Strange to think that, a year ago, we were sitting in our house in Bridgwater, waiting anxiously to get the house sale and purchase to click together before the financial world realized it had just died but wasn’t buried yet. A month later we were sitting safely here, thanking our lucky stars that the deal was done.
Goodness knows how long we’d have to hang around if we were trying to sell and buy today. We’ve no plans that way, thank heaven, but if we did we’d stick with it, and get through the process no matter how long it might take. We’ve done it before in bad times. I feel very deeply for those poor souls who are in the same situation now.
According to a spate of experts airing their opinions recently, we came out of recession some while ago, and they’re trying to drum up trade, encouraging people and business to forge ahead with more debt, sorry ‘investment’. Perverse creatures that we Brits are we seem to be turning a deaf ear to such blandishments, and keeping on with the task of pulling out of debt as fast as we can, and keeping as far away from ‘investments’ as possible, so there’s hope for us all even now.
I cleared all my debts some years back, and pulled my savings away from the stock market soon after, shifting the funds into secure government bonds. I don’t get a lot of interest that way, but at least I can get my hands on the capital quickly and without fuss if I should need to.
My own, non-expert view is to stay away from the stock market for a good while yet and to be content with a much reduced investment income. It’s better than losing the lot to incompetent banks and greedy investment managers. I’ll look at the situation again when the FTSE hits 6000 in a year or two. Or three.
My father used to say “neither a borrower nor a lender be”. I have to admit it, he was right. Such a life has little excitement in it; in compensation, it has little danger, either.
I shall do my bit to see Britain through of course, paying my taxes without too much complaint, and going out now and again to spend cash to help the wheels keep turning. It’ll be real cash, though, just like my father used to spend.
And it’ll be a rare month indeed when I don’t salt a little away against future need. Like the squirrels and dormice, I have no intention of facing winter and hard times without my modest cache of nuts and seeds.
~~+~~
in the hedgerow
secret rustlings–
squirrels saving nuts
~~+~~
Although not retired yet, I’m lucky enough to have no debt and some savings. I hope I can hold on to them for a few years yet. I don’t earn much interest but I think they are safe. I’m so glad my mortgage is paid off.
Wil traded in the big truck during the clunker stuff here, so now we have the little one to pay for. Of course that was when the PT decided to head in for repairs. The sad part I have little faith in the service people where we bought the PT. It’s under warranty until Nov but we still had to cough up for plugs and wires they said we needed. I about choked when I heard how much 4 of those cost.
One of the attorneys for whom I worked when I was first starting out told me, “The trick to having money isn’t so much the income as it is managing the outgo.” He was so right.
Actually, this spring was the ideal time to buy stocks because the market had hit bottom and it has come up nicely since then. Of course that does not ease the pain of last year’s losses, nor replaced those losses… and I don’t think it is going to go up too much more this year… but at this point I am far more terrified of runaway inflation next year as governments (the U.S. gov’t in particular) “print money” rather than making intelligent decisions. It’s the easy way for politicians to deal with deficits.
Love, love, love the poem…perfect description !
Hit it on thhe nose, you did. Nice.
Heheh~ love the hedgerow, don’t love the hedge funds. We small critters will come out all right,…knock on wood. I do hope they nail a few more of those crooks in high places.
Hugs from the craggy hills of Corea, ~ Sil
What is so rare as a day in September?
Then, if ever, come plentiful days.
When Heaven lifts Earth by God’s Own Suspenders,
And over it, lightly, His Teeshirt lays.
I think your investment decisions are wise for your situation. On the other hand, for people with 20-30 years before retirement, there are some definite bargains to be had in the stock market at the moment, as the timeframe gives plenty of time for the market to recover.
Getting a small loan for investment purposes right now is not a bad thing, if you do a bit of homework on your choices, and especially if the interest is tax deductable where you live.
We lost about 30% of the value of our small share portfolio over the course of 2008, but by buying more stocks at bargain prices we’re now happily back in the black. I’d borrow money to invest in more shares, but I don’t know much about the market yet, so I ended up buying an investment property instead (another good debt where I live).