Rispon Avenue

It shouldn’t be a shock that the housing market is still unstable, but I suppose I had expected that by now it would be on firmer ground.

My last post on UK’s debt issues put me in mind of this. My SO told me the other day – after chatting with one of the neighbourhood’s friendly gossips – that two more houses in the nearby streets had been repossessed. We were shocked, as we live in a fairly well off area, so the idea of people in our situation losing their house is pretty surprising and a little scary.

We’re very comfortable in that sense, with no chance whatsoever of losing our house, but still, it pays to be cautious with how things are. Perhaps I”m just dour after talking about all this financial crap, but nonetheless, I’ll devote one more post to giving the small amount of advice I can for those out there possibly facing repossession.

There are some mind boggling mortgage deals out there at the moment, with up to 90% loans for houses, but those sorts of loans are what caused the financial crisis in the first place and shouldn’t be entered into without a heck of a lot of prior knowledge and a very, very stable income. But with housing prices still falling, they are very tempting for many, many Brits. I think those same people who are interested in these types of loans should perhaps do some investigation into repossession news, though those sorts of sites are great for anyone hoping to avoid or stop repossessions.

I’m not saying that for sure if you get a large mortgage loan you’re sure to lose your house, but what I am saying is that many Brits are looking at serious repossession problems at the moment, and that could be avoided with more insight into the current market, and more information on what to expect from the market in the coming months.

It’s not a situation for leaps of faith, but more a studied search over the edge of the cliff to see just how far you’ve got to go before you can land on solid ground again.

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I suppose that rainy day has already happened, but I wasn’t personally too affected by the whole thing, but I’m saving like a squirrel in Autumn just in case it does come closer to home.

It’s a good idea to have some sort of financial protection in place at the moment, because in spite of the initial onslaught of the financial crisis being past, the lingering effects will remain for quite some time. I’ve also made very, very sure that all my insurance premiums are up to date and the best that I can get in terms of cost and cover.

I hate investigating which premium would be best for my SO and I, but I did put in the effort whilst I was recovering from the swine flu – body was still weak but my mind was fine and very bored – to work it all out and I even picked up a mortgage life insurance cover plan, because being that sick just made me want to be safe rather than sorry if anything untoward should happen. Sure it’s morbid as hell, but I’d rather my SO not have to worry about losing our home should anything happen to me. Having what turned out to be a critical illness made me think heavily about all of this, and I’m glad it’s all taken care of now!

If you’re home insurance is coming up for renewal, it’s really not a bad idea to consider some reviews on the subject, because honestly the best way to figure out if any institution is a good one is to take it straight from the mouths who’ve bought from them/dealt with them, not who’ve worked for them! I found a good comparison site in the ‘money supermarket’ and though their name is quite silly, it’s nice to have that much information at hand on the same site.

I prefer to do all my financial planning myself, it seems somehow counter productive to have someone else do it, and pay them for it!

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I’m feeling that certain lessons should have been taken from the financial crisis which have been completely and utterly missed by far too many.

You see, what really sparked this entire collapse was a few people in the U.S. deciding it would be a grand idea if they gave people large loans, we’re talking house loans here, with no down payment. That’s right, loaning the full 100% of the total amount for a house. This of course lead to many people being the horrible situation of having a home and a home loan, but loan repayments too hefty to keep up with. They are referred to as high-risk loans. What then happened is other financial establishment went and bought those loans from the banks and so forth who originally issued them. Now, on the books, this looks like the company has a certain amount of assets, but if the person defaults, if they can’t keep up with their payments, that company that thought they had a few hundred thousand in assets suddenly has to write that off. Completely.

This is just one of the causes of the current financial instability – which seems to be somewhat on the mend – but it was a major factor in why so many companies lost so much money in such a short amount of time.

Anyway, what bothers me is that I feel people should have learned that quick credit, fast cash, short-term loan, all have a nasty way of coming back and biting you. I know it’s a pretty damn difficult time for most people, at the moment, but if they continue to buy into the cycle of loans, and then paying back at a minimum 20% – though you’d probably find it’s much more if you cared to check it on one of those loan calculator things – more than they borrowed, it’s going to be very difficult to break out of.

I suppose I also feel a sense of frustration with loan brokers, that they are so happy to cash in, in spite of how it effects people. Bah! Anyway, if you are considering one of those short-term loans, please don’t if you can avoid it in any way!

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I’m in one of those states where you don’t have a fully fledged idea for an entry, but rather a few ideas that you want to put down, but none really make a full post…

It’s been really busy in the past few weeks, my SO has still been suffering with that back pain – and being really strong and soldering on, in spite of what is agony almost every morning for her – so we’ve been getting very little or disjointed sleep. She’s been able to manage about five to six hours most nights, and we’ve taken to napping in the afternoons a lot of the time, too. We know what’s going on, and it’s just a matter of her strengthening her back, at this stage, but apart from that, there’s not much to be done. Hot showers and a back massage seem to help a little, relaxing those muscles. It’s just a pity that she’s better at massages than me.

