Is it a lottery or a tax?

The UK’s National Lottery raises over £30 million each and every week for good causes. It has been a phenomenal success ever since it was first introduced some 18 years ago, so much so, that almost 80% of the UK adult (16 or over) population regularly buy lottery tickets.

The money raised goes to help a myriad of different things. In the Cambridgeshire area over the past few years, examples of the type of causes that have received grants include children’s activity clubs, a kidney disease research project, the Age Concern charity, a sports project for the blind, a grant for the Citizens Advise Bureaux and a community transport scheme for the disadvantaged.

Over the past seven years since the UK were awarded the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, almost £1,800m of lottery funding has gone towards the building of the infrastructure required to run a successful games.

All of these are good worthwhile causes that most of us imagine lottery funding was meant for. What is often forgotten, is that before the advent of the National Lottery, many of these types of grants came from the local council funded by our taxes. Certainly there was no lottery funding for the Olympic Games when they were held in London in 1908 and 1948, it was the government that paid for those games. Admittedly, nothing like as much infrastructure was required, but nevertheless, whatever was spent came from tax revenues.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not complaining about how lottery funding is distributed; in fact I think the organisation responsible for distributing lottery funds does an admirable job.

We’ll never know, but had it not been for the National lottery, I wonder how much more of our taxes would have gone towards the 1,000’s of projects including the London Olympics that the lottery fund has helped over the last 18 years.

We can’t blame the lottery for our current woes regarding the economy, but perhaps it has gone a long way towards helping the overall rise in the standard of living that we in the UK have experienced over the past 18 years.

I don’t think we can ever say that the lottery is just another tax, but what we can say is that it has been a good thing for everyone.

If Your Credit Is In Need Of Repair Then Follow These Tips!

Having poor credit can be a devastating occurrence in life. It can limit opportunities and deny you of financial options. There are a few steps you can take to start repairing your credit now. None of them are simple or pointlessly unhelpful tips, like win the lottery or stop spending.

Having to deal with a collection agency can be extremely stressful. You can submit a cease and desist statement to a creditor to stop harassment. The consumer still has to pay disputed debts even though these letters stop agencies from calling.

When looking to improve your credit, avoid companies claiming that they can remove negative information if the debt is true. These things are, generally, on your record for seven years. Be aware, however, that incorrect information can indeed be erased from your record.

Paying your bills is a straightforward, but truly vital prerequisite for credit repair. Paying your bills on time and for the full amount is important. Getting rid of past-due bills will have a fast and dramatic effect on your credit score.

Before consulting a credit counseling agency, be sure to check out their background and history. Although some can be quite legitimate, others have motives that are less than kind. Some are just people trying to scam you. You should research any counseling service you are considering prior to initiating communications with them.

When attempting to pacify your creditors, do not let pressure make you feel the need to commit to unrealistic monthly payments, or lump-sum settlements that are not affordable. Understand what your budget is, and don't go over this. Even if some arrangements might give you temporary relief from harassing creditors, not being able to fulfill your commitments will ruin your credit report even more.

Seek advice from a trustworthy credit counseling service if you are having difficulty managing your debt. They may be able to talk to your creditors and figure out a repayment plan; they can also assist you with your long-term financial goals. Good credit counseling can help you understand the best, easiest ways to oversee your finances and pay your financial obligations.

Taking time to examine your monthly credit card bill is critical to ensure that there are no errors. if you find any, then you need to get in touch with the company right away so this does not become a blemish on your credit record.

Before you concede everything on your credit report is valid, scrutinize it very carefully. Mistakes or errors in your file can cause issues for your credit. If you can prove that a given discrepancy is invalid, file a credit dispute and the offending mark will get removed after a while.

You can get a house mortgaged at the snap of a finger if you have a high credit score. You will get a better credit score by paying your mortgage payment on time. Having a major asset like a house also looks good to potential creditors. If you have to take out a loan, this will help you.

Now that we have gone over the different ways you can go about repairing credit, why not get started now? You should take action before your credit gets worst, at least to slow down the process.

Save £1,000’s with uSwitch

uSwitch.com is a UK company that provide an online comparison and switching service.

Through their site, consumers are able to compare prices for a range of energy, personal finance, insurance and communications services. The products they handle include gas, electricity, water, home telephone, mobile phones, broadband, digital TV, personal finance products, heating cover and car insurance. uSwitch are always looking to expand their product base and expect to introduce new lines later in 2012.

According to The Times uSwitch is one of the two most established price comparison websites, and has been highlighted as being among the best money-saving websites for students.

Company History

Uswitch was launched in September 2000 by British businessman and peer Lord Milford Haven. Set up to take advantage of the UK’s deregulated gas and electric markets with an initial investment of £4 million, uSwitch soon expanded its portfolio to include the telecommunications market.

To consolidate its position in the market uSwitch acquired buy.co.uk in 2001 and followed it up by buying the local community website UpMyStreet two years later.

