March the 11th sees the 25th anniversary of No Smoking Day, a day of national recognition and support for those who want to try and give up.
Over the past 25 years the campaign has grown from an awareness day organized by a group of individuals with an interest in health, to becoming a fully registered charity in 1991, and onward to employing a full-time staff and becoming one of the best-known days of its type. In light of the ongoing global economic difficulties and the ‘credit crunch’, this year the campaign is more geared towards how smokers can save money if they give up – alongside the well-known health benefits.
So how can giving up smoking at this time help you save m
oney?
The first financial saving to consider, is what you might save on a day to day, week to week, or year to year basis, if you were to give up smoking now. According to myfinances.co.uk, the average packet of cigarettes costs £5.67 in the UK.
If we assume that the average smoker gets through a packet a day, a week of non-smoking will save you £39.69, a month of non-smoking will save you in the region of £177.75 – yet over an entire year you will be set to save a massive £2,069.55.
It is fair to acknowledge that not everyone who wants to give up smokes £5.67 worth of cigarettes everyday, but during these times of belt-tightening and cutting back, the prospect of saving over a thousand pounds after a year of non-smoking must sound tempting to anybody.
However, savings from giving up smoking don’t stop with the cost of cigarettes. As life insurance companies become more and more competitive whilst frugal customers threaten to cancel their policies, now is the best-time for non-smokers to benefit from slashed monthly premiums in comparison to their smoking peers. Savings of up to 50 percent on payments can be made for non-smokers, whilst comparison website moneysupermarket.com estimate a 30 year-old male smoker will spend over £8,000 more on life cover than a non-smoker of the same age.
The financial benefits of giving up around the 11th March go even further though. With the growth of No Smoking Day year on year, many businesses, including supermarkets and shops, have tried to get a piece of the action. Supermarket giant, Asda are discounting prices of nicotine patches and gum in an offer to help their visitors stop at this time. It certainly seems that, in terms of saving money from stopping smoking, March 2009 may well be the perfect month to give it a try.
Life Insurance – There’s more to giving up smoking than just getting healthy
Car Insurance Incentives
In the UK, the credit crunch seems to be having an intriguing affect on car insurance companies. In a bid to appeal to cash strapped customers, it seems that each company is offering an incentive to be sure that their own policies are the ones we go for, and cash back offers are the current trend. But are car insurance incentives really as good as they sound?
Cash back is a simple method to tempt customers, and it seems that the majority of car insurance companies (as well as some general insurance companies) are using the tactic, with the most recent being Tesco, who offer £50 to all club card holders, whilst Halifax go further offering £50 initially, following with another £50 payment every year you renew.
Of course, some such cash back offers have been met with sneers of derision from finance commentators, newspapers, and other insurers alike – warning that such incentives may well confuse customers into taking out policies which may well have been cheaper with a competitor in the long run. Simply, many are arguing that the very mention of cash back is another factor to add into the equation of working out the price, whilst taking in the basic cost, and then considering such frills as a courtesy car or breakdown cover – for it is these latter factors that differ so greatly in price between insurers.
Additionally, others are warning that customers must be careful to ensure that their cash back is included if you proceed to buy through comparison sites, as well as direct – or even if you have to do so over the phone. Similarly, there are also insurers who stipulate that you must activate the payment yourself, in the hope that you forget the offer after a few months.
Thinking about the trend in the context of price comparison websites, one can’t help but wonder whether insurers have begun such incentives specifically in order to hinder the efficiency of such sites. Following another recent, but less publicized, trend in which insurers have begun incorporating their own comparison sections on their sites to increase user traffic (and subsequently conversions), this notion doesn’t seem so far-fetched. And one wonders how far these incentives will go over the next year as insurance companies compete with each other tooth to tooth. One also hopes that too many customers aren’t duped by callous companies offering great deals and perks, but masking other essential charges.
UK Burglary Hotspots: A Reminder of the Importance of Home Insurance
In 2008, a national survey* revealed the UK burglary hotspots, it seems some of us are more at risk from the threat of burglary than others. Whilst it seems people in certain towns and cities will have less of a need to sleep with one eye open, upgrading security measures and getting adequate home insurance could help everyone to get a good night’s sleep.
The Burglary Hotspots
For the third time in a row, Nottingham was awarded the booby prize of ‘Burglary Capital’. It seems the city, home to the valiant Robin Hood, still has some pretty fearless burglars. London was the second worst place for burglary and Bristol came in a very close third. Other hotspots included Leeds, Hull, Cambridge and Reading.
Such information outlines the need to be aware of the possibility of burglary and to check your home insurance policy to see if you’ve got adequate cover.
The Burglary Safe Spots
The survey concluded that the least-burgled places were Guildford, Norwich and Dundee, with Swindon, Bath, Aberdeen and Exeter also scoring highly.
Student Contents Insurance
But what the survey didn’t take into account was student burglaries. According to the Home Office, young people aged between 16 to 24 years old are three times more likely to be victims of burglary than other age groups, with students the number one target. What’s more, Leeds, London and Manchester
With this in mind, any students who are about to check into their student digs should check out ‘Home Insurance: Get a 1st Degree in Contents Cover!’ students face paying more for contents insurance than others, suggesting their students are the most at risk.
Burglary: Reduce the risk
Wherever you live, you can do something to stop the thieves:
- Get contents insurance– you and your home deserve protection
- Always check ID if a stranger appears at your door – don’t let them in if you don’t feel comfortable
- Lock up! Visit ‘How to make your house secure’ (link to internal article ‘How to make your house secure’) for some top security tips
*The ‘Homes Report 2008’, carried out by Endsleigh, found the safest and riskiest UK towns and cities for burglaries.