Student loans negative interest, pay cuts, pensions & savings gains!

JimmyTheWig

Agree with the posters on here. No sign of prices going down other than mortgage payments. So for those of us on fixed rates, rent, can't remortgage, etc we're still seeing hefty inflation.
I'd like to see someone try to do our weekly shop for 0% increase on what it cost last year.

JimmyTheWig

Also, what's the deal with electronic goods? Do they compare exact like-for-like (e.g. a 1GB iPod) or equivalent for equivalent (e.g. a top of the range iPod)?
My point is that electronic goods are improving all the time and so the price of a specific thing comes down quite dramatically. But what you pay never actually comes down because you need to get better and better items to keep up with the market.
So does this count towards deflation when really we still pay the same price?

Generali

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Also, what's the deal with electronic goods? Do they compare exact like-for-like (e.g. a 1GB iPod) or equivalent for equivalent (e.g. a top of the range iPod)?
My point is that electronic goods are improving all the time and so the price of a specific thing comes down quite dramatically. But what you pay never actually comes down because you need to get better and better items to keep up with the market.
So does this count towards deflation when really we still pay the same price?

They apply what's know as 'hedonics' - that is adjusting the price of (especially) high-tech goods to adjust for the fact that technology is improving stuff rapidly.

WelshGandalf

lana22 wrote: »

Mine's double that

And I have to start repaying it from next month, but what I will be repaying won't even cover the interest, so it will keep growing and growing.

Well the interest rate on your loan from now until August will probably stay at what it is now, 1.5% (unless the BoE increases interest rates) - after that it will be whatever RPI is next month... 0% or less (though the government may leave it at zero if RPI is negative - currently unconfirmed as Martin says). So I'm sure your wage will cover 0% interest for the year from September

Also about the moaning of RPI/CPI for pension payments... for most of the last few years, RPI has been higher than CPI, no-one was moaning then that pensions were linked to RPI rather than CPI...

ALIBOBSY

Can't believe this about the student loans, won't help us as OH has just finished paying his lol.
Mind I suppose that still gives us zero interest on the zero balance .

ali x

stu531

It's true - there is no deflation.

We've not even got through 2% inflation, so I just don't understand all the talk of deflation right now. There would be a long way to drop for it to happen - and it just ain't.

Question is therefore, why is everybody talking about it? Are all the media gloom-mongers? Is it to make people feel slightly better about the pouund in their pocket?

Whatever.. it's simply rubbish.

stephen163

Golden rule, never voluntarily pay your student loan! You are better off sticking the money in a high interest savngs account. I guess with 0% interest on the loan and ISA's at around 3.5%, this has never been more true.

dumby1

Smoke, mirrors and a fresh supply of bullsh!t.

tomterm8

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

I'd love to know how this has been worked out.Apart from mortgages nothing seems to have gone down at all.
Fuel is still the same and food seems to be going up and up,certainly not down.

Our oil delivery was 50% cheaper than it would have been last autumn. That's a massive saving for us.

Complyman

I took out my first student loan as a mature student in Sept 1996 and graduated in 2000. I was aged 37 when I started and am now just over 50........ reading Martin's posting, does that mean, my student loan obligation is wiped out now????

Any advice and guidance much appreciated.