It seems like many times when you watch late night television, you will find that there are always advertisement for a free psychic reading from a telephone psychic. It is not that I don't believe in psychic things, because I do, but I have always been reluctant to try a telephone psychic, but when they offered me a psychic reading, I just had to give it a try. After all, it was free, so may as well see what they had to say. It is funny, but one of the reasons I was stressing was over my decision to stay with the major that I had chosen when I first arrived at school or to change majors to what I thought that I wanted at this stage of the game. My love life and my boyfriend are just fine, so I wanted to see if they went directly to relationship issues, because those plague a lot of people. Well, it was really funny, they guy on the other end of the phone really must have tapped into something, because he said well you are not calling about your relationship, everything is fine on that front, but I do see that you are very worried about a decision that you need to make now. It is a career decision, and I see that you should at this point stay on the path that you are on. WOW!!! At that moment you could have knocked me over with a feather. He went on to say that staying where I was at right now, would not prevent me but aid me in doing what I want in the future. Well, the next day I went to speak with my guidance counselor who confirmed that at this juncture if I finish the degree program I am in now, that it will only take me a few more classes to get the other degree and then I would actually have both. She also told me that it would give me the ability to work in career one during the day while taking night classes to finish up the other degree program which would help get my loans paid back more quickly too. It is amazing, so the next time you see that you can get a free phone reading, go for it. I did and it was really great!
One of the great things about college is that you can take electives that have nothing to do with your major or even have any significance. You take them for fun and as a break from your regular hectic schedule. So a friend of mine convinced me to take a sports ethics and gambling class. We learned about everything from horse racing bets to the euro lottery.
We talked in depth about the ‘euro millions' for some reason in our class and about how it is one of the biggest lotteries because it has nine participating countries so when someone doesn't win that week, it rolls over to the next week and becomes larger and larger. You can check the UK lotto results online and we did so and talked about the chances of winning and how many people have played and how long it has been since the last winner and even the average amount of time between winnings.
The class takes something simple that most people take mindlessly (like buying a lotto ticket) and goes into great depth and actually spells out your chances of winning. It is really cool to actually look so far into statistics but in a fun way that the whole class enjoys.
We even get to go to casinos and beforehand we learn about the games and we talk about winning and odds in games like poker and blackjack and the slot machines. And then we go as a class (there is a casino about 30 minutes from our university) and we get to play with an allotted amount of money. And then afterwards we go back and talk about what happened. We even got to watch the movie 21 when we talked about card counting.
And then for a few weeks we discussed horse racing and we went to the track and talked about what the racing forms meant and it was actually a lot of fun to go as a class. I have been going to the race track my whole life with my dad and knew already most of the things the teacher was talking about but it was still a lot of fun to go and experience it all in a class setting.
It is great that the school offers classes like these. We are able to have a great time, while relaxing and actually learning.
My friend's sister is a teacher for the mentally challenged. She doesn't teach in a school anymore though. When she did teach special ed in school, she volunteered at a place where they help students who are challenged write essays for school or for applications for college or even helped out with the applications for a job if they needed one. She ended up moving there full time to work.
It is basically an essay writing service that they give to those who need some extra help completing their assignments. It is a great place for those students to go and they give them an extra boost to help with their future.
A lot of them are on the right track already, but they need that extra boost when it comes to a custom essay for an application or even a custom research paper for a project.
Sarah said that most of the students that come in are there for help finding a job or applying to schools. So when they come in they find out about the person and then they look for what they like to do and what they are good at and then they help them with finding local job openings or if the student has already come in with a job application they take it from there.
They help them not only fill out the applications, but they teach them to be able to do it in the future. They also help them with resumes and knowing what kind of power words work the best to describe them and their past experiences. Sarah was also telling us one day that a lot of the special education students that come through have had schooling and are right where they should be education wise, but they haven't really been given chances that other students who aren't in those special education classes have been given.
When you are in ‘regular' classes you are expected to go on to college and you are given those tips on resumes and applications and essay writing and so on and the special education classes focus more on day to day activities and basic fundamentals and life skills. She said that now they are trying to focus more on giving them every opportunity possible and teaching them to mold their future how they want it to be.
