Mr and Mrs K's New Journey to a Debt Free Life.

cazmanian_minx

The only problem I have with the Green party is that according to my friends in Brighton, which has a Green MP and a Green local council, they're a total disaster when they actually get into power.

maman

AlexLK wrote: »

Often I wonder if I am well informed enough to make the right choice and don't vote with blind disregard. I do read each parties manifesto, even if at times I fail to see how certain policies affect my family and I or perhaps do not understand. Generally speaking, I think there are a couple of parties that fit everybody's political viewpoint.

I think it is very easy to come to the conclusion that politics is a waste of space when the media have such a big part to play.

Unless I'm reading this wrongly, I don't think any party is an exact fit. It's a shame there can't be a 'pick and mix' option! Personally I wish we had some form of proportional representation so that everyone could feel their vote counted.

patanne

Many years ago politicians were funded by interested parties. Family money on one side & union money on the other. They are still dancing to those tunes as if they are not being paid by us.

Now you know what they say about politics and religion?

When is mini K back at nursery?

AlexLK

patanne wrote: »

I have to say some politicians make more mistakes than others. I always vote - if you do not vote you do not have ANY right to complain when things go t***up.

Most times I have had at least the basic 3 to choose from, but when I lived elsewhere there were only 2 and one of those was libdem. Yep I voted for them.

Just as some people make more mistakes than others, really it is inevitable. As for voting, I completely agree there; it's very sad many people choose not to vote when our ancestors not so long ago were fighting for such a privilege.

patanne wrote: »

Too many of us vote the way our parents did (not me obviously) but I worked with a woman (she'd be over a 100 now) and she was voting conservative and I asked her why on earth was she doing that? Answer - because her father had been something in the local party. I told her she was an intelligent women, supporting 3 children & a husband disabled by WWII living in a council house. A little self interest was allowed. Frankly she was like a turkey voting for Christmas.

I agree a little self interest is allowed. However, maybe she agreed with Tory policies even though in her position it could be difficult to see how they would be of benefit to her? A lot can change in five years, so voting for the party most suited to political outlook and belief may be more important than an individuals current situation. Her choice may or may not have much to do with her father's politics.

patanne wrote: »

Seems strange to say this but we 2 women were amongst the first to have mortgages without having to have a male guarantor. My aunt had to and my father signed for her. The ridiculous thing was she earned almost double what he did and the only dependent she had was their mother who had a widows & state pension.

When I was 20 (well more like 24 actually) NICE girls didn't leave home unless a really good job made it necessary (for nice read professional). By the time I was 30 the world was a completely different place. Now everybody has to be so politically correct it is boring. I used to like being whistled at - why wouldn't I? It was never ill natured, just some man improving the enjoyment of his day by expressing his appreciation. Now it tends to be someone being nasty. Who needs that in their day?

Not really sure how this is relevant? The past was a very different world. Political correctness has gone a little too far, I'd agree with that.

heartbreak_star wrote: »

If you're south of Teeside, you're not a Northerner :P

I like the Green views on:

Housing - sustainable and affordable
Wages - an actual living wage instead of minimum + top-ups
Animals - ending factory farming and increase animal protection standards
Climate change - renewable energy (this is a MASSIVE thing and could create a lot of jobs) and conservation
Public services (this is the major thing for me) - reverse sell-offs where possible, stop the NHS privatisation and investigate ways of freeing up health professionals to do their jobs (e.g. reduce paperwork)

The thing I mainly disagree with them on is their opposition to nuclear energy. If it were me, I'd put more money into cold fusion research - a method that produces energy while turning unstable radioactive materials into more stable, safer ones.

I know a lot of Labour and LD voters that are turning to the Greens as a viable alternative - me being one of them. I can't quite forgive Clegg for turning into Cameron's pet poodle.

HBS x

:rotfl: Knew you'd say that, HBS.


I certainly agree with the Greens :eek: yes, you heard that correctly, about factory farming. Could not vote for them just for that, though.

gallygirl wrote: »

Tuition fees :mad::mad::mad:

Children at university, Gally?

AlexLK

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

The only problem I have with the Green party is that according to my friends in Brighton, which has a Green MP and a Green local council, they're a total disaster when they actually get into power.

For some reason, you don't surprise me.

maman wrote: »

Unless I'm reading this wrongly, I don't think any party is an exact fit. It's a shame there can't be a 'pick and mix' option! Personally I wish we had some form of proportional representation so that everyone could feel their vote counted.

Sorry maman, I've not been particularly articulate as of late. Whilst I don't believe any party is an exact fit, I do think most people can find at least one party that fits most of their beliefs. Politics is not really about individuals, a pity some politicians fail to realise that though.


I can certainly see the argument for PR too.

patanne wrote: »

Many years ago politicians were funded by interested parties. Family money on one side & union money on the other. They are still dancing to those tunes as if they are not being paid by us.

Now you know what they say about politics and religion?

When is mini K back at nursery?

A politician's salary may be funded from public money but the parties that represent are not.


Don't even get me started on religion, had enough of that at school to last a lifetime.


