A house is, first and foremost, a home
Not an investment.
This week in the Money Brunch WhatsApp group, there was a conversation about whether or not a property purchase was the best move for the individual, given the projected resale value. Several similar discussions have come up in the past and it always throws up an interesting viewpoint. The place itself is all well and good - but if it’s going to increase in price, well. That’s the real value.
I get it. It’s far easier to quantify value in monetary terms than it is in, for lack of better word, vibes.
These past two weekends I’ve been clearing out and organising sections at home. And I’ve been thinking about space and property.
A home has one purpose; to provide a sanctuary for you to rest, relax and recharge in, but also to live. It’s your base from which you go out into the world. But, a few decades ago, home ownership became the thing to do and, so, it became an investment.
A fellow writer on Substack wrote a great piece about the concept of a starter home and, how it’s a contrived idea. After all, it’s designed to keep us in the cycle of borrowing more, to ‘trade-up’ property, until you reach the “utopia” of the ‘forever home.’
This worked when property prices were guaranteed to increase, fairly significantly, and when borrowing was cheap. That time is over - not least because of high interest rates (people borrow less, so there’s less demand for housing, so prices can’t rocket). But also because this idea of being beholden to a massive mortgage is starting to look more bizarre.
Why not live somewhere more within your means?
But, more importantly, why not assign more value to the safety, security and cosiness to the property itself? The quality of your time there warrants far more attention than it currently gets.
If you make a profit off the sale, great. If you make a loss, well, it’s not great. But it’s not terrible; you still have some equity to use for your next investment - in either assets or yourself. That’s certainly not a loss.
It would be great if there were a handy calculator that could tell you what this non-monetary value looked like. Instead, it’s probably better to get invest in your ability to reflect on your relationship with your home, be grateful and cherish the memories created there.
1. AI-generated CVs are the becoming the norm - but if you’ve used the paid version, you’re more likely to have success
About half of all job seekers are using artificial intelligence tools to apply for roles.
This is leading to more numbers of applications, but of lower quality
“Tell-tale signs [like] American grammar”, and “bland” applications give “an indication of whether candidates have used AI”
Many large employers have a zero-tolerance attitude towards the use of AI
Those who used the free version of ChatGPT were less likely to pass psychometric tests, while those who used the paid-for version were highly likely to - but this is because of the correlation between this and socio-economic status
They are “overwhelmingly… from higher socio-economic backgrounds, male applicants, non-disabled, mostly white”
Viva la AI revolution, eh 🥲
2. Planning activities on holiday? You might not be covered…
Research done of 892 standard cover travel insurance policies found that many holiday activities aren’t covered.
If you’re planning on going snorkelling or cycling, you’re likely to be OK. Banana boating is also well covered, and so is parasailing above water.
But horse riding is only covered by about 70% of standard policies, jet skiing by 50% and quad biking is hardly ever covered (3-7%).
If you like to live spontaneously, this isn’t ideal!
Perhaps come up with a few things you might like to do ahead of time (and which are offered where you’re going), check to see if they’re covered, and then at least your only decision left is where to go white-water rafting.
3. How to boost your pension in your 30s, 40s and 50s
If you don’t have children:
Keep up regular pension payments even if buying property
Make the most of any pay rises (or bonuses) (or tax refunds) to contribute to your pension without feeling too much of a strain on your finances
If you do have children:
If you or your partner aren’t working, try to make sure the earner is paying something into the non-worker’s pension
This can also help with reducing the household taxable income
Register for child benefit, even if you don’t currently qualify (because thresholds change):
Claiming child benefit will ensure that you are credited with National Insurance contributions up until your youngest child reaches the age of 12 (this helps to ensure you are entitled to receive the State Pension)
As you near retirement age:
Try to divert more into your pension, particularly when your expenses go down (like if you’ve hypothetically paid off your mortgage, or are no longer supporting children)
✨ Other things! ✨
MONEY
Budget airline Wizz Air has launched a subscription model(?!)
Two-bedroom terraced homes are typically the fastest to sell
LIFE
Why we say “make a beeline” when bees don’t travel in straight lines 🐝
There won’t be a newsletter next week - it’s the end of August, after all ☀️☀️☀️ I shall see you again in September!
Know someone who would enjoy this in their inbox on a Sunday morning?