Investing in the future of English football

by on January 31st, 2013

The future of English football will always be a widely debated topic among football fans. With ever-increasing transfer fees and premier league clubs racking up huge debts to compete with each other, it’s important to ask: how should we invest in the future of English football?

I recently completed a course to obtain my FA Level 1 football coaching badge. Luckily for me it was funded by my local club. This badge is the first and cheapest in the long path towards obtaining the full range of FA and UEFA coaching badges available.

While on the course we were introduced to the new St George’s Park National Football Centre and shown the benefits and facilities that it will offer to players and coaches in the future. The new world-class facility centre hosts an indoor 3G pitch, 11 external pitches, running tracks, a training hill, sports medicine centre and dedicated goalkeeper areas.

The new facility is undeniably impressive and will be invaluable to the England squad, however, unless younger players have learnt the fundamental football skills before they get to use St George’s facility at 15,16 or 17, it seems too little too late.

So with £120 million spent on this facility alone, I have to ask, was it really worth it and what should we really be doing to invest in UK football of the future?

Investing into our local sporting and training facilities will create home-grown talent at an early stage and avoid the ever growing transfer fees which are leading, in my opinion, many much loved football clubs into unmanageable, and unrecoverable debt.

What the other countries do

Whilst our national sport has been crying out for investment at grassroots level to train successful future coaches and players, I question why we haven’t followed suit from our European colleagues.

Holland, Germany and Spain alike all offer the same standard of resources at a regional level that St Georges Park has such as good outdoor and indoor pitches, high quality changing rooms and restaurants within their complex.

It’s clear to see the connection between the resources they offer regionally and the young promising players and coaches they go on to produce.

These players will go on to train at places like FC Barcelona’s La Masia youth system and the excellent academy at Ajax in Amsterdam, which between them have produced the likes of Pedro, Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Puyol, Sneijder, Nigel De Jong, Stekelenburg, Van Der Wiel, all of which played in the World Cup Final 2010.

So where should the money go?

Whilst others may disagree, I believe it’s now time to commit and invest fully in our local resources – nurturing the talent we have and preparing them for the future.

It follows that if clubs in England were bringing through better academy players, less money would be spent on transfer fees to buy foreign players.

This also means fewer English clubs going into debt to compete with the gap being created by the richer clubs in the Premier League.

The maths

You only have to look at the Spanish La Liga which has 80% of Spanish Nationals playing in the league contrasting vastly to the English Premier League of which just 39% of English Nationals play for.

The Spanish league is in £1.6 billion debt compared to England’s £2.8 billion.

Interestingly the total transfer fees spend for England in summer 2012 was a massive £490 million compared to Spain’s comparatively small sum of £84 million.

According to these figures, we could be saving nearly four times the amount we spent on St George’s football centre if we had the talent coming through locally.

The future of football

I was fortunate to have my first coaching badge funded by my local club however most English clubs don’t have the financial capabilities to sponsor promising coaches – mainly due to the costs of the coaching badges but also due to the fact that coaches funding themselves is completely unrealistic, considering the current financial climate.

In essence, I believe the huge amounts of money being spent on our nation’s number one passion, isn’t being invested where it’s needed most.

As we continue to neglect much needed local investment, we risk losing the potential to compete with the rest of the world forever.

Please Daniel Etchells previous blog post for more information on this topic.

Posted in Debt Management | 1 Comment »

Blue Monday 2013- the most depressing day of the year again?

by on January 18th, 2013

As 21st January rolls around, the dreaded Blue Monday is upon us once again.

With Christmas a distant, expensive memory and the good intentions of the New-Year-new-you beginning to wane, this Blue Monday is enough to make the most resilient of us a little more than off-colour. Through a complicated formula blending everything from low motivational levels to the dreary January weather, the third Monday of 2013 is dubbed the most depressing day of the year.

When you factor into this the bleak financial outlook of a payday for many still over a fortnight away, the escalating cost of living, combined with the awkward timing of present-laden credit card bills landing on doormats up and down the country, it doesn’t get any easier.

