Taking Control of your Finances Many countries across the globe are ridden by the financial polarisation of their population. The rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, Britain may not be as extreme as some countries, but the recession has led to many households falling into further financial strife. In a bid to attack this issue, Chancellor Alistair Darling in his latest budget, has plans to give everyone in the UK access to a basic bank account. The move is aimed at tackling financial exclusion and will mean one million more people will have access to a bank account. It is estimated that there are 1.75 million people without access to a transactional bank account. Although the new ‘basic bank accounts’ don’t provide an overdraft facility they do offer access to direct debits and cash withdrawals from ATMs and are designed for people with low credit scores. Increased access to bank accounts should help people get control of their finances and also become more aware of the benefits of saving. Many people don’t actually realise how much they are spending. According to research by Bright Grey, Britons think they are only spending £892 per month, on average, in reality it is more like £1378. The problem doesn’t end there because, according to the research, 38% of the UK’s working population couldn’t survive for longer than a month on their savings alone. We spend on average £201,000 on raising a child from birth to the age of 21 and £676.92 a year on each pet and £21,089 on weddings. This makes it easy to see how spending can get out of control and how borrowing on credit cards, finance deals, overdraft and unsecured personal loans has risen to £4,658 per average UK adult. If you are not one of the 1.75 million that don’t have a bank account, when was the last time you reviewed the deal you are getting on your current account? You have probably been with your bank for years and don’t really shop around for current accounts, as you perceive savings accounts to be more varied, therefore better with some banks compared to others. But, in recent months there has been much greater divergence between current accounts and some now offer better interest rates, and of course greater flexibility, than savings accounts. It does pay to shop around. Pet Healthcare Insurance is our homepage. Selecting the right insurance plan offers seven tips for picking a plan. Dog Healthcare Insurance find health insurers for dogs. Cancer in dogs discusses the condition of dogs with cancer. Feline Health Insurance find healthcare insurers for cats. Dog hospice care talks about when dogs need hospice care. Copyright ©2009-2012 Pet Insurance Finder.com.