Mums Finance

Depending on where you live in the world your attitude towards beggars will differ greatly. In many countries it is a way of life.

In the UK sit on the ground with a cup in your hand and people will consider you in a very derogatory manner; in France however there seems to be more tolerance as you see everyday a person standing outside a supermarket, shop or post office holding a cup and asking you for coins. Actually in France the person who sits with a dog on a blanket beside them generally does very well – and people even wander up and down the rows of cars stopped at traffic lights and hold the hand out. I am surprised at how many people give them money!

You would picture these people in pretty much the same way – scruffy – and in many cases you are right. But ‘begging’ seems to have taken on a new form now and, yep, it has gone online…

Two couples in Australia, at their wits end with trying to make ends meet and pay off their mortgage have started up a website asking the public to donate just one dollar each to their cause and help them pay off their mortgage. Three hundred thousand people to be exact – that equals three hundred thousand dollars.

Well, it worked for the people who originally thought up the idea in America – but will it work for the Australian couples…?

Somehow I don’t think so. Many people say this takes begging to a new level – middle class begging perhaps? – and in a modern day way via the internet. Just about everyone with a family, bills and a mortgage is finding it tough these days to make ends meet. What it comes down to in the end is just having to make a lot of sacrifices – tough one’s at that. Going without a lot of nice things – they can come later can’t they?

Somehow I just would not feel I ‘owned’ my house if someone else – in this case hundreds of thousands of other people – paid it off for me.

Anyway, if you are interested in how they are doing – and how they are doing it – visit here.

Popularity: 23% [?]

One of the best things about setting up home once you are either newly married, out on your own from under Mum and Dad’s influence or simply having bought your very first house is the process of actually building your own house on your own piece of land.

Nothing compares to it. Seeing your Home Plans grow from start to finish; from that time you select your ‘bit of earth’ to the time you buy it, own it and then start deciding what form your House Plans will take. Maybe you have known what you have wanted for a long time…or maybe you are open to suggestion…?

Many people these days are opting for the natural, rustic look – this is very popular and a trend which will never go out of fashion. Using all natural materials and an environmentally friendly theme Log home plans are becoming the choice of many a house builder – both young and…well, everything after.

That dream home of yours is not just in your dreams anymore.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Well, now it seems the website has seen a few changes of late. Whereby before you had to pay a subscription to contact your old mates via their system, now you can do it for nothing.

Before, even if you had paid your yearly fee, any attempt at entering a private email address in your private messaging system was nixxed by their software. I mean, how many different ways can you phonetically spell out an email address…?

No need to worry anymore. You can now use their system to contact your old school/work mates so take advantage of it – but remember one thing – if you are happy with your life as it is then maybe it is best to keep it that way and leave some people relegated to the past…where they belong.

Popularity: 23% [?]