Controversial personal finance opinions

James_Green_1982

Dean000000 wrote: »

My unpopular opinion is that;

if a lender is generous enough to lend you a sum of money - you should always pay it back....

Claims of ‘irresponsible lending’ ‘mis-selling’ or bankruptcy (as an easier option) should never be condoned, supported or assisted in anyway way....

I’m a Lannister like that....

Have you considered moving to Dubai?

James_Green_1982

mollycat wrote: »

My controversial opinion was that "Wonga" was actually fine.....people not understanding how it should be used was the problem. (Personal responsibility and all that).

After much hand wringing by the nanny state, these people were protected from themselves by the do gooders and are now presumably doing without when they find themselves short a few days before pay day.

Together with the Church of England cheerleading the way. Quite a few payday lenders near me closed shop after that little intervention. So that's a few more empty buildings and a few more unemployed workers and a bit less rent to the landlords.

But at least the CoE got a bit of attention.

James_Green_1982

Reed_Richards wrote: »

My controversial opinion is that you should not hold multiple current accounts just to take advantage of regular saver deals. If you want the banks to play fair with you then you should play fair with them.

Then the banks should introduce a minimum amount to be deposited in order to obtain the higher rate.

In truth, the banks don't really want savers' money anyway. It's probably a ''loss leader'' for most of them.
The banks make money by selling investments and creating digital currency as mortgage loans. .

Reaper

* Taking out a personal pension for a baby is crazy (though gradually more people seem to be joining me on the crazy side of the fence)
* Fixed income investments are safer than funds

Lokolo

Reaper wrote: »

* Taking out a personal pension for a baby is crazy (though gradually more people seem to be joining me on the crazy side of the fence)
* Fixed income investments are safer than funds

Generally having a savings account for a baby to me is not really required.

£20,000 for ISA allowance for each parent is a lot for the majority of people. As a HRT I tend to salary sacrifice my savings into pension and do not use S&S ISA as much as I perhaps should. But it does mean I can use my allowance, and partner, to save in a tax efficient way for my child without having it in their name.

I suppose if people give cheques in child's name then an account is required.

James_Green_1982

Reaper wrote: »

* Taking out a personal pension for a baby is crazy (though gradually more people seem to be joining me on the crazy side of the fence)
* Fixed income investments are safer than funds

A lot will change in the UK during the next 60 years. I wouldn't want to trust the UK govt for the next 6 years - let alone 60!

Reaper

Lokolo wrote: »

Generally having a savings account for a baby to me is not really required.

£20,000 for ISA allowance for each parent is a lot for the majority of people.

The good thing about a child pension is £2,880pa can be put in and the child gets a tax relief bonus to boost it up to £3,600 even if neither the child nor the parents pay tax.

However I would have to say it should not be done in isolation. It is really only suitable once other more immediate forms of child savings are in place such as a JISA or a Bare Trust because there is no point in the child living in poverty until they retire!

I would point out they don't have to reach retirement age to benefit. In the early working years when people should be starting a pension there are a lot of financial demands such as car, house, marriage. If they already have one started which has been growing for 2 decades they are able to bypass this difficult period and only start making contributions of their own later on.

The final advantage is there is no danger of them going on a wild spending spree unlike a JISA when the money pops out at an age when some will be more interested in partying than responsible savings and spending.