Reduce The Red-Tape Burden On Business

This week has seen the medical lobby start calling for a 20p tax levied on sugary drinks to be included in the UK's next budget. While the rationale behind the call can't be ignored (sugary soft drinks don't make any sense for those with no self-will) its introduction would add another piece of administrative burden on businesses already struggling in the recession. It wasn't that long ago that a leading government Minister was advocating one piece of legislation being dropped for each new one coming in to reduce red-tape burden on business. That seems to have been forgotten, it's all gone very quiet on that front. 

Now there is no guarantee that this will make it into the budget but we are getting into the season when specialist lobby groups will start putting forward their well meaning agendas. When politicians seem to do so much to pander to public opinion there is every chance that some of these will come into being. What a shame it would be if this were to happen. Oh yes, there's the cost in implementing it within government too and within HMRC. That never gets taken into account. And we thought that government spending was to be coming down. Same old same old I guess.

The Green Deal Joke

The UK government has announced the details of the long awaited Green Deal. Despite it being on the cards for years it appears that the mandarins in Whitehall have, as many suspect, got no idea of how the marketplace works and even less idea of what is and isn't affordable. Let's look at some of the ludicrous elements of the 'deal':

• The loan which can be up to 25 years stays with the property and not with the person who takes out the loan - what sense is there in this? Who in there right mind would bother looking at a house that had such a loan attached to it? It would be in addition to any mortgage they would need to buy it. Utter madness. This will make such houses unsellable - hardly useful for getting the property market going again.
• Interest rates that are higher than can be obtained on the high street make no sense at all even if you wanted to take out such a loan. There are no incentives whatsoever to take out such a loan if you are able to get one from a reputable lender. Of course, if you have trouble getting a loan then this monopoly offering will cost you dear.
• "Approved Green Deal Installers" will advise on what needs to be done to improve insulation etc. after an assessor (independent?) has visited people's homes. So the more that gets recommended to be done the more work the installers get and the more homeowners have to pay out at an over-inflated interest rate for up to 25 years? Not sure about Green Deal, seems more like the Greed Deal for everyone apart from homeowners.
• Oh yes, it's worth mentioning that there's no guarantee that you'll make savings in your heating bills equivalent to the loan you took out. And, if you did take out a loan and wanted to pay it off sooner than the 25 years - you would be charged for the privilege of that too.

Avoid the Green Deal, it makes no sense at all. I wonder how much money the government has wasted dreaming up such a crackpot scheme? Maybe I don't want to no the answer to that. 

The Benefits Of Charity Shops On Our High Streets

The number of charity shops on our high streets has grown massively in the past 10 years or so. Many will say that this is a sign of the times and maybe it is. But let's look at this and see what benefits charity shops bring.

Firstly - as far as the high street itself is concerned it is far better having a charity shop up and running than having a boarded up shop front.

Secondly - for the charities themselves it's a great way to get their name known and for them to add another revenue stream, whether they are a small local charity or a large national one.  

Thirdly - they play an important role in a society and community where not everyone can afford new clothes or other goods each season.

Fourth - they provide employment that otherwise wouldn't exist in the forms of paid employment (often for shop managers) and voluntary for those who want to help out and are able to do so (again, building the community).

Fifth - they promote re-use which in today's consumer led society can only be a good thing. Not everything that we no longer need or want is completely worn out or broken so why shouldn't someone else benefit from it.

So whether you donate to them, buy from them or volunteer in them there are many benefits and next to no draw-backs in having charity shops on our high streets - let's celebrate them why don't we.

Size Matters When You Are Buying Food

Be careful next time you are out doing your food shopping. If you are used to buying particular products on a regular basis you probably just pick them off the supermarket shelf and put them in your basket without even thinking. This, of course, is what the supermarkets and the producers want you to do, especially the big name brands. You see, what they are very clever at doing is varying the size and quantity of what's inside the packaging and at the same time promoting special offers and discounts. On top of this the different sized packets are often side by side on the shelves making it difficult to decide which is the best buy while trying to remember what you bought last time. 

