Worth it if you have money (Moneywise)

Name: frangliz

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Product:	Moneywise
Date:	26/10/08 (217 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Serious, well-presented articles

Disadvantages: Expensive if you are struggling

I have to admit at the outset that I received a copy of Moneywise free of charge and am rather glad that I did not pay the cover price of £4.25, although it is a worthwhile magazine for certain people which is why I have awarded four stars.

The front cover of the October issue shows a photograph of seven people, presumably members of three different generations of one family, all with beaming smiles. It gives the impression that the magazine is intended for all ages, and that it will solve all your problems, although it is in fact advertising an article aimed at showing couples supporting both children and elderly parents how to survive.

Moneywise, like most magazines, has regulars such as letters and a competition. Aside from these, it is divided into sections entitled Upfront, Budgeting & Planning, Property, Spending, and Saving & Investing. In a way it seems to be trying to do too much, since it seems to be aimed at both those who are struggling financially and those who have money to invest. As one who is struggling a little, I have no interest whatsoever in articles such as 'Investing in health and biotech funds' or 'Outer limits' which looks at 'soaring returns on vintage electric guitars'.

In the Spending section, I am not looking to buy a breadmaker, but I did find the article questioning whether the taxman is charging us too much a particularly interesting one that urges us to regularly check our tax codes. One of my sons recently discovered that he had paid about £150 extra tax for the year 2006-2007; it has been refunded but, of course, with no interest, although we the taxpayers are always charged interest if we pay late, so it is definitely worth keeping a close eye on our status.

Budgeting and Planning seems to be the largest section in the magazine, but I'm afraid I was disappointed in the article 'How to turn junk into cash'. This includes subsections on Ebay and car boot sales, but I just can't imagine that there are many people who are unaware of these money-raising opportunities and the information seems all too obvious. There is, admittedly, a subsection on selling antiques, but there is no mention of other Internet sites for selling second-hand goods such as Amazon Marketplace which are usually more lucrative than Ebay.

Also within Budgeting and Planning is an interview with Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis, which is for me one of the more interesting articles in the October issue. Martin gives us a little reassurance in stating that, despite fears of recession, the state of the economy is still much better than it was in the 1970s and 1980s. To save on food, he advises us to downsize in terms of brands as well as avoiding waste. I was surprised to read that he believes that credit cards are the best way to borrow money - if you understand them. If you can get 0% on balance transfers without paying a transfer fee, all well and good. But in my experience, it's tempting only to make minimum payments on credit cards, whereas with a personal loan you are locked in to a fixed monthly payment and you know exactly when you will finish paying off the loan.

The magazine does give several pages of useful tables covering accounts, mortgages, credit cards, investment trusts, personal pensions and so on, but you could probably find these quite easily on the Internet. I did however like the Directory of Useful Contacts on page 93, which lists telephone numbers and website addresses for consumers, older people, children and those with debt, legal, investment and property concerns.

Moneywise is a colourful, well laid-out magazine of 98 pages. The cover is a glossy one, but the inner pages are of a lesser quality. There is of course the usual quota of advertisements. Bearing in mind the price of this monthly magazine, I would say that it is a worthwhile buy for those who have money to spend, save or invest, but for anyone in debt I would advise saving the £4.25 and looking for information on the Internet. Those who are in extremely difficult circumstances and do not have Internet access at home can usually find access to it at their local library. Fifty pounds over the course of a year for the twelve issues may not sound like a great deal, but I would prefer to put it towards a more essential item.

Also to be posted on Ciao under my username denella.

Summary: Save your money if you are in debt.