Don't let your kettle get you in financial hot water

The UK spent £5.7 billion on household appliances in 2005, according to research from Halifax Credit Cards.

This amounts to 2% of the total household disposable income spend in the UK for 2005, equating to an average of £224.41 per household each year, or £4.32 each week. This is 29 percent more than the £4.4 billion we spent in 1995 when the average household spent £3.62 each week.

We may be spending more, but we are getting more for our money…

Over the past 10 years, according to Halifax research, spending on household appliances has increased by 29% whereas the prices of household appliances have slimmed down by 15%, meaning, that although we are spending more money, we are also getting more for our hard earned pennies.

Cool customer…

The world's most expensive fridge-freezer is by Slovenian appliance maker Gorenje and costs a cool £10,000. Duly named 'The Eye-Catchers', the appliance features 7,000 Swarovski crystals embedded in the shiny black surface. Just five models were released in May 2006 with only one of these little gems available within the UK.

Cooler prices…

For those with a more realistic budget, online search facilities, such as halifaxshoppingextra.com can also help you shop around to get the best deals on your new household items. The same Hotpoint FFA47X Stainless bottom freezer and refrigerator, for example, can vary £286 in price from £339 to £488 depending on where you buy it from and a simple Russell Hobbs Uno Pod System Coffee Maker can vary in price from £20 to £60.

Apply some financial sense…

You've shopped around for the best deal on your appliance so it makes sense to apply the same consideration to how you will finance your purchase. The Halifax One Card features 0% on purchases for the first nine months, so any new spending on the card won't accrue interest for the same period. If a cardholder spent the average annual spend on household appliances of £224.10 on a Halifax One Card instead of a store card, they would stand to save £10.12 in interest over the first twelve months.

Unlike many other credit cards on the market, The Halifax One Card also features 0% on balance transfers for the first nine months so a cardholder could make further savings by switching. A low typical APR of just 9.9% is applicable after nine months.

Ken Stannard, head of Halifax Credit Cards, comments: "When purchasing household items there is nothing more disappointing than the item not being delivered or finding it to be faulty. When purchasing with a Credit Card, all appliances over £100 are covered by Section 75 which means we will give you a full refund if the goods do not arrive or are found faulty.

"The Halifax One card charges 0% on both balance transfers and new purchases so whether you have an existing balance to move, or have a future spend in mind, you won't accrue any interest for the first nine months."

The new Halifax One Card features:

A typical APR of 9.9%
0% for nine months on purchases
0% for nine months on balance transfers (3% BT fee)
Annual feeto 59 days interest free credit on all purchases if you pay off your balance in full each monther against online fraud when purchasing on the internet