16/05/14Happy days are here again… Are they?
Well hello!
The ‘Egg’ season (& Matzah for my Jewish followers!) is upon us. Lengthy traffic jams, cries of ‘Are we there yet?’ ringing out after being in the car 33 minutes (according to the Sun newspaper today), tins of travel sweets with their powdery sugar coating will be consumed & the kids will be oblivious to it all, thanks to the new DVD over the headrest, or new mobile phone with access to music apps, or their new ipad air ah! the joys.
The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed a word …New.
I say that because earlier this week, we learnt that for the first time, wage increases will be more than inflation. Real growth as they say. Also, with inflation falling, this means those with cash savings….well…lets just say if its in cash, then the corrosive power of inflation will be reduced…what the hell..it’s time to celebrate. Isn’t it?
In previous years, history says yes. This would be time for the politicians, stock markets, economic forecasters to say “we’re turning the corner” or “green shoots of recovery are now showing signs of flowering” etc, etc. This would then cue the metaphoric belt loosening & time to pull out those home improvement quotes, car lease details,store vouchers etc.
I do hope that some caution is taken. Not to bring a cloud to holidays, but recognise that the majority reading this post (that’s me!) have seen this cycle more than once. This is no longer a story of ‘when my parents were younger’ but its our generations’ story.
For those have seen my website (you haven’t? well, go to www.business-ifa.co.uk ) & read my biography, will see I do draw on my own experiences to accentuate a point & its fair to say, I’ve loosened & tightened & loosened my belt (yes ok in my weight history as well) a few times.
All I ask is that you still keep asking yourself those questions of need & want..do I need it, or do I want it? by exercising this mantra, will see you find an extra few quid when things really do get going and at that point, you won’t be shocked by the rise in your mortgage, when interest rates start to increase, from around the middle of next year I’d say. Oh & if you do find yourselves in the car, with the kids…Vehicle Bingo is the way forward!
So…there I am in the John Lewis electrical department…so many things I want. The Bose speaker that you can stream music through, the ‘Zeppelin’ shaped music centre, even the retro Roberts DAB radios look cool…but no , I’m here for a tablet. I do not own one, opting for a laptop & a large Samsung Galaxy Note 2, with the obligatory smashed screen where my 2 yr old thought it would bounce.
My wife has decided SHE needs one (word to the wise, if she wants, she gets. I’ve been divorced once & can’t afford to do it again!). So a Microsoft surface 2 is purchased, as she wanted one that resembled a computer layout. The interesting thing is, while looking at these tablets, it seems were are turning turtle in our technology.
We gave up carrying laptops around, using our phones instead. now we are on many social media platforms, we needed bigger screens, so the phones got bigger. Now we are looking at split screen, multi tasking social media, streaming, watching TV, reading books (still prefer a book though), in comes a tablet…Now, we only need a ‘phone to call people on & send a text, because our email & social media are on the tablet, our next mobile phones will be smaller (cue Samsung gear)…history repeats itself…well I never!!!!
Enjoy the festivities. I’ll be at Huntingdon racecourse on Monday, look forward to seeing you ?
Victor
