The Credit Crunch

[Fred83]

Had a credit card myself.

[David]

Sorry to hear that fella, hang on in there.

Cheers mate

I am seriously considering robbing somewhere

[paranoid marvin]

I've been thinking recently - assuming that my job stays (and that can only be an assumption for all of us I guess) how does all this make me worse off?

Petrol - Coming down again, filled up for less than £40 on Monday and that was Super Unleaded. Recession is reducing demand for oil.
Mortgage - Reduced by interest rate cuts.
The High Street (luxuries)- lots of discounting, slight VAT decrease. Weakness of Sterling against Euro might push prices up here a bit.
The High Street (groceries) - dearer than it was, but still food is cheap.
Loans - not planning on taking any out, car replacement will be cash.

All of this suggests that actually I'm better off than I would be without this credit crunch. Yet, media hype is making me less willing to go out and replace, for example, the sofa and the freezer (both of which have seen better days) than I was last year.

The only things I find more expensive now are car tax and importing stuff and I'm aware that I was getting slotcar stuff from the US (my main imports) at an artifically low price anyway.

Coop

It doesn't. It only makes you worse off if the company you work for or it's distributors/customers is unable to borrow the money needed to get them out of a squeeze and goes under , making you redundant.

People generally spend less when they think their jobs may be on the line , escalating the problem ; which is why the government is attempting to encourage us to buy stuff by reducing VAT and (in some cases) mortgages leaving many with more money in their pockets and cheaper goods.

The only guarantee about recession is that the circle will turn and the 'good times' will roll again. Look at the mass unemployment in the 80's or the Great Depression in the 1920s. Let's just hope it's sooner rather than later.

[RetroAerosmith]

I'm sick of hearing it on the news, gmtv, etc all the time.

I've got my own problems without having to listen to all these other people's problems.

Jeez I am hardly sleeping with worry as it is, I don't want to get up in the moninr g and then hear/read about everyone else's problems!

I hear what your saying....another thing that annoys me is all the "payment Protection" ive taken out to cover credit cards and loans "in case"...you dont actually think your gonna lose your job...anyways ive taken all cover out and do you know how much of a biatch it is to claim on these payment protection rackets? they want written proof from ex employer even though they dont exist anymore,they wanta copy of P45/60 and redundancy letters..even though i threw them away in rage thinking i wouldne need them, they want a run down of all ins and outs to see if cuts can be made elsewhere,they want my monthly spending habits, even though only 60quid a week is going in my account, my bank wants proof thats all im getting, all i asked was to defer the payments for a few months to avoid me getting charges for attempting to take out £300 when i dont get that a month....it does worry.

[Fred83]

Despite what the expiry date on the credit card says.The bank still has the right to take it off you anytime!

[psj3809]

I'm sick of hearing it on the news, gmtv, etc all the time.

I've got my own problems without having to listen to all these other people's problems.

Jeez I am hardly sleeping with worry as it is, I don't want to get up in the moninr g and then hear/read about everyone else's problems!

I hear what your saying....another thing that annoys me is all the "payment Protection" ive taken out to cover credit cards and loans "in case"...you dont actually think your gonna lose your job...anyways ive taken all cover out and do you know how much of a biatch it is to claim on these payment protection rackets? they want written proof from ex employer even though they dont exist anymore,they wanta copy of P45/60 and redundancy letters..even though i threw them away in rage thinking i wouldne need them, they want a run down of all ins and outs to see if cuts can be made elsewhere,they want my monthly spending habits, even though only 60quid a week is going in my account, my bank wants proof thats all im getting, all i asked was to defer the payments for a few months to avoid me getting charges for attempting to take out £300 when i dont get that a month....it does worry.

I agree , i had redundancy cover which made me sleep at night (been made redundant twice before), when i was made redundant a third time i went to use it, they wanted tons of forms, wouldnt kick in for 90 days (!) etc. Finally i got offered a job two weeks later, i was tempted to use this redundancy cover for 12 months and live off 60% of my old wage, use it to train myself etc but i dont know, pride kinda got in the way, i like working and didnt want to turn down a job which might not be around in a years time.

Was tempting 12 months of money for not doing anything though even if it was reduced a fair chunk from what i'm used to

[RetroAerosmith]

Pride is a bad thing that im now experiencing....me being too proud to sign on the dole as soon as i was made redundant has caused a problem where the bank wants to know how ive been supporting myself (redundancy money) plus the credit card company will only backdate the "help" to when i signed on first which was NY eve instead of my last day of actual work Oct31st.....so me thinking i was being all correct and ful of pride was me really being a censored wherby im sure countless others in the same boat have had everything theyre entitled to and more.

I had a meeting with the Job centre about ReACT...funding for redundany victims, it only lasts 6months from the day your redundant so ive lost 2 months already by not going there in October....apparently itll pay for any training that you may need (wales only) im actually thinking about an SIA licence which is like 400quid as a last chance saloon but to claim it i need all the bumpf that the credit card company wants too.

[psj3809]

Yeah to be fair i should have signed on, first time i got made redundant had no savings but luckily got a job, second time i spent my redundancy and enjoyed Euro 2000, thankfully got a job when i had 100 quid left !

That ReACT thing sounds good, dangerous being out of work for so long, i mean doing training is good but 'nothing' is bad as you get so used to it !

[RetroAerosmith]

I think it was just stupidity on my part, i had the assumption back in October that id find a job as there were loads about so id take a few weeks off and pay myself from redundancy etc, then november and xmas came and all these other places started closing and i though censored...now its half way to february and ive never been so bored getting up in my life. the job centre is a depressing place full of moaning people (pot and black spring to mind i know), nothing worse than applying for jobs and even jobs you believe are "beneath" you and not even getting a thank you for applying letterm i question myself sometimes thinking - i did actually post that application didnt i?..

[psj3809]

I agree, when i was last made redundant i had a look on the usual sites, there were jobs but miles away. Luckily i had a magazine i sent off for (hoping to find jobs in there), on the back was an advert by some company, with a 5/5 rating for their software by someone else.

I went to their website, they did the work i do, emailed them and then a week later got work !

For once i had a good bit of luck. Was contracting to them for 9 months until going full time in April.

You really have to keep your spirit up as if youre totally down it wont help at all. Some days you'll find no decent jobs online, a day later there'll be a corker.

I applied for one job that was 'beneath me' and they wouldnt even give me an interview ! That was a knock in the teeth i must admit ! Thought of a total career change but i would have to be at the bottom of the ladder and in my mid 30's i just cant do that.

[Coopdevil]

I applied for one job that was 'beneath me' and they wouldnt even give me an interview ! That was a knock in the teeth i must admit !

Don't take it personally - a lot of companies hold the belief that if over-qualified for the position you will either be there for a very short period of time until something better comes along or you get bored and feel under-used (sapping morale) and they will have the whole process to do again in six months. If anything it's a compliment! But annoying I know!

Coop

[Fred83]

agree with you there coop.

[Fightersmegamix]

The way the media report things is a disgrace. Yesterday tesco announced an increased in profits but is was reported as the 'lowest rate of increase' rather than record profits.

[Fred83]

The way the media report things is a disgrace. Yesterday tesco announced an increased in profits but is was reported as the 'lowest rate of increase' rather than record profits.

They and other uk companies are getting more abuse over here.

[Havantgottaclue]

It's a shame some people here are struggling to find jobs. Funnily enough, I've just had a postcard through my letterbox from a company called 'Train 4 Trade Skills'. They proudly boast that there are 'thousands of jobs available now' as a plumber or electrician, and no formal qualifications are required. I've had a look at their website and it looks quite promising. Worth a try for some people here, perhaps?