Inflation has been back in the news most of this week, as it hit the highest level since UK records began. But many people have been feeling the squeeze without needing a number to tell them the cost of living is soaring.

There’s never been a better time to get your finances in order and it’s not something to keep putting off. Stick the kettle on and make a list of your income and all your outgoings. Then look at the balance and your outgoings in particular. Work out if you can make savings anywhere - either to free up your cash flow, help reduce any outstanding debt or simply to keep for a rainy day (the forecast’s not looking too hot after all).

Our free Wonga budgeting tool should help and it’s been designed to take the pain out of doing the maths. You can download it from our borrowing advice section. Go on, it won’t bite!

Some may think it’s an old fashioned concept, but we value trust and it’s an important element of the Wonga service. Besides, since when has something been a bad idea just because it’s been around for a long time? Yeah, yeah - apart from the The Spice Girls?

When we provide cash on demand, we carry out a sophisticated credit check and consider lots of other factors before making an automated decision. So it’s a highly technical process, but we’re still doing something very human too. We’re ultimately putting our trust in an individual to honour their promise - a simple, yet very important promise to repay their loan on a certain date they’ve chosen

So if a customer keeps their promise, what happens next? We increase their Wonga trust rating of course! We won’t bore you with mathematical equations and algorythms, but we’ve built a flexibile credit system that considers every customers’ use of the service on an ongoing basis - and gradually increases their credit limit accordingly. So use the service responsibly and you’ll be rewarded with more borrowing flexibility if you ever need it in the future. You’ll see the maximum you can apply for at any time by using the cash amount slider when you login.

We trust you found this post informative.

Lloyds TSB has this week been criticised for promoting Visa debit cards to kids, without always getting the green light from mum & dad. The bank’s excuse is they don’t always know where the parents are. But perhaps the suprising thing is that it’s standard industry practice to promote cards to kids as young as eleven.

Many people will be mortified at the prospect of a big bank getting its claws into their child before they turn sixteen, but it’s important to remember we’re talking about a debit card here - not a credit card. The bank argues it can be used to make savings online and to teach the basics of cash. It can’t be used to go overdrawn and suposedly can’t be used to make adult purchases.

One furious dad uncovered by the Guardian would beg to differ, claiming his young son got hold of Viagra and fake ID (amongst other things) with the his Lloyds TSB plastic. But that’s opening up a whole new can of worms, because you could argue the lad had obviously got funds in his account plus unrestricted internet access, so pinning his behaviour purely on the fact he had a debit card seems a little narrow minded. What’s not acceptable is the fact his dad wasn’t aware the bank had offered him the card in the first place.

There’s no question banks should always ensure the parents or guardians of any child are on board with the idea, but some of the outrage expressed this week seems to miss the point. Children need to learn about money and start being responsible for it if they’re to wise up before adulthood. If having a bank account is acceptable to many, why not the means to spend some cash in the way most people spend it? It might not be for everyone, but if the bank had got its act togehter on parental consent then it might not have created such a palarver. It seems like they didn’t, which isn’t on.

For the avoidance of doubt, Wonga is a credit-based service and will therefore definitely not be availble to under-18s!

The FSA recently launched a new financial advice site aimed at the yoof, or ‘young adults’ as they put it. To be more specific, people who are lucky enough to be aged 18 to 24. It’s called What About Money.

These people may be in the prime of their life, but it can be a tricky time financially. Cash can be tight because you’re only just starting out on the career ladder and you might not have too much experience of borrowing either.

The site offers bags of independent advice about different products and also a forum where members can discuss queries, concerns or experiences. It’s certainly worth checking out if you’re in need of credit but want some guidance before jumping into the huge and complex world of loans.

With traditional, long-term loans it can often be a case of ‘borrow in haste and repent at leisure,’ because you’re tied in for years, so do your research before committing to any form of credit. Wonga’s website offers borrowing and debt advice.

When we open our doors to the first Wonga customers in the coming weeks, we’ll not be the first company in the land to offer small, short term loans. But we’ll certainly be doing it with a difference.

There’s been some murmerings in the press of ‘payday’ loan companies from America offering month-long loans which come with a fixed fee per £100 borrowed. Sometimes up to £30 or more.

But that’s way too rigid for Wonga. We’ll be the limbo dancer of the small loan world, thanks to our startling flexibility. Not only will you be able to choose exactly how much cash you want to borrow - literally down to the last quid - but also the exact number of the days you need it for (between five and thirty).

That way you also control the cost of the loan, which we’ll show you before you apply. Why borrow £100 for month if you only need £75 for two weeks? Prepare for short term loans YOU control.

