Flexible friend can buy a Rolex but not a tank of Petrol

The other night when I eventually found a petrol garage that sold Petrol as well as Flowers and Charcoal it allowed me to pay at the pump. Great I love that – no hanging around.

But the Point of Sale system didn’t have a pin pad so it said maximum amount £60. That’s not enough for me to fill the tank up….. Last week when I used a pinpad at a pump it said maximum amount £100 and I wondered how long it would be before £100 wasn’t enough to fill up. 

Mad Max didn’t have it this bad. Its easier to buy a Rolex than a tank of petrol these days.

For things economic keep an eye on our Now financial news sites such as our retirement finance news site www.nowretirement.com if your near retirement you’ll remember when a Gallon of petrol was 2 and 6.

Petrol price makes me laugh…. history repeating

Black Wednesday – 16th September 1992 – made me laugh because interest rates were increased 50% in a day (relatively speaking) ….. an increase from 10% to 15% seemed impossible – so I laughed – as it turned out the change was also reversible (phew).

I laughed out loud the other day when trying to fill up my tank with Petrol. With the Petrol Tank drivers on strike (now back at work) I had to choose the pump at the garage carefully (most were displaying signs saying Out of Service). So I pullled up and got out to find the only pump not displaying the sign was for Premium and at a rate of something like £2.32 per millilitre (or something like that…. my short term memory is going). I was stunned.

But I needed petrol so grabbed the pump…… but it was tie wrapped to the pump… they’d ran out of Out of Service signs and petrol. I laughed out loud….. despite the ridiculous price it had sold out. It reminded me of the unbelieveable interest rate hikes in 1992 and reminded me that when things are at their blackest that dawn is just around the corner. Lets hope so.

To keep an eye on things economic you can check out our various financial news sites at (for instance) www.nowbuytolet.com (buy to let mortgages)

 

In 1992 Nigellas dad’s interest hike made me laugh out loud

It’s never been this bad since 1992 say the CBI, well Nigel Lawson made me laugh out loud on September 16th of that year. It was a Wednesday (a black one as it turned out) and I was listening to the radio as I left the carpark of my then sole client NCR in Dundee.

I had been more than a bit worried earlier, interest rates had just been stuck up to 12% from 10% to protect the pounds position in the ERM (thats ERM not “ermmm” as in I can’t remember). At 12% I was going to have to seriously cut back to ensure I could pay the mortgage but when the news report said that interest rates had been thrown up to 15% I remember laughing out loud.

I figured if we had just increased interest rates by 50% in a day we were all….well erm how can I put this erm ….. in the pooh together – so why worry. So I laughed, shrugged and realised that this couldn’t be real. As it turned out it wasn’t and we came out of the ermmm ERM.

Interest rates up and down faster than a deflating souflet lovingly prepared by Nigella Lawson.

Keep an eye on interest rate news at our financial news sites such as our self employed mortgage website www.nowselfemployed.com.

1992 – GDP growth revisited. Whitney Houston, I Will Always Love You

According to the CBI next year (thats 2009 for those not good at adding) will see the lowest economic growth since 1992 (that’ll be the lowest for 17 years for those not good at take aways).

That doesn’t sound very good to me – remember 1992? Nope I didn’t think you would – but do you remember Whitney and Costner doing the body guard thing. Yip, knew you would. So next year watch out for over the top ballads and men taking a bullet for their lover (Mrs O better duck).

For a fuller report on the CBI’s view we have the full story on our various financial news websites, such as our first time buyer mortgage website www.nowfirsttimebuyer.co.uk .