Miss Thrifty

As a tightwad who has lived in both America and the UK (currently residing in the UK), I find it interesting to compare the two countries from a personal finance perspective. Although the USA enjoys a relatively low cost of living and should come up trumps on this front, my experience has been quite the opposite. In truth I’m in awe of my fellow PF bloggers on the other side of the pond, and I’m in awe of any US frugal freaks who manage to live as comfortably as they do.

This is not an America! Yah boo sucks! post. Nor is it a Russell Brand-ish plea to vote Obama “on behalf of the world”. (Naughty Russell!) These are my straight-up observations and my first-hand experiences, and I would be genuinely interested to hear what others have to make of them.

First up, why America is a great country in which to try and live very well, on very little: (more…)

Here in the UK, today’s news has been chock-a-block with houses, houses, houses. We’re all potty about owning our own homes, due to (a) this being a small island with finite space upon which to build, and (b) the simple fact that over the past decade, house prices have soared out of reach for many of those who aren’t already on the property ladder.

As the credit crunch has started to bite, house prices have started to plummet. There are still lots of people tearing their hair out, but for different reasons now. Today our government announced that stamp duty would be axed for a year on all homes selling at £175,00 (about $330,000) or less. These are the lowest-priced homes - the first-time buyer places. Stamp duty is a unpopular tax that all homebuyers must pay the Treasury upon purchase. For lower-priced homes, it’s 1% of the purchase price. (Heck, our free healthcare has to come from somewhere!) The people who were complaining that the Government wasn’t doing enough to help first-time buyers are now complaining that the Government is encouraging first-time buyers to invest in a plummeting housing market. Sigh. Everyone’s gone a bit bananas.

The statisticians have gone a little crazy too. They are drawing up doom-laden graphs such as the one on this page, showing that the average house price has plummeted by 10.5% over the past year. Where I live, however, the prices have gone up by 2.5% during the same period. What gives?

Meanwhile, sitting on my bottom in my own modest dwelling, I’m dribbling - yet again - over my dream home. Here it is: (more…)

I’m thrilled that my post NEW-BUILD HOMES: A THRIFTY OPTION? has made it into the latest Carnival of Personal Finance!

The Carnival is hosted by Squawkfox this week, with a “City Slickers” theme. There is lots there, and I’d recommend checking it out.

My favourite post is THE BEST MONEY ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED, from Art of the Coupon. You’ll have to go visit to find out what it is though!

Following the steep rises in British Gas prices, Persimmon Homes has come up with an answer. Today the UK housebuilding giant put out a press release telling people to swap their current homes for new-builds.

Home owners looking to reduce this latest impact of the credit crunch on their bank balances should consider a move to a new build property, according to Persimmon Homes. Not only will purchasers save on the ongoing costs of maintenance on an older property but with new homes boasting excellent insulation they could make significant savings on their energy bills.  

Uh, right. The energy bills may be lower but truly, new-builds are not the housing option of choice for thrifty misses. This is because: (more…)