Finance thread 2022.

[sage]

10 minutes ago, Gaspode said:

I don't post  politics on here (as we all know it's against the rules), but I suggested to someone this morning that this has all the signs of being a long game played by the Tory party:

1. Elect a thoroughly incompetent PM (that unlike Boris, no one likes either) and watch them royaly screw up (which she appears to be doing with indecent speed);

2. Get the Labour party confident enough to push for a vote of no confidence in the government thereby forcing a general election; and then

3. Sit back for the next couple of years while the new Labour government has to try and dig us out of the huge hole the country is currently in while not being able to deliver on most of their traditional promises.

4. The Tories then come back at the following election with a nice big majority (possibly with Boris back in charge by then)....

It may sound far fetched, but there's no easy way out of the mess following Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine war - far better from their perspective to let Labour do the donkey work and then pick up the pieces...

 

A lib dem i know said the very same thing, i agree re outcomes but i don't think it's deliberate

[Ramarena]

1 hour ago, Stive Pesley said:

The £ continues to look like it's in big trouble, and Sky reporting that the Bank Of England may be forced to issue a massive emergency interest rate hike to try and tame inflation, and letters of no confidence already going in from Tory MPs. It does feel like carnage 

If only those left wing wokist traders and bankers would stop doing the country and it’s economy down, then we’d be in the sunlit uplands!

Oh and get back to work…….and when you get there, work harder!

[Stive Pesley]

17 minutes ago, bcnram said:

Absolutely no chance that this has been knocked up and distributed as real, or is the?

No - it's a screen grab from the Sky News rolling news website. 

[Gaspode]

16 minutes ago, sage said:

A lib dem i know said the very same thing, i agree re outcomes but i don't think it's deliberate

I may well be giving them far too much credit ?- though it's hard to know who actually holds the power in most of the political parties - there are shady figures at work behind the scenes who may well be brighter than the average MP....

[Ramarena]

1 hour ago, Wolfie said:

What? Liz Truss incompetent?.

Who saw that one coming?!

Without wanting to stray to much into politics. I believe her nickname amongst her own colleagues is “the human hand grenade” ?

[Ram@Lincoln]

45 minutes ago, bcnram said:

Absolutely no chance that this has been knocked up and distributed as real, or is the?

26 minutes ago, Stive Pesley said:

No - it's a screen grab from the Sky News rolling news website. 

https://news.sky.com/story/labour-party-conference-live-battle-lines-drawn-with-mini-budget-frontbencher-says-labour-shouldnt-reverse-basic-rate-income-tax-cut-12593360?postid=4532475&fbclid=IwAR0ETb3ESMhDJMxkY2niE-B79GO9exAOaIkJuR-CjCpkVAMU3LGZfRQ5548#liveblog-body

[Ram-Alf]

1 hour ago, Gaspode said:

I don't post  politics on here (as we all know it's against the rules), but I suggested to someone this morning that this has all the signs of being a long game played by the Tory party:

1. Elect a thoroughly incompetent PM (that unlike Boris, no one likes either) and watch them royaly screw up (which she appears to be doing with indecent speed);

 

 

"Liz Truss will become Britain’s next prime minister after beating Rishi Sunak in the bitterly fought Conservative leadership contest.

The foreign secretary, who won 81,326 votes (57.4%) of Tory members to the former chancellor’s 60,399 (42.6%), takes over from Boris Johnson, who was ousted by his own MPs earlier this summer."

It's about time that when a PM resigns it then automatically triggers a General Election, To let the amount of voters as above to decide who runs the Country is as crazy as letting Gino Pozzo run Watford FC

Edited September 26, 2022 by Unlucky Alf

[Gaspode]

14 minutes ago, Unlucky Alf said:

"Liz Truss will become Britain’s next prime minister after beating Rishi Sunak in the bitterly fought Conservative leadership contest.

The foreign secretary, who won 81,326 votes (57.4%) of Tory members to the former chancellor’s 60,399 (42.6%), takes over from Boris Johnson, who was ousted by his own MPs earlier this summer."

It's about time that when a PM resigns it then automatically triggers a General Election, To let the amount of voters as above to decide who runs the Country is as crazy as letting Gino Pozzo run Watford FC

You're right - but it would need the main two parties to agree to any such rule change - and Labour are on dodgy ground as they didn't even have an election when Blair handed over to Brown......

[Grumpy Git]

11 minutes ago, Gaspode said:

You're right - but it would need the main two parties to agree to any such rule change - and Labour are on dodgy ground as they didn't even have an election when Blair handed over to Brown......

Neither did the current lot when Theresa May got the gig.

[Gaspode]

5 minutes ago, Grumpy Git said:

Neither did the current lot when Theresa May got the gig.

They sort of did, but then Leadsom stood down and so May was elected unapposed. The point is that it suits both big parties to ignore the electorate when it's convenient to them so they're unlikely to change the rules any time soon....

[PistoldPete]

Anyways, any idea on mobile phone contracts, mine has expired. Should I go sim only?  