My family has always really been in to the race track. We live in Chicago so we have two that are right near our house and we always go to the million. It isn't just a fun thing to do when you are betting on horses and watching the races, it is also time to spend with your family.
When I was little we would go with my dad to the track all of the time. He would teach us about betting odds and explain what everything in the racing form meant and we would sit on his lap and watch the races. There were also a lot of other things to do besides looking over sports odds and watching horses run. There were shows and places that kids could play and fun drinks (now that I'm older I really think they're fun ha). But we always had such a good time.
Now every year we go for father's day with my dad and all of his brothers and my cousins. We have such a great time spending the day with my dad doing something that we all love and he is great at sport betting (which is weird to say but he just knows things I think ha) and I almost always win money. I also think it is really fun to see all of the different kinds of people that go and bet. There are families and business men and then you also see buses of older people coming from nursing homes which I think is hilarious and really cute (I hope to be like them one day).
Now that I am older and can go on my own, I bring my friends and my boyfriend we'll spend the day there drinking and betting and just having a great time. There are places to get lunch and it is fun to just hang out and watch the horses (and also get a tan). I like that I can take something that I grew up doing with my family and show my friends what it is all about (and most of them love it).
I know when I grow up and have a family and I am going to make this part of my life with them. I also plan on taking my dad a lot too. You're never too old for the race track!
So as you guys know I am headed off to Vegas this weekend and am super excited. My family just got back and was telling me played a lot of video poker and I should check that out. I was googling poker and things like that as I was interested in learning more. I ran across this Full Tilt Poker website that lets you play on your computer, both Mac and PCs can use it so no worries on which you use. It seems like a great way to hone in your skills and talk to both professional players and amateurs alike. I read it was founded by all these amazing poker superstars like including Phil Ivey, Allen Cunningham, Gus Hansen and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson which is pretty darn impressive. Now I am not about to go challenge them to a game or anything but I thought it was quite awesome indeed. The customer service department is one of the best out there too so if you have any problems, let them know! The service can be reached via two web domains, fulltiltpoker.com, and full tilt poker. People can choose to gamble with real or play money so it is not like you are going to blow through your savings but can play for sheer fun. You can build your skills and talent and then go to make some bucks if you master it. That is probably the best thing to as losing your tuition money is not wise but spending a few hours on there on your days off from school or work would be a nice way to have some safe fun, right? I am sure after my excursion to Vegas this weekend I will come back and be itching for more gambling fun and be in there a lot. Depending how much I lose at the real tables I may play for real money at that point but we all see. American Idol is on in just a few minutes so I must go get ready, pack for Vegas and get ready for the most amazing night of Idol results shows. I'd put money down on Idol if I could. I wonder if Vegas has American Idol pools going? I will look into that. I know about the American Idol slot machines so I must check that out and take a few photos for you guys. Hope you all are well and catch ya guys later.
Over Christmas break, I went home and I had a really nice time with my mother, it was really good to see her. When I first got there I noticed that she was spending a lot of time on the computer in her room, and after a few days, I had to ask her what she was doing. Well, she proceeded to tell me that a friend of hers got her into online bingo and that with me at school, she has been spending all of her free time playing bingo online. Well, I have never been much for bingo, but she showed me some free bingo and some internet bingo sites, and so I sat with her one night and I gave it a whirl. It was okay, and I enjoyed playing online, but I really thought it was a once in a lifetime thing. When I got back to school, I was bored one night, so I started to play online bingo and I won $100. I was so excited so I told my roommate and now we are playing bingo online all the time. I feel that I am addicted to it. I mean I have never much been into gambling and or online games, but now it is like when I go to sleep at night I can see the computer screen in my head and it is driving me crazy. I am trying to get my school work done quick in a hurry, just so I can get online and play bingo. I almost wish that I could get hooked on another game, just so I could stop playing bingo. It is just so addicting and so much fun, that I really can't stop. My roommate and I have even been trying to find ways to make more money at bingo and to beat the game. We haven't quite figured out yet, but we are making more money than we did last month, but I have to wonder if that's not because we are playing more. I didn't really keep track, so I am just not sure.