It’s been reported this week that some of the major banks may challenge the recent court ruling which said the OFT can investigate and influence the fees they charge for overdrafts. The banks make an estimated £3.5 billion per year from charging customers who go overdrawn without permission. An appeal could lead to a decision being delayed for months.

Even if you go a few pounds overdrawn without authorisation you can get stung by big fees which far outweigh the cash you needed in the first place. With Wonga.com you’ll be able to access instant cash in the form of a short term loan, which you pay pack on a date that suits. We’ll calculate the full cost of the loan up front and, unlike an overdraft, you’ll repay the cash within a set time frame.

Wonga will soon be offering short term loans more conveniently and flexibly than other online lenders. They won’t be cheap loans - interest will be charged at 1% a day - but you will only borrow cash for between five and thirty days. And that’s a crucial point. It’s a short term loan you pay back on a date that suits.

Not only that but, unlike most short term loans, you’ll also be able to choose exactly how much you want to borrow, down to the last pound. As you make that decision, we’ll tell you how much the loan will cost you before you apply. For example, borrow £100 for ten days and it’ll cost you a tenner - £1 per £100 borrowed per day.

Sound fair? We think transparency and flexibility are vital and people are then bright enough to check out the cost of the loan and make a decision whether to go for it or not. What we’re not so sure about is the fact we’ll still have to publish the official ‘APR‘ on the site. It’s currently law for all loans in the UK, but is a theoretical calculation of how much a five or thirty-day loan would cost if taken for a year really helpful to consumers? We think this excellent cartoon from a leading US short-term lender makes a great point!

It’s been reported that financial giant HSBC has lost a server containing the personal details of over 150,000 customers in Hong Kong. It’s the latest in a seemingly never-ending string of reports about ’secure’ files going walkabout. It’s not so long ago that the bank also lost the details of more than 350,000 British life assurance customers and it’s not the only high profile organisation to come under fire for poor security.

If you have ever been the victim of such a security lapse, or fear your personal details may have been compromised in another way, you should keep a close eye on your bank statements and bills. Watch out for any unfamiliar or unusual transactions and report them to your bank, building society or service provider straight away. You can also get advice on protecting your identity from potential fraudulent use at CIFAS.

When we launch the Wonga service we will naturally be committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of customers’ information - by using electronic and procedural safeguards that meet or exceed industry standards.

A recent BBC article highlighted new figures from CIFAS, the UK’s fraud prevention agency, which show that more people are lying in applications for loans and credit cards in the hope of covering up a poor credit history…

“Lies on application forms have risen by 13% from 19,239 in the first three months of 2007 to 21,780 in the first quarter of 2008.”

“The most frequent lie, according to CIFAS, was failing to disclose a previous address where the applicant had a poor credit history.”

It’s never a good idea to withhold information, or use misleading information in any application for credit. Not only is it fraud, but providers of financial services share information and any such record would seriously damage your ability to gain credit in the future.

If you are concerned about your credit history then the best thing to do is order a report from one of the major credit agencies, such as Call Credit, and seek advice about how you can improve it. Prevention is always better than cure, but you’ll find plenty of webistes offering tips on steps you can take.

Here are just a few examples: Thisismoney, uSwitch, TimesOnline and MoneySavingExpert.

Hi and welcome to the Wonga blog. What the hell is Wonga we hear you cry! Aside from an alternative term for cash, money, loot and readies, Wonga is the name of a ground-breaking online lender (for the avoidance of doubt, that’s us). We will soon be offering you small, short-term loans with mind boggling speed and convenience. We’ll be faster than a greased greyhound on steroids and more convenient than, well, all the other loan providers in Britain.

We will be different to other online lenders because our boffins have built a sophisticated, real-time credit checking system. If that sounds slightly scary, it simply means our loan application and approval process will only take minutes. It’s big and it is clever, but you won’t care because applying for a Wonga loan will be simplicity itself. Complex paperwork, bank meetings, delays and hanging on the phone are so last year – cash on demand is the new black.

We all have Wonga moments – those times in life when an unexpected purchase or expense pops up just when you’re starting to count down to payday. Whether the car conks out, a shock bill lands on the mat or you remember it’s your wedding anniversary (tomorrow), you sometimes need some cash in a hurry to tide you over.

Sure, if you have credit cards or an overdraft, you can always stick in on the plastic or dig a little deeper into the red, but at what cost? No-one’s going to make you pay back that cash in a hurry apart from your good self and, over time, you can easily find the debt mounts. Wonga is all about giving you cash when you need it, which you repay quickly.

We expect to fully launch the site this summer, so the entire Wonga team is beavering away madly in preparation. We intend to shake up those boring banks, credit card providers and other established lenders - and Wonga Towers is buzzing at the prospect.