Well, we have been in the credit crunch for some time now, and we see the property market plummetting, with news about it almost every day somewhere or other. But how is it fairing?
Well,the average cost of a home is £205,372 now, with:
The change in last year is -7.60%, with a -8.34% change in the last quarter. There has been 22,885 sales in the past year.
Norwich Union (Aviva) were supposed to be paying out £1bn to their policyholders. But they have cancelled the plan, due to the falling value of their investments. Last year, a million of their policyholders were promised a £1,000 average payout. And now, they're not getting it.
The eligible policyholders will have to wait several months before they hear of any new offers that the company will give them.
I don't see the point in dreaming about stuff you can't have, such as winning the jackpot on the lottery, or marrying a millionnaire. But apparently, a lot of us do. For four hours a day apparently!
Half of the people asked said that they daydreamed at work, about stuff like winning the lottery, owning a bigger house or a fast car and also travelling the world.
There's no harm in daydreaming about things like travel and cars and things - because they can be achieved. But winning the lottery? That'll never happen!
There are plans for broadband to be distributed via satellite, which should solve problems for people living in blackspot areas. The new service, by BeyondDLS, plans to offer speeds up to 2mbps and would start at about £19.99 a month and will be available nationwide.
It's not that fast on the grand scale of things, but would provide homes who are unable to have normal broadband, to gain access to the Internet, so it's certainly better than nothing.
We have been urged to reduce our outgoings, just in case of any unwanted events which may happen because of the credit crunch. It's been predicted that some businesses may ask their employees to take a pay cut in order to maintain their job security - this inevitably means that there will be less money coming into the home - so, if you reduce your outgoings now, or at least try to, you won't have to struggle so much just in case the pay cuts affect you.
Setting monthly budgets could also be a good idea - I know I do that, and it helps enormously.
The deadline for paper tax returns was the 31st October 2008, but people still have time to file their returns electronically, with the deadline for online returns being the 31st January 2009. So not long left really for those who haven't done it yet.
To fle them electronically, you need a pin code, which you need to request via the HMRC website - in the self assessment section. But they send the pin by post - which can take a week - limiting how long you really have to get your returns in on time. So get it done, as soon as you can.
I've always relied on confused.com to find my car insurance quotes - I have never had any problems, and they always provided me with the best and cheapest options.
There's a lot of competition in the market at the minute when it comes to comparing car insurance, and gives everybody the opportunity to search as many quotes a possible.
And, the general consensus is that the easier the application form, the better. Which is why confused.com have improved their existing site - All you have to do is fill in 4 pages of information, which is then saved. That's the only information you will have to fill in. They do the rest of the work for you. And people seem to be giving their new site positive feedback. May be worth checking out if your insurance is due for renewal. Could save you hundreds.
If the government wants to see any sort of revival in consumer confidence, they need to reduce income tax. According to fool.co.uk, lots of lenders won't be passing on the interest rate cuts which we saw last week, which means consumers will be less likely to benefit from the move.
Reducing taxes will have an immediate impact on household revenue and will boost consumer confidence and hopefully act to mprove the economy!
