Ignite at FinCon13: my little ‘spark’
You already know that I like to do things I’ve never done, right? Presenting at Ignite – an event at FinCon13 – was one of those things. I speak as part of my job. I teach students: from undergrads to Master’s and Doctoral students. The other day one of my…
Business in the European Union – how is it doing?
It’s almost Christmas so time for an End of Term report, the European Union 2013 report. As this is its first End of Term report (at least on TMP), it will have to cover the whole history of the EU. Let’s look at the famous four freedoms – free movement…
My money mentality: why money didn’t matter to me
Five years ago I had absolutely no idea how much I earned. Let me re-phrase that: I didn’t know how much my salary is. A friend showed me a pint of milk; absolutely no idea how much I was expected to pay for it. Mortgage, bills, monthly spending…yep, you guessed:…
Bonfire Night and $60 Give Away
Twenty three years ago today a South African guy called Daren took me on a date. How do I remember? I remember it not because Daren was a great date: he really bored me and then there was a small cultural misunderstanding involving a very large amount of alcohol. He…
Eat for less: entertaining at home
The other day I was talking to a friend of mine. Between exchanging news about the children and work, she mentioned that they don’t ‘have much life at the moment’. Yep; you probably guessed right. My friend and her husband recently found out that their debt is out of control….
Should we buy property?
We have a financial time horizon of 5 years. Why? Because we are of a certain age and want to have time to enjoy ourselves before the Grim Reaper arrives at our shores. We do have provision for a semi-comfortable retirement but have no intention of retiring. Life is…
The Warehouse Nightmare Job
Editors note: Recently someone from ‘my world’ – a world where you’ve had a really bad day if the admin messed up your teaching – told me they are ashamed to live in the developed world. Not because there is poverty, inequality and unemployment but because there are also the…
Awesomeness and warmth: my take on FinCon13
About a year ago I realised three things: I may be a fairly decent thinker, researcher and writer but I have much to learn about blogging; In blogging, I’ve gone as far as one can go on her own; and The fastest way to learn and become part of ‘the…
Back to Work I Go
The day has arrived. That is the day I am no longer unemployed, until January at least. This morning I officially signed off my Job Seeker’s Allowance and it felt good. For one, I’ll no longer have to deal with questioning by advisors about progress with my job search, or…
What are the ins and outs of Help to Buy?
For what seems like an eternity, those aspiring to get onto the property ladder for the first time have seen their dreams dashed as a result of astronomically high house prices. Even paying a deposit of around 10% or less of a home’s value is too much for many hopeful…
What’s your money mentality?
At home, we have been discussing not so much how we acquired such large consumer debt, nor how we got out of it to the point where we can now repair our roof, install solar panels and invest. No, the question we are now asking is how do we regard…
Why Grandma, What Big Pockets You Have
In an attempt to keep the wolf from the door, students in the UK are increasingly turning to the older generation to help finance the rising costs of tuition fees and, with the maximum tuition fee now standing at a hefty £9,000, it seems that the bank of gran and…