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Post by Kevio on Nov 9, 2008 3:37:05 GMT
A lot of us have a reason (or many) to blame the credit crunch at the moment... so post your perfectly justifiable scapegoating here Me... nothing at the moment, petrol at our local Asda is down to 92.9p/litre
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Post by mw on Nov 9, 2008 10:37:17 GMT
If it weren't for all the fuss on the news, I wouldn't have even known about it.
Bills have pretty much stayed the same for me, food shopping hasn't gone up, etc. etc.
Petrol cost has been rising since the beginning of time, so that's just a given. But I'm paying less tax after the reshuffle and I've had a couple of whopping bonuses over the past 12 months, so yeah, good times!
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Jude
Yesterday Went Too Soon
Posts: 846
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Post by Jude on Nov 9, 2008 10:52:33 GMT
food shopping hasn't gone up, etc. etc. try feeding a family of 5! our shopping bill is now around £120- £140 a week, whereas it used to be about £80- £98. Loads of things have gone up......for example, a litre bottle of sunflower oil is £1.79..... 3 years ago it was 42p! breads gone up, milks gone up.....its a nightmare shopping for a family! It took a little while to build up but we're definately noticing it now, our bank accounts are emptying much quicker each month than they used to.
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Post by bigospedros on Nov 9, 2008 11:04:44 GMT
I've definitely seen an increase in food bills ... it's undeniable.
I suspect, if I was still actively looking for a mortgage, I would certainly be seeing an impact there. As is stands, I am waiting it out for house prices to finish dropping and flatten out before I make any moves in that direction.
However, it's not all over ... a lot more companies will fold and jobs will get cut, house prices will continue to go down and the days of easy credit should be no more.
Our banks really need to learn that they just can't operate as they have done for the last 10 years. But, it's not all down to them, we, as a population, need to treat credit with more reverence and remove our "buy now, pay later" attitude to life. Live within your means and all that.
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Post by jellybean on Nov 9, 2008 12:05:59 GMT
I'm going to use the credit crunch as a scapegoat for me not having a job, because it's better than blaming where I live . Jobs are becoming more scarce and a lot harder to get in to because of the fierce competition. I'm having to apply either well above or below where I should, which means I can't get in at either because either I'm overqualified and they want some zit, or I'm underqualified with no experience and have to rely on the interview! A few years ago, Perkins engines employed over 10% of the population of Peterborough, now they're laying off hundreds of workers, along with every fucker else.
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Post by Stacey on Nov 9, 2008 12:19:04 GMT
Food shopping is definitely more expensive than it used to be. The price of decent bread for example is stupid now. But i stick with my Northern-ness and hunt out the bargains As for credit - the only things i get on credit are clothes, and only if i'm a bit short of cash at the time...i pay the card off in full at the end of the month. I currently need a sofa and a washing machine. I could go get them now on credit but i'd rather wait until i actually have the money, or most of it. I go into my overdraft now and then but Cooperative charge me bugger all interest so that's not too bad...but i don't like doing it. In general i just don't like spending money unless i actually have it...which is why i've never got myself a credit card.
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Post by Ben on Nov 9, 2008 12:33:07 GMT
I've been made redundant due to people going to pubs less and Bacardi taking our services in-house, and despite applying for what must be nearing 50 or so jobs over the past couple of months I've had one failed interview, and one other piece of feedback, which was a rejection letter. Petrol prices were spiralling to a silly level... It was only a few months ago that everyone was kicking off that it hit 90p a litre, then it hit £1 and just got stupid... I think at one point I saw it hit 129.9! It's good that it's somehow stabilised now. Food prices I've not really realised that much as a) I don't do our shopping unless I have to, and b) There's never any sodding food in the house anyway! I've noticed it when I've done 'emergency shops' though, what would cost a couple of quid not long ago now costs upwards of a fiver! With regards to credit, the only things I've got are a student overdraft and a graduate loan from the bank which was used to pay for my first car. Both *should* be paid off in time, provided I get a new job though!
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Post by Rach on Nov 9, 2008 13:05:55 GMT
Food prices have definitely gone up... I nearly passed out at the price of fresh chicken in Tesco's the other day. I've now started doing most of my supermarket shopping at Asda as they have proved to be generally cheaper than the others. Previously I didn't give that much thought to where I shopped.