I remember in grade school every year they would have a casino night for charity and all the parents would go and we would be so jealous and whine and complain that kids had to stay home. So when we would go to school that day our teachers would let us Wheel of Fortune games or jeopardy and pretend to be like our parents. It was a lot of fun for all of us, but now that I am 21 and old enough to actually gamble and do those things I realize what I was missing this whole time.
The best part of gambling though is you can do it on the internet. Just sign on to the free black jack or the online slots and you are good to go. There is no need to get up or get dressed and go out, you can do it right there in your home, or on your phones internet anywhere that you are. It has become so convenient to play the free slots online that everyone I know is doing it (and actually winning money). The other day my friend transferred money from his online poker game that he won into his own bank account (I seriously was shocked). Where have I been all of this time? I guess I don't really know how to play poker but I thought it would be interesting to look into it.
I was searching online and I ran across a whole bunch including some UK casinos which I found interesting. But you can look up casino portals and it will give you a list of websites that you can go to and it is really easy to get started. I wish I had found this before. I am seriously now addicted (not actually addicted, but getting pretty close). I can see the danger in addiction to gambling now. Especially online, it is so easy to do because you don't even have to leave your house that you could just turn your computer on and play and play all day (which is something that I am really tempted to do).
It really is a fun thing to do though. If you aren't into gambling you can just go online and look at the sites and see how other people are doing which is something I like. It is fun to watch other people play (especially when it isn't your money).
Adultwork is growing in popularity it seems. Escorts and escort services are more heard of and talked about more openly now than they have before. While I am sure that there are still people out there that are extremely close-minded and don't approve of some of others peoples lifestyles, I think that as a whole more and more people are accepting and while they may not be into it, they respect the lifestyle choices that other people are making.
Adultwork is an industry that is very successful in the business sense at least. While some people look down on this line of work, others really do admire it. I think that women have the right to do whatever they want with their careers and especially their bodies. While I may not believe that this is the line of work for me or what I would want with my body, I certainly don't think I have the right to judge other women and their choices. I don't know a lot about adult work, but I do know that you can't judge something that you haven't experienced.
There is a new movie out right now that I just saw and it is hilarious. It is about 2 roommates who are struggling to pay the bills and they are about to get evicted so they decide to shoot an adult film. They have a ton of fun doing it (and the random people they find to help them out with it) and end up making a lot of money. While I am pretty sure this movie wasn't made to promote the making of adult films or the industry in general, it does make the point that we as a culture are more accepting as a whole. I am sure that 30 or 40 years ago people would gasp if they heard that a movie like that was coming out, but our generation and even the ones above and below us thought nothing of it (besides that the movie was hilarious) because that is just how our culture has turned out.
I'm definitely not saying that I am going to run an escort service or play a role in an adult film, but I do think that it is becoming more popular and out in the open today more than ever and it is kind of exciting to see where our culture is going and where it will take us.
I have just started getting into body building, only since I started school, but I would really like to try and enter some competitions like my friend John. He is totally ripped and has quite a body on him. He has taught me most of what I have learned about body building and lately he and I have been discussing steroids. At first I really thought that steroids were bad, but when John and I talked about using steroids to enhance muscle growth (like deca durabolin) or to reduce body fat (like clenbuterol) then I started to realize that steroid use was just one of those things that were just getting a bad rap. John has told me that he has been taking steroids for a while now, and that he hasn't had any mood altering behaviors or anything like that. He said that if you are careful with them, like any other drug, and are careful to make sure that you find ways to balance the chemicals in your body that you can get the results you desire without any of the negative effects. He told me about a place online that I could buy anabolic steroids, and he suggested that I always get them from a reputable company and not just buy them from anyone who offered. He told me that if I needed help getting just the right balance that he would be glad to advise me on what to take and how to take them. I told him that if they worked for me the way that they were working for him then I would be psyched. After all, not only has John won a bunch of competitions, but he also gets a lot of women. I think that women like muscles and building muscles would be a good in with the girls here on campus. Anyway, I have decided to give it a try, and if I don't like the way it feels or the results that I am getting then I will just take myself off them. I am sure that with John's guidance I will be just fine. After all he is a good friend and really seems to know his steroids facts and what he is doing in this realm.
