General Holiday Enquiries, Hints and Tips

General Holiday Enquiries? Got General Hints & Tips? Post Them Here.
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http://www.crowncurrencyexchange.com/index.asp?adloc=Google&gclid=CKD3mvWc-5gCFYQI3wodFSLJmA

rates: collection 2nd july 1.1505, collection12 july 1.1675, collection 12th july 1.1750, collection 26th aug 1.1825.

Thomas cook are offering 1.1325
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How the heck we can have low inflation, when gas, electric, water, petrol, derv and council tax which make up many working people's main expenditures are at an all time high price is beyond me.


Yes, lots of things have gone up but not everything has - I don't know about others but my mortgage has plummeted to an all time low since interest rates dropped. At the moment I'm actually left with more of my salary unspent at the end of the month than ever before and overall, my monthly outgoings are lower than they have been for at least 12 months because of the amount by which my monthly mortgage payments have dropped. What I'm, therefore, saving is being salted away in the holiday account. The pound might have dropped against the Euro but this year I'll end up with more money than ever to spend whilst away.

I appreciate that people without a mortgage for whatever reason are not going to benefit in the same way from low interest rates and people who rely on the interest on savings to supplement their income will have a very different perspective on whether low interest rates are a good thing or not. Also, I've benefitted from the fact that my latest pay rise WAS based on the inflation rate in October - a commitment that my employer gave when they clearly never expected it to top 5% but which they still honoured as part of a long term pay deal concluded 3 years ago. And clearly, others ARE in the habit of spending a great deal more whilst on holiday than I am. So all in all I am benefitting from being in a deflationary situation but I doubt that I'm sitting alone in my own little deflationary bubble - anybody on an interest only tracker mortgage will have benefitted as well. In fact probably more than me because mine is a repayment mortgage and includes an element of paying off the capital too yet I am still quids in.

SM
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Mortgage payments don't come into inflation figures, don't worry the rate will go back up and you will be hit by rising prices and a higher mortgage payment. Its like house prices don't either, the government was unhappy when house prices fell but it didn't affect the inflation figures, bet they were glad house prices were not added to inflation figures when prices were rocketing. Inflation running at 15% a year and it would of kept the silly prices in check with the need of higher rates.
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SMa wrote:
How the heck we can have low inflation, when gas, electric, water, petrol, derv and council tax which make up many working people's main expenditures are at an all time high price is beyond me.


Yes, lots of things have gone up but not everything has - I don't know about others but my mortgage has plummeted to an all time low since interest rates dropped. At the moment I'm actually left with more of my salary unspent at the end of the month than ever before and overall, my monthly outgoings are lower than they have been for at least 12 months because of the amount by which my monthly mortgage payments have dropped. What I'm, therefore, saving is being salted away in the holiday account. The pound might have dropped against the Euro but this year I'll end up with more money than ever to spend whilst away.

I appreciate that people without a mortgage for whatever reason are not going to benefit in the same way from low interest rates and people who rely on the interest on savings to supplement their income will have a very different perspective on whether low interest rates are a good thing or not. Also, I've benefitted from the fact that my latest pay rise WAS based on the inflation rate in October - a commitment that my employer gave when they clearly never expected it to top 5% but which they still honoured as part of a long term pay deal concluded 3 years ago. And clearly, others ARE in the habit of spending a great deal more whilst on holiday than I am. So all in all I am benefitting from being in a deflationary situation but I doubt that I'm sitting alone in my own little deflationary bubble - anybody on an interest only tracker mortgage will have benefitted as well. In fact probably more than me because mine is a repayment mortgage and includes an element of paying off the capital too yet I am still quids in.

SM


Lucky you. You obviously havent got two children to feed, keep warm, bath, etc etc. So one thing has gone down in price and 5 or 6 things have gone up. I never said there were not the odd few winners under the current scenario, but it seems to me that there are an awful lot of losers, including all the others who not only are not getting a 5% payrise but are actually losing their jobs. :( Don't think the Euro currency woe is of much worry to them, presumably they have more pressing concerns.

