Fix that leaky bucket and ensure a relaxing bath
MANY years ago, faced with the job of filling the bath with water to have a scrub, my late father talked about trailing up and down the hill with buckets of that water. Today we just turn on the tap. I couldn’t help but liken those two situations to managing our personal finances. With our […]
164,000 miles high of debt
I WASN’T brought up on debt. It wasn’t an option I suppose, and the minute I borrowed my first pound, I felt regret. There was no greater moment than repaying that loan for the car that made me ‘cool’ and temporarily altered my cloudy opinion of myself. Today, you could argue that in a world […]
Watch the rain . . . not the jelly
THE housing market appears to be retreating slightly in light of many factors but what might it mean for borrowers and buyers alike? As always, it’s a case of seeing through the noise and being the canary – the live one, not the test one. Some startling statistics by the Council of Mortgage Lenders might […]
Passive investors in bubbles?
THERE are many plus points to investing into passive funds rather than active funds, and of course the opposite can also be said. My late father loved it when I quoted him “when everyone is running one way, I either stop and go to the side, or run the other way”. The similarities in investment […]
What is the antonym for strong and stable?
THIS election will probably be known for bringing the word ‘hubristic’ to the fore in the ultimate backfire in recent politics. As we mentioned in the last column, a hung parliament was a big possibility, so it was no surprise to us as Theresa May effectively avoided press questions with no comment of any substance […]
What impact will the election result have on my finances?
THERE has never, in my opinion, been a bigger election than this. Personally I see it as one of the first I can remember where we are looking at a stall or halt on neo liberalism, or at least the bad parts of it. The impact on the economy could be considerable. The UK elections […]
Our real spending power is falling
IN simple terms, it is fair to ask why governments might have an upward inflation target. Surely with the advent and simplicity of systems and computers, the world has become easier, and as such we shouldn’t have rising prices? Maybe the target should be to bring down the cost of living? Over simplification by me? […]
Should you really ‘sell in May and go away’?
SELL in May, buy again on St Leger’s day. This is an old saying that arose in the past, is derived from stock brokers avoiding the heat of the summer and going on holiday from May to September. Nice job if you can get it. The theory is that you should sell your stocks and […]
Frexit gone, Italexit a real threat to your investments?
STOCK markets, pension funds and investment ISAs didn’t breathe a sigh of relief last week after Marine Le Penn’s far right party was defeated, that sigh was enjoyed on the first round when it was clear Le Penn would not win. Avoiding a Le Penn victory avoids a referendum on leaving the EU in France […]
Emperor Trump has no clothes on – and he has a fiddle
SICK of hearing the name Trump? I suspect so. As per the Brexit lies, Mr Trump’s ‘alternative facts’ are bringing to an end his honeymoon with the markets. There is only a finite time that supporters of any belief will suck it up. A compulsive liar needs a compulsive believer up to a point, and […]
Holding Your Nerve
“JUST when you thought it was safe to go back into the water” was the tag used when Jaws 2 was released three years after the original 1975 Hollywood blockbuster. Many investors are feeling the same way at the moment after the first serious stock market crisis since the financial collapse and recession of […]
NOBODY HAS IT ALL
When you’re young, you look envious at those older. As the years pass, you start looking back in the same way at those younger! Recently, the “Baby Boomers” have been hailed as the generation that had it all. Born in the years after the Second World War, they are the ones living in (and owning) […]