By 2006 uSwitch was the market leader in the UK for the comparison and switching market and were acquired by an American media business, E.W. Scripps Company for the princely sum of £210 million.

Three years later Scripps sold uSwitch to Forward Internet Group, a private company with a collection of consumer facing internet-based business’s.

How uSwitch works

When looking to compare prices, consumers are asked a range of questions covering location, prices, payment method and service type. uSwitch’s software then searches through their database of relevant service providers and displays a selection of cheap, or cheaper deals that meet the criteria set by the consumer.

At that point the consumer can decide to switch there and then through the arrangement that uSwitch has with the particular service provider. Alternatively, the consumer can approach the provider directly and switch their service through them.

This service is free to the consumer. uSwitch make their money by receiving a commission from the service providers for introducing the consumer to them.

The commercial relationships that uSwitch have with their suppliers do not influence the order in which services are ranked when displayed to the consumer.

There are no direct costs to consumers for the service. The company receives commission from some suppliers when a customer chooses to switch through the uSwitch site.

Visit uSwitch today and see how much you can save!

How Writing A List And Keeping It Handy Can Help You Remember

Our memory is something we never want to lose. It is possible to prevent memory loss with a few simple steps. By being educated about memory loss and ways to prevent it, you will save yourself agony later in life. You can never start too early with memory loss prevention. This article will give you plenty of tips on how to prevent memory loss.

Remember that you are a lifelong learner, even after you are officially done with school. When you stop acquiring new knowledge, you stop utilizing the part of your brain that aids in memory. If that portion of your brain has not been exercised regularly, it will be difficult to remember things.

One way to improve memory is by building a "memory tree." First, focus on the big subjects that you are trying to remember. Important details will form the limbs branching off of this core concept that represents the trunk of the tree. The smaller details and examples represent the leaves to each branch. Organizing the relative importance of information can help you remember details better.

Although memories become less sharp as we grow older, there are many ways to keep your memory strong. To aid this process, it is important to get enough sleep, get regular exercise, eat a healthy diet and keep your brain stimulated. This can be done with various activities such as games, crosswords and reading. And don't forget to enjoy life, laugh a lot and keep stress to a minimum!

One of the most important tactics for improving your memory is to always pay attention to your surroundings. When new information is presented to you, then picture it in your mind how it's spelled. Another good way to remember someone's name is to ask if there's a variation in the way they spell their name. For example, ask, "Is that Christy with an I or a Y?" Then, repeat what you learn to improve the chance that you will remember it. Address her by name whenever you ask her a question to help commit it to memory.

Mnemonic devices can help you recall important pieces of information. Mnemonic devices are basically a word association that helps you remember and recall information. As an example, names are hard to remember, but if you associate a new persons name with a product or character that is easy for you to remember can give you the clues you need later to figure it out.

If you'd like to give your memory a boost, make an effort to laugh more often and to regularly listen to jokes. Hearing jokes encourages you to think of potential punch lines, which activates the area of your brain responsible for learning and being creative. Start laughing, or act like a clown, to assist others with bettering their brain too.

Link bits of information together in your mind by constructing a memory chain to facilitate learning. You can link together related facts or even link relevant material with completely irrelevant material. For instance, if a chemistry student needs to memorize the periodic table symbol for lead (Pb), he can link it to panda bears for maximum recall ability. This connection is bizarre, and that makes it easy to remember.

Recovering lost memories is not possible in all cases, but it is worth a try. But by following the tips laid out in this article, you can be sure that you are always holding on to the new memories you make. Learn about how to keep your memory strong and use these tips.

Lottery

Do Lottery Systems Really Work?

There are many so called ‘lottery systems’ that claim to have more chances of predicting what lottery balls are likely to come up that say a ‘lucky dip’. But as any true statistician will tell you, there is no such thing as a formula that can work any better than you randomly selecting your own numbers for any one lottery ticket.

Of course, by buying multiple tickets for one draw certainly improves your odds against winning, but it’s hardly a formula.

Having said that, there is one true story that does make you think that maybe there is something to be said for a ‘system’.

A group of 17 university professors and tutors from Bradford University set a lottery syndicate in 1994 when the National Lottery was first launched. At first, each member used to randomly select a line of their own with the syndicate buying 17 tickets for every draw.

After years of failing to win anything other than the odd £10, the syndicate decided to come up with a formula to help improve their chances of winning.

The Formula

Playing the Lotto game where you have to correctly match 6 numbers from 1-49, the syndicate wrote out each number on a piece of paper and put them into a box.

Next, the first syndicate member pulled 6 pieces of paper out of the box. These numbers then made the first line. The six pieces of paper where then placed into a second box.

This process continued until 8 of the members had chosen their numbers using up 48 of the 49 pieces of paper. That left just one piece of paper remaining in the first box. The ninth member of the syndicate then used the remaining number in the first box to start his line, adding 5 numbers from the second box to complete his line. He then placed all 6 numbers back into the first box.

