scruffian

I just got my MSE mailout, which contained a warning that house prices could fall with a link to this This goes to about 250,000 people I think. Could spook a lot of people...

That's my plan. Planning regulations are not law, they are guidlines. You can legally build a house wherever you want. They might just ask you to take it down again!

yes please

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't see the point in pay off a student debt voluntarily. It rises at the rate of inflation, so surely you are better off with the cash in an isa? No-one is going to come knocking for that money - it comes out of your wages like NI so you hardly notice.

I am not sure this is the best advice. It has been suggested that bird flu can kill by making the immune system over-react. This means that it seems to be the old/infirm/very young that survive. So stop taking those vitamin pill, start eating cake and stay up all night!

I was nearly taken in by this, but then I saw I think gold is a much less risky investment than property at this time. New job is a good idea though I have only been in this one 5 months so I had better wait a while.

How slowly?

Thanks for all your replies. I have thought about your advice - I am not really interested in accumulating wealth - I am happy as long as I have a guitar and a bike (and food and shelter!). I still think it is important to be informed about the economy, so I have read quite a few posts in this forum now and have also been reading at GEI. I am learning a lot but will probably have more questions soon. I think the answer to my original question is to buy physical gold, as it counts as a posession surely, not an investment. Thanks for all your help

that's what i think as well. the government are supposed to be encouraging people to save money, but for people who are in the lower ends of the payscale it really doesn't seem like they are. i feel trapped - i dont want to buy a house becasue its not a good time, and i don't want to claim benefits - i'd rather earn my living fairly, but the cost of living in this country is so high. We are a working couple, both with degrees, but wages just don't reflect the cost of living. My original post also contain some information on what counts as capital:

Sorry I have no idea what happened there. I edited my post and most of it disappeared. Let me start again... I am on quite a low income, but I have been saving for a deposit on a house for a few years and have got quite a good way there, despite the fairly hefty rent I pay. I not very keen on buying in the current climate, but my wife and I are starting to think about starting a family. I am aware that my salary alone will not cover the rent and bills let alone living costs, but I have ben assured by friends and family that we should be able to make ends meet if we claim benefits. I have looked into this and it seems that you can only claim most benefitys if you have savings or investments of less than £16,000, which I don't. So are far as I can work out it doesn't make sense for me to continue saving, since this money will have to be spend on day to day living costs until I become eligable for benefits. If anyone has any ideas on ways round this that would be very helpful Thanks

I don't usually like to blow my own trumpet, but one thing I am quite good at is saving money. I have been saving since I was 16 and even th

A good freind will offer their best advice, but will also respect their friends decision amd support them in it, even if they don't agree. You have to let people make their own mistakes.

i think a major underlying problem here is the view that development must have a detrimental impact on the environment. which is of course nonsense. there are a lot of people out there who are interested in sustainable building methods and lifestyles, which would not have any detrimental impact on the countryside, but would in fact improve it. if people we allowed to live on greenfield land, but were restricted to local, sustainable building materials, and other strict guidlines then this would greatly improve our countryside which is suffering from neglect (uncut coppice and pine woods, derelict sites full of fly tipped sofas, etc. )

dont sell it! I believe the property market will crash, but what do you care? You have somewhere to live rent free for the rest of your life. You don't really need to work as your monthly expenses are low - you could get a part time job. Or if you do get a full time job then you can save A LOT of money because you don't have the monthly expenses - that will make it easy to move up the ladder. Mortgage means "death pledge". Who wants one of them?

What's the risk? If peak oil is right then surely the price can only go up?

so how do i get my grubby mitts on all this cash? seriously, is there a way to invest in oil, without investing in an oil company? "There will be a HPC because all the fundamentals are there, it's just on the horizon, i'll bet anyone a hundred!" I am quite tempted by that bet - if I win I get £100, if I lose, which is more likely, then there will be a house price crash and so I won't care.

people say that land is a good investment as they don't make it anymore. This is true, but land prices are just as much subject to bubbles as houseprices - in fact they are linked, so whilst land is a good investment, it is better to buy when the prices are low, not high, like at the moment.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/diggers350/message/1187 The conclusion of the program did not match the content. Very strange.

that's really interesting. however i think if I am unemployed for more than six months I will take any job I can get - factory work, call centre - anything. or was it so bad in the early 90s that it was impossible to get ANY work? i don't remember.

I really like renting. When something breaks I don't have to worry about the cost of getting it fixed, or try and do it myself on a free saturday. I just ring up the estate agent and it's fixed there and then, for free, leaving me to do what I want on Saturdays. Becasue it's not my house I don't have to worry about making sure it's painted nice colors and is up to date with the latest house fashion being pedalled on channel 4. It's just a place where I sleep and eat. I have lots of free time to do what I want. All my freinds moan about having to spend all their free time doing DIY and looking after their house. However if you like decorating then home ownership is definately for you.

Yeh I guess it depends on peak oil. Not a gamble worth taking i guess.

I see, but the production cannot be increase indefinately - as it's a limited resource eventually there will be none left. I suppose the problem is that it's a long term thing.

Hi, It seems that since Oil is a finite commoditiy which we are using up at an alarming rate, unlike house prices, the price of oil can only go up (obviously there will be a few bumps in price but generally it can only go one way). With this in mind it makes a lot of sense to invest your money in oil. What is the best way to do this? Buy shares in oil companies? Is this safe? Are there other reasons why investing in oil is not a good idea? Can you buy oil rather than a share in an oil company? Thanks for your help. Ben

Trailer Parks? Where? This is pretty annoying. I am renting at the moment and it's costing me a lot of money every month. I would be happy to drop my standard of living and move into a trailer park until the house prices drop, but it's not even an option. The only trailer parks there are only allow residents of over 50. If someone knows differently please let me know.

Since oil is a finite resource it seems that the prices can only get higher. Is there any way to invest your money in oil?