One of the most irritating and insidious types of TV and low-grade print advertising these days seems always to start or contain something like the phrase: ”Do you lay awake at night worrying about your debts?”
Drives me up the wall, does that. I’ve never liked the thought that some people thrive on other people’s misfortunes.
I have a nasty suspicion that when personal debt mounts to worrying levels the only sound solution is to budget, get a job… stop spending. Wasting time on cruddy advertisements is like hoping no-one will notice if you make that smelly pair of socks last another day.
Dunno. I don’t have any magic pill to offer people who have gotten into debt, whether through their own fault or not. All you can do is put your head down and soldier through the crisis.
Me, I have a very minor case of the opposite problem. What do I do with my spare cash?
It’s not a lot of money, just what’s left over from spending sensibly and within budget for a number of years. Currently it’s in near-cash [Premium Bonds, actually], not earning any interest, but safe as any such funds can be. If and when the financial world recovers I shall invest it somewhere where it’ll earn a bit of a return, not a lot, not to be risky, but enough to add a few quid each month over and above inflation. It’s not money I’m planning on spending, just a nice little nest egg to leave when I go.
In years gone by I’d have taken a goodly proportion of it and worked out an investment programme for the best return, taking a modicum of risk but watching like a hawk for any sign of another down-turn. Now… all that seems far too much like hard work to me, and requires rather more steady research and concentration than I can muster.
I ain’t complaining. I hope I’m not boasting. But I find it hard to believe that there aren’t a fair number of folks in the same boat. With general disillusion in the financial institutions, that number may well grow.
So where’s the ‘Senior Bonds’, then, giving us old ‘uns a fair return while putting the money to better use?
Hey ho. It’s a very small problem, but all these things are relative when you come down to it.
