It’s The Economy, Stupid!

8 Replies

Hence Bill Clinton’s successful campaign.

https://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2012/04/25/james-carville-slams-mitt-romney-for-stealing-his-line/

There’s even an It’s the economy, stupid! game you can play online. (I haven’t played it, though…)

Municipal elections are coming up here in The Netherlands. Our national government is about to shift many responsibilities towards municipalities. That’s what will make these elections even more important. However, less than 50% of my fellow Dutchmen intend to show up for these elections. Uh oh…

Right now, we’re hearing mostly positive news about the economy.

According to the media we are spending more (especially on vehicles and other luxury items) and home sales are up again. I can concur the latter statement with my brother’s situation. His apartment has been up for sale for almost three years now. Last week there were two viewings (the first in a long time!) and next week he’ll have two more viewings. I also see many “sold” signs on houses in my neighbourhood. The Dutch also anticipate house prices to rise again. Confidence in our economy has risen. It seems our economy has grown indeed.

D’you think it has something to do with the upcoming elections? 😉

On the other hand, there’s also some negative news. Interest rates on savings accounts keep declining. Youngsters don’t feel responsible for their own pension. And our unemployment rate has risen to 8.6%.

Does any of the positive or negative news affect Mrs EconoWiser’s family? Nah, don’t think so. We don’t intend to sell our house, switch jobs or at risk of losing a job. We also don’t intend to spend more that we feel we need to. However, it’s good to hear other people being positive about the future again. We’ve never stopped being positive about our own future, and we never will!

How about you? What’s the general outlook on your country’s economy and how does it affect you, if at all?

Love,

Mrs EconoWiser

8 thoughts on “It’s The Economy, Stupid!”

  1. devale

    I dont know WoonKennis but it sounds like another NVM-like institution that has a stake in higher house prices. Only 15% of consumers expects higher prices according to that research, that still means that 85% of consumers expect it to decline/stay the same.

    So the title “Consument verwacht hogere huizenprijzen” is a bit farfetched, and completely in line with press releases nowadays 😉

    i found your blog the other day, after being triggered by this whole FO thing. Im still waiting for my Binck account application to be processed.

    nice blog! 🙂

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    1. econowiser Post author

      Hi Devale,

      Thanks, and welcome!

      You are so right. It’s all biased and there are a lot of things at stake for certain lobbyists here and there. That’s why I should avoid “the news” more often. Low information diet as MMM likes to call it. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/10/01/the-low-information-diet/

      Opening an account with Binck, well done you! Financial independence, here we come!

      What’s your investing strategy going to be?

      Reply ↓
  2. devale

    im planning on investing up to 50% of my salary in vanguard for a while, until i feel the need to diversify more or i’ve bought a house and then do both extra mortgage payments and index investing

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  3. valhalla

    Lees ook lekker geen nieuws, maar soms komt er toch iets binnen… Ja, zo vlak voor de verkiezingen gaat het opeens goed joh. Nou, mooi! Trek me er niet veel meer van aan, dat heeft namelijk toch echt helemaal geen zin. Positief of negatief.

    Of we het huis nu verkopen of niet, we gaan weer als een speer met het aflossen van de hypotheek zodat we straks alsnog vrij zijn… We zijn gelukkig en gezond. Het stembiljet gaat bij het oud papier, ik geef mijn stem niet aan een systeem waar ik niet achter sta.

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  4. Opnieuw Beginnen

    Natuurlijk mag dat.
    Maar het is bij mij een aflopende annuiteit van 29 jaar.
    Deels kort wegzetten en deels lang.
    Het is de laatste keer dat ik geld heb en ben uit het arbeidsprocs. Heel degelijk met geld omgaan.
    Ik ben benieuwd.

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  5. Stephan

    Living in Germany is quite good (from the economy’s point of view) by now, I wasn’t aware that the Netherlands have some troubles
    I thought if Germany is doing quite well, the Netherlands would participate.
    I don’t think I am so affected to the economic situation (maybe I am wrong), I am a studied mechanical engineer and my wife is a teacher.
    I hope, my last sentence won’t be proven…

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