Work has been hectic, but being able to work from home has been a Godsend with my SO so under the weather. I can make sure that she’s well taken care of, and still get all my work done, no matter what time I’m awake or asleep. I’m really liking this style of work, and no longer having to commute to work has been fantastic! I’ve gotten an hour or two extra in every day!

All my financial interests have largely been put on hold. I’m still keeping an eye on all those investments and offshore financial services, which seem to have pretty okay rates at the moment, but I think I’ve decided against investing in international real estate. I just don’t want the trouble that could come of it, I mean, invest in Panama real estate, for example… I would hardly ever see the place. Nah, not for me!

Anyway, that’s an odds and ends post there, now hopefully they can be a little better put together!

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It’s never ending, always more you have to do, have to sort out.

For instance, I had a friend approach me to help them with some finance stuff, because they were looking to create an investment portfolio and they knew that I was interested in that sort of thing. I think basically he wanted to have some idea before he met with an accountant so he could sound the guy out. By no means am I an expert, but when you have friends that can tell you anything about something as… open to misuse by others, as money, then you make use of their expertise when you can!

I pointed him in the direction of a few good sites and said I would help more when I had the time, or he could go ahead and investigate all this himself. I wanted to help, but I didn’t have the time to sit down and help properly, and I didn’t want to help half-assedly. He came back to me today to say that he had found a good offshore financial service, and that he was going to be investigating it further. He offered to pass along what he found, too.

I found it really refreshing to see someone really doing their homework before investing anywhere, especially as, like me, the guy is busy! If everyone was as careful with where they put their money, then I think a lot of people would be a lot less worried in general life. That’s just the way it seems to me, anyway. There are things that are way beyond our control, like what happened to the international finance markets, and that is always going to be the case, but if we are careful with what we do have control over, then I’m guessing we would be able to accept easier those situations that weren’t our faults, and have a lot less situations where we could have done something differently to gain a better outcome. I’m rambling now, I know it. That’s it then, enough.

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Throughout July, the finance market seems to have been behaving rather strangely. By that I mean that inflation actually paused, and that has lead to banks fighting it out for the best savings account rates…

I’m not disappointed in that, to be honest, because I’m enjoying seeing the banks scramble to see who has the best interest rates on whichever of their account types. It’s enjoyable to see because banks pretty much got us into the global financial crisis – okay, mostly a few very selfish bastards associated with a couple of banks – and it’s nice to be aware that the common man isn’t the only one taking the fall out of those people’s choices.

I’ve often looked into savings rates, because it’s always important to ensure you’ve got the best deal you possibly can… a good savings account can be the difference in retiring a few years earlier or not… and I like to stay aware of the more relevant news, like this article here, for example, I really like the fact that they are listing which bank is offering what rate, currently. I’ve noticed that foreign currency bank accounts are still a good choice for interest, too, which is nice.

It seems to me that banks are trying really hard to bring in cash again, and that’s understandable given everything that has happened. They really seemed to have taken on at least a modicum of a lesson about what not to do in the future, and I hope that lesson really does become ingrained in the global banking system. It has been a shocking reminder of what can occur if people aren’t responsible with the power they’re given.

Personally, I’m in agreement with the international banking reforms which have been suggested, I think this event proves that such action is not without warrant, nor is it over the top. If a small handful of people can wreak this kind of damage, then it seems it is an industry which deserves closer monitoring.

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I’m so glad for a rest after what has felt like a very, very long week.

Most of this comes from the severe lack of sleep I’ve had, due in large part to my sympathy towards an ailment my SO is currently suffering from. She has a back issue, currently, so she can’t sleep properly, and keeps waking up with severe pain somewhere between four-and-a-half to six, very occasionally seven, hours after going to bed. Now, I like a good eight hours, but when I see her getting up, I can’t let her go off to deal with it by herself, I want to help, so I get up with her and help her any way that I can.

That’s fine, that’s part of a relationship, and I know she’d do the same for me. I’m happy to help her whenever I can. The issue arose this week, however, of a colleague from work asking for my help to open a bank account specifically for offshore finance investments and the like. He’s heard me talking about such things in the past, and thought of me when he decided to get into that sort of thing.

Normally I wouldn’t mind helping him out, but it would mean doing it on the weekend, and I think this weekend I want to do little apart from sleeping and playing Plants vs Zombies. So I set him on the right path, at least, and told him he can either go ahead with it whilst I’m finding the right time to help him out, or he can investigate banks by himself and go ahead on his own steam.

