Living with Leasehold

Afternoon

I’ve just read an interesting article in my Moneyweek magazine by Simon Nixon in which he writes about the complete lack of contrition by the financial elite for the current mess that is the banking system.

I’ve expressed my own views on this before including the lack of penalties imposed but having got one of my credit card statements this morning and found that I’d inadvertently gone over my credit limit, I immediately put some money in to bring it down to the limit I agreed to.

Even though my finances are akin to a car running on petrol fumes the point is, I paid it because repaying my debts is what I signed up for when I borrowed the money in the first place.

I therefore began to wonder why the likes of you and I, who borrow with no intention to defraud or manipulate,  bother  trying to repay the few thousand we owe in comparision when there is no punishments for these bankers?

In addition, in the US, people can simply walk away from repaying the mortgage they can no longer afford  because the lending institutions don’t pursue them to repay, unlike over here.

The financial industry knowingly operated with so much smoke and mirrors that the ‘complicated financial packages’ they kept on selling turned out to be little more than cleverly wrapped gift boxes moving around in a game of pass the parcel with no one knowing when the music would  stop.

If you or I had tried to run a business in the same manner then we would probably have been done for fraud!

These bankers (substitue another word here if you wish) must have been incredibly confident, (or arrogant if you prefer) that their wheeling and dealing would never filter through to the wider markets but it has.

We didn’t cause the run on Norther Rock and we didn’t cause the collapse of Bear Stearns so, based on the billions of pounds that has been written off so far, what difference will paying off my few thousand make although you can bet your bottom dollar that we will not be let off the hook so readily.

Write down our debts too I say!!

Morning all

I hope anyone reading this had a good Easter but I was struck this morning as to how, for some, the Easter break is not such a good thing.

During this time we were asked by our neighbours (a nice couple with a baby) if we could lend them a few quid to run their heating meter.

The Post office was shut so they couldn’t recharge their key and it had gotten really cold.

Personally I don’t think that a young struggling couple should be housed by the local authority in a 1 bedroomed flat with no central heating but what do I know!

Now, this was just over a weekend but what are people supposed to do when the Post Office is their life line?

Not just for getting heat but for many its probably the only time they get to talk to other people!

It’s not their fault that the Government can’t run a business but yet again, the wishes of communities look as if they will be trampled on.

Anyhow, at the other end of the scale, this morning my partner was stopped by an elderly lady asking if he had any spare cash and she was clutching a meter key.

He gave her what change he had but she sadly said that it wasn’t enough as she needed £5.

As she walked away she turned round and said ‘thank you anyway’.

Now, I’ve no ided how these keys work and whether there’s a minimum charge on them but this is not the point.

My partner can spot a con artist a mile off and she wasn’t one.

Fancy having to approach a complete stranger to ask for help.

Just a couple of examples of people struggling but it makes me wonder how many more are there like that out there?

We too are finding it hard but for others it must be even more of a nightmare!

Hi

Is it just me or is anyone else finding it more and more annoying to read about all the financial institutes that are seeing their dodgy dealings come crashing down and are still getting massive pay outs, even when they are forced to resign?

I’m like many people who really try hard to honour all their financial committments but where’s my hand out when the s**t hits the fan through no fault of my own?

I’ve just spent three long, hard, unpaid years trying to sort out the major problems an absent landlord and a negligent managing agent caused this place, all by myself, and now, when I need to go back to work to earn some money to honour my committments, I develop hip bursitis which needs steroid injections and have had my first major panic attack!

Reward for failure has always been an issue for me but it seems to becoming more and more prevalent.

Massive hedge funds and investment banks create extremely complicated packages on the backs of mortgages that should never have been sold in the first place starting the credit cruch we are now experiencing and ultimately paying for.

I’m really tired of the attitude of so many people that really impact negatively on my own life - from being burgled, from my partner having our car (and nearly his motorbike) written off and the aforementioned landlord and agent.

Not to mention hidden stealth taxes and as usual, nothing in the budget for anyone who is self reliant and doesn’t have any kids.

Sorry to whinge but they do say that writing things down sometimes help.