Men are so funny when it comes to the drugs on the market for erectile dysfunction. No man I have ever met, would ever even admit to a woman that they had this problem, okay maybe their wives, but still and all every guy wants to get their hands on drugs like Cialis and Viagra just to see if they can get a little male enhancement, if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I know how attached men are to their sexuality and that is one of the main things that they think makes them a man, and I think that for a couple who is experiencing this type of dysfunction, these drugs to help them continue to have a healthy and happy sex life are great. I just am not sure why men who are not experiencing any sexual dysfunction problems would want to dive right in and get some of these drugs. Never mind, of course I do, they're men. In any case, I personally think that these drugs are amazing. I don't know exactly how they work because I have seen the TV commercials and they say things like works for up to 12 hours, so we can wait until the time is right. Then they say things like an erection lasting more than 4 hours, contact your physician, and of course I am thinking...That Poor Woman! In any case, I would think it would be pretty scary to have a 4 hour erection and now I know the guys probably think it would be great, but I am just not sure. In any case, I am sure that there are a lot of men out there grateful for their opportunity to be sexual beings again. I mean, let's face it, men like sex and so do women. Having a totally sex free relationship is really no fun for anyone. If a man is really experiencing a problem in his ability to have sex, then he should definitely contact his doctor and see if it is safe for him to take medication for erectile dysfunction. I know both he and his partner will be glad he did.
I wasn't planning on going on holiday this year, but I went down to the pub last week and found out a bunch of my friends were off on a drinking holiday. I've been on drinking excursions before, but I've never got the true feel of a weeklong drinking holiday in the Med. I guess in the US, there's not such a need to head away to somewhere hot to get drunk for a week during the summer. However, over here, right now, the weather sucks! It was so hot about two weeks ago, and the whole of London was out in the parks soaking up the sun. Now though, it's back to being Old Blighty.
Soon enough my friends were talking about the holiday, and said that if fancied coming along, then I could easily. I didn't actually know where it would be- they said Kavos in Greece - but I've never heard of that place before. However, searching on the internet found some pretty good stuff, and it's all exceeded my expectations. This website of a Kavos holiday, for instance, makes it look fairly crazy. I think I'll certainly be getting the full drinking holiday experience which has clearly been missing from my life. So after a bit of fishing around on the internet, I found a bargain on Travelzoo - just cheap flights to Corfu though, no accommodation. But I'm thinking - who needs accommodation anyway? Maybe I'll just crash in my friend's rooms or, failing that, on the beach - I'm sure I can get by! I'm all booked for the end of August, maybe I can get a hotel at the last minute or something.
Generally speaking life insurance is not perceived to be an aspect of life particularly prone to attract criminal interest.
There has actually been the odd story of people using life insurance and dark, dodgy methods to make a few bucks. A good life insurance policy can have some pretty hefty payouts. I guess there are people that figure if you can cash one in, without paying the price yourself, you’ve pretty much hit the jackpot.
Only recently in LA, there was the story of two elderly women who were accused of taking homeless men into their home and ‘caring’ for them. As part of the care, they took out life insurance policies on the men. Most life insurance policies have a contestability period during which any expected payout can be argued by the insurance company. The story goes that the two women waited for this period to expire and then had the men killed via hit-and-run car crashes, thus enjoying the significant payouts.
This kind or extreme and terrible plan can come into fruition, but for all those with a conscience, there are other methods of getting the most out of life insurance policies that insurance companies aren’t so keen on, like Viatical settlements, which have recently caused problems.
A viatical settlement involves the purchase of a life insurance policy from an elderly or terminally ill policy holder. The holder sells the policy, including the right to name the beneficiary to a purchaser for a price discounted from the policy value. The seller has cash in hand, and the purchaser will gain the proceeds of the life insurance policy. Meanwhile, the purchaser continues to pay the premiums.
