Do you feel the credit crunch?

[flomike]

What's happening right now on UK's economy or world's economy is very frightening. Knowing loads of people right now are jobless and expecting more people will be jobless or even worst is they expecting atleast 3 million people will be jobless by next year.

In a way we feel the credit crunch so what we're doing right now is everything we buy in the supermarket is within our budget or less if we can. We don't eat out a lot only on special occassion or taking my inlaws for a dinner. We usuallly go to seaside on a weekend sometimes to have fish and chips and ice cream. We don't go out much lately bec of the expensive petrol (though the price come down a bit now) as we do last year. We only have one holiday every year its either here in UK or Phils compare to some people we know who have atleast 2 or 3 times holiday in a year.


Right now our tele is busted (the speaker is making an annoying noise when we turn it ON) I know tele is quite cheap right now but its not our priority at the moment and we don't watch much tv we spend more time on the internet mostly we just cancelled our sky subcription but instead SKY offering us a £3/month from £17/month. Next year my husband is thinking of getting a new car as his car right now is about 100k miles on a clock already since we bought it 3 years ago and it cost him a lot to run it (he said that he is doing 30k/miles a year bec of his job, well, I have no idea about cars). Then I am going to apply for my naturalization its another cost to look forward.

We're not skint but we're not loaded as well. We are trying not to spend on things we don't need to buy or may be we're saving for rainy days. The best thing is we're both have a job I don't have a very good pay job but still a money to look forward every month to help family in Phils every now and then and help my husband on our expenses and Im very thankful bec my husband got a good job to keep us going atleast. Then Christmas is coming...thinking of cancelling it this year

We feel the credit crunch but we're still lucky that we have a job to look forward everyday.

[KeithD]

Business has slowed down across theh board, advertising revenue is down on Google, as Adsense still has the same % but less income, eBay profit margins are being squeezed, although that may also be down to adjusting to the new charging system, gambling 'extras' have been tough for over a year.....apart from that, no chance of going hungry though as the horses keep winning....and if they do stop...I'll just eat the horse

[andypaul]

Business has slowed down across theh board, advertising revenue is down on Google, as Adsense still has the same % but less income, eBay profit margins are being squeezed, although that may also be down to adjusting to the new charging system, gambling 'extras' have been tough for over a year.....apart from that, no chance of going hungry though as the horses keep winning....and if they do stop...I'll just eat the horse

Did i see Google relaxed their rules on allowing gambling site to advertise on Google. First thing out of the door is princples when times are hard.

Amazon have reducded the level where postage is free.

Tescos have turned like in to cut price retailer, even sainsburys and waitrose in cromwell road sw7 (very well off part of london) are starting to mention how many bargins can be had blah blah

Last night the Missus and I went to a local resturant which is very good value and it was very quiet and the staff were trying extra hard to make you spend a little extra.

I visit a lot of companies of all natures as part of my Job and both the mood (now many offices everyone is working very hard and business like) and many have thined out as someone leaves they are not replaced many of those on contracts do not have them renewed.

Also many organsations are halting spending on stupid grandoise buliding plans and projects. Now they are seeking all the advice they can from companies they deal with on ways to budget carefully (you would think that would come naturally)

Goverment departments and those funded by them still spending money like its going out of fashion.
In the UK our corporation and its various companies have all been directed to ensure State organsations have become the customers we drop all for. All customers are treated the same in normaly and in good times but if its a toss up at the moment state ones will get priority.
I.e they may be the last ones standing.
Councils who were all talking big and looking to switch contracts are now considering their options and trying to extend contracts from what i hear we are asking for money upfront as the credit rating of many councils has been downgraded.

[KeithD]

Did i see Google relaxed their rules on allowing gambling site to advertise on Google. First thing out of the door is princples when times are hard.

I didn't know that...and yet they put scrict policies in place only a few months back to plug in the loopholes......Ah well.......does me a favour

[cruisingkerry]

My income means I always live like there's a credit crunch! However, I am very lucky that as a nurse its very very unlikely that jobs will be at risk and I still have agency jobs too.
I don't have any money to speak of and my house isn't worth much more than what I bought it for and I'm not planning to move any time in the near future.

So to be honest, for me, nope hasn't really made much difference. If anything, its a positive impact with more products in shops being discounted I'm not restricted to discount stores like Aldi.

So maybe for the people living cheap anyway theres not much more you can cut back on.

I must say though, I try to restrict how much I use the car outside of work travel and go to shops etc on the way to and from work instead of making special trips.

