Only freedom will do

elantan

Ed I had heard the Scottish government were proposing to have a universal income trial in parts of Scotland

edinburgher

AlexLK wrote: »

I can understand your points, Ed. I suppose a lot of my issues with your proposed state are quite personal ones; ultimately if this happened my family would lose one good source of income and have to sell the property assets I wish to pass onto my son.

My suggestions are relatively outlandish in the staid country that is the UK and would likely never happen. Even if they did, you'd have a huge amount of money to invest in other ventures and parts of the economy. I realise that my landlord bashing can come across as a bit OTT, I just cannot accept that being a landlord is a socially valuable or productive activity, sorry!

PositiveBalance wrote: »

Hi Ed!

Nice to see you 'around' a bit more, which is ironic as I have been around a lot less, so to speak (but I will be back with a vengeance in the near future)!

I did see that you were AWOL PB, you're welcome to come back at any time

elantan wrote: »

Ed I had heard the Scottish government were proposing to have a universal income trial in parts of Scotland

Ooh - how interesting. As we're relatively less wealthy than Englandcestershire a UBI experiment would probably be quite 'true to life' in Scotland re. how well it might work as a whole in my grim dystopian future That line probably won't help Scottish tourism :rotfl:

AlexLK

:rotfl: I can't see your plans actually happening, either. However, I do wonder if there is a potential for the universal basic income in our lifetime depending on the future impact of technology on jobs. More automation, less work for humans + high population = likely high rates of unemployment.

Completely agree that property is not the only decent investment out there and not the only thing one should explore. To put all your eggs into one basket is crazy. However, in my (family's) case, property provides a very predictable and regular income most of which is invested into other avenues (whilst I do wish to dabble at some point, the experts know what they're doing and are worth paying, at least for someone like me who is currently revising GCSE Maths to pass a Numeracy test for the teaching course :rotfl:). I know you're open to a diverse portfolio of investments and can understand some of the reasons you do not want to get involved in property investments. In a way I quite admire your stance that property should be to make a home for a family rather than an investment but that is what would make you a good landlord rather than someone intent on milking it for all they possibly can without looking after the property and in the process giving every other landlord a bad reputation.

edinburgher

I think what I like most about some of the other avenues is that the experts are on balance, definitely not worth paying! DIY investing is great fun and stress free once you become comfortable with the fundamentals and define your investment approach.

MIL still out of contention for looking after DD, so will have to use my first day of annual leave less than a week into the working year

Karmacat

She must be quite ill, Ed and sorry to hear you're losing a day's holibob because of it as well.

NorthernMonkey1

I've found the last few posts really interesting. It's easy to think that you've got a difficult life, but really, if you're posting on here, thats probably not the case at all.

It has re-focused my efforts into not spending where ever possible, and working just that little bit harder, for that extra bit of overtime, in order to pay this bloody mortgage off quicker. Every few pounds that the balance is lower, and every few pounds extra in emergency funds means that I'm less likely to end up in a position like this

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

I think what I like most about some of the other avenues is that the experts are on balance, definitely not worth paying! DIY investing is great fun and stress free once you become comfortable with the fundamentals and define your investment approach.

MIL still out of contention for looking after DD, so will have to use my first day of annual leave less than a week into the working year

Ed, I've gone so far as DIY investing £1,500 in a S&S ISA. I would like to learn more about it and invest more. However, there is not a chance I would risk my family's money on me making good decisions for a long time yet, if ever. This is ME making good decisions and I know I'm not exactly the sharpest pencil when it comes to figures or have a good track record with money. :rotfl:

I also have my own avenues of investment that I'm quite good at making money from but that is more a hobby than anything and there is also not a chance I'd put all my eggs into those couple of baskets.

Re. MIL. Could you ask FIL, your mother or father or an aunt / uncle of your daughter's to save the holiday day.

edinburgher

Unfortunately all of our relatives have full-time jobs bar MIL. Hey ho, these things happen

earthgirl

Can you take a 'looking after dependents' day? I get 5 per year I think, don't think I've taken any as oh is normally around.

Really hope she gets better soon.. is she on the mend?

Brodiebobs

Really interesting posts, and I've been on both sides in the property side.

When we were first time buyers in 2004 we were up against the BTL brigade and it was hugely frustrating loosing out as cash is king, but now we're what you call 'accidental landlords' we were told by an estate agent our property wouldn't sell unless we wanted to accept 60% of what we paid leaving us with a shortfall on the mortgage. Only people buying at the time were landlords making silly offers. 3 bed Houses on the street at the time for sale for less than £60k for months and not selling (prime first time buyer material if mortgages were available!), but the rental market is huge here, they had a waiting list for the area.So that's what we did.

We look after our tenants well, and they repay us by looking after the house as if it was their own. They would be classed as 'working poor' they claim top up benefits and we reduced their rent when these were cut as they were really struggling. Its not a business for us, its covering the mortgage and if one day they move on, hopefully we'll sell and break even!