This process again continued for the next 7 lines at which point there were only two numbers left in the second box. The final member of the syndicate then used those two numbers, plus 4 more picked from the first box again, to complete the final line.

The syndicate now had 17 lines which included all of the numbers from 1 to 49 at least twice and four of the numbers three times.

Not satisfied with that, they then created a computer programme that helped then check their tickets after each draw. All they had to do was input the winning numbers and the bonus ball and the computer programme told them which if any tickets had won.

For the next four years, the syndicate continued to win the occasional £10 but on eventually it came good. On Saturday 6^thOctober 2006, they hit the jackpot winning £5,299,849 netting each member £311,755.82p each.

At the time, a spokeswoman for Camelot (operators of The National Lottery) said they were aware of the system employed by the university syndicate.

She said: “We are not overly concerned by it as everybody has a method of trying to win. However, we would say that being in a syndicate does increase your chance of a win as one in four jackpots goes to a syndicate.”

I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it was just luck or the formula that won them the jackpot. I’m off to find 16 friends to join my syndicate.

Daily Telegraph – play the lottery for free!

This is what The Daily Telegraph said about us in their article on 12th October 2011

Play the lottery without paying a penny – thanks to new cashback site

Fancy a flutter on the lottery but feel guilty about buying a ticket? A new cashback website could be the answer.

You could earn 2,000 points, enough for two lottery tickets, by placing your first online shopping order at Tesco through the new site.

The site, freenationallotterytickets.co.uk, allows users to build up cashback balances when they buy goods and services through the site. These balances, called lottery points, can then be used to buy tickets for the Lotto and Euromillions draws.

Buying a single £1 lottery ticket costs 1,000 lottery points. You could earn 2,000 points, enough for two lottery tickets, by placing your first online shopping order at Tesco through the site, for example.

Other offers on the site include 24,000 points (enough for 24 tickets) for taking out an O2 mobile broadband contract and 20,000 for joining the RAC.

Players can also buy a share of a syndicated ticket for as little as 10 points. Any winnings in this case would be shared with 99 other players.

If your ticket does win a lottery prize, you will receive it in full. However, you can’t choose your own lottery numbers. The site, which is free to join, is not connected with the National Lottery. You have to be aged 16 or over to join.

Ian Lowe, the managing director of Wincot Media, which owns the site, said: “Unfortunately we don’t have any secret magic formula for selecting our lottery ticket numbers, but it’s no secret that you have to be in it to win it, so we’re all keeping our fingers crossed that one of our members’ tickets wins them a jackpot.”

How To Manage Your Money In A Tough Economy

If you're hoping to make a big purchase in the future, consider beginning to track your finances today. This article has many useful ideas that can help you better manage your finances.

 

You should have at least three months' salary in this account. Take around ten percent of the money you make and put it in a savings account.

 

If you want to save money when eating in foreign countries, you can try eating like a local. Most likely, the restaurant in the hotel, and the restaurants located in tourist areas will be expensive, so look around and discover where the local people eat. Food that is higher in quality and lower in price can always be found.

 

The ability to save money is central to any successful personal financial plan. The importance of regularly contributing to your savings cannot be overestimated. Make setting aside a certain amount each payday toward savings just another one of your bills. You will start to accumulate money if you make paying yourself a priority.

 

Taking advantage of a sale is not a wise move if it causes you to buy a product or quantity that you do not plan to use. If you end up throwing out food because it has gone bad, you are essentially throwing out money and negating the bargains. Shop for bargains, and don't be afraid to buy 10 pounds of peanut butter if your family loves it, but use common sense.

 

Prevention is the best remedy for credit card debt. Consider the consequences in full before making any purchases on credit. Think about the length of time a particular purchase will take in order to be paid. If it will take you in excess of one month to fully pay and the item is something you can live without anyway, leave it in the store.

 

Each time you receive a check, the first thing you should do is put some of it in savings. If your intention is to just tuck away whatever dollars you still have at the back end of your pay period, your saving will never get going. Once you put the money aside, your brain tends to see it as unavailable.

 

Getting your finances in order is a great way to improve your quality of life. You should invest your capital and protect your profits. Allocating profits into capital to build a larger foundation for growth is acceptable, however, managing those profits wisely allows you to see return from your investments. Decide on a plan ahead of time regarding your profits and capital.

 

Watch for letters that tell you about changes in your credit accounts. The law says that they have to let you know 45 days ahead of time. Read the changes carefully and consider if you want to keep your account. If you decide that they are no longer worth it, pay off the account and close it down.

 

Find out if anyone in your family or amongst your friends has worked in finance, as they can give you great advice for your business. If one does not know anyone that has worked in financial services, a friend or family member who is very good with their finances may be able to offer some help.

 

As was discusses in this article, good financial management will help you save for more expensive purchases in the future. You should now be better prepared for making the best financial decisions now that you have learned the advice in this article.

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lottery-Results-UK/278632112174400

https://plus.google.com/b/114327771125040616397/114327771125040616397/posts