Preparedness for when

Frugalsod

This looks like a brilliant solution for those with vegetable plots.

http://inhabitat.com/groundfridge-lets-you-store-perishables-without-traditional-refrigeration/

meanmarie

Lyn,

I would suggest that you employ the talent of He who Knows to make a foot into which you can insert a circular mirror which I am sure that any glass merchant would do for you.

Good luck with your project...

Marie

Frugalsod

thriftwizard wrote: »

Just a quick question for those who know about Such Things as high finance: is it a time to be especially wary? Asking because someone who I would normally think of as very conservative (in a financial sense) has just advised a close relative that it might be wise to divest themselves of a significant proportion of their shares in the very near future. I know there are many who consider the market overdue for a "correction" but this is the last person I'd have thought would be anticipating trouble. And the recipient of the information is completely baffled; if the economy's going from strength to strength, as we're always being told, is the informer "up to something" or genuinely trying to stop them losing a lot of (potential) money? Never mind the background noise, are there genuine ominous rumblings out there?

Timing these events is very difficult. I do think that the stock market and property markets are significantly overvalued but when such a correction comes is anyones guess. The fact that makes me think that now we are getting close to that point is that the Grexit is increasingly more likely and that if this happens that the risks of contagion are very high, as there are a few countries with pretty dire national accounts.

In other news I saw this

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-18/global-liquidity-squeeze-has-begun

It is highlighting a growing credit squeeze. So maybe if you have the chance it might be good to start slowly building up cash piles.

moneyistooshorttomention

thriftwizard wrote: »

Just a quick question for those who know about Such Things as high finance: is it a time to be especially wary? Asking because someone who I would normally think of as very conservative (in a financial sense) has just advised a close relative that it might be wise to divest themselves of a significant proportion of their shares in the very near future. I know there are many who consider the market overdue for a "correction" but this is the last person I'd have thought would be anticipating trouble. And the recipient of the information is completely baffled; if the economy's going from strength to strength, as we're always being told, is the informer "up to something" or genuinely trying to stop them losing a lot of (potential) money? Never mind the background noise, are there genuine ominous rumblings out there?

Or could it be that its a General Election looming and with a bit of a different scenario to what we are used to - ie a particular "person" threatening to make like a puppet-mistress and tell the other political parties what to do (can you tell that I just wince when I look at the expression on her face - that is NOT a nice person imo). The last "female with power" was downright determined, but I wouldn't describe her as deliberately nasty (the effects of what Thatcher did were nasty - but I don't think she set out to hurt people deliberately). This one is a rather different kettle of fish...

What I sometimes think these days is that the English (of whom I am one) don't have a "sense of history" in their thinking and "history is history...end of". I wouldn't dream of hitting someone over the head with a 200 year old grudge...so what? It happened before my time and is nothing to do with me...but I'm not so sure about her.

[Deleted User]

MOJISOLA that is exctly what I'm looking for, I've been keeping an eye out at boot fairs, charity shops, antique shops etc. for a while now and not found anything like it. I'm sure you could get them here years ago but I've just not seen anything like for about 20 years now. I think they were classed as smallholder/crofter equipment.

MEANMARIE yes, I think that would be the only way to get what I want. I'd like it to be portable so I can position it close enough to my chair to read. He Who Knows will come up with a foot, he's a good lad!

GreyQueen

thriftwizard wrote: »

Just a quick question for those who know about Such Things as high finance: is it a time to be especially wary? Asking because someone who I would normally think of as very conservative (in a financial sense) has just advised a close relative that it might be wise to divest themselves of a significant proportion of their shares in the very near future. I know there are many who consider the market overdue for a "correction" but this is the last person I'd have thought would be anticipating trouble. And the recipient of the information is completely baffled; if the economy's going from strength to strength, as we're always being told, is the informer "up to something" or genuinely trying to stop them losing a lot of (potential) money? Never mind the background noise, are there genuine ominous rumblings out there?

It's interesting, particularly if the individual giving the advice is themselves a financial services insider, or has the ear of one, and if they have nothing to gain by your relative selling their shares.

Calling a market top is impossible. There are signs and portents that the world may be about to experience a major financial catastrophe, but they are only signs and portents and they may signify nothing. Or they may signify everything, in which case the smart money may be on its way out of that sector already.

There's a reasoned argument that shares in general are trading at levels far too high to be justified by the companies' earnings and a correction to something like reality is long overdue. The possible/ probable Greek exit from the Eurozone is something no one has had a chance to rehearse. If De La Rue are printing new drachma banknotes, I would have real concerns, but I don't know if they have a contract for that.

Ultimately, your relative will have to make a judgement call and hope that it's the right one. If their portfolio is heavily invested in shares, to the detriment of other asset classes, they might want to take some independant financial advice (i.e. pay for it) soonish.

thriftwizard

...particularly if the individual giving the advice is themselves a financial services insider...

She is. And normally a very unflappable soul, and has no more to gain from it than the rest of us have, long-term. I'm considerably more spooked by this than I was by a high-flying cousin's advice just before the crash of '08, but that's probably because I have (a little) more to lose than my overdraft now!

jk0

I just regard my ISA's & unit trusts as gambles nowadays. I don't have amounts in them that I could not afford to lose.

I think nowadays that is more than ever the way to look at them.

Frugalsod

jk0 wrote: »

I just regard my ISA's & unit trusts as gambles nowadays. I don't have amounts in them that I could not afford to lose.

I think nowadays that is more than ever the way to look at them.

I think that if there is a UK bank run again then the real problem will be trying to withdraw the sums that some have accumulated in their cash ISA's. If you have less than a few thousand in the bank you could empty the account relatively easily. What I have been doing is taking £50 cash back every time I do some grocery shopping. It slowly adds up.

In many ways the official reaction to the last crisis has only really benefited a very few at the top of the wealth pile, and as long as a government or central bank does not intervene in the next crash it will resolve a large part of the wealth inequality at the same time.

Since most people do not have much invested in the stock markets either directly or through pension funds they will not be seriously impacted by a stock market crash. Since most pension pots are below £30 000 which would be insufficient to retire on now they are not really any worse off even if it halves in value. They could not afford to retire before and certainly not now with a fallen pension pot valuation.

As GreyQueen said it is next to impossible to pick the top of a market though many try. If De La Rue are printing drachmas that would be good for Greece long term, though I suspect that they are being printed in Greece.

Greece's austerity is being paid for by the average Greek citizen who did not cause the crisis. The same applies here. It is the low paid that are paying for it. The deliberate erosion of the safety net is what will cause problems in future. What is incredible is that people are actively voting for measures that cut the incomes of the poor, not realising that if they were to lose their jobs tomorrow this is what they would be getting as well.

Doveling

Real life has been too busy with Easter hols.
Everything's weird - I appear to have broken the site:rotfl:
All good in Doveling world, brother back home - he just sounds a bit drunk and memory is not quite back yet but getting there.:j:D

I'm back at physio and on my crosstrainer again, just taking things more slowly this time :rotfl:
Trying to organise the garden so we can grow some veggies but I'm afraid todays efforts turned into sunbathing with a book instead! Need to get a couple more water butts as we are on a meter so watering stuff could be expensive.

Still trying to work out what would be the best thing to do with Mr.D's redundancy money. A while to think about our options yet.
Also, I have been offered an interview for a job I wouldn't have thought of doing in a million years. Will see what happens before I spill the beans.;)

Lovely recipes, I've just pulled some rhubarb for pud later.

Hope you are all ok
Nuatha - how is MIL?

Things look normal again! What happened?