Plans to start a family are being put on hold by thousands of childless couples as the recession has left many feeling financially unstable.

Skipton Building Society instigated a study of 2,412 couples that revealed 901 have been shelving plans to start a family for an average of two years and three months.

A significant percentage of respondents also said it is expected that they will have to delay having children by another two years, when they hope to be more stable financially.

Money is the main cause of delayed parenthood, of which 42% said they are devastated that they are unable to have children when they would have liked to.

A spokeswoman for Skipton Building Society, said: “The credit crunch has had a devastating effect on traditional family structures, as people can no longer have children as and when they want them.”

The study showed 47% are continuing to save for a house to bring up their children, and 22% are waiting until they have job security to have children.

Skipton’s spokeswoman added: “The past four years have seen a rise in the cost of living, and in contrast people are earning less than ever before, compounded with fears over job security.

Many have also postponed plans to start a family due to a rise in the cost of petrol, utilities and food.

“The impacts of the global financial crisis over the past four years really are far-reaching and it appears to be affecting traditional family structures as well as people’s personal financial aspirations.

Couples also expressed a desire to get married as well as being more self sufficient before having children.

“However, it’s not all doom and gloom and careful forward planning and budgeting, as well as a dose of well chosen expert advice can make life goals such as starting a family more attainable in the shorter term.”

In order to make starting a family more realistic, start saving in a savings bank account. It is

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On April 30, the Treasury Department announced that 461 Americans had renounced their citizenship in the first quarter of 2012. A 1996 law requires that every person doing so be named, with their names published in the Federal Register. The idea is to shame those who may be renouncing their citizenship solely to escape taxation.

The extreme step of renouncing one’s citizenship is necessary to escape taxation by the United States, because the United States, alone among the major nations of the world, taxes its citizens wherever on earth they live.

Other countries tax only those who live and work within their borders; if their citizens live and work in another country, they are liable only for taxes incurred in that country.

Americans living abroad, however, must not only pay taxes in the country in which they are living, but United States taxes as well, although there is an exemption of $93,000 that is adjusted for inflation annually. The only legal way for American citizens to avoid American taxes is to renounce their citizenship and live their lives permanently in another country.

In recent years, the number of Americans renouncing their citizenship has increased. A

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Sending transfers is really an easy process if you have all the information needed to send it. However, if you try to make deadlines, or have more complicated tasks with the transfer, there are small details, you should be aware.

The first is that there is usually a time to cut it to any bank that will receive the transfer. This is usually due to the duration of operation of the bank. If you make International payments, keep in mind that their hours will probably be different from the time zone you are. Requests that are sent too late will be processed the next business day.

Determine if you need to be able to monitor such transfers or not. If you do, you must specifically request to ensure that the transfer is able to be traced. Especially if the transfer goes abroad, it is likely that money will be transferred through a number financial institutions before reaching the recipient. In case you need the money transfer for an emergency, following this path may take a little longer than usual.

How quickly does the recipient need funds? Transfers can take up to 21 days, which may be a bit long depending on what procedures need to be done. Three weeks to send money for an emergency can not cut it. Read more…

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The First Savings account provided by FirstBank Florida is designed to help you in every stage of your life. It’s said to be the easiest, most hassle-free way to save and comes with no fees and commitments. The First Savings account offers flexibility and no minimum balance to help you earn as much as possible.

The minimum opening balance is $100 and the account pays interest dividends on your balance. The First Savings account comes equipped with a debit card and unlimited deposit services using any 1 FirstBank Florida ATMs. You can set up direct deposit at no additional charge and you receive a detailed quarterly statement.

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Following the budget yesterday and the reference to banking governance, it can be no co-incidence this report is released today. (ht finextra)

The Task Force for the Payments System Review has found that unless Canada develops a modern digital payments system, Canadians will be unable to fully engage in the digital economy of the 21st Century‚ leading to a lower standard of living across the country and a loss in international
competitiveness.

Moreover, the Task Force found that a thoroughly modernized payments system could save the Canadian economy as much as two per cent of GDP in productivity

Canada considers itself to be ahead of the curve on digital usage so it is refreshing to see this.

Twenty-seven European Union countries, the BRIC countries‚ even Peru and Romania‚ are significantly outpacing Canada’s transition to digital payments, with obvious negative implications for Canada’s global competitiveness and interoperability.

There are three recommendations.

• Implement electronic invoicing and payments (EIP) for all government suppliers and benefit recipients.

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