In a recent survey by HSBC, this year’s Christmas’ spending habits saw consumers splashing out on average £346.63 for presents just for immediate family, with one in two British people putting the doom and gloom of the economic squeeze aside to spend the same amount as last year. This average figure becomes even more of a sizable dent in many household incomes with 94% of British consumers also spending a considerable amount on food and drink, including entertainment and going out over Christmas. All this adds up to make January unmanageable as many people are resorting to expensive short-term loans to cover day-to-day costs.

Reflection not depression

For those left nursing a financial hangover from Christmas, reflection not depression is key to get things back on track in January and beyond. It is vital to tackle the issue head on, apathy plus compounding worry on top of worry only breeds more stress.

Budget

A budget is always the best place to start. Review all that is going in and all that needs to go out, using this as the framework for your budget, then plan accordingly; the devil is in the detail so make sure to account for any hidden surprises you may have overlooked.

Trim

January shouldn’t just be synonymous with getting leaner at the gym after an over indulgent festive period; your outgoings could also do with losing a few pounds. Take a close look at your budget and trim away all the excess that isn’t a necessity.
Like our online personality ‘ClearlyMoney’ on Facebook to keep up-to-date with innovative ways to save money, receive cashback while shopping online and ultimately TRIM your finances.

Save

This may be a painfully obvious one but having a little kept aside for a rainy- expensive- emergency-day will hopefully safeguard against any costly bumps in the road later on.

Still feel overwhelmed?

If you still feel overwhelmed by your financial situation and would like specific advice on your debts, the solutions we offer and support on how to deal with your creditors, please give us a call on 0800 019 2095 or  complete our call back form below.

Posted in Debt Management, Personal Debt | 1 Comment »

Living Wage vs Minimum Wage – What’s the Difference?

by on January 10th, 2013

Breaking news: 1 in 5 workers are paid less than the living wage. What does that mean? That almost five million working Britain’s are receiving the minimum wage and still do not have enough money to cover the basic cost of living in the UK

So what is the minimum wage? 

The minimum wage is the hourly rate that almost all workers are entitled to as dictated by law and takes into account lots of different factors including the state of the economy, unemployment levels , pensions’ reforms and other government reforms. *Currently the national minimum wage for people aged over 21 is £6.19.

And what’s a living wage?

A living wage is an independently set hourly rate calculated on the cost of living and it is not compulsory for employers to pay this. As you may have guessed, the minimum wage is currently lower than the living wage * which is set at £7.45 per hour.

The debate around both wage tags

Surely the minimum wage should be set at a level that would allow workers the means to afford the basic cost of living? Unfortunately this is not the case and those earning only the minimum wage often have to top up their income by having more than one job, applying for top-up benefits or borrowing.

Recent research revealed that use of a living wage would actually save the government £2bn a year. The extra money paid out in higher wages would go straight to the government in the form of extra income tax and national insurance payments. You can read more about this research here.

However, minimum wage could be better for employees in the long run. The living wage would cost an employer an extra £2,100 each year per employee; a substantial disincentive to any employer making large numbers of hires at low wage levels. Starting at minimum wage could be better in the long run as not only are more going to get hired but once employed, they can gain seniority and experience and will then get paid more.

Currently there is roughly £1 per hour difference between the two wage tags. Over a 40 hour week, that would work out at an extra £41 for the living wage worker. The extra money earned by those on a living wage can make a vital difference in helping low income families cover their basic needs.

is it just a case that society has come to have higher expectations of what is “basic”?

Or have we forgotten how to make do with what we can afford?

There may be ways in which we all could make cut backs on unnecessary luxuries but sometimes that just isn’t enough. When you earn £247 per week with a family to support, rent to pay and utility bills to maintain, cutting back on current expenses may still not be enough.

Possible living wage solution?

The ideal solution would be for employers to simply start paying their employees a living wage as opposed to a minimum wage.

A lot of the bigger firms have signed up to pay the living wage as a minimum. However, some are of the opinion that for smaller businesses the living wage is an aspiration and not affordable; and that enforcing a living wage will simply mean that businesses will inevitably have to increase their prices thus increasing the cost of living anyway….and so the cycle continues and the blame game changes focus from the salary debate to the cost of living debate.

