2009: How was it for you?
Christine Whitfield reviews the highs and lows of 2009.
So how was it for you? After twelve months of chaos, catastrophe and sometimes just plain craziness, 2009 is set to draw to a close. Before we welcome in 2010 in the hope a new decade will bring with it some good news, let's take a look back at some of the highs (surely there were some?) and lows (of which there were plenty) of 2009.
A glimmer of hope
As the year began, there was a sense of hope across much of America as Barack Obama took office. After a pretty dreadful 2008, a change in leadership for the world's most powerful country gave everyone a glimmer of hope that things may be on the up. They weren't. At least not where finance in concerned.
In the UK, we were greeted with the news that Britain was officially in recession for the first time since 1991. Happy New Year!
And if that wasn't enough to maximise your January blues, house prices continued to fall, with Nationwide's housing data revealing prices fell by 16.6% year on year.
Savings hit a record low
Savers were handed a kick in the teeth in February when interest rates were cut to 0.5% - the lowest rate on record. No wonder the average saving rate hit record lows.
The Monetary Policy Meeting that month also brought the subject of Quantitative Easing to the fore. By the end of the year the government would announce £200bn would be pumped into the banking system
Green shoots emerge
As we entered Spring, there were few signs of those illustrious green shoots we were told would be appearing. Instead we discovered just how bad things were when April's budget revealed the UK would have to borrow a massive £175bn. Chancellor Alastair Darling cheered us all up by telling us the economy was facing its worst year since World War II. Happy Days.
The chancellor did decide to help some savers though by raising the amount over 50s can deposit in a cash ISA to £5,100.
April also saw the G20 Summit. As leaders from around the world gathered to discuss the economic recession, amongst other things, London lost its head for a few days. Rioters royally trashed the headquarters of Royal Bank of Scotland, seen by many as the symbol of all that was wrong in the world of finance.
MPs and bankers
News in May was dominated by the MPs' expenses scandal. As the public tried to cope with the doom and gloom of redundancies, it was far from comforting to hear that MPs were treating themselves to duck houses and moats at our expense.
Who can you trust? We've lost confidence in banks, in the government and in the economy.
The Pre Budget Report in December was seen by many as Labour's last chance to get to prove their worth. And the general consensus seems to be that they failed. By not extending the stamp duty holiday implemented 15 months before the government made things even more difficult for first-time buyers. A sobering thought amid the festive fun.
And it seemed the party was over for bankers as Darling announced all bank bonuses over £25,000 would be subject to a one of 50% tax. The lament of "finally!" was almost audible up and down the country.
How was it for you?
How did things work out for you in 2009? Was it a good or a bad year, financially? What are your views on how the economic events of the year were handled? Please share your views using the comments box below!
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Never, in the field of human conflict, have so many been impoverished by so few. With apologies to the great Winston Churchill, who compared to the pigmies of this New Labour administration was a lion of a man. The Hard Labour experiment has failed because, as usual, they combined reckless spending with the use of a lot of other peoples' money. It has always been the same since the Labour party crawled out of its' shell and will always be so in the future. The main reason why we're taking such a battering now that will magnify many times over during the next 2 or 3 years is that New Labour have been in office for nearly 13 years! That means 20% or so of you out there were stupid enough to vote Labour in 1997 and again in 2001 and 2005. Ye reap what ye sow!!
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2009 started bad as was forced to retire, aged 66. I had wanted to stay on till age 68. Still, mortgage paid off, savings increasing, bonds increasing, waist line increasing as keep going out to eat. Am cheerful as have my health and, a fair lump each month as disposable income Part of my income has reduced due to poor interest rates, losing about £300 a month on that front. That can only increase with time. To all those that say don't save or pay into a pension, think very carefully and redo your sums. To all those people that told me not to save etc, go take a running jump as you were wrong. 2009 has ended on a good note, 2010 is going to be a lot better.
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2009 has been both disappointing and amusing. The only real impact for myself has been the increasing fuel costs, for petrol but electricity and gas prices foremost. The petrol increase has made me try and work from home more often (which is great!) but as my other half points out, what percentage increase of petrol prices would it really take before the majority of the working and car-commuting public change their driving habits? The real impact has been on my electricity and gas costs which have trebled in just over 2 years. I've had the house insulated (loft and walls), boiler serviced (it's efficient, I am told), it's already double glazed, I use low energy light bulbs, turn the computers etc off, so cannot do much more to reduce the costs (any other suggestions welcome). I am currently with npower so will get this reviewed on one of the comparison websites when I have a spare 30 mins or so. The amusement of 2009 for me has been the MPs expenses scandals! And the ricochet effect in other countries, e.g. Ireland, of other MPs also doing the same thing. Marvellous. How much must the tax payer fork out to ensure that these guys don't fiddle the books? House prices for me has been less relevant for two simple reasons - you gotta live somewhere after all (think of it as a place to live rather than an investment ...) and the interest rate has fallen so I am effectively over paying by a good percentage which is great. That's it from me. Happy 2010 everyone.
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01 January 2010