Though both parties have agreed to the settlement, insurance companies have not. Insurance companies calculate their rates on the assumption that a certain portion of policy holders will seek to redeem the cash value of their insurance policies before death. They also expect that a certain portion will stop paying premiums and forfeit their policies. However, viatical settlements ensure that such policies will with absolute certainty be paid out. Some purchasers, in order to take advantage of the potentially large profits, have even actively sought to collude with uninsured elderly and terminally ill patients, and created policies that would have not otherwise been purchased. Likewise, these policies are guaranteed losses from the insurers' perspective.
The whole point of life insurance is that is prepares for the unexpected, and therefore most of us would not plan on taking out a life insurance policy, merely to sell it to a third party, but in the event of the unforeseen happening, it’s impossible to say. The most that can be expected is that we get the best possible deal, and in order to achieve that it’s advisable to look at a wide range of companies offering a wide range of policies in order to get the best possible deal for you. I would recommend ASDA Finance life insurance as a place to begin your search, for a morally sound and reasonable way of getting life insurance. As long as you remember it’s essentially a selfless gift – meant for others not yourself – you should find it easy to stick to the straight and narrow.
I consider myself to be fairly worldly, and try to keep an eye on surfacing trends and I anticipate that I may not be tuned-in to some of the more British pastimes. Amy Winehouse is a fashionable craze I cottoned on to. I can understand her appeal: she's kitsch, she's crude, captivating and talented.
However, I needed to get my head around the whole idea of bingo, a gambling 'sport' I had only ever associated with the over 50s and marker pens.
Now, America has a robust legacy of gamblers and betters. Just take a look at Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Reno to see societies of bleary-eyed hopefuls throwing quarters into slot machines: it runs through the heart of the land. It's full of young people who like to let go in these air-conditioned playgrounds; a group outing where you go with your buds for the free drinking; to flitter away your wages or get lucky and win.
During my time here, I have pretty much pieced together that bingo is a very favourable British institution, like buses and scones, popular amongst a certain clientele. I walk through the streets of Hackney, and Clapham and there it is like a beacon - the bright lights of a bingo hall.
However, the whole thing seems to have had a cultural revamp and Bingo has turned into a real high-flyer with the young, if the glossy posters are anything to go by...it's a place to be seen; an occasion, a night out.
I have seen a number of advertisements here where the young and sort-of glamorous are venturing into bingo halls and treating it as a Fridya night splurge, and it's all across the internet too - so maybe I have it all wrong. I actually am tempted, if only for the cultural tourism alone. It seems that bingo is in-style. There's cabaret entertainment, and 'fast-paced' bingo, with bars and slot-machines.
That said, just in case I don't feel ready to join in with the crowds of bingo fans, Mecca has internet bingo, so I can enjoy the perks of gambling without actually venturing into the bingo den itself and get involved with this British trend my own way and who knows, I could get lucky and win.
What’s all the fuss about Amy Winehouse then?
I’m hearing ripples from back across the water that she has “cracked”
America, though in light of her drug problems that may be an unfortunate
choice of words. With five Grammy’s under her belt (the most ever for a
British artist) and a string of hits, Winehouse seems to be laying waste
to everything in her path lately – competitors, intoxicants, detractors.
It’s pretty hard to argue with such a raw, impulsive talent, but the
naysayers of Fleet Street certainly do their best.Back home, of course, it’s rather a different story. Us Americans are unburdened by the kind of loathsome NME trend-obedience that the British take for granted. If you have obvious talent, we’ll let you in and give you a share of the riches. We might pigeon-hole you and over-analyse your work, but we won’t be lurking in the dark, waiting to ambush you at the first sign of weakness.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for Amy. The positive reaction from America might tempt her to decamp across the pond, away from the insidious British paps, though it would undoubtedly inflate her ego beyond its already-gargantuan proportions, and at the same time lose her a lot of respect at home. Certainly, her sound seems tailor-made for the US, with its eclectic blend of classic girl-group sass, dirty soul diva-ness and cod-jazz credentials, but whether they could cope with her less than squeaky clean image is another matter. She may have scooped a clutch of Grammy’s, but she was denied entry into the country to collect them because of drug convictions. The Eisenhower version of Victorian morality has certainly done a good job of clinging on over recent decades, and celebrities are expected to tow the party line and most definitely not do a party line. If they oblige, they will be treated better than royalty.
