Interest Rates down to 0.5%!!

Also given that the avergae uk person has over 17K in savings what you have essentially said is it is insignificant that the average uk person has seen there yearly income drop by a potential 1.5K a year?

Where do you get that from? that has to be miles off.
 
So I guess if your boss offered you a £600 a year pay rise you'd say don't bother it's not worth the hastle?

That would depend on:

a) What it involved
b) Whether I already had £10k sitting around making £600 sound rather less impressive than it does in isolation.
 
Those that are complaining about savings - you do realise that the only way to really make money right now is with a little risk?

Those that say why bother with my ISA - well its still tax free and although cash ISAs are very low, a full fat stocks and shares ISA could potentially be buying you into some very undervalued funds.

But you say, people have lost money! I don't want to invest now! Actually if you think about it its the other way around. First time anyone says to you the market is overvalued its time to move out. Now is the best time to invest.

However, if the markets fall any further they will get to a point and the falls will not stop and there will be a complete collapse - if that happens we are all doomed! All it needs is one big unexpected bad news story from the states or right here and its game over.

I think this unlikely so have increased my monthly savings to use my full ISA allowance for this year.
 
Interesting you say that as we've been taking the surplus we've got each month and wacking it into various home improvements, mostly for our own pleasure and benefit.

If that's what you feel is best, then by all means continue. But consider this. That debt you have will be with you for 20+ years, and in the early years you pay almost none of that off. That's when the banks make their money off you.

In the mean time all the improvements you're making now will be wearing out and getting scruffy. Before long -- well before those 20+ years are up -- you will want to make other improvements, so they're just part of the ongoing cost of ownership. They are not helping you move ahead in life, though they are contributing to your immediate happiness. So there is a balance to be struck. I accept that.

However these are unprecedented times. There are many here and elsewhere who seem to think it's a storm in the teacup. I suspect most are young, and that's not a crime. Neither is optimism. :-)

But history is littered with such 'peace in our time' statements. Sometimes they're right, and sometimes they're wrong. Each of us has to make our own bets about who to trust and how to deal with the changes happening around us. All I know is that for some people debt is now "on sale". Your mortgages will never, ever be cheaper to run and this is the perfect time to be paying off as much of the principal as possible. It's a free chance to cut your debt back and minimise the amount of interest you pay in the long term *considerably*.

Andrew McP
 
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[TW]Fox;13622711 said:
The interest rates on savings have always been pretty insigificant unless you've got huge amounts anyway.

I mean even at 6% wow thats a whole 600 quid a year interest on £10k. Staggering.

The only people who have been really affected are pensioners who relied on interest income to live off. The reality is that they will simply need to eat into the capital to get by - something they seem reluctant to do.
 
[TW]Fox;13622795 said:
That would depend on:

a) What it involved
b) Whether I already had £10k sitting around making £600 sound rather less impressive than it does in isolation.

The payrise involves doing nothing that you are not already doing (otherwise it would not be a sensible comparison) and the 10K in the savings account is being saved for your future retirment so you can't just spend it.

You view of savings is a little short sited but then your still young and saving for a car probably seems more important than sorting out a retirment fund!
 
Those that say why bother with my ISA - well its still tax free and although cash ISAs are very low, a full fat stocks and shares ISA could potentially be buying you into some very undervalued funds.

They're only undervalued if you think past earnings (based on a debt-fuelled economy of massive proportions) are a good indicator of future earnings. I suggest anyone thinking about shares take a look at the Nikkei's performance over the last 20 years before diving in with more than a toe in the water.

I see putting money into the FTSE now as nothing more than gambling. And I am indeed gambling with a little of my savings. But I expect much more pain before I see any gain on that gamble.

Andrew McP
 
I you have a flexible mortgage, it would make sense to overpay rather than save.. You'll save ££££ in the long term and will shorten the maturity of your loan.. plus it's tax free..
 
[TW]Fox;13622711 said:
The interest rates on savings have always been pretty insigificant unless you've got huge amounts anyway.

I mean even at 6% wow thats a whole 600 quid a year interest on £10k. Staggering.


Wasn't always the case when they were around the 10% and 11% (and even higher for a period) which was considered normal.. The last 8 years have been exceptionally low, the last year has been extraordinary.
 
I paid a £5k lump off my mortgage a few weeks ago. It wasn't earning me anything in the saving account so I figured it was better off saving me in the long term. It got me under the 60% LTV rate too as a bonus \o/
 
Care to elaborate on that?

its about defending the only economic system they know - borrow and spend - they have said as much. such a policy (with quantitative easing) produces debt that must be paid off by future taxes and high inflation to debase the currency - it moves the systemic debt onto the public and screws them royally.


as for gordon brown being a respected economist - lol, now that is a joke. He will be remembered as the worst chancellor britain ever had - i would put money on it.
 
OMG My £6k of savings will now get even less interest! I got £3.90 last month!! I'm now looking at half that I guess! What the hell is the point, I'm trying to save for a house with my GF, first time buyers, we won't get a mortgage anyway :'(
 
Ha, my mortage is now so cheap its crazy.

Im on 0.75% and loving it.

Screw the people moaning about savings, you should be grateful the bank pay interest on savings at all.

You cant just expect dormant money to start making you fortunes.
 
OMG My £6k of savings will now get even less interest! I got £3.90 last month!! I'm now looking at half that I guess! What the hell is the point, I'm trying to save for a house with my GF, first time buyers, we won't get a mortgage anyway :'(
why are you depending on the interest on your savings to have any real contribution? just put as much aside as you can afford to as often as you can afford to.
 
OMG My £6k of savings will now get even less interest! I got £3.90 last month!! I'm now looking at half that I guess! What the hell is the point, I'm trying to save for a house with my GF, first time buyers, we won't get a mortgage anyway :'(

You don't have a divine right to get a mortgage!

If you want one, save more!
 
So what happens when they reach 0% and can't lower interest rates any lower? surely they are just delaying the inevitable so why try to fight it?
 
Ha, my mortage is now so cheap its crazy.

Im on 0.75% and loving it.

Screw the people moaning about savings, you should be grateful the bank pay interest on savings at all.

You cant just expect dormant money to start making you fortunes.

I could similarly say 'Screw You' the only reason the bank has money lend is because savers have it on deposit so of course they should pay us to keep the money there so they can make tidy profits lending it to others.

Your outlook is naive and simplistic and if you don't think this is going to come around a bite all of us hard then you are probably just plain stupid.
 
Ha, my mortage is now so cheap its crazy.

Im on 0.75% and loving it.

Screw the people moaning about savings, you should be grateful the bank pay interest on savings at all.

You cant just expect dormant money to start making you fortunes.

Where do you think the money they lent you for your mortgage comes from?
 
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