Sign of the times

If you’d wandered past the Bank of England today and spotted a couple of Sheconomists striking a pose on the steps, it was just Simonne and I having a photo shoot for our feature in a national newspaper next month.

In true Sheconomical style we were told just beforehand that, due to cutbacks, there would be no styling, hair or make-up support for us. Yikes!

Simonne was a bit worried that she wasn’t wearing a jot of make up. 

I suspect I was wearing enough for both of us……

19 days...and counting

According to the Evening Standard, Sheconomics is the Buzz Word to watch out for......and there's now fewer than 3 weeks to wait, with the book Sheconomics hitting the bookshops on January 8th.

With the buzz of excitement mounting and the economy heading in the opposite direction, we expect copies of Sheconomics to fly off the shelves. 

So pre-order a copy on-line if you want to be sure of getting one. 

Just £5.99

You get £2 off and free UK delivery if you pre-order from Waterstones. 

29 DAYS TO GO!

No not Christmas, that's still 15 days away as far as I know.

But the long-awaited release date for Sheconomics, the book, is now less than a month away on January 8th.

It's so exciting. Just as the new year brings those new bills and credit card statements, we hope it'll give women everywhere a way out of those economic doldrums.

If you want to make sure of a copy, you can pre-order (with £2 off) from Waterstones now.

Simonne asks....What does the change in base rate mean for you?

The Bank of England has again slashed interest rates, this time by 1%, taking them down to 2% - the lowest level since 1951.

It’s just like buses – you wait ages for one and then several come along at once. And it looks like they may come even down further next year. 

While it’s great news for many homeowners, my question to you is how will you use your improved cashflow? Is this the justification you need to splash out more on Christmas or buy yourself or your family some extra treats? Or will you use the savings to help you pay down debt quicker (including your mortgage) or fund other goals that previously felt further out of reach? I know what I’ll be doing …
Simonne

Nothing to declare

Every crisis has its victims and it’s not just poor old Pick ‘n’ Mix that had its demise this week. Duty free isn’t what it used to be either, at least in Europe. 

Perusing the perfumes in Amsterdam's duty free shop yesterday I clocked prices much higher than they would be, duty paid, at home. All because of the euro exchange rate, hovering at a very unfragrant 1.2 to the pound. 

Surely that means an end to all those cross-Channel shopping trips too? And perhaps by all spending at home we’ll be doing our bit for the economy. 

Who really needed all those giant Toblerones anyway?

Simonne on spending our way out of recession

Is it me, or does anyone else find it rather ironic that the government will be borrowing extortionate sums to reduce VAT to encourage us to spend. Just as we get to grips with having to spend less and paying off our debts, we’re encouraged to spend more. Seems like we’re not learning good money-habits from the people that look after the country’s purse-strings!

Simonne

Tactical shopping

What do psychoanalysts and financial analysts have in common? They both get things wrong sometimes. Psychoanalysists are too obsessed with the past. Financial analyists aren’t very good at predicting the future. This week they predicted that retail sales for October would have slumped by 0.9%. They didn’t, they fell by just 0.1%. In fact they were 2.2% UP on this time last year.

So we're spending on the high street like there’s no recession tomorrow. Why? Well the reasons are psychological but not in the way Freud would have said. In our survey of over 700 women, a whopping 79% said they shop to cheer themselves up. Many use spending to manage their moods. So when things are down, buying gives them a lift.

But the cash squeeze will inevitably lead to the rise of what Martin Lewis (moneysavingexpert.com) calls ‘tactical shopping’. The interesting question is what will you cut back on? And what will you absolutely not forego, however hard the crunch bites? Please take a few minutes to tell us on our latest survey:
Click Here to take survey

Women smarter than men when it comes to financial planning

Dan was single, lived at home with his father and worked in the family business.
When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with whom to share his fortune. 

One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $20 million." 

Impressed, the woman took his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother. This tale proves that women are so much better at financial planning than men.  :-)

Re: styling

My conjecture about what the recessionista is up to during crunch-time wasn't far out. 

Today's press report a 14% rise in the sale of sewing machines. And a 40% rise in the sale of buttons!

Cue last year's coat shortened, puffballed, with a funky belt and shiny new buttons.

Recessionista-hood

Her shares have gone down the pan and her mortgage through the roof, but the girl in the office still seems to wear something new every day. You’re looking at a fully fledged recessionista.

That’s the word on everyone’s lips for the woman who spots a good deal from a mile away and manages to look a million dollars on a shoestring. While you’re holding the phone line trying to get through to the bank for a loan she’s probably deftly remodelling last year’s wardrobe item into a swish new look.

Apparently the secret of the recessionista is making good use of what you’ve got and unearthing bargains. And saying ‘vintage’ not ‘second hand’.