06/09/2014 Your Money

This is Your Money, your weekly guide to making

the most of your cash, here every weekend on BBC News, available all

We're still leaving it too late to boost our retirement nest eggs.

But is it worth saving up when interest rates are so low?

No? Well, you're not alone.

We've been finding out how not understanding financial jargon can

cost you especially if you're buying a home.

And in a week when private photos of Hollywood celebrities were published

online we've got some useful tips to help protect your personal

According to many experts, saving for your retirement is one

of the most important financial plans you can make.

But more and more of us are leaving it until our mid`50s

New research from the Halifax shows that there's a big difference

in savings between younger savers and those nearing retirement.

With me now is Anna Bowes, Savings expert at SavingsChampion.co.uk.

Why are we waiting so long to save? It is not really an expected, it is

wrote hot at the moment so people are finding it difficult to find

that `` it is tough at the moment so people are finding it difficult to

find that money to put aside. The problem is that rates are low, it is

a real problem. We are hoping to see that interest rates will rise and

that will hopefully make it a bit more attractive for people. The key

thing is to not just look at what interest rate you are going to earn,

but if you put money aside every month you are going to build up a

nest egg and the interest is the cream on the top. So it is putting

money away to have something to rely on in the future. How do we

discipline ourselves to do that happily? You have to think about

that. Building a budget is a good start and then try to put some money

away each one of the direct debit so it comes out like another bill. The

benefit of this is that you get the money back at a later stage. And

what are you seeing out there on the high Street in terms of the rates we

are being offered? It does not look great when you look at some of the

adverts we see on the high Street. Interest rates have plummeted

without the base rate falling so it is a real shame, we need some

competition back. On a normal easy access account you can get 1.4%.

That is still lower than the rate of inflation. If you want to save

regularly you can find plans which pay better interest and there is

some linked to current accounts which can pay up to 6%, first Direct

for example, you have two have a current account with them. It is

also good to look at high interest current accounts like Santander, and

nationwide pays 5% but again you have to follow the rules. There can

be fees, etc. And use your icer, tax`free. It helps. The key is to

use as many tax`free route into savings. Yes, you want to use every.

You need to keep another rates. Interest rates are called `` falling

on existing savings account those who important in your pocket to make

sure you are earning the best rates but also to drum up to competition

in the savings market which will drive interest rates back up making

it more attractive for all of us. Thank you to joining us.

On our last show we talked about financial education classes

being taught in schools across the country but it seems

Latest research shows that misunderstanding financial terms

and conditions cost us grown`ups ?21 billion pounds last year alone.

Our very own jargon buster Maryam Moshiri reports.

You just found your dream home and are taking out a mortgage.

Do you bother to read all the terms and conditions

A study from the Money Advice Service revealed that

misunderstanding financial terms and conditions cost us ?420 each

last year and over 80% of adults in the UK admit they don't bother

reading them when they take out financial products.

We've become somewhat blase about terms and conditions.

As we all go more digital, we tick, yes,

I have read the terms and conditions box before everything, from ordering

And while it doesn't matter so much, ordering a pizza, if it arrives

late, terms and conditions are you still have to pay for it.

It matters a lot more on a big purchase like a mortgage.

A survey revealed that when taking up a mortgage, for example,

many people are failing to take the terms and conditions seriously.

17% of those who have taken out a mortgage previously actually

bothered to read the terms and conditions.

25% are unable to identify what APR stands for, and perhaps more

surprising of all, 21% don't even know what a mortgage is.

Taking out a mortgage for your first home is one of the biggest

investments we are ever going to make so it seems quite strange that

many of us don't bother to read the small print or don't educate

ourselves on what the financial jargon really means. So why do

the experts believe we are so unlikely to make sure we understand

There's a huge amount of paperwork to taking a loan,

And with increased legislation on lenders that have come into force,

It's there to protect the borrower but can add to the confusion.

We decided to ask some people with a mortgage whether they had read

Does anybody read all that, you are just pleased to get a mortgage.

Did I read the small print at the time 30 years ago?

I probably didn't because we were pretty glad to get

Our solicitor really made us read it, I remember that.

I hate to admit it but I left it to my husband.

He would have done vigorously, but other things like mobile

The implications of not reading before signing on the dotted line

The unexpected penalties could affect your credit rating or end

If in doubt, don't be afraid to ask for help.

Let's look at some other personal finance news now.

Complaints about payment protection insurance have fallen by almost

a third but the Financial Ombudsman says fee`paying bank accounts are

The service is also seeing more complaints about payday loans.

If you want to make a complaint to the Ombudsman, you can do this

Royal Mail is to introduce a new Sunday service this weekend to

make it easier for shoppers to receive their parcels.

Customers will be able to collect packages at around 100 offices,

while parcel deliveries will be made within the M25 area.

Offices will open for four hours from noon.

And if you're fed up using various different passwords

and key cards to log on to your bank account, then things

Soon you'll be able to access your details through your finger?

Barclays has launched a portable scanner known

At the moment just business customers

have been offered the device but the bank is hoping to be able to offer

And sticking with technology, this week hundreds of intimate photos of

It may have left you wondering whether the various online services

are safe places to share your photos or documents.

So how do you stop yourself from becoming a victim and what are

the best ways to protect yourself on the world wide web?

Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, joins me from our Cardiff studio.

Good morning. What exact he has happened here, how did this photo

leak happened? I think it is down to people not safeguarding their

passwords. It has been proved now that the actual companies that are

hosting all of this information are very secure. Where the weak point is

if some of these passwords. Passwords are now very important. It

is probably one of the most major things that I talk about on a

regular basis, having a secure password, like having a bunch of

keys. You would not have one key for every thing you do in the world,

likewise, do not have one password for everything. Certain security and

different lengths of passwords for different things you do. You talked

about passwords, what type passwords should we be using? First of all,

one that is secure. That is as long as you can possibly make it but you

need to be able to remember it. I also believe you need to be a bit

pragmatic about passwords. Some people say, I'd have got so many, I

cannot deal with them so I write them down. If you do, write them

down in a cryptic way so you can remember what they are. But long

words together so you can run them. A good tip I heard, if you are on a

certain site, remember a phrase to relate to that site so you can

remember the password. So do not use your wife's name or your children's

name, make it more conjugated? Absolutely, and traditionally, the

top passwords are password, ABC, one to three. We have got to get

smarter. This is our money and our information and financial details.

So we need to make sure we safeguard them. In terms of antivirus

software, is it expensive? It does not have to be. There are two ways

to protect ourselves, we have to protect our computers, laptops, PCs,

mobile devices. All of those need security, including mobile phone.

With that, you will be secure. You also need to check that you have

updated your applications and operating system is. If you have

done that, you're halfway. Then you have got to protect your self,

knowing what the scans are, securing your password but making sure you

put out information... Do not give people `` do not put information

online that he would not give to someone on a bus stop.

That's all from Your Money for this week.

You can keep up to date all week long by clicking on the Your Money

And on social media, we're on Twitter @BBCYourMoney.

More next week, thanks for watching today.

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