How did the banks go from last resort lenders to first resort lenders, i.e. are the banks operating a broken system? Are we now bailing out the banks with our own tax? Jasmine in London discusses ‘zombie banks.’ Have a watch, and let us know what you think below…

There are so many reasons why a purely digital currency scares me, though, so I will always argue for the necessity of cash.

The big baddie in that was the fact that they’re planning on putting up fuel duty (petrol and diesel) by a whopping 23% in March. That’s going to mean EVERYTHING will go up because of transport costs.

This is nuts! We’re in a recession and should be trying to help the economy, not hinder it. It will, of course, massively increase inflation too.

What do you think?

However, if I were you I would prepare for the worst and start putting money aside from now on each month, if you can, so that when you need to switch mortgage you will have some cash to fall back on. Of course, if you’re able to pay off a lump of the mortgage when you come to remortgage you will have less to pay off so, even if rates have gone up, you won’t have to pay so much extra each month as you will be paying off a lower principle.

Do be aware, too, that if things are really tough for you when you come to remortgage, you could still extend the term of your loan (depending on your age). So even if you have been paying it for five years, say, you don’t have to go for a 20-year repayment term. You could potentially have another 25-year one which would mean you would pay less per month. It’s not ideal. the better way is to pay it off quicker rather than over a longer term, but if things are really tough it’s one way of keeping costs down in the short-term.

Difference is, it’s not really the same kind of commitment. Once you come to the end of the contract you can get out of there. With a house you’ve paid a massive upfront deposit which you now stand to lose – home repossession is a nasty business!

Andre wrote:

Don’t want to be rude but I feel like you probably are a homeowner? Renting when the prices are sky high is awful. And they’re always rising.  I’m not saying that interest rates aren’t going to be a challenge for homeowners but I would love the kind of energy spent worrying about homeowners focused back on Generation Rent.

Oh yeah, because rent prices won’t go up, I’m sure…..

Difference is, it’s not really the same kind of commitment. Once you come to the end of the contract you can get out of there. With a house you’ve paid a massive upfront deposit which you now stand to lose – home repossession is a nasty business!