Archive | May, 2007
OK I have been circling in on the Nokia N95 for a while now, I have had it in my catanalotic ( consumerist ) sights since it was first released.
Yesterday I checked with a friend, Luke who had upgraded to the N95 some weeks previously, as to his general user experience of the mobile – he was most impressed; and he, like me, has preferred Sony Ericssons for years.
So, today, finally giving up with the sony Ericsson M600i which drops calls at will, I succumbed to the temptation which had been eating at me.
I turned the little Finnish beauty on (although the lady in the shop has told me that the battery will be ‘shafted’ if I don’t give it a full and uninterrupted charge first time round…), err. Anyway it is good, it has a beautifully named (German?) lens with a 5 megapixel camera, it has DVD quality video, a mobile with GPS!!, it has a WLAN sniffer, MP3 Radio, man Nokia have created a beauty here, this must be a loss leader in Nokia’s battle with Sony Ericsson – and Apple…
…more to come….
Now I have been described in certain quarters as a bit lackadaisical, sometimes irresponsible and even just plain stupid.
Now all of these descriptions refer to by financial dealings. Though I say it myself, in nearly all other areas of my life I conduct myself impeccably. I can plan ahead when it comes to cultivation, I can schedule a project and I can assess my nutritional assets when cooking for 20
However, fiscally I am a complete nobrainer. My credit has slipped from bad to worse and then even dropped off most scales.
<<if you are a lender or an investor please take this diatribe with a pinch of salt – I really am a very suitable candidate for a loan, mortgage or investment – honest >>
So, needless to say my credit history has a few default notices and a couple of CCJ’s on it – I was feeling pretty hopeless.
Then I perchanced upon bad credit mortgages from clickngo and, having gone through their mortgage calculator and spoken to their customer services I feel that a bad credit mortgage is not out of my reach. I will become a home owner.
Of course, if I do get the mortgage, I will probably default on it and have my home repossessed, that is in my nature, but, hey, thats life…………
Now I have had my share of car problems of late, I have had blowouts, flat batteries and break ins and my poor wee ford fiesta is still struggling along.
My current insurance company have looked after me quite well but I have been increasingly aware that I should look online for a new motor insurance quote.
The thing is that CIS Insurance appear to better the offers that my existing car insurance provider are offering me. They can come up with both no claim and introductory discounts, all great money saving enticements, especially with the 10% online discount
The internet really is creating an environment where the savvy web user can easily find the best deals, rock on the www.
Wow, get me away from it, the Nokia N95 is calling to me, whispering sweet nothings to me, there is even an advert, a full wall advert, which waves at me on the way to work.
I would love to turn one on – and I am closing on it…..
Always looking to justify that next purchase I have been looking into getting a good bit of Sat Nav installed in me Fiesta – probably doubling the value of the car.
Looking at the beautifully designed TomTom website I see that they are producing a lovely XL version with a high quality widescreen touchscreen.
These little beauties will help you find your way in almost any country in on the planet.
Now, as I have considered here previoulsy a portable global positioning system can’t really be said to be necessary for my sedentary lifestyle.
It is either that or for my TomTom Sat Nav GPS needs I shall have to look into hooking up my Sony Ericsson M600i to a bluetooth gps transmitter.
But consider that they can house a 20Gig mp3 collection, they’ll do me in car handsfree, they will talk to me when I am alone in the car… I need one, I want to flick its switch and turn the baby on……
Posted in Media on 09. May, 2007
kind of checking whether or not the Sony Ericsson will update my blog.
Proof is in the pud.
Posted in Car on 08. May, 2007
It was a long bank holiday in central Wales ( Pant-y-Dwr ) to be precise and we had been most wonderfully entertained in the old farmhouse ( now buddhist retreat ).
Leaving on Saturday evening we were all crammed into the Ford Fiesta, which is our family car – not quite an MPV or Estates, but economical and reliable.
The route took us via Leomister ( pronounced lemster ) and Worcerster ( pronounced as it is written -erm…not ) and spouted us on to the M network heading North. We took the M42 near Birmingham ( London 121 miles ) and hummed along to regular RedBulls™.
The car started juddering around 60 miles from London, this getting increasingly bad when the speed dropped below 65.
I assumed that the problem was mechanical ( cambelts, sparkplugs??? ) – I did not suspect a tyre as I had checked these in Bristol and they appeared fine still before leaving.
Anyway – 12 miles from our destination ( Brighton ), the front driver’s side trye blew into pieces at 70mph in the outside lane.
The car hel its course and, thankfully, our Car Insurance company’s roadside assistance package delivered admirably and our new spare tyre was fitted and in use within 40 minutes of the blowout.
This is my shag cloud for this year.
Shirley Sally
Anabel Victoria Emily Mary
Desdemona Lucy Jill Rachel Ruby
Lorna Nicola
Pension Release is a term applied to the process on unlocking funds from a Pension scheme.
If you are over 50 and have money tied up in a pension to which you no longer contribute it is often a tempting idea to release these funds as you will be able t o make better use of them now.
Pension Release ( or Pension Unlocking) is a financial process by which you can apply for all or part of the funds in the policy.
It should be noted, however, that, often you will end up with less money than you would if you waited until the policy to mature.
A company pension release or personal pension release can offer the funds almost immediatley although you will have less money to live on upon reaching retirement age and policy maturation.
It is, therefor recommended that, if you are interested in pension release you consult with an impartial financial advisor ( FSA accredited ) before making any decisions which could affect your long term financial future.
Pension Release Information
Pension Release is a process available in the UK to those over the age of 50 who have funds locked up in pension schemes which would not normally be available to them until retirement/ maturation of the policy.
Grove FP are an independent financial services company which has been set up to allow anyone considering ‘cashing in their pension’ to have a completely clear picture of the process, the choices available and the considerations which must be taken into account.
This is extremely important as in many cases accessing this money early, quite like withdrawing from a high interest deposit account, can mean that the total sum obtained is considerably less than that which would have been paid upon retirement age.
However, there are many cases where unlocking a pension scheme prior to retirement can make funds available to the policy holder’s benefit; thus allowing one to make use of the money immediately for a special purpose or occasion. Certainly having money locked up and seemingly inaccessible in a pension scheme can be a major irritant.
Done properly and with sound financial advice it is possible to take out a lump sum tax free – up to 25% – or to choose to take payment via annuities.
