Mums Finance

If you are planning a trip to the USA I will bet you are considering visiting all the usual popular destinations – especially if you have kids. And this is great; but if you get your map out and look beyond places like New York and California you will find some even better locations to visit. America, as you will already know, is huge so why limit yourself to just the usual destinations?

If you like live music (and plenty of it), shows for all the family, history and culture, plus a selection of theme parks thrown in then consider putting Branson Missouri on your itinerary? and I have only listed just a few of the many attractions there. It enjoys the reputation of being the Live Music Capitol of the World so that alone should tell you there is entertainment non-stop in this town.  You have a wide choice of vacation packages:

PLATINUM
PACKAGE

3 Days/2 Nights Welk Resort Hotel
2 adult tickets to:
Grand Country Jubilee
$30 Red Lobster/Olive Garden Gift Card
Coupon Book with $1,500 worth of savings
$50 Tanger Outlet Shopping Certificate

$423 Total Cost Per Couple

There are a range of options like this and all well affordable; each package offers you the chance to experience everything that Branson has to offer. As for accommodation – the selection is amazing: Welk Resort (pictured) with it’s 2,300 seat theatre; Settle Inn caters for those looking for a touch of luxury during their stay and Grand Country Inn is always a huge hit with families.

What else is there to do?

This depends on how much time you want to stay and how long you can keep at it! there are museums such as the Titanic Museum which all the family will love; The Branson Scenic Railroad, Caves and Caverns, Golf Courses, entertainment centres with IMAX, Go-Karting, Watersports…see what I mean?

Of course the live entertainment is what you will really want to experience while you are there, if you like your country music or circus shows and acrobats there will be something to see each night; there’s no excuse for sitting in your hotel room at night in Branson. And of course you will want to do some shopping while you are there – the only problem will be fitting it all in due to the hundreds of shopping outlets Branson offers.

There’s a calendar of events that see’s lots of action happening right through the year so no matter what time of year you visit there will be plenty to see and do in Branson.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The Abbey Bank is to stop offering any further 100% mortgages after today and I am wondering what kind of effect this will now have on those young homebuyers who found this a way of getting into their own home.

These 100% mortgage offers are something I have always been rather wary of. In Australia they were unheard of simply due to the fact that the banks wanted to see that you have made the committment to save the deposit. Granted, they financed mortgages up to 95% but you still had to put up that 5% deposit yourself – and not only that you had to prove you had saved the deposit. Once upon a time they would accept it if Mum and Dad had gifted a few thousand to you for your home deposit but a few years back it became a condition that the deposit had to be put together through a savings record.

Fair enough; if a bank is going to lend you several hundred thousand to buy a house the one thing that shows them you have the committment to meet the repayments is your past savings record. But this new action by the Abbey is going to hit a section of the population who were unable to save enough for a deposit or relied on parents to guarantee the mortgage.

Nationwide is set to stop funding mortgages of £1 million, Woolwich and Alliance & Leicester are hiking up their loans charges – I would hate to be a first homebuyer right now. The dwindling market is markedly affecting the practice of shopping around for deals with the result of people are locking themselves in 2 and 5 year fixed terms.  I would still advise to secure an appointment with a mortgage broker and let an expert do the work if you are looking for a fresh deal; although I reckon those guys have their work cut out for them right now.

Popularity: 16% [?]

The other week I mentioned the rising number of couples opting out of getting married simply due to the high cost of weddings in general these days. If course there are ways to take the plunge without going heavily into debt, but let’s look at the other side of the coin…what if money is no problem?

We all wish eh

I was visiting a friend a while back and noticed her wedding photo on the coffee table; they were not standing outside a church dressed like a meringue and a conjuror but rather leaning against a palm tree, and she had flowers in her hair. It looked lovely and they had actually married on one of those beautiful islands. If you want to splash out on your wedding this surely has to be the way to do it. The choices are endless for idyllic locations; for example I was looking at the US Virgin Islands and in particular St John. Sheer paradise. If it were up to me I would fly everyone out there and opt for one of those luxurious St. John villa rentals - one that would hold the entire family.

Now this would set me back about three grand for a week but set that against hotels, restaurant meals, etc, and even though you are splashing out you probably would still save some money. But what a way to do it! I say if you have got the money for such an indulgence then go ahead and do it in style. 

Above: St John Beach.

Popularity: 10% [?]