My son is back to nursery this coming week. He's not particularly looking forward to it, would rather the fun of the Christmas break continued. My wife is also back to work and I'm supposed to be as well despite the fact I'm greatly struggling to find the motivation.

patanne

He'll soon get back in the swing as will you.

gallygirl

AlexLK wrote: »

Children at university, Gally?

Nope, just don't like someone having a clear pledge in their manifesto then happily dropping it when they're offered a bit of power :mad:. My two have student loans but they are manageable in comparison to current students.

I'm not against tuition fees as such. I just fail to see why we need to have them so high to fund an arbitrary target of 50% of students going to university. That's b*ll*cks. How did they come up with 50%? Where's the justification? Why not 40%? or 60%? They've come up with a 'sexy number' and now all students have to pay for it when a good % of them would have been far better pointed in the direction of a decent job with their employer sponsoring them to do a relevant and vocational part time degree.

And I don't think that students who are scraping the minimum number of points at A level (2 E's in the olden days) should be encouraged to go to uni. If they can only achieve the bare minimum in a fairly structured and supported environment where they can take as long as they like over course work etc. then how are they supposed to cope with the rigours of university life? I've not seen figures relating dropout rates to A level grades - I'd be interested to see them. And what good is a 3rd class degree in travel and tourism going to be to them?

"Rant over" .

AlexLK

patanne wrote: »

He'll soon get back in the swing as will you.

I suspect so. It's rather scary to realise that we're into 2015 and in two terms time my son will be attending school. Not looking forward to that and we still aren't 100% certain about where we would like him to be educated.

gallygirl wrote: »

Nope, just don't like someone having a clear pledge in their manifesto then happily dropping it when they're offered a bit of power :mad:. My two have student loans but they are manageable in comparison to current students.

I'm not against tuition fees as such. I just fail to see why we need to have them so high to fund an arbitrary target of 50% of students going to university. That's b*ll*cks. How did they come up with 50%? Where's the justification? Why not 40%? or 60%? They've come up with a 'sexy number' and now all students have to pay for it when a good % of them would have been far better pointed in the direction of a decent job with their employer sponsoring them to do a relevant and vocational part time degree.

And I don't think that students who are scraping the minimum number of points at A level (2 E's in the olden days) should be encouraged to go to uni. If they can only achieve the bare minimum in a fairly structured and supported environment where they can take as long as they like over course work etc. then how are they supposed to cope with the rigours of university life? I've not seen figures relating dropout rates to A level grades - I'd be interested to see them. And what good is a 3rd class degree in travel and tourism going to be to them?

"Rant over" .

No student loans here but my wife had one. Completely understand where you're coming from regarding the Lib Dems.


I happen to agree about the 50% target and cannot see the benefit of a university education to some students. Nothing at all to do with jobs and careers as I do not believe that should have anything to do with university study. In my opinion the type of student gaining a Third from an ex-Poly does not have the drive to study a subject in depth, which is what gaining a degree should be all about. Unfortunately, for many people it's about gaining entry into a "graduate level" job.


Personally, if my son was not academically inclined and would only be going to university to gain a "graduate level" job, I would encourage him to look into other options.

I read an article that stated not even 25% of students paying the £9,000 tuition fees will pay back their student loan before it is written off. Surely this means the government is still funding university tuition at around the same level as before?

AlexLK

Well, I've been looking for this for ages and finally found it!


"2014 Goals

Business:
Put at least 4 hours effort into at least one aspect of the business per working day (Mon-Fri). - This happened.
Apply for any business grants available. - Didn't happen, I got as far as filling forms in but failed to send.
Build and develop a website. - Erm, no that didn't happen, either.
Follow up all leads. - .
Keep track of all orders and completed orders. - This is that organisation thing I'm terribly lacking in. Therefore, it didn't happen.

Financial:
Pay off my debts. - Almost there.
Keep to the budget and review as and when necessary. - :rotfl:
Save £1,000. - This didn't happen but I've managed to save £400 since December.

Personal:
Forget the alternative and try to think positively about living. - :rotfl: This has been one of my worse years so far.
Expand music teaching and see volunteering work through to completion. - Managed that.
Investigate other avenues of gaining added income. - Managed that but some things have turned into new hobbies.
Give up drinking during the week. - Largely successful.
Try to stop being so selfish. - Erm, not sure.

House:
Fix roof. - Done.
Fix central heating system. - Done.
Restore kitchen units. - Not done but started on the windows instead."


2015 to be announced ...

AlexLK

Sunday 4th January, 2015.

Dear Diary,

Despite being almost debt free, a position that I should be pleased with and one which should allow me to think about the future, I am struggling to write any goals down for this coming year. To be honest, whilst I have no desire to live, I do not wish to die either. That seems to leave me without any motivation and frankly I do not know what I want to do with the coming year.

Business was going well until mid-December and I know I've hardly a choice but to carry on with this. I've managed to find some other income streams and whilst it doesn't feel like it because I still only pay myself £1,000 per month and choose to reinvest the rest, I'm doing OK.

Not really sure where to go from here, staring at the subheadings under "2015 Goals" is not doing me a lot of good. In fact, in lots of ways it's making me realise I wasn't doing so badly before 2014 when my biggest problem was worrying about money.

Sorry for failing to update this properly in recent months.

Yours Faithfully,
Alex.