When organising a Christmas party, start by working out a budget, and be strict about keeping to it. Don’t be afraid to enlist the help of friends. Asking a few people to bring some canapés, or some decorations, plates and cutlery, can all help reduce a bill. Make sure you get a firm idea of how many will be attending so that you don’t end up buying too much food and drink. Send out invitations – ideally by email as it is cheaper and currently much more reliable than using Royal Mail – at least two weeks in advance, and request a response.

It’s also worth looking at discount shops such as Poundland, which is now offering plates, crackers and festive table decorations at £1. For those feeling particularly full of Christmas cheer, you can also pick up a reindeer headset, again for £1. To see what’s on offer, visit the website www.poundland.co.uk where you can find your nearest store, although you cannot yet buy online.

Take advantage of three-for the-price-of-two offers, as these can help cut costs. Most three-for-two deals work by giving you the cheapest product free, but some, such as Marks & Spencer, give you every third product free in descending price order. So if you buy nine items, the ones you get free are the third, sixth and ninth most expensive, not the three cheapest.

Visit different supermarkets to find the best deals. The website www.mysupermarket.co.uk is worth a look and can save you trudging around – it has a ”Christmas Top Offers” section showing special deals on food and drink available from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Ocado.

You can also find some good deals on alcohol through the mysupermarket.com site. Asda’s Cava Brut, for example is just £3.98 a bottle, or, if you’re prepared to splash out a bit more, a bottle of François de Rozay Non Vintage Brut Champagne costs £13.98. Taittinger Brut Reserve is on special offer at £22 a bottle, compared with the usual price of £31.98 – a saving of nearly £10 a bottle.

Buying wine or champagne in bulk is usually the best way to save. Majestic Wine’s November offers include saving 33.3pc when you buy any two bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne, which cuts the price of a case from £450 at £37.50 a bottle, to £299.88 at £24.99 a bottle, a saving of £150. The minimum online order is 12 bottles, and there are more offers on the website www.majestic.co.uk

Mulled wine is much cheaper than champagne, and you can usually get away with serving inexpensive wine because of the added spices. You can also top it up during the evening and it should prevent you from ending up with lots of half-opened bottles at the end. If unexpected guests arrive and you’ve no wine left, Delia Smith advises adding more water and fruit. Her website, www.deliaonline.com, has a mulled-wine recipe.

If you run a business, and are planning an office Christmas party, make sure the cost is kept below £150 a head to avoid it being classed as a taxable benefit. This £150 per head includes everything for the event, from food, hiring a venue, transport and entertainment. It also covers alcoholic drinks and taxis home, and value-added tax. Employees can take their spouses – or a friend – and each guest will have a £150 exemption. Rather than itemising the expenditure on each individual, HM Revenue & Customs tells employers to divide the total cost by the number of people attending. Don’t go over the maximum spend per attendee, because even if you go just one penny over this limit, the full amount spent will become liable to income tax and National Insurance Contribution payments.

The website www.officechristmas.co.uk can help you search for venues based on your budget in locations including Birmingham, Brighton, Leeds, London and Manchester. To see HM Revenue & Customs guidance on annual parties, visit the internet link www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/EIM21690.htm

All too often, bank and savings accounts will be delivering little or no return. Many British blue-chips have also been cutting the amount of dividend they pay, so people with investments in equity income funds may have found their income yield diminishing.

Plus, the Government has announced an increase in the highest nominal rate of income tax to 50pc on income of more than £150,000 and reduced on a sliding scale the tax-free personal allowance for those with income of more than £100,000.

Some people affected by these changes might be keen to ensure investment returns are treated for tax purposes as capital gains rather than income, as a result of the current disparity in tax rates.

With careful planning it is possible to ensure withdrawals are made from investments without paying tax for up to three or four decades. This may be attractive to those with high incomes that are hit by the income tax changes, but also anyone looking to withdraw money from savings to supplement income that may have been lost or reduced by the economic downturn.

This is where a clear understanding of the tax treatment of different investment products can add value. There are many things to consider when deciding where and how to invest. Tax is not the sole driver of investment selection, but it is important and adds significant value to a well-thought-through financial planning strategy.

The other big aspect in selecting investments will be to assess how much risk to accept. This will start to identify the types of investments and assets that are appropriate. By mixing a diversified spread of different assets it is possible to maximise returns within the chosen risk profile. The adage of not putting all your eggs in one basket remains true.

