Ok so I'm no expert on the economy but I've been listening to the Robert Peston crash course on boom and bust 'stuff'.
Like many I got caught out last year by the Transleisure fiasco when everything on the economy front was on the up and up. Houses never go down, we need immigrants, have a mortgage and furnish your house at the same time on credit. But I never believed it. Everyone was wealthy, even heard of a family on benefits receiving a car because they 'needed' it.
Now the ftse is plunging, the pound is/has sunk to a low, houses dropped significantly in value, pensions been slashed, de-leveraging and so on. We're going to borrow our way out of this mess.
My point is that at this time the business side of the leisure industry, usually the first of many to suffer, is heading towards difficult times. After and all my mate Robert said this is once in a lifetime event.
For anyone out there about to buy low cost gadgets to big ticket items I think there's a need now to make sure you're protected. In theory there are various guarantees (credit cards for example) but no one likes to lose money so maybe a few hurdles will appear. What we may think is safe and sure today may not be the case in the days and weeks ahead.
I have no answers but I would not like to see anyone who enjoys our lifestyle/hobby losing out to an unscrupulous dealer/vendor who may know his time is limited yet unlikely to tell you.
Thereagain this could also be an opportunity.
Like many I got caught out last year by the Transleisure fiasco when everything on the economy front was on the up and up. Houses never go down, we need immigrants, have a mortgage and furnish your house at the same time on credit. But I never believed it. Everyone was wealthy, even heard of a family on benefits receiving a car because they 'needed' it.
Now the ftse is plunging, the pound is/has sunk to a low, houses dropped significantly in value, pensions been slashed, de-leveraging and so on. We're going to borrow our way out of this mess.
My point is that at this time the business side of the leisure industry, usually the first of many to suffer, is heading towards difficult times. After and all my mate Robert said this is once in a lifetime event.
For anyone out there about to buy low cost gadgets to big ticket items I think there's a need now to make sure you're protected. In theory there are various guarantees (credit cards for example) but no one likes to lose money so maybe a few hurdles will appear. What we may think is safe and sure today may not be the case in the days and weeks ahead.
I have no answers but I would not like to see anyone who enjoys our lifestyle/hobby losing out to an unscrupulous dealer/vendor who may know his time is limited yet unlikely to tell you.
Thereagain this could also be an opportunity.
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have only themselves to blame. As a young lad standing staring, dreaming and hoping even, at expensive toy cars in shops, my Dad used to bring me back down to planet earth very quickly...."put your hand in your pocket and see if you have enough money to buy that toy car, if you don't.....start saving!" Seems harsh? Maybe......but it taught me never ever to expect somebody else to shove the money at me, only to have to pay it back with whacking interest charges.