But you know what? I think America’s ready. Winehouse’s talent is no flash-in-the-pan, and the average American can see this. No matter, then, that her current lifestyle doesn’t quite square with conservative America – in a few years she’ll have grown up and the voice will still be there, probably better than it is now. The denied visa will be a distant memory by then, and before long Amy Winehouse will be refusing to go stay with Betty Ford in the form of some defiant soul anthem. So the advice I have for my adopted country is this: don’t push your luck with such a lucrative home-grown product or she’ll go the way of the Empire – into our dollar-grubby hands.
Holidays in the Far East are memorable for many reasons, not least the remarkable array of food and drink to be sampled in this faraway corner of the world. Vietnam is renowned for being the home of some of the finest food in the world, and their neighbour Cambodia doesn’t disappoint in this respect either, with plenty of delights to be found on your travels through this fascinating region. I had some great culinary adventures in my time in this part of the world, and I wrote this article for an ezine recently. Under some strange circumstances it wasn’t actually needed, so I thought I’d just stick it up on this blog.
Rice forms the staple diet of both countries, no surprise given the amount of the land that is given over to rice paddies. In Vietnam rice paper is used to wrap meat (usually minced pork or crab) and vegetables into delicious spring rolls, which are usually extra fun as they require rolling by the diner once they have been served! The Vietnamese are also extremely keen on pho, rice noodles that are available all over the country. They can be eaten at any meal, but are especially delightful in the south where they are served with cups of green tea for breakfast, a surprising yet tasty proposition to the western visitor.
The long coastline of Vietnam makes it no surprise that the seafood there is amongst the finest in the world. Pretty much anywhere along the coast it is possible to enjoy fantastic seafood meals at kerb-side restaurants for next to nothing, savouring the unique atmosphere while you’re at it. Take your pick from crabs, clams, shrimps, cuttlefish, eels and numerous species of fin fish, or mix and match for the full Vietnamese seafood experience. Pork is also exceedingly popular, while chicken and beef are also available.
is less well known for its cuisine than its neighbours, but its food is still remarkable. Rice is as crucial as it is in Vietnam try rice porridge, available for breakfast, lunch or dinner and equally appropriate in every situation.Samlor, a type of soup, is served with most meals, though some are more desirable than others! The stand-out dish is amoc, a fish dish which comes served in a whole coconut, and deservedly so. Fish is as regular in Cambodia as it is in Vietnam, and almost as good. Cambodian fruit is as weird and wonderful as you would expect, too. Try a mongkut or a sao mao and you will not be disappointed.
Beer connoisseurs in this part of the world will lip their lips with glee. The national beer of , Angkor, is better than most on offer in the west, while Beer Lao, imported from neighbouring Laos, is probably the pick of the bottled or draught options. Vietnam’s offerings are good value too, but the stand-out option there is Bia Hoi, drank on the same day it is made, 7p a glass and preservative-free.
The braver traveller can also delve into the stranger culinary delights of these two countries: dog, cricket, snake or rat anyone? With so much already to enjoy, the food and drink in the Far East doesn’t disappoint either. If you’re looking to book some accommodation for a trip to this part of the world, Hostelbookers.com has details of lots of hostels in both countries. Also, I was shopping for travel insurance recently, and found that Go Travel Insurance offered some of the best deals for backpackers, so it’s worth checking them out if you’re thinking of having a Far Eastern adventure.
Something seriously annoying happened to me the other day. Basically I had to go and meet someone for some work at about nine o’clock (pretty early for me – normally don’t get up until 10 because my job allows it!). However, when I went to have a shower the water was cold, and then I noticed that the heating was off and there was no other hot water – big deal. It’s pretty cold this time of year. Apparently it’s was one of the mildest Februaries on record, but I can definitely still feel the cold!
