Is Sarah Beeny Responsible for the Global Recession?

I hope readers even my American friends understand a type of humour called sarcasm, if not I will explain it to you later! While I too have watched Sarah Beeny and the plethora of other home renovation programmes that grace our TV ever curious to see if a once flock wallpapered house can be transformed into a modern palace. I propose the Sarah Beeny effect! During the early years people could seem to do no wrong and costly mistakes and weird choices still resulted in the featured homes selling for healthy profits and a smiley presenter such as the lovely Sarah Beeny declaring the renovation a success! The programmes would generally then come to an end with the fledgling property developers buoyed by their renovation success announcing that they had already bought another property to develop in their unique style.

Nothing wrong with this that I hear you say, and in truth this could be seen as entrepreneurial people attempting to either branch out and start a new career or simple increase their income. Now while I use dear Sarah as a figurehead I do so in jest and know that she should not be entirely held responsible, well if only a little bit because there are so many other factors to consider.

The factors as I see them are:

1, The Sarah Beeny effect

Everybody believes they can renovate houses and so therefore move with more frequency as they knock down and paint their way to a profit or loss. Mass property ownership was something of a rarity a merely 20 years ago, kept for the rich and those with titles. Now it is quite commonplace for Bob from the office to have a property portfolio! This has meant with the growth of the population housing demand continues to increase. Gone are the days of finding a true gem and doing up the house as you would like it, chances are it has already been done!

2, Banks and mortgages

Yes i too will take the opportunity  to run up behind a banker and put my boot in. Unregulated banking saw the creation of so many mortgage products that would allow the average joe to move up in the world from a house to a palace. 100% mortgages, interest only mortgages, 6 and 7 times your annual wage mortgages were deemed acceptable and obviously the banks and their elite employees raked in the profits as a result. Suddenly you could place your house on the market and expect a bidding war as property was limited and in great demand. People saw prices rocket but were still prepared to pay the money, with interest rates low and the economy in great shaped what could go wrong?

In truth there are many more factors that could be covered and this blog could become a book, or people would just fail to complete reading it because they had to go to work and pay off their credit cards with excessive limits. Sorry bankers, that was two kicks!

So what is my conclusion? Well as the recession bites and holds on to your leg like a rottweiler hungry for flesh house prices have slowed but in many cases still continue to gently climb. So we find ourselves with jumping inflation, shrinking wages and the specter of eventual significant interest rate increases. Sorry not a happy statement but argue with me if you feel I am wrong! So people have less money and are struggling to get by while trying not to think about the eventual increases in their mortgage repayments as interest rates go up. So people sit in their Sarah Beeny renovated houses unsure what to do stagnating one of the cornerstones of the economy, the housing market.

I leave you with the thought that, will we enter what is known as the double dip recession, or have we ever left the first dip in any case? First time buyers can not afford the inflated prices of the Sarah Beeny effect as banks no longer lend with unregulated gluttony. So how will we ever get ourselves out of this mess without house prices coming down, another word for it is crashing. As interest rates rise as they inevitably must how many people can afford the increases in mortgage repayments? Perhaps then prices may begin to reflect  the true value of a house as people have to sell or homes are repossessed!

A final sub note to Sarah Beeny and all readers, I did enjoy your programme and hope that you can smile at this blog like you did at some of the horrendous choices made while renovating on your show. Honestly pink walls no, no, no!

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Posted in: Banking,Economy,Globe,Housing,Money,Recession,Sarah Beeny,Work

When is a Job Just a Paycheck?

My whole reason for setting up this blog is pretty much down to this question, is my job just a pay cheque! For me the answer was yes, and every day that I travelled in to work a little bit more life was being sucked out of me and I began to exist rather than live. With commuting and time spent at work we spend so much of our life in and around work, shouldnt we take some form of pleasure from it? Does the perfect job exist out there for everyone, well in truth probably not. Every job comes with its benefits and detractions, but shouldnt we strive to try to find a more favourable balance? Attempt to gain some form of enjoyment from what we do, or who we help?

I know that life is not always that simple, with age comes responsiblity and commitments, mortgages and in many instances a clutch of children. So moving job or changing career is not so easy and not without risk. Then again isn't life one big risk? Hell if you live in a big city you take a risk everyday deciding when to cross the road. Besides doesn't being happy or not at work affect your home life, your relationships? Isn't a happier person at work a happier person at home?

Still reading? Well if you are then answer these few short yes or no questions and decide for yourself if you should be looking to make a few changes?

Job or Pay Cheque?

• Come Sunday afternoon is your mind drawn to the thought/dread of work Monday morning?
• When commuting to work does your face resemble that of a lady who has had too much Botox devoid of expression?
• When someone asks you what you do, you answer in a sentence and change the subject quickly?
• When at the office does there seem to be time dilation with minutes taking hours as you watch the clock?
• Do you view sick days as extra holidays?
• Is the highlight of your month checking your bank balance to see you have been paid?

If you find that your answer to the majority of these questions is yes, or you are reading this blog while at work then perhaps your job is not a career more a burden. Realising this is but the first step however don't go home and announce you have quit your job and be surprised to see your wife throw something sharp at your head before taking the car and the children!

Making a plan, before you announce to anyone that you want to change your job it is wise to have a few prepared answers to hand out to the insults and shouts of  "are you crazy!" You may not exactly know what you want to do or can do but with the invention of the internet you could use a few google searches for something other than the sports results!

Education, education, education it isn't true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, you just have to throw

a bigger stick so that with poor eyesight they can find it in the grass! While always being careful of what you sign up to there are now thousands of online courses that you can do depending on your ambitions and ability. You would be surprised at what you can do, although I advise caution when applying to study nuclear physics at home and ordering plutonium to your home address. The FBI I have heard don't tend to knock on your door before finding out how you're getting on with the practical side of your home study course! Seriously though a little bit of self-study can go along way!

They say that some of the greatest inventions were made by mistake or written on the back of napkins or cigarette packets. The vacuum was made by a janitor who eventually had someone else do his cleaning. The flushing toilet was invented by the unfortunately named Thomas Crapper, proving that not all ideas are full of ....... Yes you guessed it! Penicillin was created by mistake after the eminent scientist Sir Alexander Flemming didn't do his laboratory washing up and noticed some interesting fungus, the trick was he acted on it and never had another headache again when speaking to his bank manager! I am not saying that every idea is a good one, the solar-powered torch certainly wasn't a bright one but how do you know without at least trying.  You don't need to reinvent the wheel just have an idea and have the courage to investigate it. Mark Zuckerberg had a little idea to make keeping in touch with his friends easier, now he can pretty much keep in touch with anyone around the world on his site Facebook!

So if I have made you think for a faction of a second or raised a nagging feeling then read on with my blog because I would be a hypocrite if I didn't take my own advice and find a job and career that pleases me and in time hopefully my bank manager. I am gradually trying to build my own business and act on the ideas I have so follow be and see how I get on. I would invite your comments and opinions, or even tell me if you have made that jump to something new successful or minor disaster, all views welcome!

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Posted in: Debate,Education,Employment,Funny,Happiness,Job,Money,Online,Work