Crunch..Crunch..Crunch..Crunch..Crunch..Crunch

[BENIDORM]

No..I'm not eating an apple, it's this credit crunch thingy that's getting on my nerves..

How can a few fat cats completely mess up the worlds finance like this.

No one has any confidence any more, not just about money, it seems to be affecting everything, it's a virus that's spread faster than Avian flu..

But what I would like to know is why it should affect me so much personally, like why is my house really not worth as much as it was 6 months ago, and why should my journey from Spain have just cost me 350 euros more than my last trip.?

What can I do to change the situation, do I now spend less money to counteract what I'm losing or should I spend more to try to boost the economy.?

Is it a good time to move to Spain, or is it a good time to move back to the UK ?

Is it a good time to open a business in Spain, or would it be a waste of time ?

I wish I was a hamster, then I could hibernate for 6 months, and maybe when I wake up , everything will be rosy again..

Does anyone have any answers or solutions, or do we all have to just 'grin and bear it ' ?

Regards,
Disgruntled in Loja.

[El Cercardo]

Makes you wonder doesn't it?

Can it get any worse? - The Euro is up and down like a bride's nightie at the moment and because we have sold our place in good old Blighty with a nice little profit...we have a lump of dosh that we haven't a clue what to do with!!

Do we keep it in the bank here, to find that the bank goes bust, or do we transfer it to Spain to find exactly the same situation!

Instead we have decided to get some building work done on our house out there and at least we will have something to show as a result...OK, we are not getting the best exchange rate, but at least we will have a new balcony the next time we go out there

Hibernation is a very good option

[mirandamac]

Well, you could be a hamster, but you'd also have to suffer running round in a silly little wheel and being fed on hamster food.
With our planned purchase we decided (probably totally stupid) to ignore as far as possible the ups and downs of the euro, the downs, since we started looking, of the property market and other factors out of our control. Simply because not only were they out of our control, but no-one knew what the future held. We decided that when we found the right house, in the right place at a price we could afford (not a lot!) we'd just go for it.
Having cancelled our first planned venture into Spain (for boring and lengthy reasons to do with the requently changing terms of the mortgage with the Spanish bank) we're now having a complete re-assessment of everything.
But re the credit crunch -aggghhhhh, I've said it - what really irritates me is the phrase itself! It's annoying me as much as Team GB did during the Olympics.
Seriously though, it is infuriating (here goes the grumpy old woman bit) when big organisations like the banks are in trouble because of their own bad decisions and irresponsbility get bailed out but if it's you and me who have problems for the same reasons (just on a much smaller scale!!!) no-one helps and in fact we could end up losing what we DO own, or worse.
You mentioned a virus Gordon and compared it to avian flu. What a good comparison - that, as many of us 'bird' owners at the time predicted, turned out to be nothing. But the more it was talked about, the more it seemed to be a major threat..............

[BENIDORM]

El Cercado...Yes I agree, it really does make you wonder doesn't it?

Mirandamac...You were quick to spot my rather cynical cryptic reference to Avian Flu, and Yes I believe if you say Credit Crunch often enough,...you will start to believe it, I think they are all 'aving a Larf', ...at our expense.

Last night as I was sat in my cosy lounge, wearing my stripey jim jams and feeling quite warm and contented, the wind was howling outside and it was p p p'..sss down, ...persistently raining...sorry.
Well I couldn't help thinking of how ordinary folk are so dramatically affected by this criminal abuse of our money, it's really not fair is it.? ...
Well nowt I can do about it, I thought, and continued to sip my cocoa, funny how cocoa is now red coloured and comes in a glass, isn't it.

Regards,
Gordon

[Jool]

Spot on - do you think we could do a national action against them for criminally affecting our right to enjoyment of family life under the Human Rights Act......the EU has to be good for something.

It is criminally irresponsible and as usual its us that pays while those who were at the top and really responsible are not affected that much and still get bonuses, albeit reduced.......

[JAKE M]

I'm probably being cynical, but I can't help the feeling that this situation has been engineered by governments the world over. How often have we heard that house prices(uk) have to re-align themselves? A recession comes around every 10 to 15 years and ussually lasts 1 year to 18 months.
Then the merrygoround starts again. There is now't we can do about it other than stay put and wait.
The current financial situation has been built on fear. The other horrible phrase "sub-prime mortgages" is nonsense(imho). When banks lend to people with bad credit ratings, they should be prepared to accept that some -if not all- will default on their paymeents. The outcome should be that the banks "take a hit" on those mortgages and write them off as a bad gamble and invest their money elsewhere. Now we are made to feel that we are all at fault and to blame and have to pay the consequenses.
Sorry but for as long as I work and pay my way, I will continue to enjoy my life (within my financial constraints of course.)
P.S. Is it not strange that it was announced that there was a worldwide food shortage within a 4 week time scale July this year? and so all the prices soared. Was everyting all ok just before then?
When fuel prices rocketed, we were told that we are running out of oil and that was why the price of crude is so high. Today OPEC countries are debating to lower production levels just to increase the price of crude oil.
As the saying goes, "It doesn't matter who you vote for, the government allways wins"

[katy]

Couldn't last could it...people borrowing 125% mortgages at 7 or more times their annual salary. Topping up mortgages to buy holiday homes/cars etc. If one isn't selling it doesn't really matter.

However when the market is down it affects everyones pensions, particularly the ones retiring this year, and also the people who may lose their jobs....and the many thousands of us here in Andalucia who draw income from the UK (exchange rate down to 1.25 again today ) Less people will come on holiday which is bad for those involved in the tourist/rental business.

[pwwm]

Hope the balcony stands up to the weight of all that dosh my buddy

[ken2]

Do you know what Beni ,you come up with some good threads, but have you been their? 1989 you are doing fine, help your kids out, buy them a house, bang incomes the as you put it the CRUNCH, you lose two houses a warehouse which is what pays for it all, ect ect ect bankrupt ect ect ect never mind if you are a surviver, you move to Spain rent A apartment and live happy ever after,have another triple bypass and say ain't life great, witch is true, i really have no regrets, i think life is like a book, next chapter, just don't yet want it to say THE END

[BENIDORM]

Thank you Ken

Have I been there ? ,... as in have I been through the 'Mill', I would say yes, probably not in the same way as you, I've not been bankrupt, probably close to it,but I've 'skated on thin ice many times', who hasn't ?
I've been very fortunate that I've not suffered from major illness etc, but as to helping out my offspring ,well it seems like a never ending life mortgage, but like you I have no regrets.
Like you also I try to make the most of life, and try not to dwell on past bad episodes in my life,and so also like you I will keep smiling, and treat everything that is 'thrown' at me, as a big adventure.

Learn from past mistakes, but don't have negative thoughts, and always move forwards with your life, never backwards....that is the only advice I could perhaps offer...

Regards,
Gordon

[mirandamac]

That sounds to me like a good bit of advice Gordon. And don't talk about helping out offspring. And just when you think it's all sorted.......... Still, I've always promised them I'd only leave them debts and I'm working quite successfully on that I think.

[katy]

No sign of the crunch today in Guildford, shops really busy, even the expensive ones. Restaurants and pubs full too. Noticed lots of ads for staff in the shops. Different from malaga where the jobless total is 18.6%.

[dido72]

I have friends of almost retirement age who gave their daughter a chunk of money as a deposit for a house (UK) with a promise they would be paid back when they sold the house, now the house has been reposessed and their retirement nest egg has gone with it.....very sad and completely out of their control!!!