I dont know whats going on these last two days but I've been out around the town and it seems sooo quiet, roads have been unusually clear, hardly anyone about, didnt even have to queue in the post office today and even had time for a bit crack on with the woman behind the counter.


I know its the end of the month, but I would have thought people would be a little more up beat.

Got a letter from the tax man a couple of weeks ago to say that the 10p tax thing had kicked in, got another letter from the building society to say the interest rate had dropped and my mortgage had come down, Petrol is below the pound now so all in all people should be better off but no one seems to be spending any money at all.

Which in turn is having a knock on effect across the board.


So if you've got some money... fooking spend a bit of it !! Kick start the economy !

 

The bloody news programmes are still making people shit themselves about spending with their over dramatising the whole thing...

 

I wont spend until i have a job and caught up all the bills!

 

tomorrow, when i go to Minispares and spank about Ł500 lol.

But in general I am spending very little at the mo, not cos of the crunch but cos I am either working or sleeping lately lol

 

i haven't changed my spending habits in the least
i still go out and buy daft shit when i feel like it
it's just that i've bought everything i needed when the times were good and now don't have to spend any money to keep up with the jones'

if anything, prices for skilled labour has gone up
about 2 months ago we were quoted Ł500 to strip and skim the hallway up and down stairs
last week it went up to Ł650 because he needed the work to keep his guys happy
still said it would take 4 days start to finish so i offered him Ł400 and he;ll get back to me
when he does i'll haggle some more
i don't need it done but i can get a bloke in for Ł50 a day to do the prep work for 2 days who'll bring his mate along and skim coat it for Ł40 if i supply the stuff so why people, all of a sudden are thinking that they are worth more because times are hard is beyond me
if he'd come to me and said "i'm free now as work is quite, i'll do it for Ł400 i would have let him do it and given him some other little odd jobs to do around the hosue as well, but going the other way to make up for the poor week he had the week before is taking the piss

 

never stopped

 

I haven't stopped spending.

In fact, I haven't spent anything like I have in the past few months before, nowhere near

 

up until here that was a good post...........WTF was the bollocks after all about

My spending has been the same really, I dont have much time to go out shopping at the best of times. If everyone is shitting themselves about cash I am going to see what bargain motors will start appearing for sale.............

 

same here, the current situation has made fook all differance to me

 

having given a over the top quote and not got the job, he then wanted MORE money because he was short of work
if he's short of work, he should have DROPED his prices to get some sort of custom
but he was charging more than 3 times the amount i could of got it done for simply by using his motor to get the plastering stuff

the thing was, he was indian so should have known that there was some hagling to take place but he just rubbed his chin and said "this week i'll have to charge you Ł650 to do the work as it's been difficult to get work for my guys"
i didn't even invite him round he just rocked up and wanted more money for a job i wasn't going to give him

they are already there mate, but what you save on depreciation, youtend to spend on the upkeep, redlines got a whole list of flash motors for cheap money this month, bently's porkers, amg's lambo's, even aston martins if that's your cup of tea

 

havent stoped

tho going romford dogs thisevening, expecting it to be quite as everyone seems to have shit thenselfs! bloody news reporters!

 

I've not stopped, then I don't spend lots anyway, always bought own brand stuff mostly at the supermarkets anyway and never spent loads of clothes, CDs and other stuff, but still been out for meals, drinks, keep a pony (albeit she doen't cost much to keep 80 a month max)

Everytime I go to town there is still loads of people, which makes me think 'what credit crunch' the shops are still packed round here

Z

 

not much changed for me. managed to bag a "cheap" x5 too

 

You aint alone in that mate, theres some bloody cheap cars out there at the moment, (as in big expenive, now big and cheaper cars, X5's Cayennes, ML's etc etc)

 

My spending habits haven't changed at all

Im just a tight Łucker and don't spend any money

Steve.

 

 

me and the misses just talking about this.

The majority of people can trundle along just fine. The dicks who have been maxed out to the limit and beyond for some time are now getting caught out.

The media scaring people into spending less is pushing us into this, when people cut spemding, businesses struggle, jobs get cut, media goes into overdrive and the cycle continues.

I personally think that in six months we will be bored of the hype and just get on with things as normal.

The people I feel sorry for is the ones that haven't been greedy, but have now lost their job because if this situation and now find themselves in the shit.