Thankfully he understood that I’m not intending to be rude or mean or such, but that I’m really just suffering, like my SO, after a week of very little sleep! Alright, now I’m off for a kip, then I’m going to play more of that addictive little game. I can’t get that song out of my head, either… I may be starting to lose it.

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I happened to find the Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks video trailer again, and it got me thinking all about the train stuff again. I really liked the boat in Phantom Hourglass, but a train doesn’t really have… any appeal at all to me. I’m pleased to see good old regular dungeon play, though.

Link seems to be spinning a Deku leaf or something like it in some of the video, and Link also gets to control the Phantoms last seen in Phantom Hourglass. But still, this whole train thing seems overly steam-punk and not in the spirit of the Legend of Zelda games that came before it. It’s so gimmicky and unappealing. This image kind of exemplifies what I feel was the driving force behind the choice. In case you are interested in the train aspect, here is a big ol’ wallpaper that has been released for the game.

I think I need to stop panning the game now, because, quite frankly, I know I’m going to play it, and I’m probably going to love it too. Whilst I can’t see myself getting into the train thing, really, I can see the rest of the game being a heck of a lot of fun. I really enjoyed Phantom Hourglass, I like playing the Zelda games on the DS, I like using the stylus for much of it. The Wii Zelda was also a lot of fun, but I am pretty darn concerned about the lack of Mastersword – or any sword – rumours floating around about that one.

Anyway, I’m off now, I said I’d go to the movies with that estate agent friend I mentioned in my last post. See, if I go to the movies then I don’t have to spend two hours talking about UK property, or which property blogs actually reflect the market – yes, he spent twenty minutes one day talking about property blogs! I can’t fathom how he can talk so much about fast house sales… I don’t find it interesting… nearly at all. I mean, I find finance stuff interesting, but housing stuff is just… not compelling to me. That’s why I’m off to a film!

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After sharing my rather boring interest that is financial news ( 8O ) I got to think about making a serious longterm investment. I have long thought about it, written about it, joked about it, and looked into it in a half-hearted sort of way, but I never really decided to go ahead with it. I used to just save all my money to high-interest savings accounts, and before the financial collapse, that was working for me. But now the interest rates just aren’t matching up, and it seems as though it would be time to think on this a little more.

Not sure though, because I really don’t have a lot of faith in any financial market, right now. It’s hard to get over the fact that a small handful of greedy men managed to collapse the entire world economy, and I think that has left me – along with a billion other people – pretty shaken.

My current account okay, but it isn’t anything to be excited about, and I know that talking to a money broker is probably the next logical setp to take, but again, trust has been badly shaken, and I don’t think I trust strangers with my money at this point, perhaps at any point.

So if I want to do this myself, I am going to have to really sit down and go through a heck of a lot of brouhaha documentation to find exactly what is right for me… and that is a little unappealing, even with my fascination with financial issues. There are others out there, who look into this stuff themselves, there are finance forums… I’m sorry, but I just bet they’re the life of the party… :lol: I remember reading, but can’t find the article now – of course! :roll: – , that the two markets to keep an eye on are the Australian dollar – but only if investors feel like being a little risky – or the Japanese Yen – if investors decide to be cautious – but that still seems risky. I like that my own bank provides foreign currency bank accounts, which makes me feel a little safer, because I could always whip the money back to my normal account if things turn sour…. but yeah… I think I am just going to sit on this for a while and think more.

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I have found myself investigating financial matters, more and more of late. It’s sort of a complex interest, that doesn’t really serve a purpose, but I have found it enjoyable nonetheless. Not to mention, people think you’re really smart when you can explain to them what caused the current financial crisis. :D

I like to check the BBC News website for current financial articles, and also Finance Markets for news specifically related to investments. Financial Times is a really good site for finance news, because they are so in depth in their articles; I really like the way they present their news. For news about stocks, bonds, and equities, Investment Markets is alright, but their stories can be a little brief, sometimes.

I even find it enjoyable, in a way, to compare rates on savings accounts, but that is only when I have a heck of a lot of time to fill in. I have also had fun considering offshore banking and investment accounts, I think purely because I want to be able to say ‘Sure, just let me move some money in from my offshore accounts’. :lol: I also like to consider investing in things I can be proud of, as with environmentally friendly investments, seriously, how awesome is the idea of investing in oxygen. :D I have also looked into investing in agriculture, so long as it is sustainable.

I haven’t been overly bold in investing just yet, not with the current market. I am interested to see where it is going, though. I have been keeping an eye on the housing market, but that has to be another post, otherwise this one will be too huge! I suppose that’s the interesting thing about going through an economic crisis, especially when you paid attention to what happened right from the start. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out in the end, how and when the market comes back to a stable state. It’s like living through history, and that is kind of exciting, even if it is tough for everyone right now.

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