The Anonymous Widower

Tasmania

We all seem to forget about Tasmania.

I always remember my mother telling a tale about how at Dame Alice Owen’s School, a teacher came into the lesson, one morning and said she wanted a map of the world in five minutes.  When they’d all finished, the teacher, then asked who had put in Tasmania. I’m not sure whether my mother ever said, if she had.

I never really thought much about the State and in fact, it was the place least on the list of places I was likely to visit. After all it was so far away.

But one of my regrets in life, is when I flew round Australia with C, in a Piper Arrow, was that we didn’t do it properly and visit everywhere we could.  But C was worried, that a long holiday might result in other members of her chambers, stealing all her work.  If there is another profession, more paranoid than barristers, I haven’t found it.

But now Tasmania is going farther than anywhere else with a smoking ban for anybody born after 2000. It’s here in the Telegraph.

One of these days, I might get to Tasmania, but it would be a great surprise if I did, as there are so many places to explore without a long boring flight. Unless of course, I go by boat.  Whoever heard of ship lag anyway!

January 22, 2013 Posted by | News, Transport/Travel | , , | 2 Comments

Tips For New Zopa Users

When you start using Zopa, you’re obviously going to go down a few blind alleys or do things wrong.

Here’s a few tips.

I always keep a record of the interest rates I have set and how much money, I lend out on particular days. Thus, if I find that money is sticking and not being lent, I can drop my rates slightly to see the effect. Zopa’s information helps in this way, but your own records are invaluable. I keep my records in Excel, but there is nothing wrong with an old-fashioned notebook or as my mate, Brian, would say, the back of an old envelope or fag packet. But then he was a real accountant!

I’d also check the minimum amount you are prepared to lend to each borrower.  My limit is £100 and I’ve generally found that to be good and fairly safe.

I also don’t have AutoLend switched on.  I just transfer the money to the offer, when it comes in. I have in the past found that sometimes having a few hundred pounds in Zopa is faster to get into my bill paying account, than waiting for my pension to come in. With money, timing is everything!

Make sure you have Rapid Return switched on, so that you can accept loans, that other lenders want to cash in.  I’ve got seventy loans that way and not one has gone belly up on me. You may not pick up many loans that way, but they’ll generally be good ones.

January 22, 2013 Posted by | Finance, World | , | Leave a comment

Doing A Favour For A Friend

Last night, I renewed my friend’s domain name, as I’d originally registered it and it’s easier for me to do.

He then needed to pay me twenty four pounds, so late last night, he sent me a direct transfer to my bank account.

it was duly there this morning, when I checked my bank account.

But all the statement said, was that it was a credit of the requisite amount, labelled as just a credit.

As it was, I obviously knew what it was, so there was no problem. But surely in this day and age of good computer systems, that the banks could add a bit more detail to the statement, as soon as the money arrives.

The banks could actually use fully annotated statements as a marketing and selling point for their services.

But they don’t! No wonder people don’t like banks.

What a wunch of bankers!

January 22, 2013 Posted by | Finance, World | | 3 Comments

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