Free love

Good news for the single Sheconomist everywhere; stingy men are off the market for a while.

According to survey results just released by Skipton Building Society, almost half of single men say they’ll survive the credit crunch by staying unattached. Apparently they don’t want to waste money on romancing.

So while they’re staying at home counting their bits of leftover string, single girls can have fun with the guys who don’t see romance as a waste of money! Anyway, surely the most romantic things in life are free?

3% Interest Rate

Breaking news about the Bank of England cutting its interest rate to 3% has prompted me to blog again. That’s the lowest rate for 53 years. Reactions are mixed.
Will mortgage lenders pass on the low rate to borrowers? Is it a panic move? The risk of lending has been so high of late that lenders are demanding higher rates for offering credit.

If you’re on a tracker mortgage a rate cut of around 1.5% should follow through (unless there's a minimum rate clause). Fixed rate mortgages, as the name suggests won't change. Discount/Standard Variable Rate mortgages may see a 0.5 or 1% cut, but it's at the lender's discretion.

Now's the time to review the rate you’re getting on savings. Because if borrowing is cheaper then savings won’t attract high interest rates. If you can get a fixed rate that's good, go for it.But only if you can afford to tie up your money for a while.

The Obama Bounce

They’re calling it the Obama bounce – a small surge in investor confidence that comes from having a new hand at the helm. Obama plans to invest billions in renewable energy and that's helped green stocks to soar. Bound to have a knock-on effect for the rest of the economy too.
We may have all got sick of all the coverage of the US election, but at least it’s given a much-needed boost at this critical time for the economy.

Pensions plug

At last the government has woken up to that fact that very few women clock up a working life of 39 years. That’s how many qualifying years are currently needed for a full basic state pension. But taking career breaks to have children make it impossible for many women in the UK. In fact, only one-third manage it.

So the Department of Work and Pensions said this week that women can buy back the missing years at a reduced rate. Over half a million women will benefit from the change if they act quickly. It won’t plug the female pension gap completely but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Find out more here.

Simonne says:

Did you know that it’s National Energy Saving Week this week?
What better time to look at ways of saving energy (and, of course, money!).
Have a play with the energy saving clock on this site to give you some inspiring ideas: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/.

Simonne Gnessen

Trouble, strife and stilettos

Women, apparently, are donning their battle gear against the economic crisis. And it consists of higher than ever heels. An international shoe designer was reported saying at the weekend that heels rise in proportion to economic downturn. So if we are in recession we’ll see more 3, 4 and even 5-inch heels.

Women are known to cope well in a crisis. So I predict that we’ll see, literally, the rise of the Sheconomist in coming months as more and more women handle changes in family income and bring their budgeting skills to the fore.

After all, as they say, Fred Astaire was a fantastic dancer but Ginger Rogers did everything Fred did. Backwards. And in high heels.

Simonne on having our resilience tested

It’s a pretty turbulent time in the world of finance (keeping me busy with lots of calls from panicky clients). But don't get hypnotised by all this bad news and make decisions that are just knee-jerk reactions. Don’t forget that emotions can highjack common sense. So perhaps seek advice before making big decisions. And try to avoid the mistake that can often be made when fear strikes - of selling stocks and shares at the bottom of the market or closing down accounts and stuffing money under the mattress.

If you want to know where’s a safe place to put your savings, have a read of the following article: http://www.fool.co.uk/news/your-money/savings/2008/10/09/big-banks-for-safe-savings.aspx?source=uemfoleml0010038. Or for a view on what to do with your investments: http://www.h-l.co.uk/news/Feature-articles/articles/795/rq/article.

Keeping one eye on the credit-crunch

It's quite scary isn't it? All this credit-crunch crisis and talk about cutting back.

Where do we start, I'm sure many women will ask themselves, particularly those who fear their face will fall off if they stop using expensive beauty products.
They could try my friend V's experiment.

Worried about eye-wrinkles V decided she had reached that eye-cream stage of life. The adviser in her local store recommended one for £95. So V persuaded the girl to part with a sample size for free.

Then she applied the cream religiously every night. To her left eye.

Two weeks later V and hubbie are having dinner.
V asks: Does one of my eyes look brighter, more youthful and less wrinkled than the other?
Hubbie: Yes, now you come to mention it, it does.
V: Which one?
H: Your right one.

Bouncing banks

In a week when the banking sector imploded and then sprang back to life, in which we saw one bank literally take over another in a nanosecond, doesn’t it make you wonder why it still takes them five days to clear a cheque?

Simonne's no-spend week

I’ve just experienced my first money-free week, in the idyllic setting of a remote Scottish island. An island without shops, cars or even bikes. Of course my holiday wasn’t free – I’d paid for everything before we left the mainland. But I wanted to share with you the feeling of living a week without making a single financial transaction. Where pleasures were simple, and came from activities such as walking through glorious woodland, playing board games and completing a jigsaw that had been on the go for nearly two years.

I often advise clients to set a budget for a week, withdrawing that amount in cash on Monday and making it last. People generally report back that it’s been an easier task than they’d anticipated. Enjoyable even. But my week away took things a step further. There was nothing to buy, and it was so easy to get into the swing of not spending. For instance, we planned our meals for the whole holiday and took all our food and drink with us. By day four, we were getting creative. What could we make from what we had…a bit like Ready Steady Cook! Getting out of the habit of handing over money has lasted, even though we were only away for a week. Maybe it’s something you could try, even if it’s only for a day. If you don’t like leaving the house completely money-less, try tucking away an ‘emergency’ £10 note, and leaving your purse and cards behind.

Simonne