| Sorting out your personal finances can be a tricky | | | | sites provide free consumer financial product |
| and exasperating time. Whether you are looking to | | | | comparison services for credit cards, insurance, |
| obtain money through a loan, protect your finances | | | | investments, savings accounts, mortgages, loans, as |
| with life insurance, medical, travel or car insurance, | | | | well as gas and electricity bill suppliers. Additional |
| save some money through an individual savings | | | | consumer information services are also often |
| account (ISA), apply for a credit card or a mortgage, | | | | provided such as financial guides, financial newsletters |
| change a telephone or fuel utility supplier, or simply | | | | and personal finance calculators. Moneynet, in |
| decide what the best current account is for your | | | | particular, has a tool which allows registered users to |
| needs, the choices are seemingly endless as well as | | | | manage all of their accounts online - securely, including |
| being extremely complicated. They can also be | | | | credit cards, savings accounts and current accounts. |
| potentially serious if you get it wrong. With so many | | | | You can also obtain financial advice from an |
| options, and so many companies trying to get you to | | | | independent financial advisor, but this is an expensive |
| use their product, it is difficult to know where to | | | | way of doing what could be done for free with a |
| turn. | | | | little effort. If you do your own homework, then you |
| The first method of working out your own finances | | | | can use your time with an advisor more effectively |
| is to review your needs and compare the products | | | | by asking informed questions. You'll have a better |
| on offer to meet those needs. You could, if desired, | | | | understanding of what you're being sold if you've |
| visit the banks one by one, burning calories and shoe | | | | done a little bit of homework first. |
| leather by doing so. Alternatively you may have | | | | * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
| heard of the World Wide Web, it's like a sort of big | | | | Resources: |
| and commercial version of Narnia and you don't have | | | | A helpful list of finance comparison sites |
| to go through your wardrobe to get there. And no | | | | Personal finance - moneynet |
| freaky men with goats legs ... | | | | About Rachel |
| ... not without a login and password anyway. | | | | Rachel writes for the personalfinanosaurus Cashzilla |
| So, we present the concept of financial product | | | | I'm a hairy, scary dinosaur who lurves personal |
| comparison sites, which have been around in the UK | | | | finance stuff and I'm dating Nessie the Loch Ness |
| since 1997, when small company called moneynet | | | | Monster |
| decided to break up the monopoly in the personal | | | | Rachel has been writing personal finance related |
| finance market. Over the past eight years, there has | | | | articles for six months and has learnt so much about |
| been an explosion in the number of UK sites seeking | | | | mortgages and life insurance, that nobody invites her |
| to provide information to enable consumers to make | | | | out to dinner anymore. |
| informed decisions on their personal finances. These | | | | |