To be fair most of the big supermarkets, in the UK at least, do put up prices per 100g etc. which does allow you to compare different products and brands. Nevertheless, it can be daunting at times trying to figure out whether the tub of soft cheese you are looking at is the same as the one you've just run out of at home. To make matters worse the size differences aren't always that much, 200g verses 300g isn't a great deal and it would be easy to pick up the wrong one by mistake. There's no doubt about it that we all need to be aware of these differences and be prepared to do a little mental arithmetic to make sure we get the best deal for ourselves. 

Size does of course matter but getting the best value for money in our food shopping is even more important.

7 Ways to Save on Your Weekly Food Shopping

How much do you spend on your weekly food shopping? Surprisingly many people don't actually know, they just go out and buy what they need as and when they need it and don't think about how much it adds up to. That's the benefit of shops being full of what we need as and when we need it but it can make us lazy about budgeting. Chances are you are spending more than you think you are, those quick trips to the shops add up!

To reduce your weekly food budget try out some or all of the following:

1. Buy supermarket own brand products instead of famous name brands - they are just as good and cost a great deal less
2. Look out for special promotions - but only on the things you buy anyway, don't get suckered into buying because 'it's on offer'
3. Use local independent shops for some of your food - check out what they have to offer, it's a myth that they are always more expensive
4. Get to know the prices of things you usually buy so that you recognise a good deal when you see it
5. Shop around - each of the supermarket chains will have different things on offer at any one time  
6. Collect and use the points and vouchers that supermarkets provide - they aren't much but they are something
7. Supermarkets mark down goods at the end of the day when the use by dates are nearly up - great for food you can use quickly or freeze

There really are lots of ways to reduce what you spend on food if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Shop Locally or Lose Your High Street For Good

The start of the new year has seen poor sales figures in the run up to Christmas and the failure of some familiar high street names. Not good indicators of economic growth. Fortunately there hasn't been any more money created to pump into the economy, money that has to be paid for eventually but there's no guarantee that there won't be any more quantitive easing this year. The UK's AAA credit rating is clinging on by its nails.

Individuals and families can do little to make any difference to these big economic issues but they can make a real difference closer to home. Think about where you spend your weekly outgoings. For most people alot of this will go to large businesses, supermarkets being the prime example. Now no-one is denying that supermarkets don't provide employment but the profits made at your local supermarket don't stay in your area, they get sucked out to head office and end up with institutional shareholders.

We should choose to spend a proportion of our 'weekly shop' at local independent stores, after all they are part of our community and by and large offer better service and quality. Look around your own high street and see what shops are left. Without our support they will go under. Decide how much you will spend, 10% seems like a reasonable figure, and what you will buy locally - and stick to it.

Manufacturing Means More Than Retail

Well it's one of those unusual days in the UK when there is snow on the ground almost everywhere. Coming on a Friday most people will feel like it's just going to be a long week-end, albeit a colder one. Just think for a moment though about those small businesses, retailers, farmers and others who are going to be hit hard by this. Not being able to trade or in the case of farmers loosing lambs because it's so cold (yes, in the south of the country lambs are starting to be born already) will have an impact down the line. Three or four days of less footfall in shopping centres and on the high streets of Britain will show up in the quarterly retail figures out in April. Just listen out for the reasons for a dip in sales including 'that cold snap in January that kept the shoppers away'.

Surely the country doesn't really need to rely on retail therapy and shopping for essentials to drive its economic growth? Retail still gets seen as an indicator of economic prosperity for some reason. Wouldn't it make far more sense if we focussed in the news on manufacturing output and the export of high value goods. There are good stories out there of manufacturers exporting. While much of the recent news about car sales has been gloomy the top end of the market is extremely buoyant. Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) while no longer British owned all produce much of their output for overseas customers. You can bet the workforces at these plants won't let a little bit of snow stop them getting into work - they have lots to be getting on with and exporting excellent British goods around the world.

Supermarkets Aren't Just Killing Off Small Shops

The fiasco that the UK Hight Street has seen in only the first two weeks of 2013 is something everyone should be concerned about. First it was Jessops, a well established photography retailer going into administration and then this week, HMV. Notwithstanding the terrible ordeal of thousands losing their jobs (and that is bad enough) it adds yet more empty store-fronts in the high streets and shopping malls of the UK. Many have been saying that out-of-town shopping malls are the way of the future yet even these are suffering as the world of retail steadily changes, or rather, we the consumer changes the way we buy things.

