trust you had a great Christmas break and best of all (up here anyway) super New Year. I wish you all the best for the year ahead. One of my own resolutions is to make sure I enjoy a lot more new music this year and in particular live music. One of the best things to happen over the festive break was seeing over 1200 folk pack out the Alhambra to see (among others) the band I manage the Skinflints. It was awesome!
If you like your music modern, but with crunching authentic rock n’ roll guitars then you won’t go far wrong with the Skinflints I can tell you. They just keep getting better and better. And it’s not just me saying that either – none other than the esteemed Vic Galloway of the BBC said this about them in December…
“A sound that could fill stadiums, I’ve gotta get along to see these guys live, if they are as good as their recordings they will be well worth investigating.”
Here’s a shot of the Alhambra gig in Dunfermline – the place was jumping. It starts with ‘Saints in the City’… just hover your mouse over the link below and you’ll see the video. Then click to play it.
with the stream of once plentiful credit drying up to a near standstill many people are finding that obtaining credit for very necessary items like Weddings, School Fees or a new car is very difficult. Now despite the fact that the politicians say they are working behind the scenes to force Banks to start lending again it doesn’t really look like there will be a thaw in the banks reluctance to let people borrow any time soon.
So what to do if you are stuck and in need for a loan and your credit rating is reasonable?
Well my advice would be to consider being more social… that’s right, having friends always pays dividends and in this case in more ways than one.
been a while since I posted over here but things have got pretty serious over the past few months or so, and I’ve been pretty much all hands to the pump looking after clients especially those who had shares in Banks like the RBS for example.
Anyhow, before I finish up tonight I thought you may like a laugh (if you have a quirky sense of humour that is) by trying to work out who’s telling the truth more convincingly and who (if any) you trust more than the other when it comes to protecting your financial assets in the current doom and gloom market climate.
financially, if you’ve ever felt like a hamster trapped in perpetual motion on it’s wheel, ever so desperately trying to make some headway, but somehow you don’t feel you’ve even got half of what the average hamster has in terms of resilience then perhaps this finance and economy video will help make sense of it all for you… oh yeh, and it has loads to do with money.
Afterwards, you’re pretty much guaranteed one of those “Ah hah! So that’s what’s going on!”moment’s and a semi-feeling of peace in that at least you know why things are like they are.
V.helpful for uber-stressed professional couples with kids who feel battered by every wind of change on the financial ocean of late.
Hats off to Harvard Law School scholar Elizabeth Warren for making this all so crystal clear about…
Why even with two partners working most families make less than ONE 1970’s single income
Why despite clothing, cars, white goods, luxury items, food and virtually every else dropping in cost ONE single item has jumped up and now swallows a massive 76% of the average families income.
The giant tax hikes which have taken over 20% of what’s left
Exactly why the middle class is rapidly following the Dodo
A new ‘two tier ‘Super rich v Dirt Poor’ society is flooding in behind them like a rip tide the Middle Class can’t see until it’s too late – because they’re trying to keep the hamster wheel turning.
Why more children are suffering with parents going through bankruptcy than divorce
… and a whole lot more besides.
It’ll probably be one of the most insighful 50 minutes or so you’ll spend this year, so go ahead – pour yourself a coffee and settle down to hear from someone whose razor sharp research skills give you the facts as they really are.
And don’t worry that she’s discussing the imminent demise of the American middle class. You can be pretty certain what she’s talking about is headed right at us this side of the pond.
Cheery aren’t I? ; o )
Here’s the video…
All the best,
William
PS: You can disagree with Elizabeth if you wish of course. What do you reckon – will the UK middle class suffer in the way she predicts America’s are destined too?
at the risk of becoming a true doom and gloom merchant I’m just giving you the heads up that I’ll be shortly following up my recent article on Personal Accounts – (the new Government proposed auto-enrolled Pensions currently under some increasingly heated discussions inside and outside of Parliament), in a new article where I’ll be adding grist to the mill in the ongoing conversation over means testing (can anyone say “is that mean?” with me?) and how it works within the context of these new pensions – and how some experts think it could even have the potential to totally derail them altogether.
Watch this space, because for those with broken work histories, or low income this stuff could have profound implications as to whether their retirement is spent in relative adequacy or desperate financial ruin. It’s shaping up to be that serious for a large chunk of late baby boomer Brits. Until then take care, and after my next article I promise to be a bit more cheery – after all spring is on the way!
nothing about the joy of music today I’m afraid – maybe it’s a chill January wind that’s changed the atmosphere in my neck of the woods, but in a day when the IMA (Investment Management Association) say that the continued credit crunch is damaging investor trust causing folks to withdraw more money than was invested last November and December – what should you do if you’re worried by the current nervous cries regarding bear markets and credit crunch scares?
Well rather than repeat the article I’ve already written at www.williamgeorgeifa.co.uk earlier today I’ll just give you a small taster here and then you can read the whole article on my main IFA Advisor site.
Here’s the start for you…
“Hi everyone,
With current stock market volatility very much on the front pages it is inevitable that many people will be nervous about their investments at the moment. At times like this the phone in my office tends to be little busier than normal, but I like to think that if I’ve done my job properly in setting up the investment at the outset then my clients should be aware that periods like this have happened in the past and will happen again (in the last 100 years there have been 23 bear markets).”
at the risk of being a little biased, I’d like to blow my own trumpet here for a minute or two today. Of course it takes genius to be a real genius – Mozart, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Elvis etc all had the talent that really cut the mustard. Today though I’d like to argue a small case on behalf of us poor, hardworking and oft-maligned Band Managers and I say “It takes talent to see talent, then cherish, nurture, challenge and inspire it to become all it can in the lives of those it’s been entrusted to.”
That’s a pretty tough brief if you don’t mind me saying and when it comes to managing a band of 4 or 5 young folk that’s multiplied by a factor o’ at least… well a lot of huff and puff. Young egos are delicate you know…
So when it all comes together and better still others at the real grass roots of todays cutting edge music recognise and tell others about it too then all the blood, sweat and sometimes tears that come from managing a band is really worth it all.
Now without further ado look what I stumbled across on the Internet the other night handcrafted by those good guys over at Dead Earnest in their Dundee Bands Live section ( http://www.btinternet.com/~deadearnest/Dundee.htm ) I was overjoyed because Andy G (Kudos to you btw!) could see what I’ve known all along was within this rocking Fife fivesome the Skinflints … but don’t take my word for it – Andy G take it away!
thought I’d kick off the Christmas cheer by playing the fool a little and just go to prove that we Independent Financial Advisers are not as boring and fuddy duddy as some would like to make out. Hope this does it for you! Happy Christmas!
Figured you’re only really going to get to know me if you know my football.
Hence the potted history of a Fife boy to man and his football which follows below…
I went to my first Dunfermline Athletic match with my dad in 1972. It was against Dundee and we won 3-2. It was the beginning of a tortuous and rarely rewarding relationship that continues to this day.
If you’ve ever pondered just how it could happen – the first run on a British Bank since 1866 and the amazing Northern Rock debacle we’ve all witnessed over the past few months then there’s a clue lurking in the CV (or lack of it) of the Chief Executive, Adam Applegarth.
