British banks considered stable; poised for profits

Savings can make a whole world of difference to your financial status

05:41 16 July 2013

For the first time in five years, Britain’s banks have been declared to be stable, based on Moody’s international credit rating.

 
Moody’s, an economic global watchdog, has reversed its negative rating and issued a positive “stable” rating for the British major banks such as Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, RBS and Santander (UK).

It will be recalled that the credit rating agency has consistently given these UK banks a negative rating since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008.

How can one cushion the impact of an economic crisis? If you have been well provided for since childhood and fortunate enough to have a good job, it is premised that you can buy everything you need and want thus, scrimping and saving may not be in your list of priorities.

In fact, it could be something totally alien to you. However, if something unforeseen happens such as being downsized, illness or death of the family’s main provider, it would be helpful if there are some savings stashed somewhere to help one survive a financial crunch.

While saving is a habit that is good to have from youth, it is never too late to mend our ways and start saving smartly. You can start saving by having a portion of your paycheck directly deposited to a savings account and treat it as just one of your many salary deductions.

If you decide to take your saving endeavors a notch higher, you can put your savings in an insured high-yielding savings and money market accounts. These types of savings are generally risk-free, can be accessed readily and have a better return than an ordinary savings account.

You may not realize it, but a great amount of savings can be realized if you fully settle your credit card debt and start paying the full amount monthly. Most credit cards charge double-digit interest and are a form of the most expensive debt that anyone can have.