I watch with interest and anger at media interviews with members of the public regarding how the credit crunch has effected individuals and their families.

It has confirmed for me the greed and lack of financial awareness of pockets of  people in British society today and the numbers that have no understanding that we are all responsible for our own financial affairs and living within our means.   There is an ignorance to their management of incomes and outlay and a dependency on Finance companies, government benefits and store cards.  When these sources fail, then others are to blame for their overspending and need to have.

I am a single parent, with 2 teenage children, a mortgage and associated monthly commitments.  I always manage my finances within my means.  I have a good job with a salary that is fit for my job, however my necessary outgoings in order for my family to live ie fuel, food, insurances are only slightly less than my income and therefore  have to be extremely careful by allocating myself a weekly allowance.  Consequently, I do not holiday abroad every year, I do not eat out, I do not spend on clothes, CDs and luxuries. My children do not do without and have a very fulfilling life.

The credit crunch has therefore not changed my current situation.  It doesn't mean to me I need to eat out less, it doesn't mean I can't impulse buy, it doesn't mean I can't go on 3 holidays a year, it doesn't mean I can't buy my lunch instead of preparing a packed lunch  and it doesn't mean I can't have my nails manicured or buy that new Digital TV.  I have never done this.

It just means I will continue with my current behaviour by understanding that I am responsible for my own financial commitments and cannot have the things that many seem to take for granted.

I am happy, I am fulfilled and I am master of my own destiny.

 

  

 

 

I don't think you should take too much notice of the media interviews, like Newspapers they're full of Bulloney. 

They only show people who give those sort of answers. I do agree that many out there should not be able to obtain credit cards or loans.

Had you read my comments you would have realised I was referring to 'pockets' of people.  I wasn't personalising - Mr Nostaligicist

However I will respond on a more personal level:

'Good Fortune'!!!  - Fortune relates to events that happen by accident - or pertaining to riches.  None of which relates to myself. I am neither blessed with riches nor have I been 'fortunate'.

Whatever the situation that I find myself in, It is still my responsibility to deal with it and therefore I would still be Mistress or Master of my own destiny.

 

 

 

If you were allowed like a bank to multiply your assets through leverage then even the pound in your pocket could be worth £1million pounds within 1 month. This is the whole problem an asset which is worth very little when attached to an insurance overrider can be traded for many millions on the markets. It is not the asset, but the value of its insurable value which forms the basis of the worlds economy, and when that asset changes hands that too has another leverage value. The world economies are built on sand, which is why A.I.G. and all the other insurance companies are in trouble. They simply cannot value assets to insure.

You are right there are a lot of financially unaware individuals out there. I read in an article that atleast 21% of UK mortgage holders have borrowed a loan, but 90% of these will now be at risk of negative equity. did they not assess the situation when they heard a recession was coming?

 

The bad news continues -  if house prices keep dropping and fall by 30% from the level they were in at the end of 2007, then thousands of homeowners will have negative equity.

 

Interest rates are also critical. The only hope for homeowners is to shop around for the best deal and begin understanding their money.

i am a home owner ,who 4 years ago had to give up work to care my son whos mental health deteriorated,,

i am still at home,,contrary to popular belief ,i do not have all of my mortgage paid,only the interest,it was a year before i was entiltled to the maximun amount paid,i have afixed rate ,6.8 ,,this has not been reduced,but i have been informed by a lady at the dhss,that my benefit may go down in line with the recent intrest cuts,,,so i have to find the shortfall

to add to my financial worries,,i was misold a loan by a double glasing comany,,i know u are all thinking,at the,i was recently widowd and was very vunerable at the time,

i recently asked for a statment ,,i find they have increased the interest to 21%,,,and its not actualy a loan,,and i have only paid a samll amount of it,,i am now taking legal advice,,mys sons disabitity money covers the rental of the glass in my property,,i wish somwtimes i had never puchased my property from the council,,i paid 130k as the discount were greatly reduced ,,its not worth much now,,

im stuggling but am used to it,,

so who is getting all this money,,should have hung on to our public companies and ivested in them instead of bailing out ,,the yuppie generation is governing our nation,,look at the profits,,that would have once been ploughed back into our country, 

 i rest my case

Prepaid cards are said to be the answer for debt. The difference between this card and a credit card is that you can only spend the balance that has been preloaded onto it. But will this work? It has the benefits of not running into debt as it has no overdraft facility and helps against fraud as no personal details are kept on the card. The downside is they charge a monthly fee. Also it does not offer the same protection as a credit card. Also, worryingly, unlike a credit card if the card provider goes bust, the customer will lose money on it.

I can't see the point of this, it's no different to using a bank card, that holds your balance in your bank account, and you then spend what you have