Month: August 2016

Tuesday 30th August 2016

In this issue of Money Truths….

• Something gentle – to ease us back in….
• ‘I’m going to throw this trowel up the site….’
• Something strange happened on 23rd March….
• My rules for winning big….

Something gentle – to ease us back in….

A slight change of pace and direction this morning. Nothing too heavy – something to ease us back into the cold embrace of normality after a Bank Holiday weekend….

Like me, I’m sure you’ve enjoyed the extra day off. You’ve probably enjoyed some time with the family. Soaked up a little sun. Relaxed with a glass or two of wine….

This morning, like me, you might even have given some thought to the mandatory 4-day working week – and how the political leader who fixes his wagon to that particular horse is a shoo-in vote-winner for whichever party he might represent….

My point is that first day back at the grindstone few of us will be in the mood for unravelling the knotty problem of negative interest rates and their various consequences – intended or otherwise….

As we settle back down to our daily toil – or however it is we each spend an average Tuesday morning – the finer points of fiscal policy and what might or should be done right now with the public finances are not where our fuzzy thoughts are directed….… Click here to read more

Monday 22nd August 2016

In this issue of Money Truths….

• The forgotten man….
• Tired of experts….
• What they said….
• Out of the woods?
• Delaying the inevitable….

The forgotten man….

Does anybody remember Michael Gove?

Not so very long ago he wasn’t so very far away from becoming Prime Minister.

Alongside Boris Johnson he’d been a lead campaigner on the Leave side of the Brexit debate. The public had warmed to him during the televised debates. His stock had risen.

When the Leave side won the referendum, Gove had nominated Johnson in the race to succeed the outgoing David Cameron.

And then, at the death, ambition got the better of Gove. He knifed Johnson in the back on the eve of the latter’s candidacy announcement and then stood for office himself.

It was a miscalculation. His party and the public saw the mask slip. Underneath it, he looked like a monster. Gove had committed political suicide and was beaten out of sight in the Tory leadership contest.

Just a few weeks on and Gove could appear on Babestation gyrating around a greased pole and nobody would recognize him. Such is the fickle, and the brutal, nature of politics. Today’s great white hope is tomorrow’s forgotten man.… Click here to read more

Monday 15th August 2016

In this issue of Money Truths….

• Nightmare at the checkout tills….
• Dirty money….
• Your financial life support system – unplugged….
• If you appreciate cash – pay in cash….

Nightmare at the checkout till….

Picture the following scene….

You’ve just popped to the supermarket for a few bits. You fill your basket and head for the tills….

The checkout girl asks you if you need help packing your bags. You tell her you’ve got that situation under control….

You pack your bags carefully – making sure to put the heavy items at the bottom so that the bread, the salad items and the soft fruit don’t get squashed.

As the years roll-by, you have grown wiser about the finer points of bag-packing. These days you know exactly what to do to avoid an earful off the wife when you get home….

‘That will be £34.65, please….’

You reach into your pocket, take a card from your wallet and swipe it across the machine. The process is supposed to be over in seconds. But there’s a problem….

The machine is taking longer than usual to accept payment. Instead of saying ‘Pin Accepted’, ‘Payment Completed’ or ‘Please Remove Your Card’, the machine is stuck on ‘Processing Payment’.… Click here to read more