Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Mar 21, 2014 3:11 pm  

Mintball wrote:

The ISAs issue is hilarious. As you rightly point out, interest rates are such that's it's absolutely no better than simply keeping the money in your current account.

I had two: the first was a basic one, which then proceeded to sit around, with money in, for some years with interest rates meaning that it was growing barely at all. To clarify, this was a four-figure sum, not peanuts.

The second one had a percentage of the money that was to be invested, by the bank in question (the Halifax) in medium-risk ventures.

That went pear-shaped and has taken something like six years to even recover the initial amount.

I'd have been better keeping cash under the mattress.

The former has been closed and the money invested in our home – it'll be more use like that. I'm preparing to do the same with the latter, before finances go tîts up again.

If you have borrowings (a mortgage) then, IMO, you should use your spare money to pay that down provided there aren't penalties for overpaying.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Mar 21, 2014 3:48 pm  

Dally wrote:

If you have borrowings (a mortgage) then, IMO, you should use your spare money to pay that down provided there aren't penalties for overpaying.

We're in the fortunate position of only having a very small mortgage (housing association, shared ownership) so, although we were advised to take out an interest-only mortgage, we won't have any problem paying it off, and intend to before it reaches the 25-year mark.

But as a result of having had low incomes for so long, the flat needed work doing and at least that ISA I emptied meant a completely new bathroom, as the old one was falling apart.

It was tremendously useful when we moved in to have somewhere, for instance, with carpets, but after 20 years, nylon carpets were not in good nick and needed replacing. The kitchen is now on its last legs and the patio door is a mess (two attempted burglaries have not helped with that), so the other ISA will at least cover the cost of that work.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:10 pm  

Mintball wrote:

We're in the fortunate position of only having a very small mortgage (housing association, shared ownership) so, although we were advised to take out an interest-only mortgage, we won't have any problem paying it off, and intend to before it reaches the 25-year mark.

But as a result of having had low incomes for so long, the flat needed work doing and at least that ISA I emptied meant a completely new bathroom, as the old one was falling apart.

It was tremendously useful when we moved in to have somewhere, for instance, with carpets, but after 20 years, nylon carpets were not in good nick and needed replacing. The kitchen is now on its last legs and the patio door is a mess (two attempted burglaries have not helped with that), so the other ISA will at least cover the cost of that work.

Interest-only mortgagaes are a pain. I had one - in retrospect I have no idea why I did it. I got roped into a £200 a month ISA contribution which was intended to provide a sum to repay the capital. However, its costs and poor stockmarket performance meant it was never going to get anywhere near the required amount. Then a few years back it dawned on me that I had this six figure liability handing over me and not a penny had been paid off. So, I got down to paying it off - which I was lucky enough to be able to do very quickly due to circumstances at that point in time. Glad I did! If I had my time again I'd have gone with a erepayment mortgage.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:30 pm  

BobbyD wrote: What energy price rises have I experienced? Just how much have my bills gone up since 2010? I'm intrigued how you know this info. Aaah VAT, that old chestnut, yes, it's appalling that everything that once cost £99.99 now costs £102. I've been saving a bit each month on motoring costs thanks to this. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26669614

BobbyD wrote: What energy price rises have I experienced? Just how much have my bills gone up since 2010? I'm intrigued how you know this info. Aaah VAT, that old chestnut, yes, it's appalling that everything that once cost £99.99 now costs £102. I've been saving a bit each month on motoring costs thanks to this. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26669614

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:49 pm  

I've had to throw away £20 worth of unleaded this week.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Sat Mar 22, 2014 3:24 pm  

Mintball wrote: Sky News report on it on Gove saying that the number of Etonions in government was "ridiculous". But it isn't ridiculous, it's exactly what was going to happen, people in power surround themselves with people similar to themselves, people they know, people they trust. How many MP's have members of their family on the payroll? Are their many Etonians/"toffs" invited round to Len McCluskeys shindigs? People don't elect a cabinet, they elect MP's and if the electorate want to vote for an Etonian in a particular constituency then they've every right to do that, and long may it continue. If the PM then decides to give these people, who he knows and trusts positions then he can and will. The easy way to stop this happening is don't vote for them in the first place. The Eton lot who would probably rather like there hoi polloi to tug their forelocks as in days of yore, and who are running this country not for the benefit of the mass of the population but for the few, plus corporate interests. Those who think that the hardworking "they" can be simply characterised as liking bingo and beer, and bought off with a penny cut to the latter and perhaps a little more to the former, rather than anything that might actually improve, say, their incomes. People are bought off all the time, by all parties. Budget headlines were always about the price of fags and booze. My income has improved since 2010, and I'm certainly not one of the few. Maybe I'm the only one of the proles to benefit.

