Panicking slightly - can people please convince me this is a good thing

dudleyboy

moanymoany wrote: »

When I started reading and contributing to this thread - back in May - the talk was that life was going back to the living standards of the 70's and as I was there I wasn't too bothered 'cos it was OK. Then it was to the 50's - was there and not keen on going back - now it is the 30's being predicted. If you have a garden dig it up and plant veg - get yourself a few chickens.

Was it really only May - 4 months ago - and even though many of us saw house prices falling and uncertain times ahead, few could have predicted just how bad it would become and how quickly it would happen.

I have to say the speed has caught me off guard and I don't claim to have foreseen current events, just anticipate them.

I'm also not a historian or an expert on the economy but for many years I've viewed the opulence of the last decade to that of the "roaring twenties". Back then, everyone was encouraged to invest their money in the stock market for ever increasing returns. Many even borrowed large sums of money to invest in this lucrative system in anticipation of an even greater return. Sounds familiar, huh?

And then Wall Street crashed and everybody lost everything. Those deeply in debt were the worst hit. We know what happened next.

I'm currently living on 50% of my net income and have been for the last 4 years. I live very frugally, I've made few large purchases, taken few holidays and used the remainder 50% of my income to repay debts (from my student days) and create a small savings buffer.

I have to admit, the current climate is quite frightening. I take some small comfort in the fact that I'm less exposed than others but no one will be immune... unless you're a corrupt head of a bankrupt investment bank whose walking away with millions if not billions.

Worst case scenario doesn't bear thinking about. However, if food prices continue to swell then we may well see the return of ration books or food vouchers. People will be travelling by bicycle more rather than car (no bad thing!). Anyone who's ever been to a museum and seen the grotty way our ancestors used to live... the way they used to wash their clothes... the cramped conditions and the grubby faces of deeply unhappy people... that is how you have to live when you have no money and nobody else has any money either.

Bleak, huh? I hope it doesn't get that far but there's nothing to say that it couldn't.

I'd be very happy if we come out of this little storm and life goes on as normal. I hope we do.

wisbech_lad

What's the difference between an investment banker and a pigeon?

A pigeon can still put a deposit down on a BMW...

(replace with estate agent & Mini if preferred)

neverdespairgirl

HankMcSpank wrote: »

no longer will you have secretaries & binmen driving 4x4s & taking two holidays a year as if they had the earning clout of a barrister

Barristers don't all drive around in 4 x 4s, you know, some of us have more sense (-:

Sir_Humphrey

slipthru wrote: »

Well i am hoping it is the end of something. But i am thinking it may go on for a good few years yet.

I have a nasty feeling that David "Lighter than hydrogenweight" Cameron will be even worse than Brown. We may have several years of political dithering and timewasting before the necessary course of action takes place. Unfortunately, all three main political parties are signed up to Neoliberalism (even the Lib Dems have entered the tax cutting la-la-land) so we will probably go through a "Herbert Hoover" period for a while until our political masters smell the coffee.

StevieJ wrote: »

Why do people persist in saying how brilliant they were in forecasting the UK problems
that are related to UK stupid lenders, mewing etc. The problems we are experiencing do relate to the housing market but it was the US housing market and the related CDO'S etc and I am sure most people were not aware of the toxic nature back in 2005.

Actually, I was fully aware of CDOs etc at the start of 2006, which was instrumental in me not buying a flat.

morg_monster

My top tip for not getting too panicky is to not be on MSE all the time and to not read or watch every news story that comes out... aside from that, here's a joke:

Three plastic surgeons were playing golf together and one of them said, "I'm the best plastic surgeon in Texas. A concert pianist lost seven fingers in an accident, I re-attached them. . . eight months later he performed in concert with the New Philharmonic."

One of the others said, "That's nothing. A young man lost both arms and legs in an accident, I re-attached them, and two years later, he won gold medals in five field events in the Olympics."

The third surgeon said, "You guys are amateurs. Several years ago a cowboy who was high on cocaine and alcohol rode a horse head-on into a train traveling 80 miles an hour. All I had left to work with was the horse's a**e and a cowboy hat. Now he's President of the United States.

carolt

Love it.

Sir_Humphrey

http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/847114/Lloyds-TSB-rescue-raises-questions-HBOS-brands/

More good news: there may be far fewer irritating adverts. As well as Halifax, HBOS owns the Esure and Sheila's Wheels brands!

:j :j

geoffky

I can honestly say i saw this coming and said it would be like 1929.
I believed it that much that i withdrew from all markets completely and hold no paper apart from a high figure of cash.i look on this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to reinvest the cash i have in a few years and make a lot of money.I am lucky as i don't have a job to lose so the future for me is a bright one.

Imagine if you had not protected yourself how you would of felt yesterday....my dad refused to cash in last year when i told him and he has been abroad in the last two weeks i pick him up at the airport later and i am sure he is a poorer man than two weeks ago...

Generali

If you want to know more about 1929 then this is the classic book. He's a bit of a leftie for my tastes but it is a great piece of writing: witty, to the point, factually impeccable and pretty short!

I hope things don't turn out like that. It's possible that they will but still it's not the most likely outcome.

While we're on credit crunch jokes:

What's the definition of an optimistic investment banker?

One that irons 5 shirts on a Sunday night.

GDB2222

wisbech_lad wrote: »

What's the difference between an investment banker and a pigeon?

A pigeon can still put a deposit down on a BMW...

(replace with estate agent & Mini if preferred)

Just to mention that this joke started doing the rounds in 1989/90. As a key indicator of where we are in the house price cycle, sighting this joke at this time puts us still quite near the start of the cycle.