So, where does it start and where does it end? I think the wage debate is such a huge issue across the UK that we need a more concrete solution which genuinely offers a well thought out option – without shifting the financial blame to another area of living and money worries.

Poverty and debt is a complex problem that requires a complex solution, let’s see what our Government can come up with for this one!

Posted in Managing Your Money | No Comments »

ClearDebt now offers face to face appointments

by on January 7th, 2013

In 2012, ClearDebt launched it’s first Advice Week, giving our teams a chance to engage with clients and learn more about how we can help and new services we can offer.

Chat to ClearDebt

As part of Advice Week, we trialed face to face appointments with clients online.

Whilst face to face advice is offered by Citizens Advice Bureau, few, if any, fee charging debt resolution companies offer this service on a day to day basis.

We felt it was important to offer this service to give clients the opportunity to talk to us face to face should they feel more comfortable.

Face to face debt advice

As a result of this activity, 2013 now sees the launch of online face to face appointments with members in each of our customer services and advice teams.

Our new face to face chat system works simply by sending you a link within the contents of an email which you can click on to start the face to face chat. If you’d like a face to face appointment, please let us know by emailing marketing@cleardebt.co.uk or book your appointment by completing the form.

One Customer Services Officer commented to us after her video appointments with clients,

It was nice to have some face to face activity with a client. I felt the review went very smoothly and client understood more why we carry them out.

Another colleague said,

The questions the client had were relatively straight forward, in all honesty. It is quite good to note that when a client is explaining a letter they have received, they can just hold it up to the camera and you can see it straight away instead of having to guess which letter it is

If you have any queries or would like to make an appointment please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Alternatively complete the form below to arrange an appointment at a time that is convenient for you.

Posted in Inside ClearDebt | No Comments »

Are proposed changes to child benefit entitlements fair?

by on January 4th, 2013

New year, new start – but it might not be one all of the country is looking forward to. From the 7th January 2013 all households where one parent earns over £50k will see child benefit cut and for those where one parent earns over £60k, child benefit will be cut completely.

Changes to child benefit

As part of the 2012 budget announcements by George Osborne, millions of families have reacted as they received letters confirming the changes due to take place in the new year.

Whilst I, and I’m sure, most of the nation appreciate our Government is doing their best to get us out of a recession, it’s hard not to question decisions such as this which will really hit households hard.

Through my work at ClearDebt I speak with so many families who are already stretching their pennies as much as possible and I can’t help but wonder how they will manage when the new cuts come in.

It strikes me that before long, new policies will introduce a society where the low income families continue to be supported with benefits, the high income households continue without but manage to live accordingly, and the middle earners become the most affected – earning decent salaries but punished by a cut of benefits which they still rely on – no matter what the government think.

I wonder, and wonder if you do too,  if George Osborne has really considered the full impact of their changes to family dynamics?

See here, what other people are saying on twitter about this!


How will the child benefit changes affect me?

According to Price Waterhouse Cooper, one of the most shocking implications is that for families with three children or more, by the time the children reach 18, this will equate to a cut of benefits of around £50,000!

Other areas of impact from this new change means the following for many parents now juggling their finances to cope with the cost of bringing up children:

• Where one parent earns over £50k child benefit will be cut.

• Where one parent earns over £60k, child benefit will be cut completely.

• The changes will expect parents to be open regarding how much each earns.

• If one parent does choose to claim child benefit, notwithstanding the high earnings of the other, the other will be taxed at higher rate – could be a particular problem for divorced parents!

• Stay at home mums may have to return to work

So are these proposed child benefit changes fair?

My feelings are the Chancellor needs to look elsewhere to achieve his expenditure cuts. Receipt of child benefit is an established institution to all classes of recipient for different reasons.

The bottom line is middle class families will have to bear the brunt of the proposal and make sacrifices. The rich will manage without it and the less well-off will be unaffected.

How will the child benefit changes affect you and your family? Do you think the proposed changes are fair?

 

Posted in Government policy on debt | No Comments »

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