Chancellor George Osborne made his autumn speech earlier this week, desperately willing the country to believe that things are going to get better.
Whilst the new labour government might have had this outlook in 1997, the coalition is singing a very different tune.
Osborne is enduring a tough time at the moment with the failing economy, mass public unrest and the euro crisis occupying his thoughts.
If the Euro-zone collapses, or even forms a breakaway group, this could have disastrous global consequences.
The Bank of England has warned that the current economic climate is ‘extraordinarily serious.’
Sir Mervyn King, Governor of the BOE said; There are many ways in which the future could play out. Maybe it [the euro-zone] wont break up, maybe it will continue in various forms, but maybe there will still be questions of default.
Whilst households prepare for Christmas throughout the UK, the houses of parliament are preparing for economic meltdown. If
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Ive been reading Rich Dads Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money, by Robert Kiyosaki and while I like the general gist of the book (especially the first half), he rubs me wrong way in several places. One of these is in his use of math to support his opinions on real estate.
Much of the second half of the book focuses on real estate as a means to grow wealth, but he does make an important distinction between speculating for growth or flipping a house, and buying property as an investment. In other words, he espouses buying real estate for the purpose of renting it out and creating a cash flow, not hoping for the market to rise and create capital gains. Im not really interested in becoming a renter, but his approach makes a lot of sense to me, especially with the current economy, housing market and demographic changes.
Where I have problems is when he gets into things like OPM (Other Peoples Money).
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For many over-55s out of work, the prospects of finding a job are increasingly difficult with the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) reporting that 46% of those out of work have been for over a year.
As a result, with the cost of living increasing, many of these unemployed homeowners may need to seek alternative sources of income. This is where an equity release scheme could help.
Equity release schemes have the potential to unlock a tax-free lump sum from the value of a property to supplement income. The schemes are available to homeowners aged 55 years old or more.
Prolonged unemployment can be a considerable drain on resources especially in these tough economic times. Nick Pearce, the IPPR’s director, said: “Being out of work for more than a year can have a scarring affect, making it harder to get a job as well as having a negative impact on one’s health and wellbeing.”
Releasing equity from the value of a property could be a way to ease the burden of having to make monthly repayments on debt, manage the day-to-day cost of living and improve one’s outlook.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. By extend
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What are the ways that Americans tend to overspend? Read the following and catch yourself from succumbing to one of these tricks!
*Emotional spending. Emotions get in the way of smart decisions, and money is no exception. Channel your feelings into meditation or reading a good bookdont let silly purchases wreck your financial health.
*Refinance your mortgage. With rates at an all time low, now is the time to try to renegotiate your mortgage. Just a few numbers off your interest can drastically change the amount you pay in the long haul.
*Invest in Education. A monthly stipend each month towards your childs education will save you massive amounts of money by the time they are ready to go off to college. The accounts are also prorated to inflation so what you invest today will be calculated to pay for the same amount of education in 20 years, regardless of current tuition costs.
*Save for retirement. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Being prepared is not only smart, but its an essential part of survival.
Finances are a huge part of your day-to-day life, so why wait any longer to get a grip on them? Con
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New year, new start! That’s how you might think many people across the UK have started 2012. But it appears, if you think this, you could be wrong.
According to a poll by First Direct, the biggest financial worries of the year in 2011 were not saving enough and not paying off enough debt – that sounds like a catch 22 to me.
Other worries are quoted as spending too much on a partner, lending or borrowing money from family, or, paying for an expensive holiday.
So whilst we enter the early stages of January 2012, I have to ask, what were your biggest worries in 2011 and where do you think 2012 might lead you?
For some, I hope it will lead to being debt free – to being more financially aware and confident in budgeting more effectively. For o
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The Internal Revenue Service has just published a first set of temporary regulations (T.D. 9567) under section 6038D requiring foreign financial assets of U.S. persons to be reported to the IRS for federal income tax purposes for tax years beginning after March 18, 2010. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of concurrently issued proposed regulations applicable to domestic entities (REG-130302-10). Proposed regulations were also issued for application of section 6038D to domestic entities.
Effective December 19, 2011, the temporary regulations provide guidance regarding the requirement in section 6038D that individuals attach a statement to their income tax return to report required information on foreign financial assets in which they have an interest. The regulations affect individuals who must file Form 1040, “U.S. I
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