stress
Browsing articles tagged under stress...
-
How to take the stress out of banking
Our lives are more stressful now than they have ever been. Rising inflation, high unemployment, pay freezes, a sluggish economy, government spending cuts and continued mistrust in the banking system, it’s no wonder we are all getting grey hairs and wrinkles earlier.
However, much of it we can’t do anything about. Inflation seems to be out of our hands. The Bank of England has maintained the 0.5% base interest, yet again, in an attempt to slow the run away train that is inflation. The economy needs us to spend, but we don’t have the money to do so and unemployment and pay freezes are not in the control of the masses either.
However, in the not too distant future, in fact in two years, the banking system is going to become far more straightforward. The move follows a call from the Independent Commission on Banking to increase competition in the banking sector.
The new project will cost £2 billion, but the result will be a nationwide account database. All banks will have access to it and it will store everyone’s account numbers so we will be able to change current accounts in less than a week. This will mean we won’t have to contact direct debit issuers and inform them we have new banking details, which, seeing as services actually charge for this, is another easy way to save money as well as time.
The best way to save money on your current account is to switch banks regularly. However, only 6% of banking customers transfer their current accounts in any given year. But this means we are all missing out on the many benefits of opening a new account with a new provider. Plus, if we all transferred our accounts regularly the banking system would become more competitive and this competition would force prices down and interest rates up.
Some of the best basic bank accounts on the market at the moment are from Santander. For example, as long as you deposit £1,000 into the account, you can get up to 5% AER and get a nice cheque for £100 simply for switching from your current bank to a Santander basic bank account.
It does seem strange to stick with one bank account for years on end. We regularly switch utility and insurance providers, in fact, 20% of us switch utility providers every year, so why not do the same with your bank account.
-
Stress Causes Memory Loss (and other stress-related news)
Scientists have discovered that if they play very irritating hissing noises to mice, the mice are then likely to forget where they can swim to safety while struggling to stay afloat in buckets of water …
-
50 Ways to Get Better Organised
Much of the stress in life comes from feeling that you don’t have things under control. But it doesn’t take much, says Lisa Freedman, to improve the way you operate at home and at work.
-
Could Life Coaching Save Your Life?
Stressed out and don’t know how to sort it out? Getting a ‘Life Coach’ might be the answer, says Lisa Freedman.
.
-
Why Every Office Should Have A Dog
A dog in the office is one of the best ways of beating stress at work, advises a top stress expert. Reduced stress, lower blood pressure and the release of human feel-good hormones are just some of the reasons…
-
You feel what you eat
There are ways to boost your resistance to stress, including eating the right sort of food…
.
. -
Zap That Phone
Edgar Degas is one of my favourite artists. At the turn of the century he dined with a friend who had just had a new invention installed - the telephone.