I don't have any credit cards or loans but I do have a mortgage. It's fixed rate until next March, when it goes onto a variable rate. I may be stuck with this mortgage for a while as I think remortgaging may be difficult if not impossible. If interest rates stay low I'll be fine, but if they rise substantially I'll be in a more difficut position. Fortunately I don't have a huge mortgage so any fluctuations in interest rates shouldn't change my repayments by a ridiculous amount (touch wood!).
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Post by Chloe on Nov 9, 2008 16:25:51 GMT
noticed food prices go up, and gas/elec bills as well. don't have a credit card, nor do i want one, purely because i don't want to get into habit of buying stuff on credit. graduate overdraft is paid off and student loan should begin to be paid off when i start new job 'cos i'll be earning over £15k. am intrigued to find out how much i'll be earning every month after tax, pension, student loan deductions etc, and then being able to work out what monthly bills would likely to be for me and then where rentwise i can afford to live. i don't particularly want to be lodging with a family for very long, but as rents in the short-term are likely to go up (as it become more difficult for people to buy/sell property) i'm not sure how all that is going to go.
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Post by SanSiroBird on Nov 9, 2008 17:58:06 GMT
Food prices have increased also over here. I promised myself to go food shopping only once a week and avoid useless things.
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Post by Stacey on Nov 9, 2008 18:03:40 GMT
Oh yes i do have a student loan as well...i've paid half of it off though in lump sums. And i only got 2 years worth because i didn't need it for final year.
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Post by xstaceyx on Nov 9, 2008 22:29:17 GMT
hasn't affected me being a teenage student but its scary thinking what will happen when its time for me to fly the nest...
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Post by Stacey on Nov 10, 2008 11:55:19 GMT
Also, the term "credit crunch" really annoys me. I don't know why...it just does!
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Post by Rach on Nov 10, 2008 12:01:03 GMT
Also, the term "credit crunch" really annoys me. I don't know why...it just does! Ha ha I was just about to post that but you beat me to it. It annoys the hell out of me too. It's a new favourite media phrase and it's been used to death
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Post by jellybean on Nov 10, 2008 12:38:07 GMT
I hate all buzz words that come out of the media. They're designed to be catchy so that people remember them and remember the scaremongering stories better, but it's not the bloody pop charts. if it were serious people would remember. We don't need stupid buzzwords so ignorant tits can pretend to be all clued up on the subject whilst really knowing fuck all.
key examples are 'carbon footprint' and the coining of the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" of as our lovely brethren from across the pond put it "dubya-emm-dees"
no. JUST NO.
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Post by bigospedros on Nov 10, 2008 13:42:48 GMT
all of these phrases you all hate so much are more likely to be scientific / industry phrases that are then used in the mainstream. Would you rather they were forever explained in the more long winded paragraph style descriptions ? I doubt it ... these are all serious issues and you should ignore them at your peril.
To live in ignorance is no excuse ...
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Post by [Ghost] on Nov 10, 2008 14:41:32 GMT
To live in ignorance is no excuse ... On the contrary, ignorance is bliss.
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tom713
Yesterday Went Too Soon
'she lights the fires...then she goes'
Posts: 685
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Post by tom713 on Nov 10, 2008 16:37:51 GMT
all of these phrases you all hate so much are more likely to be scientific / industry phrases that are then used in the mainstream. Would you rather they were forever explained in the more long winded paragraph style descriptions ? I doubt it ... these are all serious issues and you should ignore them at your peril. To live in ignorance is no excuse ... I think he meant that all these phrases are drummed into us for the purpose of scare mongering, or to that effect.
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Post by bigospedros on Nov 10, 2008 16:52:53 GMT
i don't think reporting of an impending and long lasting recession and the knock on effects that will have on us all are scare mongering. We are on that path and there's not much we can do to stop it.
People need to start tightening their belts and reducing debts now otherwise they're going to be fucked for years to come.
There are going to be increases in house reposessions and bankruptcy for many more quarters and if people choose to ignore their financial situation then more fool them.
It's not scaremongering ... it's fact!
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tom713
Yesterday Went Too Soon
'she lights the fires...then she goes'
Posts: 685
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Post by tom713 on Nov 10, 2008 17:32:02 GMT
I personally believe that generally people are terribly ill informed as to whats actually going on. I definantly agree people need to be very careful with their money 'cos there'll no doubt be more trouble ahead.
But linking back into the point I think the media hides behind the 'buzz' words instead of telling people useful information like where all the bail out money actually comes from etc etc. Trawling through the haveyoursay section on the BBC gives a good indication of the way people are forming opinions based on what they heard on the 6oclock news.
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