Imagup General Magazine 2024
There are smart ways to shop for loans, credit cards, and mortgages in the UK, and then there are some ways that are not so smart. We are all responsible for looking after our money. Some of us go to extra lengths to make sure we get the best financial deals. As a matter of fact, shopping around for financial services is as important as checking the prices of food when you do your weekly shop. But, a lot of us still fall into financial complacency and do what we have always done.
Traditional Means of Borrowing Money
Bad habits are hard to break. Many of us still stick rigidly to traditional ways of borrowing money. We call or visit our local bank to find out what deals are available on loans, credit cards, and mortgages disregarding the alternatives.
When the customer service adviser in your bank comes up with what sounds like a good “deal”, we often sign on the dotted line before considering the alternatives. What you really should be asking yourself, is if you are getting value for money from your bank. The concept is not any different from supermarket shopping. The truth is that we are much more likely to try to save money on our weekly grocery bill than our long-term financial commitments.
How To Change The Way You Shop For Money?
You have probably used comparison sites in the past. Comparison sites like to tempt us with anything from free cinema tickets to cute meerkats. As a result, savvy energy shoppers have saved a lot of money on energy deals over the years.
Now, thanks to the new comparison site UPmoney.co.uk, you can do the same thing when it comes to your finances. Instead of visiting your local bank or building society branch, you can finally compare the rates of mortgages, loans, and credit cards online before you commit yourself. Yes, changing the way you shop for money is as important as keeping an eye on grocery and energy costs.
Are Comparison Sites All About Saving Money?
The answer to that question is no. Financial comparison sites are about much more than saving money. Savvy “financial shoppers” can use money comparison sites to make sure they get the right deal for them. Although saving money is an important aspect, making sure you sign up for a deal that matches your personal needs and requirements, is what you should focus on.
We often rely on financial experts to tell us which is the best deal for us. Thanks to UPmoney, there is no longer a need to follow the leader as it were. As a matter of fact, when you shop for money using traditional means, you should not lose sight of the fact someone is going to receive a commission on the money you borrow. Most UK borrowers are not aware banks and building societies have commission structures in place for their staff. Your friendly customer adviser is just really a salesperson.
Thanks to financial comparison such as UPmoney you can now become your own financial expert. Find the best deal for you and start saving money. Before you know it, you will have more money left in your bank account at the end of the month. Maybe you can finally afford your dream holiday in St. Lucia.
Pros and Cons
In the last couple of years, price comparison websites’ popularity witnessed a significant raise. At the same time, the number of users is increasing every day. Therefore, we’ve decided to provide you with several pros and cons of using comparison sites.
Pros
- You can save some money
When you have an option to take a look at literally countless of insurers, you are going to be able to compare many prices and choose the one that suits you the best. These sites often present to its users some less-known insurers. Therefore, you could have an opportunity to strike a much better deal from a pretty unknown insurer. Ultimately, it leads your company to save some money in the process. However, a user needs to be careful with these smaller deals, since they can often have some kind of hidden flaw that could ruin the deal. Be aware of that.
- Many choices and varieties
These days we can see that there are so many comparison websites that we can’t even begin to count them. At the same time, this guarantees that you are going to be able a perfect solution among numerous lists that you can find on the internet. This is a very good option for you to be patient with a research in order to find the best one.
Cons
- Many insurers don’t use them
Even though there are numerous websites you can take a look at, that doesn’t mean that all of the insurers are using these. Sometimes, it could happen that you can strike the best possible deal offline. This means that it doesn’t matter how thorough is your research, it doesn’t mean that you will find the best deal for your company. At the same time, there is a problem with websites that are directly owned by companies that have this kind of interest. Therefore, some of the websites could directly promote these companies.
- Fees
The companies that are shown to the user are paying a fee to the owner of the website. The way they are going to get paid heavily depends on the type of product that they are selling. Some of the companies are paying a fixed fee, while some other companies are paying a percentage of the deal. When we are talking about percentages, it could go as high as 20%, which is pretty hefty, you will most certainly agree. This is called a commission type of paying. At the same time, this is a lesser price than paying for an ad or TV advert.
