My little piece of peace

At very low interests rates you have a slight point. And we do,--so low infact they can only go in one direction from here.

Inflation would need to be pretty serious to make interest payable on a credit card say irrelevent.

Property in UK is finally moving down. people are crying out for it to do so --15% of people are in negative equity but a country thats is unable to support the family way of buying a house and having a family is going to be in trouble with massive disfunctional family and social values that we are already seeing in the back streets of England.

This kind of debt is a chain a round the neck for life and even onto children -- A disgusting state of afairs when here in the east buying a house is not as much as a car --and so it should be.

 

True enough, though "hyperinflation" is a real phenomenon.

But I was thinking more along the lines of debts on real property, which holds its value relative to floating currency. The Achilles heel is of course government (as always) which actually "owns" it- especially real estate which has an annual tax gate to pass through.

As a wealth building strategy in a floating currency environment, that is biased toward inflation, debt is an indispensable tool.

 

Prosperity built on debt is the way western societies have been operating for years. Its been so successful that old school capitalism has been replaced by creditism . The present economic crisis in various countries is due to a lack of credit...only the "ism " is available to finance prosperity

 

Holding true value,--and what may that be,-- property is risk now. Gold well not moved much in a year and I think is in a bubble so what else do you have in mind.

Please dont say buy to let buildings, been there done that. Commercial and private.


banks an big companies are sitting on cash.

 

"credit" is as old as money. They are joined at the hip.

all employment is based on a "promise to pay"- ie credit

 

The big picture.

Individual imvestments vary from place to place.

I am asking Mas why he is betting on the "tide" of deflation in the global economy.

Gold is more useful as barometer than as investment IMO, though lots of money can be made on betting on its price.

 

Couldn't agree more, my associates and I have been on this roller coaster ride since 1978, we had highs, we had lows, but we were way to deep in by 2008 and then had to face the music and live with the losses and subsequent cut-backs. Funny thing is generally we are ALL much happier with small businesses now and living comfortably. The age has also played a role as we are all now 60 and over and live for the moment and stopped dreaming about that "pot of gold"

Strange thing is the folks that emigrated are way worse of than us. So after all these years we are ok, the folks that still dream are struggeling even in the wonderful land of OZ. Nowhere is perfect, I believe the entire world is a feaces hole, it is just a matter of which feaces you are prepared to swallow. We - as a large group - are very pleased that Obama won, we would like to think that the USA is waking up and realise that they must look after themselves first and stop worrying about the rest of the dark continents.

Hopefully this could mean a "certain stability" nothing really better BUT nothing really worse, and then the rot can sort it self out slowly and surely bit by bit. This would mean that Greece - Spain - Italy - Portugal AND AFRICA will come to terms with their situation and start a new life accordingly. Eveybody cant have everything ALL the time.

 

The reason big business is presently sitting on a mountain of cash is that the consumer cant secure credit to purchase gizmo's, hence the gizmo maker need not invest its cash in production and job creation.

In Spain...my friends with decent businesses can not secure the credit they need to take on new projects. They cant grow, they cant make jobs. Its a dilemma. A death spiral.

CREDITISM has colllapsed but no new economic formula has appeared.

 

We have the same problems here - but the big difference is that we should not have to look for credit. We are supposed to be paid 30 days as we go along or as sections are completed.
The investor - which is predominantly China and India - is supposed to have the capital ready UP FRONT.
But what the ******** are doing is that they get the contractors in deep and then we have to carry on because if we pull out we will never get paid.

So the moral of the story is that anybody with a decent business should need very little credit to do a contract. Why must the contractor that is doing the work also have to fund the project. The whole thing has become so ridiculous and this is where the theives (goverment pigs worldwide) are stealing us blind.

Businesses are only to blame themselves, for many years they have been so greedy to grow that they were actually "buying" work to grow, by not only doing the work but also financing it.

The sad part about all of this is that I know what I am talking about, because we actually did it ourselves. There was this fooked up morality that this is how business should work. It has taken me many years to shrug of the cloak of "business" by the book.

So today if you are a business owner go and look for customers that pay 30 days, or COD, tell the rest to go to hell, and downsize your business accordingly. A solid good profitable business should only grow with PROFITS and not credit. That is why many businesses have folded and the sooner the rest fold, we as survivors that hold the reigns tight, will have twice as much work and good cash flow on top of it all.

Always remember ALL BUSINESSES work on the following 3 MAIN principals:

1. Marketing / Sales
this means going down on your hands and knees begging for the order, this step includes all the other problems of tendering and what not.

2. Production / Execution / Manufacture
the customer always wanted it yesterday because his house is not in order and his planning is pathetic and his staff is incompetent. This will push your costs way higher than you anticipated - never mind natural disasters like rain , snow and staff falling ill.