[andypaul]

I didn't know that...and yet they put scrict policies in place only a few months back to plug in the loopholes......Ah well.......does me a favour

[benb]

Folks, don't cut back too much too fast!!! Take it easy! We need to spend else the economy will contract too fast and may be doomed. If you are already stable and have a good job then just do what you normally do.

The media is frightening people too much! There is no war or shortage of food.
We need better regulations in the banking sector (e.g. loans, mortagages etc).

Cheers,

[andypaul]

Folks, don't cut back too much too fast!!! Take it easy! We need to spend else the economy will contract too fast and may be doomed. If you are already stable and have a good job then just do what you normally do.

The media is frightening people too much! There is no war or shortage of food.
We need better regulations in the banking sector (e.g. loans, mortagages etc).

Cheers,

Oh no another who thinks the UK ecomony will simply grow if we spend money on imported goods


Dear Mug i mean taxpayer

My great idea spend all your money in shops on non uk goods amass huge amounts of debt. Pay more than a house is worth so we look like we have a growing ecomony. While your doing that i'll sell of all i can so we can spend now and not invest for the future.
I'll hope the growth carries on and borrow vast amounts in the prospect that the UK will agaisnt all predictions and clear to see signs will have a huge increase in growth over the next three to five years.

kind regards

Gordon Brown and his darling

Dont shut up shop but spend with in your means and put away for a rainy day. Thats not advice for now thats just common sense

[KeithD]

Dear Mug i mean taxpayer

My great idea spend all your money in shops on non uk goods amass huge amounts of debt. Pay more than a house is worth so we look like we have a growing ecomony. While your doing that i'll sell of all i can so we can spend now and not invest for the future.
I'll hope the growth carries on and borrow vast amounts in the prospect that the UK will agaisnt all predictions and clear to see signs will have a huge increase in growth over the next three to five years.

kind regards

Gordon Blackadder and Darling

[andypaul]

More baldrick cunning plan i was thinking Sir

[PeterB]

Credit crunch? I used to have credit ... I borrowed £15k to buy a house when I first married. I can't say that I've had any credit concerns since I paid my mortgage off after 19 years.

[Sangoma]

Folks, don't cut back too much too fast!!! Take it easy! We need to spend else the economy will contract too fast and may be doomed. If you are already stable and have a good job then just do what you normally do.

The media is frightening people too much! There is no war or shortage of food.
We need better regulations in the banking sector (e.g. loans, mortagages etc).

Cheers,

OK, send me some and I'll help you spend and support the economy.

To be honest it has made no difference to me as yet, but as soon as my wife and step-son arrive, I'm sure I will notice it.
I have been "supporting the economy" spending quite a bit lately, getting the house ready etc., but that will stop soon.

I have noticed the sharp rise in prices for some things, but with just the two of us in the house at the moment, it doesn't make much difference.

My biggest worry is investments, I've split it between different banks, but I don't think any of them are as safe as under-the-mattress!

[benb]

My biggest worry is investments, I've split it between different banks, but I don't think any of them are as safe as under-the-mattress!

Do you mean protected bonds, savings, ISAs? I think first £50k is protected. So spread them out - no worries.

But if you mean stock and shares - then good luck!!

I've already lost ~80% value of my stocks portfolio.

Cheers,

[walesrob]

Do you mean protected bonds, savings, ISAs? I think first £50k is protected. So spread them out - no worries.

But if you mean stock and shares - then good luck!!

I've already lost ~80% value of my stocks portfolio.

Cheers,

I must be one of the luckier ones then - I have no savings, no investments, no stocks or shares, no ISA's and I work for a company where sales are up by 20% from last year.

[benb]

I must be one of the luckier ones then - I have no savings, no investments, no stocks or shares, no ISA's and I work for a company where sales are up by 20% from last year.

Great! What sort of company is it? Cakes?

But do save up for emergencies. In general, one should have about 6 months of net pay as savings as backup.

Cheers,

[walesrob]

Great! What sort of company is it? Cakes?

But do save up for emergencies. In general, one should have about 6 months of net pay as savings as backup.

Cheers,

Nope frozen food.

6 months? I would say 1 month was more realistic, and anyway, Elsa and I don't have a house, don't yet have children, and very little debt.

[joebloggs]

me, no savings, big debts

just transferred what i owed on my CC to a loan, no problems getting the money from RBS , in fact they phoned me, asking about transferring it,, so til the misses passes her exams and works full time, i'm in the

she's on the train to London now, first class, ticket was only £48, exam tomoz

told the guy at rbs, don't even bother trying to sell me insurance if i'm ill or lose me job or life insurance , told him i was made redundant 4 months ago, got a new job within days. so i'm not prepared to waste money paying for loan protection

i told him, he's the one who should be worried , he said nothing changed at the branch yet.. , no doubt it will thou

[aposhark]

[/B]

We feel the credit crunch but we're still lucky that we have a job to look forward everyday.

