Turn off the T.V. & stop buying newspapers.

robsta_2

A further thought to try and validate my point-

I work in the fitted kitchen industry, and industry directly related to the housing market. As such i also work with many other people involved in the housing market.

Generally speaking, my side of the industry stays pretty constant- if people move house, they replace the kitchen. If people don't move, they improve on what they have, and replace the kitchen (before someone picks me up on this, i don't mean in every case, i'm talking generally! ).

I work with electricians, plumbers, tilers, plasterers, etc. These people move from site-work to domestic to suit the demand, so if new houses aren't being built, they are building extensions, knocking walls out, fitting new bathrooms, etc, etc.

This is the first time i have ever seen the industry slow to what it is now in all my years in the industry (more than i care to mention but less than my shoe size!), and the reason for that, again, is not that people don't have money, but that they are not spending it.

That being said, there has been a definate upturn in footfall into my showroom since Christmas, and by all acounts this doesn't seem limited to mine, so hopefully a sign of things to come?

Sorry for rambling.

Davesnave

Just because life is normal this week, doesn't mean it will be in a month's time. People in certain industries are rather like those with blocked arteries; they may not feel too bad today, but the heart attack can come at any time. Having a circulation problem, you can take two approaches: either slim down, exercise and try to eat healthily, or say 'I'm going to enjoy myself while I'm here,' and carry on overeating, drinking and generally being self-indulgent. Both responses have their merits, but I know which I'd choose.

Even if not affected yet, knowing that the recession is real, many people have taken the 'healthy living' approach, slimmed-down their spending and started to build a cushion against the possibility of direct involvement. That seems entirely sensible.

For many though, especially those with a low attention span or weak resolve, the novelty of doing without will wear off almost as fast as their New Year resolutions. That's why I'd expect to see both renewed interest in the housing market and slightly increased spending in the spring. It won't last; this thing has a long way to run.

Personally, I don't believe what individuals in the UK choose to do will make much difference in the global scheme of things.

dopester

Really2 wrote: »

Perhaps I should thank him, the more he keeps up his insults and swearing at poster the faster he can be removed.:D

It was a joke Really - I'm pretty sure it was. That part you quoted from mbga9pgf, but the original post now removed.

If you'd spent years saving for a good deposit on a house, but saw house prices just accelerate out of sight, you might understand where it comes from - when you are getting calls to suggest it is your duty to irresponsibly spend your money away, like many others did in the boom.

His response, I believe, was just intended to be as ridiculous as the OP's suggestion we - especially those of us who have been careful - should now go out and spend spend spend away to prop up the economy.

I think you've been a bit too quick to judge mbga9pgf.

Conflict

robsta wrote: »

Take Northern Rock for example- do you think they would have collapsed if everyone of its customers hadn't emptied every penny out of the bank in response to the announcement of a bit of trouble?

It would have collapsed no matter what, just maybe it would of been a few months later as the government would of thrown many Billions at trying to keep it afloat as a private business. Simply it had over extended its mortgage position dramatically and as soon as nobody wanted to buy CDO's of mortgage backed securities they were screwed. They COULD of survived as long as B&B if they had not carried on as business being normal but they didn't, and they still would of been dead anyway just a year later as they were to exposed at the sub-prime end of the market.

And i realise that petrol/mortgages/shop prices and down because of the recession, but my point was that anyone still in a job was effectively better off because of this, not worse off, so had no reason not to go about life as normal.

Petrol and Mortgages are good - Shop Prices down is VERY VERY bad. The first 2 are controlled largely by outside mechanisms that are not at the control of the seller as such it is sort of 'free' money when they go down. Shop Prices going down is indicative though of wide scale deflation which is a sign of many things going wrong, including companies having to lower their prices in order to get people to spend so that they can survive.

I bought my first house in June this year. And i am going about my life as normal, because a/ i've got to- the house is gutted and needs completely transforming before i can live in it, and b/ if i don't, i become someone who is fuelling the problem further.

Ah now we get the answer. If I can offer some advise for you - Just stop listening to reports about house prices. Houses aren't an investment they are a home, stop thinking that about the wider economy and start living normally yourself. Do your house up focus on that and dont dwel about what is going on around you it will happen as it will happen and there is nothing you can do to change it, so just live your life and stop worrying.

WTF?_2

robsta wrote: »

The sad truth to this recession, as with most problems we have, is that it has been propelled into life by the great gullable British public.

Im not saying that there weren't certain problems already, but for most of us we are unafected by those, for example- i know a lot of people, and i don't know anyone who is looking to move/buy a house, i don't anyone who needs to borrow vast sums of money from the bank, and i don't know anyone who has that much money in the bank they stand to profit significantly from high interest rates. I don't even know anyone who has lost their job. Sure, these people exist, but it probably doesn't count for the majority of us.

In fact, i bet most people (apart form those poor few who have lost their jobs), if they get over the media hysteria for long enough to think about it, are actually better off than this time last year. Petrol is down, mortgages are down, shop prices are down.

The media loves to whip up a storm, and the British public lap it up. So MFI, Woolworths and Zavvi have gone bust? MFI managed to go bust when the kitchen industry was thriving! Woolworths had no USP and no sense of direction- what did people go there to buy? These companies didn't go bust over night, its been years of mis-management. Zavvi started to struggle (apparantly) because its main supplier was Woolworths distribution arm- when i was Christmas shopping people were cueing out of the doors.

The latest announcement was Christmas sales figures were the worst on record. But based on what? Units sold? Turnover? Profit? I couldn't move for people in any shop i went in throughout December. The media manipulates everything, and if it was up to me i would impose a black-out.

The bottom line is, this recession will continue, and get worse, for as long as people let it. Keep hold of your money, by all means, and create more job losses until it is eventually your own.

I, for one, am living life as normal.

A post with which this person would heartily concur:

Dithering_Dad

Personalising the debate again !!!!!!?

Oh, hold on, that's something you hate when others do it to you isn;t it. This must just be 'friendly banter'.

Let me try and get the definition right, yes, that's it:

1) Remarks made against !!!!!! and his cronies = Personal attack.
2) Remarks made by !!!!!! and his cronies = Friendly banter.

Yup, got it. :rolleyes:

WTF?_2

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

Personalising the debate again !!!!!!?

Oh, hold on, that's something you hate when others do it to you isn;t it. This must just be 'friendly banter'.

Let me try and get the definition right, yes, that's it:

1) Remarks made against !!!!!! and his cronies = Personal attack.
2) Remarks made by !!!!!! and his cronies = Friendly banter.

Yup, got it. :rolleyes:

Stress at work getting you all wound up, eh? Never mind, it's Friday.

Dithering_Dad

!!!!!!? wrote: »

Stress at work getting you all wound up, eh? Never mind, it's Friday.

Um, nope no stress at all. This is the last day on my current contract and I've nothing to do but drink coffee. Still getting paid though

What about you? Must be stressful being such a hypocrite, surely?

chucky

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

Personalising the debate again !!!!!!?

Oh, hold on, that's something you hate when others do it to you isn;t it. This must just be 'friendly banter'.

Let me try and get the definition right, yes, that's it:

1) Remarks made against !!!!!! and his cronies = Personal attack.
2) Remarks made by !!!!!! and his cronies = Friendly banter.

Yup, got it. :rolleyes:

spot on!!!

i just commented on the 'Are you also saving for retirement' thread on how enjoyable it was reading. it's not a coincidence that the "hypocytical nothing to show for his life armchair economist" was not involved on it.

it's getting more noticable that his comments are being ignored and corrected as more people join the forum. it's best to carry on as if he never existed.

Pobby

DD, do you have another contract lined up?