Abacus Daily Debt News

Many homeowners are to do their own household maintenance, or DIY, over the Easter holiday - possibly to save money - a study has suggested.

Research carried out by Churchill Home Insurance revealed that more than one in four householders are planning to do their maintenance rather than pay a professional to perform the duties for them.

It means that over a quarter of a million homes will be painting, decorating and renovating over the bank holiday period.

The survey disclosed that more men are set to pick up a hammer or paintbrush than women over the weekend, with Northern Ireland having the most DIY fans with nearly half of those quizzed reporting that they aim to do some work.

Residents from the East Midlands, however, plan to do the least.

Statistics recently released by uSwitch.com showed that around 5.5 million households - 21 per cent of the nation - are now in debt to energy suppliers after the coldest winter in 30 years.

By Joe Shervin

The amount of under-insured products in Britain could result in financial difficulty - possibly even debt - for some people if anything happened to the goods, it has been suggested.

According to research conducted by Confused.com, the net worth of valuables has doubled in the last 15 years, meaning individuals may be underestimating the level of cover they need for their home contents.

Darren Black, head of home insurance at Confused.com, explained that this is the case because of the popularity of home electricals at the moment.

He said: "We just don’t realise how many gadgets and gizmos we have residing in the home. This is causing consumers to be underinsured."

The findings by the website showed that the typical net worth of contents in a home is around £50,000, which means 80 per cent of people are without adequate cover.

Such an increase in value is down to modern "must-haves", such as smartphones, games consoles and iPods, the study highlighted.

By Joe Shervin

As the Easter season approaches, it appears mothers would rather give their kids money - to help prevent them from falling into debt - than provide them with Easter eggs.

That is the findings of research conducted by money.co.uk, which discovered parents would prefer their kids to receive cash, not confectionary, from friends and family as well.

One such mum that was questioned is Rebecca Clarke, who divulged that her relatives spend around £30 on the chocolate treats between them each year.

She, however, feels that this amount could be put to better use - such as a monetary investment.

Ms Clarke said: "This year, my children will get a home-made gift and around £10 each, which I will use to get them started with savings accounts."

Recent findings by The Children’s Mutual showed that many parents are currently delaying their own retirement so that they can afford to fund their adult offspring.

By Joe Shervin