I think everyone is feeling the credit crunch in the UK, and it looks as though it will only get worse

People I meet everyday in the UK are fearful about the future and how it will affect them, losing their jobs etc..

No-one is spending. Goods are not moving about, companies are going to the wall.
I just hope my wife will win the lottery for me when she finally arrives here

Does anyone know a good article about the credit crunch (link) in Tagalog or Visayan so I can forward it to my wife?

aposhark

[jonnijon]

The only crunch I feel at the moment is the exchange rate.Trying to get the house finished in Phills and the rate is down to 79 peso = £1 with PNB

[PeterB]

Same here ... finishing the house build, and looking to transfer some more funds to invest here. Is it ever the right time? Perhaps that was about a year ago when the rate was 95 pesos to the pound.

[flomike]

while at the bank this afternoon to send some money back home (no chioce) I saw the filipina a wife of one of the filipino linemen who just arrived here a year ago (she just arrive 5 months ago on a dependant visa). We had a bit of chat then I mentioned to her do you feel the credit crunch here in UK and I said it looks like UK is into recessesion now. Well, she said to me what do you mean or what's that it mean? To be honest we filipinos may be don't understand that words bec all our life back to Phils we feel the recessesion or credit crunch all the time Anyway, according to the gossip thru the linemens driking session mates they earned £4k/month which is really big so I don't think they will get affected by the credit crunch by the sounds of it

I wish my husband is a lineman too so I'll just sit at home

[Piamed]

I think normal financial wisdom applies:

Save some, sow some and spend some! I'm one of the lucky ones with tracker mortgages so now i'm in a position at the moment where i'm over paying by an additional 10+ percent. I dont play the market on stocks anymore as my former investment club, Great Expectations, never became anything other than that! :-)

I do feel sorry for so many out there as the will be so many unemployed in the near future. BenB has a point though, in so much as, some spending from those than can do so will help slow our decent into a depression but certainly it is not the complete solution.

I do believe that we should all do what we can to protect ourselves. Save for a rainy day and try to build a war chest if possible.

I work in the pharma industry so you would think that I'm protected since in a recession/depression the average punter requires more medication but we are feeling the pinch a the development of new drugs is slowling down due to reduced investment and Governmental pressure on drug reimbursement.

Sorry, Flomike, what's a lineman?

Good luck to us all.

[andypaul]

while at the bank this afternoon to send some money back home (no chioce) I saw the filipina a wife of one of the filipino linemen who just arrived here a year ago (she just arrive 5 months ago on a dependant visa). We had a bit of chat then I mentioned to her do you feel the credit crunch here in UK and I said it looks like UK is into recessesion now. Well, she said to me what do you mean or what's that it mean? To be honest we filipinos may be don't understand that words bec all our life back to Phils we feel the recessesion or credit crunch all the time Anyway, according to the gossip thru the linemens driking session mates they earned £4k/month which is really big so I don't think they will get affected by the credit crunch by the sounds of it

I wish my husband is a lineman too so I'll just sit at home

If there is big pay and a local can do the job be prepared to see visas dissapear.

[jimeve]

So a linesman gets 4k, what does' the Referee get lols

[joebloggs]

linemens driking session mates they earned £4k/month which is really big so I don't think they will get affected by the credit crunch by the sounds of it

I wish my husband is a lineman too so I'll just sit at home

sounds on the high side, i think if it was 4000 usd then maybe, my misses brother in law is a ships mate, and earns that type of money, but there's a big price to pay, he only sees his wife and kids 3 months of the year and your virtually working 24hrs aday

[flomike]

what's a lineman?

i think what they do is fixing/changing the electric cable climbing high post i am not sure? but pinoys in our area call them the lineman sorry i am not that helpful

[flomike]

sounds on the high side, i think if it was 4000 usd then maybe, my misses brother in law is a ships mate, and earns that type of money, but there's a big price to pay, he only sees his wife and kids 3 months of the year and your virtually working 24hrs aday

can't be true can be true either. That's one thing about their job it is very risky, rain or shine, windy, frost and snowy they're on the go all the time. They said actually that their job is really really hard.

[flomike]

So a linesman gets 4k, what does' the Referee get lols

footballers

[andypaul]

can't be true can be true either. That's one thing about their job it is very risky, rain or shine, windy, frost and snowy they're on the go all the time. They said actually that their job is really really hard.

Very tough and risky

[andypaul]

Joe get yourself a Ladder

http://jobs.trovit.co.uk/jobs/linesman-salary-uk