Steven Keogh – My blog island

The well know charity organisation Age Concern are offering people over 50 the opportunity to learn more about the internet and IT.

In what is being publicised as their ‘Silver Surfer’s Day’, the over 50s residents of Bridlington are being offered free help, advice and tips to help them get online and enjoy the many benefits of the Internet.

Taking place at the Bridlington North Library, there will be many volunteers on hand to give one to one help and support during the sessions which will each last for approx 1 hour.
It is happening on Friday 21st May and the slots will be available from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

The sessions will demonstrate to the over 50s the basic steps in using computers or cheap laptops as well as accessing the Internet and also the services and benefits it has to offer.

Mark Rounding of Age Concern quotes: “The Internet is the future and can give people access not only to essential services but also information and entertainment opportunities”.

These sessions / lessons are free of charge but booking a slot in advance is recommended.

House prices climbed 4.5 per cent over the last year, leaving the average property in the UK worth £166,587.

That’s according to the March Halifax House Price Index, which also reported that prices actually fell in February by 1.5 per cent. But does a monthly fall mean further declines are likely?

‘No’, says David Newnes of Your Move Estate Agents. “We always knew the recovery in the housing market would have bumps along the way, but don’t assume this heralds the start of a new downturn.
The arctic weather conditions and the hangover from ending the stamp-duty holiday have taken a temporary toll on prices,” he said. And that’s likely to be the story of the year.

Election hampers housing market

Property expert, Nigel Lewis of FindaProperty.com says: “With an election coming up and buyers waiting to see who will be in charge, it’s bound to be a stop-start year for lending.”

“This means we’ll see monthly rises and falls in house prices as demand and supply fight for supremacy – but we’re likely to end the year in the same position we started.”

So anyone thinking of buying or selling their home this spring is going to have great difficulty getting the timing right. The ideal situation, of course, is to sell on a wave and buy on a trough, but trying to play that game and guess the right conditions is a gamble which is easy to lose.

In fact, the rise in property prices since last year has led to an increase in the number of people remortgaging, says Ray Boulger of John Charcol, the mortgage advisory firm.

“The bounce in property prices since the low nadir early last year has increased some borrowers’ equity sufficiently to make remortgaging worthwhile,” he says. “On top of that, more competition and a modest reduction in some funding costs for lenders has resulted in lower rates for both new fixed and tracker mortgages.”
Remortgage or wait for better deals?

The question, then, for many borrowers is whether to remortgage now or wait for potentially better deals, but that may depend on what happens to base rates. They have remained at 0.5 per cent for a year but a May general election could be the catalyst for interest rates rising.

The next monthly rates decision is due on 8 April, but most experts agree that the Bank of England will make no changes at that time. In fact, a poll of economists in February predicted that a rise in the base rate to 0.75 per cent won’t happen until the fourth quarter, so around October to December 2010.

The uncertainty surrounding interest rates could be an argument for fixing your mortgage now, says Martijn van der Heijden, head of mortgages at HSBC. “The next few years are going to be difficult to predict in terms of mortgage rates and some volatility for borrowers may well be unavoidable,” he says. “The message for borrowers is that if you couldn’t afford an increase of up to three per cent on your mortgage, you should seriously look to fix your payments.”

Also worth noting is the rise in sales of mortgage payment protection insurance policies which cover you mortgage re-payments should you be unable to work due to an accident, sickness or unemployment.
People opting to fix

Mortgage broker Countrywide says it has noticed an increase in the number of people opting for fixed rate loans
“As speculation mounts over house prices and inflation we’ve seen a marginal uplift in the volume of fixed mortgage applications,” says Grenville Turner, Countrywide’s chief executive. “The forthcoming election could unsettle the market and impact any economic recovery and customers are increasingly looking for the certainty of a fixed rate mortgage.”

Although fixing your mortgage can add certainty to your monthly outgoings, you should still look carefully at the costs and penalties attached. Application fees on the best deals are high, and many lenders look to tie you in with high penalties if you decide to switch before the fixed rate period has ended. It means it’s essential to do your sums before signing up for a new deal.

These days, there are so many reasons that you need to have a printer around, it’s inconceivable you wouldn’t have one or even two. People use them for many important reasons, like school and work, so the last thing anyone needs is a printer failure. Hundreds of companies today transport their documents through various electronic media but still print them. Although purchasing a good printer will always have its benefits, the maintenance of the machine is just as important.

Properly maintaining your printer can add years of life to the unit as well as assure flawless printing of your most important documents. However important maintenance may be for your printer, it is often overlooked. Many people have a common misconception that printers simply need the ink changed every so often and that its components might need replacement eventually.

Although this is true, proper maintenance needs to be performed every few weeks to make sure that the printer continues to run properly. All printers are not the same; they come in various different types, shapes and sizes so naturally your printer’s maintenance will vary according to the type of printer you have.