Bit :offtop really now.
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the shoe is on the other foot if you rent....have a family ....and run a car.....about time they added cost of a normal families weekly shop to the list they use to calculate the inflation figures.....a tin of cheap tuna used to be 29p in tesco....it was 57p last time I went for some.....most of what goes in my trolly has risen by more than inflation figures given and more than can be accounted for by the fall in the pound....the big supermarkets are making huge profits ....no wonder....but the fall in the pound and the credit crunch as excuse for price rises dont wash with me anymore...

ps I too have morgage but not big enough to cause what I save each month to balance with all the extra cash Im paying out otherwise.....my cats not happy either
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I used to buy tesco's sweetner, it was 36p in a glass jar now its about a £ in a plastic jar. Many items have gone up over 40%, my monthly electric and gas payments by direct debit have gone from £55 per month to £165 per month, I am dumping southern electric soon. The biggest rip off was the high oil prices and high petrol price, the £ was over 2 dollars but that didn't help, now the oil price has fallen and the £ has fallen its petrol prices are high because of the weaker £, the £ is worth over $1.60 and the long term average. We had cheaper fuel than we have now with a higher cost per barrel of oil and a lower value against the dollar. Retailers call the UK treasure island.

If the £ went 3 euros the price in the supermarkets would stay the say, and bet the now the £ is worth 17% more we won't see prices in the supermarkets drops. German blue brie I used to buy double in price when the £ was forced out of the ERM but six months late is was back on par with the german mark but not 1p came off the cost of the cheese, a massive rise and a nice little earner for the supermarkets. In europe food prices have dropped while ours have gone up. :think profiteering going on.
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my monthly electric and gas payments by direct debit have gone from £55 per month to £165 per month,


DO,DO,DO challenge them over this! Both gas and electric companies are gaining a reputation for setting direct debits at a rate that builds up an excessive surplus - ie you end up giving them a free loan of your money. Faced with a similar steep rise I dug out my old bills to check my usage, then phoned and asked them to justify the increase. Yes, I could see that the price per unit had gone up and my DD would need to be increased but by nowhere near the amount they were asking for. The phone operator was clearly used to this and immediately offerd me a revised figure downwards - I still challenged this and offered to pay a lower figure but which I reckoned would still cover my annual usage and leave a small surplus after 12 months. This was then accepted without any argument.

Unless this overall increase covers a long period of gradual increases over a couple of years or you had built up a large debit on your account with them for some reason (eg your had been underpaying for quite some time), then I can't see how they could possibly argue that anybody needed to treble their monthly direct debit like this. Contact them and ask for a breakdown of how they arrived at this figure.

SM
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Things are looking up, and it looks like going to get a very good rate for July, hoping we see 1.20 at least

Travel agents last monday opened with around 1.09, and closed and fri at 1.1411

Drop in the euro on sat, so they open with round 1.1237

To be on the safe side, I bought £2000 worth of euro at 1.1411, but will have to wait until sat, if it goes down, getting rate 1.1411, if it goes up, they will give me that rate

Hopefully by 18 June we will be lookingat 1.17, and if it builds on this then everyone should get a reasonable exchange rate
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just need to hold me nerve for another couple of weeks....and hoping it keeps rising
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phew ! I am hanging on here and hping that by the time I go it will have made 1.20

I am such an optimist :rofl
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Think im going to have to bite the bullet and get mine today. M&S are offering 1.12 to the £ and Travelcare have said they will price match it (its nearer for me to go to Travelcare than M&S). I dont fly until the weekend but its just one less thing for me to worry about if I get them today and I cant see it making much difference whether I buy today or Friday :que

Sarah :)
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sarah

Why don't you buy off crown currencies they are offering 1.1512 if you have time.

http://www.crowncurrencyexchange.com/index.asp?adloc=Google&gclid=CKD3mvWc-5gCFYQI3wodFSLJmA

Thomas cook on line are offering 1.1399

Post office is offering 1.1390
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Ill have a think about it. To purchase online, you need to enter card details and I dont like using my card over the internet despite assurances that nothing bad will happen. They are good exchange rates though, its a shame you cant get them over the counter.

Sarah :)
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Sarah

I think the post office was under counter part of the site, with crown currencies you can buy over the phone and I am sure if you said you don't like to give card numbers over the phone they will give you the rate. With the £ up again today the rate will take a couple of days to filter through to the high street shops, funny how quick they drop the rate when the £ goes down.

Just checked and you can order over the phone and you send the money by bank transfer so no card numbers needed.
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hi cant think of a user name....never used a bank transfere....can you do it free of charge... or does it cost...always looking for ways not to pay card fees
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travelex is doing 1.14 at the moment (on line orders) but i think you can pick up the same day
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