Blogs

Credit Crunch - a personal view

My view on the credit crunch is somewhat contraversial and some may say cynical. The American public has been living beyond its means for over 30 or more years now, always encouraged to spend now and pay later.When I first visited America in the 70s multiple credit cards and higher and higher credit limits were becoming the norm even then and the old culture of saving up for what you needed was already extinct.Today they have the lowest ratio of savings to disposable income in the western world and the UK is not too far behind them.

Money saving is the best hobby you can have!

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Nights out are credit crunched

It's hard trying to pinpoint the exact effect the credit crunch has had on me, but I think I've found it.

It's not that I've suddenly become panicked and have decided to move back in with my folks to save money. (To be honest, I'm not sure they'd have me, but that's a moot point.)

It's not that I've decided to attempt to take advantage of the wreckage and have thought about embarking on the property ladder.

It's not even that I'm completely ignoring the potentially catastrophic impact it could have on my (poorly run) finances and carrying on as normal. In fact, measures have been taken - making lunches at home (I'm no Gordon Ramsay, alas), no longer downloading frivolously from iTunes and generally just watching the pennies.

part 4

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Credit Crunch

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Credit Crunch

Work and the crunch - work is slowing down, phone isn't ringing, mortgages are harder to get plus lenders are making it harder for clients to actually get a mortgage (tighter credit scoring and underwriting of cases) & also the rates are shocking! Investors are hugging their cash, unwilling to part with their hard earned.

Me & the crunch - I have started making my own sandwiches for work and checking all the lights are off before I go to bed & after leaving the house in a small effort to save pennies! Regardless, my family seem to want every electrical device we own on and burning up my hard earned.

Part 3

Thanks for the helpful comments. I have tried to claim all the benefits,but as I said before ,apparently I earn such a high salary that we aren't entitled to anything. I'd love to know where this high salary is going,but its not into my bank account thats for sure!

Anyway,Social Services have been to see us,to see if they can make any adaptations to our house to make life easier for us. The thing is,I cant get husband into the bath as he would never get out again,so he has to sit on a bath board while i literally hose him down. Anyway the SS recommend that we have the  bathroom changed to a wet room,because then he can shower properly. Great!

Whadya say crispo? - Crunch

Skips, those wonderful savory snacks that taste like prawn and melt on your tongue. Who would have thought that years afterwards I'd be thinking of them in connection with the endless news of our impending financial demise. If you cant remember the advert then you probably just think I’m being weird but one of the main characters shouts 'Crunch!' and I cant help but recall that when I’m watching yet another news reel about how we are all going to be down to 1 bar on the gas fire this winter...

Credit Crunch - How savvy students are beating the credit crisis

Ever since I decided to go back to university, money has always been a topic of conversation with my student friends, both the lack of it and how to spend what we do have. Recently we've started to feel the pinch and we have started our very own 'Ditch the cuppuccino' club, where we stop buying our morning coffee's and save the cash instead.

Coffee Mornings

Credit Crunch Update

Today at the coalface;

3 mortgage lenders WAVE, SALT and Mortgages PLC (owned by Merril Lynch) have halted any new lending - (they have no money but will not admit it) - Halifax will no longer be offering variable rate mortgages to new customers (hmmm) - Mortgage Express release only 2 rates for buy to let at 85% borrowing - a stonking 6.89% for a 3 year fixed (ouch) - no one wants rates that high - the buy to let market is dying on its arse day by day as more and more lenders withdraw from the market or up their rates.