[Gaspode]

9 minutes ago, PistoldPete said:

Anyways, any idea on mobile phone contracts, mine has expired. Should I go sim only?  

If your phone is working o.k. and you're happy with it, then definately go SIM only - it will save you a small fortune....

[Wolfie]

40 minutes ago, PistoldPete said:

Anyways, any idea on mobile phone contracts, mine has expired. Should I go sim only?  

If you do, Plusnet have some good SIM only deals (uses EE network)

[Ram-Alf]

1 hour ago, PistoldPete said:

Anyways, any idea on mobile phone contracts, mine has expired. Should I go sim only?  

I pay £6 a month to Sky, Unlimited calls and texts with 2 gigabytes, Gigabytes roll over for 3 years, I'm not a great user for the internet on my phone I have around 21 gigs in my account and can be used for cash off goods from Sky.

[PistoldPete]

1 hour ago, Gaspode said:

If your phone is working o.k. and you're happy with it, then definately go SIM only - it will save you a small fortune....

Do I get to keep the same phone number with Sim only? I’ve always had a phone contract but I guess I e been ripped off. 

[ThePrisoner]

22 minutes ago, PistoldPete said:

Do I get to keep the same phone number with Sim only? I’ve always had a phone contract but I guess I e been ripped off. 

Yep you just need your PAC code to give to your new network.

[Gaspode]

14 minutes ago, PistoldPete said:

Do I get to keep the same phone number with Sim only? I’ve always had a phone contract but I guess I e been ripped off. 

When you have a phone contract, a large proportion of the amount you pay is effectively paying for the phone itself - so once your contracted period is complete, that element of the monthly charge is effectively just profit for the phone company. You then have a choice of:

1. calling your phone company and asking for a better deal (either a new phone deal or else a SIM only deal for a lot better price - both keeping your exisiting number);

2. Look around for another phone deal from any other supplier;

3. Look for a SIM only deal.

With 2 or 3 you can certainly keep your exisiting number - you normally sign up for the new deal (which includes a brand new SIM card), ask your old supplier for a PAC code and then request that your new supplier ports your exisiting number over by telling them the code (they contact the old supplier on your behalf and tell them you're moving) - dead easy - normally via a page on the website or else you can even trigger it via a text message in most cases - normally only takes a couple of days.

Only thing to watch out for is that some phones are 'locked' to the original provider, so if you keep your exisiting phone it may not let you use a SIM from another supplier - they used to be able to charge you to make the phone SIM-free  (i.e. let you insert a SIM from another supplier), but I think the law has changed recently - I don't think there should be a cost if you're now out of contract but it's good to look into it before you say goodbye to the old supplier....

[angieram]

Also, with a SIM only deal it is only a short-term fix as phones become almost obsolete very quickly. Me and other half had same phone; I went for a new phone on a different network, got a good deal and sold my old one for £70 which was a bonus (it's only an android); he switched to a SIM only deal on another network. At about 15 months in my new phone is fine, his is stuttering quite a bit and won't do some things already. 

He's saved money over me, but he's quite frustrated! 

[PistoldPete]

9 minutes ago, angieram said:

Also, with a SIM only deal it is only a short-term fix as phones become almost obsolete very quickly. Me and other half had same phone; I went for a new phone on a different network, got a good deal and sold my old one for £70 which was a bonus (it's only an android); he switched to a SIM only deal on another network. At about 15 months in my new phone is fine, his is stuttering quite a bit and won't do some things already. 

He's saved money over me, but he's quite frustrated! 

Yeah I figured that Angie , so was planning to upgrade to phone with better camera but that’s expensive and like everyone looking at saving money atm. My other half has sim only but is always moaning she’s used up her data allowance. 

Edited September 26, 2022 by PistoldPete

[Tamworthram]

58 minutes ago, angieram said:

Also, with a SIM only deal it is only a short-term fix as phones become almost obsolete very quickly. Me and other half had same phone; I went for a new phone on a different network, got a good deal and sold my old one for £70 which was a bonus (it's only an android); he switched to a SIM only deal on another network. At about 15 months in my new phone is fine, his is stuttering quite a bit and won't do some things already. 

He's saved money over me, but he's quite frustrated! 

How old was his phone though when he switched to SIM only? I reckon that a reasonable mobile phone should last 4 years before it needs replacing (unless you fall for the Apple sales pitch of course ?). In my experience, mobiles generally become obsolete when certain apps you want to use are longer supported by your phone's OS. He could always buy a SIM free phone and probably still save compared to a SIM and phone contract.

I bought a SIM free Android last December and took out a SIM only rolling monthly contract with 3 Mobile. I'm seriously thinking of taking up one of their 50% off offers and taking out a 24m contract: 5G, unlimited calls and texts, 12 GB data (I generally use 1GB per month. The most I've used was 6GB when in France for 10 days) = £6pm. The one thing with 3 Mobile is they do charge a roaming fee whereas not all providers do.