This is where a financial adviser can add value to an investment strategy and ensure it is appropriate for an investor. By combining these aspects of financial planning, there is the opportunity to ensure tax-efficient products are utilised so the investment is either accumulating in the optimal way or can be accessed in the most tax-efficient manner, depending on an investor’s needs.

For those looking to withdraw money from their savings, one important element to consider is which type of investment products to choose.

People need to consider a mix of investments that enable capital extraction as well as generating income. One of the most common mistakes is to look at different investment products or tax wrappers in isolation. For example, a common misconception made recently is that life insurance investment bonds are now less attractive than collective investments (unit trusts/OEICs) because of the reduction in the top rate of capital gains tax from 40pc to 18pc.

The misconception is that all returns from collective investments are taxed as capital gains at 18pc, whereas all returns from investment bonds are taxed as income and hence at the investor’s normal rate of income tax – 20pc for basic-rate tax payers and 40pc for higher-rate tax payers.

On the face of it, this does look bad for bonds, especially for higher-rate taxpayers, but it is not that simple. It is easy to calculate that investment returns taxed at 18pc will produce a better net return than investment returns taxed at 40pc, if all other things are equal. But ”all other things” rarely are equal.

The headline rate of tax is only part of the equation and an investment bond and a collective provide different ways of extracting value and consequently different tax consequences that, if combined, can lead to a significantly better outcome for the investor than if they are used in isolation.

Through an investment bond an investor can take 5pc each year out of their investment without paying tax for up to 20 years. When investing via collectives, an investor can utilise the annual capital gains tax allowance of £10,100 to realise gains each year without paying tax.

Both scenarios are attractive, but when combined can become even more valuable for some investors. The exact outcome will depend on the amount invested, the amount withdrawn each year and the tax circumstances of the investor, but an example can illustrate the opportunity.

Consider a £500,000 investment. If the entire amount were invested in an investment bond and a 5pc withdrawal is taken each year, tax is payable in year 21. If the entire amount were invested in a collective and a 5pc withdrawal taken each year, tax would be payable in year 11. (This assumes 6pc consistent growth each year and full capital-gains tax exemption is available – increased at 2pc per annum.)

Splitting the investment between a collective (£300,000) and an investment bond (£200,000) could extend the point at which tax becomes payable to year 33. This can be achieved by withdrawing 5pc of the total invested, as previously, but doing so in a way that withdraws £19,000 per annum from the collective and £6,000 from the bond.

So while tax alone should never be the sole driver of investment strategy, this example shows that careful tax planning can and should help people maximise the returns their investments deliver. This requires detailed financial planning, so seek a good adviser for guidance.

Colin Jelley is head of tax and financial planning at Skandia

If you want ready accessibility, then you will opt for an at call deposit account or investment. The interest rate you ear, if any, will move up or down depending on the money market.

However do not confuse getting your money when you want with getting interest. Investments or accounts may require you to keep your cash in for say, 7 days, before you earn interest. Others may stipulate 30 days.

Alternatively, you can put it in a term deposit for a month or more and earn a fixed rate of interest. Because you elect for a fixed term, thereby reducing the amount of paperwork for the banks, you are rewarded with a higher interest rate than if you chose an at call investment.

At call accounts come in many shapes and forms depending on which intermediary is packaging them. Banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and finance companies offer at call accounts. The basic types of accounts available for your cash are:

1. Stand alone savings accounts.

2. Investment accounts.

3. Stand alone chequing accounts

4. Transaction accounts

5. Cash management accounts

6. Business chequing accounts

A nice position to be in. And the only real financial problem they faced was where to invest their suprlus cash. Most people like Jessie, would automatically consider bank term deposits, the purchase of land and negative gearing.

In short, she was all at sea with much advice but unclear what investment route to take. Eventually, she decided she needed more time to think about various options. A wise choice. Better to think now than pay later. Nevertheless she still had $20,000 in cash sitting around doing nothing. To meet her immediate needs, she invested her money in 30 day bank term deposits. That way, she earned a higher rate of interest than an ordinary passbook account without losing access to her funds.

Most people use investment parking places. The features of the ideal parking place is access to funds, safety capital and a reasonable rate of return.

Keeping yourself liquid is a jargon for having sufficient cash funds, is important for both individuals and smart for business. It provides greater financial flexibility.

If you invest all your money in shares or long term fixed interest securities, you cannot act quickly if an opportunity presents itself. An undervalue stock might suddenly catch your interest, or an attractive property. Selling existing assets to buy another one could result in delay and cost. That’s why many advisers recommend that you keep five to ten per cent of your portfolio in cash.