Finding out the problem was a bit of a rude awakening, but then trying to get the problem sorted out was another. I’ve never had any contact with my landlord, so getting hold of them wasn’t exactly ideal. I had to go back home and wear a couple of more layers until my flatmate came home and then we could sort it out. We finally got in contact with the landlord, who said that they’ve got home care cover with British Gas. They sent an engineer the next day when I was in and he could diagnose the problem straight away. He said that because our boiler was so old, it was only running at about 65% of its efficiency anyhow, but now it was ‘on its last legs’ to use the British term. Basically we needed a new boiler.
In the meantime I put on another pair of socks and walked around the house in my ski jacket, but the engineer came back two days later to install the new boiler. It took him a couple of hours to fix it all, but afterwards everything was back up and running again – not bad, I thought, especially as I didn’t have to pay anything. Then again, it is my landlord’s responsibility.
I said in my last post that 'I quite like reading the news'. Sure, I do, but I'm not over the moon about it. Primarily it worries me about how often journalists get casual about the real facts. Most people over here say that they 'don't believe what they read in the papers' but I reckon that is has some kind of influence on people's opinions. I mean, how much would people really care about the the 'Credit Crunch' unless that term had been made up by the media? I've noticed that a recent survey by Nationwide has said that consumer confidence in Britain is at its lowest level since the survey began in 2004. Now The relationship between the two things is difficult to correlate, but I'm pretty sure that negative attitudes get shaped by words such as 'Credit Crunch' being bandied around at every opportunity.
It's not just the Credit Crunch, or indeed the overuse of the term, that has made consumers worried either. Sometimes journalists are incredibly liberal in their summaries, especially when they do it quickly. Take this from the BBC, for instance: (It's about people being worried about house price falls)
'As a result, house prices are falling, interest rates are still relatively high and people are feeling the pinch.'
Now I wonder about the first point. Prices always fluctuate, and not much always goes up and up and up permanently. You'll always get someone who'll be willing to sell something for less than it's actually worth according to the rest of the market. Practices such as this can drive prices down by themselves - it's effectively why trading on the stock market works.
Different sources will also tell you different things about property prices, because no one has a complete set of data. A lender like the Halifax releases statistics based on the information that it holds in its lending database, so it will be different from another lender, like Nationwide. The Halifax will tell you that house prices rose in December, while Nationwide will say that they fell, the complete averages - what every lender says happened - is not revealed in the media.
In reality overall house price fluctuations are difficult to nail down at the moment. If you've been a homeowner for a year or more, then there's no reason to panic - your home has risen in value much more than inflation, so you've made money in real terms. In total, house price inflation in 2007 was 4.2% according to Nationwide (although other sources will tell you different) so this double the inflation rate - you made money on your investment.
Rather than taking what the media says and believing that house prices are 'falling' I'd read from numerous original sources that they're fluctuating. According to the Halifax, this is evidence of a 'subdued' market. I guess it's about time house prices calmed down a bit in the UK, but you'll find that across Europe, they've risen pretty drastically over the same time period.
I'm not a homeowner, and I'm not absolutely sure about buying in the UK unless I get totally settled here, but a friend was looking for mortgages and ended up taking one out with Alliance and Leicester, and he said it was the best he found.
There are plenty of semi compulsory events during the year that mean you'll need to fork out for someone. Not that I'm a total miser or anything, but yearly events can come around when you haven't really thought about them and then just sting your wallet. Of course there's Christmas, friends and relatives birthdays, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day... all of these days will probably cost you something, whether it's a gift or travel expenses to get home.
I recently thought that if I was in a relationship then this month could end up just as expensive as Christmas. Relationship's are supposed to be worth their weight in gold, but I'm pretty happy about not having to consider the cost of Valentine's Day on my wallet. I recently read that people in a relationship spend about £750 a year on their partners, and February comes as one of the most costly months - along with December. People are prepared to fork out big sums for their Valentine's gifts, especially on traditional gifts like flowers, chocolate and lingerie, all of which see sales shoot up around this time of year.