Laser and Inkjet Printers
The two major printer types that are available for Cheap Laptops are the laser printer and the inkjet printer. The laser printer can print higher quality pages. As a result, laser printers are more costly than inkjet printers. The inkjet printer is still a very good printer to use but only if you are the type that doesn’t have the need for printing at a high capacity. Printers that are used in an office setting are the ones that will require more frequent maintenance, regardless of their type.

Printers that are used at home will require less maintenance, depending on the types of print jobs that you run on average. If you are the type that prints a lot of pictures and design sheets then your printer may require more frequent maintenance. If you do simple word document printing or other text type printing then your printer will not need as much attention. When it comes to the maintenance of the laser printer and inkjet printer, the two of them require different kinds of attention. In the case of an inkjet printer, it is going to require maintenance on mainly the printing heads.

The printing heads contain several miniscule pores from which the ink is distributed (sprayed, actually) onto the paper. Over time, dry ink can accumulate on the surface of these pores which in turn causes them to become blocked. You can easily avoid this issue by removing the cartridge and wiping the print head clean with a moist cloth. Once you’ve allowed the head to completely dry, you can then replace the cartridge and continue printing. Replacing the cartridges when they are low is another important step in maintaining the printer’s life. Be sure and use quality ink replacements that are specifically designed for your printer model.

Important Components
Laser printers are the most commonly used in office environments. They are known to have a few components that require a little care. Cleaning of the rollers periodically is the main thing that needs to be done. You can clean them with a damp cotton cloth. You may also vacuum the inside of the printer in order to remove resident toner particles that may have collected there. A special HEPA filter based vacuum cleaner is best when cleaning the laser printer. After you have made over 100,000 prints, the fuser that melts the toner on the paper might need replacement. Replacing these items in a timely fashion will allow the printer to continue to function properly.

Since computers are linked directly to your printer and the printer will usually come with a utility program for cleaning and maintenance, you can run that every so often as well. The best way to avoid unnecessary and unforeseen breakdowns of your printer is through the use of a printer maintenance kit which will definitely come in handy. These kits can be purchased at any retailer that carries your particular printer. The kits contain the parts that tend to wear out over time. They can also save you the trouble of having to wait for a technician if your printer decides to break down. Practice proper maintenance and keep a maintenance kit handy. These are great ways to ensure that your printer stays functional and clean.

Have you been turned down for life insurance?
If so then don’t worry (even if you’ve been turned down a few times). This doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to get yourself insured.

If you have obtained your life insurance quotes from the banks or large brand supermarkets then there is a strong chance you may have applied to the same insurance company.
This is because some banks and supermarkets just re-brand the insurance to look like their own when in fact they are just acting as a broker for the actual insurance company.

Because banks and supermarkets have a very large customer base and receive a large amount of queries, this means they can pick and choose their customers and select the customers who are least likely to make a claim therefore resulting in greater profits. This means that they are more likely to turn down customers who pose a slight risk such as Over 50 Life Insurance applicants.

If you have been turned down for a life insurance application then all is not. What is recommended is that you go to an independent insurance broker who can compare Life Insurance Quotes from the UK’s leading insurance providers and not just from one insurance company. This usually results in lower quotes and being able to speak to a qualified advisor can help in finding the best policy for your circumstances.

So when you next search for your life insurance quote ask if they are independent and can search the ‘whole of the market’ for you? If not then shop else where.

Well it only seems right that my first post is about Life Insurance Quotes as I have recently started a partnership company which supplies online life insurance leads to insurance brokers and independent financial advisors.

It seems that the normal way to compare insurance quotes, credit cards, loans etc it to visit the latest trend of comparison websites such as go compare, money supermarket, compare the market etc.
Whilst at first they seem great value for money by showing lists and lists of cheap offers, what is actually happening behind the scenes is quite a different story.

What happens when you fill in your details on a comparison site for lets say Life Insurance Quotes for example is that after entering your details you are shown a list of generic quotes. The comparison website then sells your details (know as a lead) to one of their highest bidding registered brokers so you have no idea who is going to contact you regarding your insurance quote.

If for some reason the broker is unable to contact you they may even sell on your details to another insurance broker or independent financial advisor at a hugely discounted rate.

You are far better of going direct to an online broker as they will not then have their lead purchase price  to add on to their fee or commission structure so this immediately makes your quote cheaper.

Make sure you choose an independent brokerage who can compare quotes for you from many of the UK’s largest insurance companies and preferably one who is an officialy appointed agent of a large company such as ‘ptfs’ or ’sesame’ as due to the large number of brokers buying together, this gives them a very strong purchasing power resulting in bigger discounts which means cheaper premiums for us customers.

Also, you can talk to a broker and usually haggle them down a little (just say you’ve had a slightly cheaper quote from one of their competitors) which will usually result in a pleasant discount.

So bear in mind that whilst you think you may be saving money with these comparrison sites the truth is that you could save much more going to an independent broker or financial advisor.