Best Financial do’s and dont's You worked hard for your money so before you decide where to save, you should think about: How much money can you afford to save on a regular basis? Make sure that if you need access to your money you can get at it when you need it. It may be ok now but you never know what is around the corner. Think about the level of risk you are prepared to take with your money. Try to spread your money across a number of different types of product.  Spreading the risk will usually mean that you are less likely to make very high returns, but it also means you are less likely to suffer large losses. Don't forget inflation.  Even when it is low it still has a bad long-term effect.  Always try to put your money where the return is likely to beat inflation. Tax is an important consideration. Some products give you a tax-free return but others paid net of tax can reduce the return you get. Remember to shop around for a good deal. Review your savings regularly to make sure they are still performing well. When interest rates are low, investors sticking to the safety of bank and building society deposit accounts may not be making the most of their money. When interest rates are low, investors sticking to the safety of bank and building society deposit accounts may not be making the most of their money. Ten financial rip-offs to avoid 1 Inverse order of payments Many bank’s manipulate your credit card payments so that they maximise the cost to you but also the profit for them.  This is known as the inverse allocation of payments.  This means that any repayments you make go towards the cheapest debt, leaving the highest interest-earning portion until last.For example, many of the cards that offer 0% Transfer deals are set up in such a way to catch you out by applying payments you make to the transfer amount before they apply them to new purchases.  When your 0% new purchase offer expires your new purchases could be costing you the very high lending rates your new card company charges. One of the best ways to avoid this trick is to make sure you choose a card that offers identical new purchase and balance transfer deals.  2 Cash withdrawals on credit cards It is very bad for your pocket to get into the habit of using your credit card to obtain a cash advance.  If you do the chances are that you will be hit twice. Most lenders charge a 3% fee up front, but in addition that cash advance will also earn interest at a very high interest rate up to 30%.  Also, don’t forget the inverse order of payments (above) which will add to the misery. 3: Extended warranties Extended warranties are considered to be terrible financial products - why? Well – there is no real need for them from the consumers point of view.  As a consumer you are already protected against buying faulty products by the Sales of Goods Act.  This  states that traders must sell products of satisfactory quality or the customer must be compensated. In addition, many products come with a manufacturer’s warranty that covers you for up to 12 months anyway.Furthermore, extended warranties often come with a host of exclusions, such as wear and tear or accidental damage for which your home insurance policy may already provide cover. 4: Foreign transaction fee Banks make a lot of money from customers during the peak summer period by charging them for using their credit and debit cards while abroad. Most of the banks charge an expansive 2.75% fee whenever you make a purchase in a foreign currency.Why not take out a pre-paid travel card? This type of card. which works just like your bank card, except that you can load it up with foreign currency, allowing you to avoid the transaction fee altogether. 5 Your lender’s PPI Payment Protection Insurance will promise to meet your repayments on a debt should you become unable to pay them because of health or unemployment. However it is vital that you shop around as many lenders earn a high commission from these policies 6: Standard energy tariffs Energy bills are never far from our thoughts at the moment.  However, don’t just look at suppliers – also look at their tariffs.  Often the best deal is their online tariff as this can work out up to 15% cheaper. 7: Standard current accounts If you bank with one of the main high street banks you will probably find that they offer a ridiculous 0.1% credit interest on their standard current accounts.  Don’t waste a second in switching to a more attractive account at another supplier.  Many pay up to 5 or 6% on the first £2/£3k in the account.  This will vary with general interest rates at the time. 8: Insurance policy renewals Do not automatically renew any insurance policy without first shopping around. Insurance companies rely on customer inertia to offer uncompetitive renewal quotes. It is also possible to further reduce your premiums by paying for your policy annually rather than monthly and by taking advantage of discounts of up to 25% for buying online. 9: Inheritance Tax You need to plan for Inheritance Tax (IHT) provision – if you have not done so get advise and make a Will.One of the main causes of excessive "death tax" is the inclusion in personal estates of the proceeds of life assurance policies.  If these policies had been written in trust, they would not be subject to inheritance tax. 10: Combined Phone, Broadband and HD-TV deals Its worth shopping around for a combined deal depending on whether you can get Cable in your area.  Some ares have to make do with a copper BT wire for Broadband and get slow speeds.  Without Cable Sky is mostly done by Sattelite.  For low speed broadband upo to 2Mps it is often available free.