It is a sad fact that in most developing countries the supermarkets, many of which can only really be reached by car, have taken a huge chunk out of the food market leaving only specialists offering niche products, to survive elsewhere. Supermarkets now stock far more than just food. Go into any large one and you'll find up to half the aisles full of non-food items, again hitting at the livelihoods of not only small local specialist stores but also of national chains such as Jessops and HMV. OK, maybe supermarkets may not be entirely to blame for these two companies going bust but they have played their part, as have their online sites too. Now that supermarkets are trying to get back into our high streets by opening smaller stores (where they used to be in the first place of course) it really is difficult to see how smaller local shops will survive long-term.

Perhaps the only thing to do is to use them and shop locally - now that won't catch on, will it?

Radically Simplify Things To Get Things Moving Again

When it come to the big picture it doesn't get much bigger than government finances. Think family finances and multiply it a few million times and add in the ridiculously complex financial markets and you get an idea of what's going on - or, more likely than not, you don't get an idea. In fact, does anyone truly understand all the complexity that surrounds government and country finances? It seems that as each year passes the level of complexity goes up a notch and everyone seems to accept this as the norm. This is complete madness.

While it is understandable to think that 'means testing' and only making sure the right people get pensions (just one current example but there are many more) is the right thing to do, the bureaucracy involved in making such assessments is astronomical. Think about the public sector staff involved, their costs, buildings, IT systems that never quite seem to work and then consider the time and effort individuals have to put in to fill out tax returns, pension statements etc. 

Just think how much easier and cheaper for the country as a whole if such systems were simplified massively. Not just tinkering around the edges, radically simplifying things so that whole swathes of the public sector could be cut and individual effort could be put towards productive activities that benefit all, the state included. No there's a thought.

Throwing Out Food Is Like Throwing Away Money

With so much in the news about the amount of food that gets thrown away it's worth just thinking for a moment about how we buy our food, store our food and use it. Firstly we shouldn't get too excited about all the headline grabbing numbers that have been thrown around. The findings they were supposedly objectively reporting spoke of 'up to half may be thrown away' which sounded far better as 'half of all food is thrown away' in a headline! Why do we throw away food? The most obvious reason is that it's gone off or is well past its sell-by or use-by date (be sensible, you don't need to throw it away the day after the sell-by date). So if the food has obviously 'gone off' you need to ditch it but why have you been keeping it for so long in the first place? We all keep far too much food in our cupboards and fridges which is one of the reasons why some of it will ultimately go to waste. 

The days of having to hoard food are far gone. We have shops that are regularly stocked and easy to get to - they are our cupboards now and the produce is always fresh.

Just think about how much food you keep in at any one time and consider how much gets thrown away. You really can make a change in the way you buy and store food and it will have a positive impact on your wallet too. Next time you throw some food into the bin just imagine throwing the coins and notes in there instead.

What Will Become of the High Street?

There have been so many big name retailers going to the wall over the last few years it is hard not to recognise a serious shift in the High Street. At the same time we still have large, strong brands that are dominating each and every shopping centre and mall and a handful of supermarkets that sell far more than just food. So what is happening to retail? Yes, the internet and online sales have made a huge difference particularly for goods that most of us now consider to be consumables. To a certain extent the High Street has become something of a place of leisure and a place to meet others. The proliferation of coffee shops be they small independents or large chains make it easy to arrange to meet someone 'in town' but does it really attract people in to buy other goods? Not really.

The High Street now is very different from even the turn of the century with many once familiar names now missing. What will it look like in another 5 or 10 years time? Coffee shops, charity shops and boarded up stores dominate now together with more 'gift shops' and £1 stores than can possibly be necessary. Totnes is striving to keep as many specialist independent stores as possible and that is to be welcomed yet is it really feasible for all parts of the country?

As more shopping goes online and to the really big retailers and into out-of-town shopping malls it is debatable as to whether there will even be a Hight Street in the not too distant future. Maybe they will become much smaller and become more leisure related areas and maybe some will disappear altogether and be replaced by residential areas. It's anyone's guess but at some point soon there will be a town or village that effectively looses its High Street, if it hasn't already done so.