Mintball wrote: Sky News report on it on Gove saying that the number of Etonions in government was "ridiculous". But it isn't ridiculous, it's exactly what was going to happen, people in power surround themselves with people similar to themselves, people they know, people they trust. How many MP's have members of their family on the payroll? Are their many Etonians/"toffs" invited round to Len McCluskeys shindigs? People don't elect a cabinet, they elect MP's and if the electorate want to vote for an Etonian in a particular constituency then they've every right to do that, and long may it continue. If the PM then decides to give these people, who he knows and trusts positions then he can and will. The easy way to stop this happening is don't vote for them in the first place. The Eton lot who would probably rather like there hoi polloi to tug their forelocks as in days of yore, and who are running this country not for the benefit of the mass of the population but for the few, plus corporate interests. Those who think that the hardworking "they" can be simply characterised as liking bingo and beer, and bought off with a penny cut to the latter and perhaps a little more to the former, rather than anything that might actually improve, say, their incomes. People are bought off all the time, by all parties. Budget headlines were always about the price of fags and booze. My income has improved since 2010, and I'm certainly not one of the few. Maybe I'm the only one of the proles to benefit.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Sat Mar 22, 2014 3:52 pm  

As figures published this week by the Office of National Statistics show, average weekly earnings rose by 1.4 per cent from November 2013 to January 2014 – 0.5 per cent below the current rate of inflation. ONS stats. And wages have nowhere near recovered to 2009 levels.

As figures published this week by the Office of National Statistics show, average weekly earnings rose by 1.4 per cent from November 2013 to January 2014 – 0.5 per cent below the current rate of inflation. ONS stats. And wages have nowhere near recovered to 2009 levels.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:33 pm  

A weekend poll shows a post-budget bounce for the Tories who are now neck and neck with Labour. George Osborne has seen his personal ratings improve (up 14%), as Ed Balls-Up's ratings decline, to such an extent that now he is regarded as the best Chancellor by more people than Balls and Cable combined!

The positive reaction to the budget from the public and the lacklustre response from the Labour leader to the Chancellor's budget speech on Wednesday where all he could come up with was his repetition of lines from his previous budget responses have caused alarm among senior Labour figures.

Many of the measures in Chancellor Osborne's budget, including allowing people to cash in their pension savings rather than buy a poorly performing annuity, have been widely welcomed. Even the poe faced Rachel Peeves acknowleged that Labour would support the chancellor's overhaul of the pension system.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:42 am  

Lord Elpers wrote:

A weekend poll shows a post-budget bounce for the Tories who are now neck and neck with Labour. George Osborne has seen his personal ratings improve (up 14%), as Ed Balls-Up's ratings decline, to such an extent that now he is regarded as the best Chancellor by more people than Balls and Cable combined!

Not difficult as neither Balls nor Cable have been Chancellor.

The positive reaction to the budget from the public and the lacklustre response from the Labour leader to the Chancellor's budget speech on Wednesday where all he could come up with was his repetition of lines from his previous budget responses have caused alarm among senior Labour figures.

Straight outta the Daily Mail? Or do you just speak like a tabloid journalist anyway?

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Mon Mar 24, 2014 10:34 am  

Chris28 wrote:

Not difficult as neither Balls nor Cable have been Chancellor.

And neither are likley to be either according to the results of the YouGov poll at the weekend!

Chris28 wrote:

Straight outta the Daily Mail? Or do you just speak like a tabloid journalist anyway?

Wrong as usual. I commented earlier in the thread "Ded Ed avoided mention of the budget in his "budget response" having to fall back on old outdated arguments"

Any way you should know by now I read the Sunday Times.