3. Getting paid / Debtors accounts and costs to make you cry.
now this is where the fun really starts, I have heard all the excuses over the years, the cheque is in the post, the director is sick, we did not get your invoices in time, and a miriad of other lousy excuses.
The best is now - the accounts are done be some centralised office in India.
For fuuuu sake! Here in the dungeons of Africa the 3 women sit in a row next to each other in the same office. The order from woman#1 has to go to India, they mail it back to woman#2 for confirmation AND finally back and forth it goes to the senior woman#3 for final approval.
I find it hard to believe that the UK cant do its own books when they have millions of people doing nothing all day.

So you want to go into business? dont worry about your product or your expertise - remember:
1. Get the order first
2. Make sure the customer (*******) knows what he wants and when
3. Make absolutely double sure that he can pay - he is not a customer anymore he is a crook out to rob you, treat him accordingly.

back to the start

dont go there

 

sorry Mas for the rant, but investing into anything right now, other than your own health is just not on.

 

Manie,

That is a rather sad observation of doing business as far as I see it mate.

I work for customers that I actually like, I do my work to the best of my availability for the time and costs involved, and get paid when it is finished.

I do not quote for work, my previous work is my business card, all work is by word of mouth, and if a new customer askes for a quote then I explain to them that for me to do so involves removing risk to myself (there boat problem is NOT my problem, I simply are there to help them with THEIR problem), so the cost will be artificially high to cover any risks that I may incurr, allow me to do an honest job at my rates and the cost will be the cheapest and the quality will be the best. To work on a job that may cost you money is simply nuts...you rush to get it done to "budget", not do good work that takes a certain amount of time...loss to you and loss to the customer. If they do not see this, then I ask them to get another person to do the work.

I love my job (Shippy), love the work I do every day and look forward to evey new job with anticipation.....no bills, no debt and no worries...a good way to do business I reckon.

 

"My Little Piece of Peace" has devolved into a "Global Economic Crisis" thread... Oh well - so be it... But at least, will somebody buy my boat so I can play for real?

The levels of toxic debt floating around - a wild guess would put it at around 1000trillion or lots more (Who-The-F knows?) as CDO's and other 'money-creating-devices' from the likes of 'no-docks-underwater-mortgages" etc., adding to the global and fast growing sovereign debt levels, growing tax demands and other instruments like "quantitative easing", (A euphemism for money printing electronically by reserve banks), that can only lead to a total loss of faith and trust in all fiat currencies. - - - - Hello shades of Zimbabwe and Weimar Republic on a global scale... Not now, but your 'children's children' will curse everyone who 'profited' or participated or remained within the "western societies" instrumental in and at the root of the economic-crisis during the millennium change era of greed and instant gratification...

Your future siblings will appreciate your wisdom by ensuring their self sufficient sustainability, hidden away in some remote and peaceful region (a lesser developed country) in peaceful isolation from this: - - -
The new era of correction and re-adjustment by the 'Western societies' which may well leave everyone there, except the "0.5%", as surfs and slaves, as money looses its power and those holding debt over others will enforce restitution via slavery if you are lucky...

I cannot be bothered in preparing an academic thesis, and I hope you readers will have the intellectual capacity to interpret the graphic prose and analyse your own understanding of what the future holds when you admit and understand that the fundamentals are broken and most information is bulls41t, lies or misdirection...

Understand the basics of the Austrian School of Economic Thinking http://mises.org/ - Learn the basic skills in Permaculture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf0XbwPjpj0 and other sites using as a search "Bill Mollison" or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture

Do what you think is "right for you", but do your due-diligence and understand what may happen sometime because DEBT cannot be repaid using more debt... Most business will find a way to carry on until some s41t hits a fan and spatters in an uneven way with some going under and some surviving for a while longer... Preparing options now would be wise and prudent... Squealing like a cut pig after some misfortune will not serve the victim - well maybe the initial few then the noise will be deafening and confusion will reign supreme...

The Global Economic situation still gets my 'casual' interest but the ins-and-outs are far too rapid and convoluted and I simply just cannot be bothered in following events as closely as I used to some 5 years ago...

 

sorry to have been such a bother

 

Hi Charly,
My comments were not pointed to anyone, but a conglomerate of responses to points raised... No bother, but I do what I do, (not much) and say what I say (often too much), and matters GEC are a fading passion, whereas now, is merely "an aside" or "casual amusement"... - -As 'sean' (who is now out cruising somewhere), used to say "for giggles and s41ts" in the days when English included such words as F**K and many others that were not converted to **** and so on, and women had nipples - Oh censorship is a wondrous thing in a society that espouses "freedom of expression" and the "righteous-men" demand that women should carry the progeny of ****... How sick things have become

 

Ive read of this opinion before, getting into debt and forgetting about it . Even disregarding letters of punishment and prison. Idea being theres no reason to take some one to court that cant pay , they only take people to court that can. Its barely leagal and should not be.

Living in this manner and many do is wrong as if we all did it then the results would be financial grid lock.

The new generation thinks they invented sex and money.

Let me tell you that both have been around a long time.

The height of perversion of them maybe new.