How you afford the constant stream of gift giving is, however, something that not all of us give enough consideration to. A survey by Moneyexpert found that people could save as much as £547 a year if they changed their accounts to the five best financial products. Recently I've noticed one of the best ways to save is through getting one of Alliance and Leicester's current accounts. It's got an interest free overdraft for twelve months (which can be agreed to be up to £2500) - you can also get 8.5% AER for balances up to £2,500. Seeing as I don't have a whole lot of savings, I'd say this is pretty much incredible.
There's been a big growth in flights over to the US from Britain over the last few years, with airports like Bristol offering flights. The number of Brits heading across the pond has also been kept steady as happy shoppers want to make the most of shopping trips to New York where their pounds are worth more than ever.
This all sounds good for the healthy relationship between the States and the United Kingdom, and it's definitely had a positive effect on tourism. New York, for obvious reasons, suffered a huge downturn after 9/11, but it's since reinvented itself and enjoyed a massive influx of visitor numbers.
However, things aren't looking too rosy for the future, after yet another draconian 'national security' proposal by the Bush administration. The latest measure by Dubya is to press all of the governments in the European Union - that's 27 of them - to sign up for a a number of security measures for travel across the pond, including putting armed guards on all flights between Europe and the US by US airlines.
I read an article in the Guardian about all of this, and I think it's pretty unnecessary. The EU already supplies the US authorities with 19 items of information on every traveller flying from the US, now they want more, including data on people who are allowed beyond departure barriers to help elderly young, or ill passengers to board aircraft flying to America, or even over its airspace.
I think it's increasingly sad that such measures are brought in, because it's not exactly clear if they do anything particularly useful other than make America look increasingly isolationist, fussy and, to some, bordering on totalitarian. It seems particularly strange seeing as the attacks of 9/11 were carried out from flights within the US, not external flights. Fair enough, I get that the authorities want to know who's coming into the country, but there's got to be other ways other than totally encroaching on everyone's privacy, guilty or not.
I hope that the latest measure's don't discourage visitors from the UK heading over to the US. One thing's for sure, you'll be missing out on some great travel adventures when you go. Last time I went back I booked some cheap flights to New York from comparison website - Cheap Flights. I also like Travelzoo a lot, it gets some of the best bargains from the internet, including cheap flights, and sends them to you in a weekly top 20 bargains email.
So then, another rate cut on Thursday takes the UK interest rates down to 5.25% from February. There was a similar quarter % cut in December, but the Bank of England refused to panic in January and slash rates - unlike the Fed back home.
Stock market turmoil seemed to force the Federal Reserve to cut its target rate substantially last month. It now sits at 3%, although just one month prior it had been at 4.25%. In the short term, a little more positivity has returned to the world markets, but they haven't made a full recovery to pre January levels, having endured a terrible start to the year. Things look as though they might get ugly again soon as well, with stock markets regularly going into the red this month. The Dow Jones has a massive loss on Tuesday (5th) and it makes me a little worried about things.
If, like me, you've got some stocks, then you might be looking for a good moment to pull the plug. I know I am! I want to have my money out for about this time next year, and with things being forecasted to be bad in 2008, I'm not feeling too good about the whole venture. I bought some in mining company Rio Tinto after they received an offer from BHP in November, and it's been quite a roller coaster ever since! Basically, if my stocks break even again, then I'm out of the market. I kind of wish I'd just stuck my savings into an ISA or something for the longer term, but I'll always say that in retrospect.
While the interest rate cuts will probably help the stock market momentarily, I'm sure it'll also be music to the ears of many people who own property over here. Mortgage rates have been going up with interest rate rises over the last few years, and with house prices getting a bit ridiculous lots of people are paying more than they can afford. It also means that loans will probably get cheaper, so things might get rosier for those with good credit histories who are likely to avoid the worst of the Credit Crunch. Alliance and Leicester offer some pretty cheap loans, so I'll be keeping my eyes open if their prices go down further over the next couple of months.
