Super Sunday
UK interest rate speculation, Waspi-s are back, and money books to read
Yesterday was Super Saturday (for peak spending before Christmas), so I’m terming today Super Sunday (inventive, I know).
I hope you are spending this festive season enjoying some downtime, and preparing for the winter months ahead. This is what I’m channelling (via
). More slowness, stronger connections, time to hibernate and nourish.
I’m very anti-1 January resolutions. I think it’s a hard switch to make after the indulgences of the festive period, and a lot of pressure to put on ourselves. That’s not to say I don’t set out with new intentions for the year ahead; I’m just unlikely to do anything drastic.
The same applies to financial goals; it’s time to think deeply about what you might want to do, to research, and to have conversations with others.
(Side note, the next Money Brunch will be on Saturday 25 January).
I hope you have a great Christmas week, whatever you’re doing.
1. UK wage growth surges, complicating BoE's rate decisions
UK wage growth jumped significantly in October, with annual total pay growth reaching 5.2%, exceeding the Bank of England’s forecasts. This is mainly from private sector growth.
What does this mean?
The next BoE cut will take this into consideration, and may well be less than initially planned
If you cut interest rates more, companies can borrow more, and therefore afford to pay staff more; lower interest rates = more money sloshing around the economy
With wages going up, that’s sending inflation going up faster than expected, which as we know, is generally bad news
A modest reduction may come by February
2. Waspi women won’t be getting compensation after all
The Waspi women were back in the news this week.
A recap:
This is a term applied to a campaign called ‘Women Against State Pension Injustice’
It refers to more than three million women born in the 1950s who did not get adequate notice of changes to rises in the state pension age, meaning they had to wait longer to get their state pension
Earlier this year, a parliamentary ombudsman agreed pay-outs of up to £3,000 to each of these women
What’s happened this week?
Despite the Chancellor supporting this when in opposition, Rachel Reeves has now said that the government won’t be making these payouts (totalling around £10bn)
Why? Apparently the ombudsman’s review found that 90% of the women did know about these changes
So the decision has been made not to make this £3bn payout, and use that money for improving public services instead
Writer Polly Tonybee summarises this fairly well, in my opinion; “The Waspi women suffered outrageous misogyny, but in poverty-stricken Britain they’re not the top priority.”
3. Five money books to read in 2025
The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel
I’ve read this, didn’t find massively insightful, but lots of people find it really useful)
Devil Take the Hindmost, Martin Cathcart Froden
This looks RIGHT up my street
A book about stock market speculation, “published in 2000, is a reminder that human nature, and hence people's tendency to fall for the latest fad, never changes.”
Four Ways to Beat the Market, Algy Hall
It looks at “four strategies based on quality (fast-growing firms with a high return on capital), value (firms trading on a low-earnings multiple), momentum (those whose share price and earnings are soaring) and income (dividends)
Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari
A book about the evolution of information networks and how AI will transform economies and society as a whole – for better and for worse… Yikes. May read though, tbh.
The Price of Inequality, Joseph Stiglitz
It’s about how policies that benefit the rich severely worsen the lives of the poor. Written a decade ago, it’s arguably even more relevant today
I’m a Stiglitz fan so adding this to my list
Turns out this is a list of entirely male writers, which I’m not thrilled about. But it’s a financial book list nonetheless, and I’m powerless to those.
PS If you want another list, here’s mine!
Links
MONEY
Some stocks are exempt from ISAs, but asset managers like AJ Bell and Fidelity have still been offering them as part of ISAs. Why? Certain stock exchanges (like the Taiwan Stock Exchange) sit outside of the ISA rules. Why would UK investors be buying stocks from there? Apple and NVIDIA’s chipmaker — TSMC — is Taiwanese. So you would have to pay tax on any gains made from that stock (above the capital gains tax threshold), despite thinking that you would be exempt (‘cos ISA). It’s unclear how many other stocks this affects — but it’s not a good look for these big platforms.
More people are using buy now, pay later for auto repairs, elective health care and education. In auto repairs, those using BNPL spend more than three times non-BNPL users (in the US). Klarna reported that its merchant network saw a 167% year-over-year growth in auto services, 315% in travel and 339% in education. We’re definitely in a new age of credit.
Police warn UK shoppers over ‘porch pirates’ stealing parcels from doorsteps. The total value of parcels stolen is estimated at £376m, with Black Friday and run-up to Christmas being the worst periods. This has happened in the block of flats where I live; people have just come in and stolen packages from the downstairs entrance. Crazy.
Emma Chamberlain cleaned out her entire wardrobe so the Internet cleaned out their entire wardrobe.
It’s part of a cycle; edit right down, then build up again — and repeat. Here are some actually good tips if you do go down the clear out route:Actually wear your clothes before discarding them
It doesn’t have to be perfect, it has to be Good Enough
Get creative with what you keep
If you’re too precious with your clothes, you’ll always be purging and replacing
Sharing is caring. Know someone who’d like to read this?
Thank you for sharing!! Super insightful piece!