Even if you do not have an investment portfolio, you may simply want to have access to your money if unexpected bills land on your doorstep, or if a regular payment such as school fees presents itself.

Small businesses need cash to ride the highs and lows of the business cycle. And as we shall see in future postings, they do not have to accept a pittance for puting their hard earned funds into a ‘parking place.’

There can be lots of one-off fees involved both in taking out the new loan and in winding up the old ones. This can make things a little harder just to start with. Many companies will try and heap hidden charges on top of what you think you are paying.

If you read newspapers everyday, you will have seen those ads that loan shark companies put on. There is a reason they are known as loan sharks and not loan puppies. Many of their customers would tell you that they are not cute, loyal or cuddly. If they give you a hefty payout, then there will not be money left over for a holiday or a bit to put by for the kids.

The loan sharks’ interest rates are often frighteningly high. Have a look at that very small print that flashes across the screen for the minimum legal number of seconds just before the end of the advert.

It will tell you the estimated growth of an average loan when paid back over a standard number of years, and it does not make happy reading.  Their objective is to trick you into borrowing as much money as possible and then milk you as their cash cow for the rest of your natural days.

One particularly sneaky dog to look out for is something called PPI. This stand for Payment Protection Insurance, and is often popped on top of your bills without you realizing it. PPI means that if for some reason (redundancy or prolonged illness being common ones) you can’t keep up with your payments, then they should be covered by the company for an agreed period.

Paying something back over a long period of time has its down-sides. Though it might offers you a little relief in the short term, making smaller payments over a larger number of years can mean that even at a lower rate you end up paying back far more than you previously owed. The faster you can pay off your loan, the slower it will grow and the less you will eventually repay.

If you have gone for a secured loan then you have got the best rates but you have also raised the stakes. Since it’s usually your home you put up as collateral, the consequences of not keeping up your payments are more extreme. It’s a big step. Having said that, you are using your capital to maximize your potential to paying off your debts, not throwing your house keys onto the table in a game of poker. There’s nothing to fear if you have thought everything through carefully.

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First of all, there is the interest rates that got to be considered. If your debts are mostly on credit cards, then you could think about converting it to an unsecured loan with a bank as it is likely that the interest rates are much lower.

The way to get the best rates, of course, is by taking out a secured loan and replaced it with a secured loan.  The reason for this is that lenders will view you as more of a sure thing if you have got more to lose by not paying up. The lender would be more confident that they will get their money back. This would help to decrease risk for them which will translates into lower cost for you. 

Lower interest rates generally mean lower monthly installments, and if you can afford to keep paying the same amount as you have been previously do so, then overpayment will start to soak up your debts in double quick time.

From an administrative point of view, consolidating loans give you a breath of fresh air, as compare to juggling a variety of loans with different amounts of money payments at different times. 

By consolidating loans, you now have just one monthly payment to make. In terms of stress and time, you are onto a winter with debts consolidation.

The latest figures from the Insolvency Service disclosed that a total of 35,242 people were declared insolvent in England and Wales during the third quarter of the year, up 28 per cent on the same period a year ago.

It means numbers are now at their highest level since records began in 1960 and experts forecast that the figures will get even worse as unemployment continues to rise.

Anthony Cork, director at accountants Wilkins Kennedy, said: “Those who have already suffered job losses are just beginning to be represented in these figures but there are many more behind them who are still battling to weather the storm.”

And he added: “Even those who have kept their jobs but have seen their hours or pay cut will be grappling to meet repayments on outstanding debts on a reduced salary.”

The individual insolvencies consisted of 18,340 bankruptcies – which were up 20.9 per cent on the same period a year ago and 12,390 of its less stringent form, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) – which were up 27.4 per cent on the same period in 2008.

IVA is an arrangement that is entered into with those owed money, while a bankruptcy involves a formal court order where assets are sold to pay off creditors.

An alternative to bankruptcy – a debt relief order – was introduced in April, but various restrictions limit those who can apply, such as not owning your own home and having debts of less than £15,000. There were 4,505 of these orders during the third quarter.

Alan Tomlinson, partner at licensed insolvency practitioners Tomlinsons, said: “The shake-out from the credit boom continues apace, with more and more people being declared insolvent and there are no signs that this is going to change in the foreseeable future.

“In many cases, a significant number of people who would have gone bankrupt have made use of the new debt relief orders. The total number of people in trouble continues to rise inexorably.”

The figures also revealed that the number of companies that collapsed rose by 14.6 per cent year-on-year to 4,716 in the three months to the end of September.