 

agreed

 

I am carrying on as normal

 

Yes steve you are by far the tightest person i know with their money!!

 

Same here

 

Awesome times for cash buyers, If your dripped up then not only are you a mug, but a skint mug at that.

I am buying a Gixxer thou tomorrow and probably a couple of hundred quids worth of goodies for it so thats my input to the economy for the week

 

No change here, spent around Ł1.5K in the last few months on car bits, and last week new tank, pre filter, pump, etc etc.
tabetha

 

Just offered 75 grand on a local lock-up to put my car, trailer and tools in.

Charlie

 

Ive just spanked Ł3.5k on an 18 year old golf, hope i have helped you

 

jojj, tbh mate you pay for what you get, 4 days labour foe a skilled self employed tradesman is CHEAP, i dont know any who would work for under Ł200 a day, and as for rates going up for tradesman you are way of track, im a carpenter and suffering prices taking a hammering along with the rest of the trades, other jobs get inflation, builders get deflation so it seems due to soo many foriegners working for peanuts

 

surely theres no such thing, the tax man will make sure of that pmsl

 

i understand what you are saying paul, but if you were getting a quote and one guy quoted you double what you were quoted from someone else, when that guy comes knocking on your door and says the quote is now 3 times what the other guys are offering to do it for, for a job that you don't really need doing, what would you say?

i can understand also if he came round and said "look, we are free this week and, as we didn't hear from you, wondered if you were still looking for someone to do the work" i may have reconsidered

the guy who did our garden toiled and sweated for 3 days solid, 9 hours a day and we paid him Ł45 a day because he negotiated it up from Ł40 a day as he bought his own food

our garden is 800 square foot and he had to dig out 2 trees as well, but then, on the 3rd day, he asked if he could sow the grass and come abck every few days to tend to it like he does for our neighbour for a few quid a visit

so we pay him a fiver a week and he comes round and does a bit of here and there and gets rid of some weeds, well worth the money i would say, but if he came in the first day and said "i'll charge you Ł500 to do the garden we might have had second thoguhts about it

he gave us a day rate and said it might take him 5 or 6 days so we were chuffed he done in it 3

if you price yourself out of the market then you have to charge a lot more to do less work, rather than charge a bit less and be busy all the time is what i've found to be the case in my neck of the woods

but as for spending money, now everyone has their flat screen telly's and dvd recordered and sky hd boxes and playbox wee's, no one needs to go out and spend lots of money buying the sam things again so the slump is going to hit the shops unless you can afford to spend spend spend, which, lets be honest, not a large proportion of us can do in these unsettling times

 

ive carried on as normal,cos still costs a fortune! out drinking every weekend,fooking fed up of hearing the horror stories,every time some1 says have you heard bout such and such,i just tell em to bollox heard enough to last me rest of year now ha

 

surley thats Ł45 cash? cos it it was legit, and covering fuel etc hed be left with like Ł25!!!

Dont forget for every Ł100 us self employed charge you on labour the tax man takes Ł22!!!

So when we charge Ł200 as a flat labour charge, Ł44 of that is the taxmans. the remaining Ł156, say Ł10 of that for fuel and food. you get the idea.

 

Not stopped spending

 

not in the slightest way trying to sound cockey - but i havent altered my spending habit or nature atall yet.

personally, other than the bills being a few quid more expensive each month, nothing has really altered in costs for me - so ill continue the way i was.

 

cheap lager sales seem on the up round my way

 

i havent stopped spending to be honest, i'm lucky enough to be in a situation where i havent needed to change my lifestyle, and i pick up my new WR1 next week.

 

my soending has gone UP tbh also though we seem to be a little better off as my missus is now working so theres a extra 1500 quid a month comming in which is nice

the ANOYING thing is i still cant find a good deal on tein suspension for my scooby, dont wanna buy brand new as im a tight cunt but aint gonna spend 500 quid on second hand parts

 

i understand what your trying to say mate yet its still different, paying for a dogs body to dig up a tree etc anyone can do you just need to be prepared to work, its like paying a professional and an amatuar (sp?) to spray a car the difference will be visable as will the price

 

This is the problembut its news,
I havent changed what I spend and nor have my customers

Mark

 

when ive got money to spend again ill spend it

 

lpg helps

 

i have cut my spending a tad, simply because i'm not sure how long i will have a job for..