How Many New Cars Are Bought With Loans?

The 5.3% rise in new car registrations in the UK (to 2,044,609 vehicles) is an economic indicator of some kind, but what type? Is it an indicator that the economy is finally recovering, albeit slowly? Or is it a leading indicator that after a few years of poor sales the car industry is now doing all it can to persuade people that now is the time to buy a new car as opposed to second-hand one? The interesting aspect of the data is that Private sales are also up and represent 45.5% of the total. What we don't know though is how these private purchases have been funded. If, as is entirely possible, the majority have been funded by loans of some description then that only goes to increase individual and family debt which is the last thing people need.

Individual and family debt means that any increase in income goes on paying off the debt which does nothing for the benefit of the individual or family and at the same time has a neutral impact on the economy of the country. That is, of course, providing the debt starts to get paid off and that can be a big if unfortunately. When debt levels of individuals and families are low or zero, increases in income can have a positive impact on the individual/family in that they can choose to save or spend. Either way, that will have a positive impact on the economy. What any country needs is for that income to be spent 'at home' as opposed to on goods from overseas. The more that happens, the more the economy can recover - but it does take time.

Reliance on the Service Sector is a Smokescreen

The much publicised slump in service sector activity in the UK highlights a real stumbling block to economic recovery. What most people fail to realise is that the service sector simply services other elements of the economy and doesn't bring in much revenue from abroad. Only by bringing in revenues from overseas can a country's economy grow. Now for those who say that the financial services sector bucks this trend by bringing in enormous amounts of revenue from overseas (how often do we have to hear about London being the financial capital of the world?) let's think carefully about that. What good has that done for the UK as a whole? Not a vast amount is the answer as the wealth it creates stays within a very small area. The concept of Trickle Down has failed.

What any country needs to do is focus on what it does well and what it can do better than others so that people are prepared to pay for it - competitive advantage. Yes, financial services is one area the UK does well in but there could be so many more if only the ability for businesses to set-up and start trading wasn't so hamstrung by red-tape. Only business driven growth can work in the long-term which means a drastic reduction in the size of the state - maybe that could be the subject of a future post.

The Return of Mortgage Madness

So the news in the UK is that the banks are finally going to start lending to people to buy houses again. Of course they have only had special assistance from the government for months and months now, I wonder where all that money went? Anyway, making it easier for people to get on to the housing ladder must be a good thing, right? No, of course it isn't. Not if you believe that the banks will be lending 90% of house values again - remember what happened the last time. It's such reckless lending that is still hitting so many individuals and families who lost the roofs over their heads and were saddled with enormous debts.

Is the national memory that useless that at the start of a new year people (just in the media?) ignore the lessons of the not so distant past and start advocating borrowing beyond people's means? Maybe it's because the accumulation of debt has become so commonplace in the country and elsewhere in the West that it doesn't make any sense to do anything else. Let's think about things rationally for a change. Don't borrow more than you can sensibly pay back, don't lend to people who will really struggle to repay and start to recognise the fact that in the workplace of the future most people won't have safe secure jobs-for-life, they will have a myriad of jobs and portfolio careers (thanks Charles Handy for that one) and just think about the risks involved in that Mr Banker.

The UK Put Austerity On Hold During 2012

So many countries around Europe are feeling the heat of really deep cuts in government spending and people losing their jobs because no-one has the money to keep their consumer led economies going. Up to now the UK has talked about austerity measures and a recovering economy but in comparison to Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland the UK is just fine. So why is this? It can't be down to the UK not having the Euro as it's currency as many small minded politicians would have people believe. 

For those who love conspiracies this may sound like common sense, for everyone else it will probably feel very uncomfortable. There was no way the UK government was going to allow the country to suffer the economic pain seen by others during 2012 for two simple reasons - the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics/Paralympics. The rest of the world couldn't see a country of the stature of the UK struggling while staging such significant events. The long-term reputational damage would have been catastrophic.

So what happens next? Well, let's hope for the long-term benefit of the country the cuts start to hit and people start to notice. The danger is that the politicians now believe their own spin and will continue down the same slippery slope hoping to win back their 'jobs' at the next General Election.