Minister admits local election results 'not good' for Tories as Labour vows 'best is yet to come'

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13 minutes ago, transam said:

And you haven't taken into account wages at that time....................????

That's a fair point. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Pink Mist]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed

[RayC]

6 hours ago, puchooay said:

In my view ;

 

Surely anyone with an iota of knowledge and thought would have realised rates could only go one way.

 

Anyone who can get a 250k mortgage should have that knowledge.

And no doubt there were people in 2010, 2011 .... 2018 who were arguing the exact same thing when, in fact, interest (mortgage) rates either decreased or remained at the same level.

 

6 hours ago, puchooay said:

 

I'm not sure why you mention "tying up capital". Surely it is just living withing one's means, isn't it?

What does "living within one's means" mean?

 

Would you have considered an individual who budgeted for a 50% rise in mortgage rates and 5% inflation for other goods and services in 2019 reckless (and living outside their means)? I wouldn't have but, unfortunately, individuals who made similar provisions 18 months ago may well now be facing financial difficulty.

[puchooay]

2 hours ago, RayC said:

And no doubt there were people in 2010, 2011 .... 2018 who were arguing the exact same thing when, in fact, interest (mortgage) rates either decreased or remained at the same level.

 

What does "living within one's means" mean?

 

Would you have considered an individual who budgeted for a 50% rise in mortgage rates and 5% inflation for other goods and services in 2019 reckless (and living outside their means)? I wouldn't have but, unfortunately, individuals who made similar provisions 18 months ago may well now be facing financial difficulty.

If I were in the market for a mortgage and base rates were below 1% I would calculate what my payments would be if base rates were 5%. 

 

I would not then think rates were so low that I could go out and spend spend spend on credit; cars, TVs, computers, phones, holidays, etc.

 

I would also expect, with a virus and lockdowns, there to be serious financial issues in the country after that passed and would prepare for it. 

 

Too many times people go mad when the going is good only to be caught short when things go belly up.

[Scott]

Please stay on topic. 

 

[RayC]

1 hour ago, puchooay said:

If I were in the market for a mortgage and base rates were below 1% I would calculate what my payments would be if base rates were 5%. 

You would have prepared for 5% interest rates at any point in time since 2010 (and presumably kept your money in an instant access/fixed rate short-term notice account)? If so, then you would have cost yourself an awful lot of money: £10k invested in an FTSE-Worldwide tracker fund would be worth +/-£40k now. What would the bank account be worth? £12k if you were lucky.

 

1 hour ago, puchooay said:

 

I would not then think rates were so low that I could go out and spend spend spend on credit; cars, TVs, computers, phones, holidays, etc.

No doubt some people are spendthrift and some others do not plan or budget for unforeseen events, but you and others seem to suggest that all those now experiencing financial difficulty fall into this bracket. I disagree.

 

1 hour ago, puchooay said:

 

I would also expect, with a virus and lockdowns, there to be serious financial issues in the country after that passed and would prepare for it. 

This comment could equally be directed at the government. Perhaps this is the reason why the local election results were so bad for the Tories? (Mods: Back on topic????)

 

1 hour ago, puchooay said:

Too many times people go mad when the going is good only to be caught short when things go belly up.

(See my second comment above)

[puchooay]

8 minutes ago, RayC said:

You would have prepared for 5% interest rates at any point in time since 2010 (and presumably kept your money in an instant access/fixed rate short-term notice account)? If so, then you would have cost yourself an awful lot of money: £10k invested in an FTSE-Worldwide tracker fund would be worth +/-£40k now. What would the bank account be worth? £12k if you were lucky.

It's not difficult to make money on short term investments. 

 

Notice I said I would calculate. Not save for. Prepared but not tied.

[RayC]

58 minutes ago, puchooay said:

It's not difficult to make money on short term investments. 

 

Notice I said I would calculate. Not save for. Prepared but not tied.

Then you are in the minority in being able to time the market (almost) to perfection.

[puchooay]

36 minutes ago, RayC said:

Then you are in the minority in being able to time the market (almost) to perfection.

Not at all. 

 

There are simple ways to do it. My first job was linked to the stock exchange. Price fluctuations, record dates for dividends, dividend rates. It's really not difficult. 

 

Buy, keep, get dividend, hold on then sell.

 

The big bang and abolishing the idea of only bi monthly settlement dates made things easier.

Edited May 11, 2023 by puchooay

[RayC]

1 hour ago, puchooay said:

Not at all. 

 

There are simple ways to do it. My first job was linked to the stock exchange. Price fluctuations, record dates for dividends, dividend rates. It's really not difficult. 

 

Buy, keep, get dividend, hold on then sell.

 

The big bang and abolishing the idea of only bi monthly settlement dates made things easier.

Hardly (low risk(-free) strategy which is what is needed for a rainy day contingency fund.

 

In any event not everyone has this level of knowledge about - or interest in - the financial markets.

 

We both seem entrenched in our positions and neither of us seems able to convince the other with our respective argument, so I'm going to bow out of this exchange. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by RayC
Addition

[Kwasaki]

16 hours ago, transam said:

My first house mortgage was 11%, boy they have it great today.....????

Yeah I remember getting into my second house and the mortgage rate went 14%.

 

House prices should be be frozen for 10 years to help future generations.

Fair rents should be charged by private landlords base on govt housing rents. 

Stop people getting mortgages on 2nd,  3rd homes and renting them out.