Mums Finance

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They all say it is a buyers market right now…but just try organising the finance to actually buy that property you have your heart set on. 

It is becoming almost impossible to say the least.

I would hate to be a first time home buyer right now as mortgage lenders have drastically altered their lending criteria and as a result young house hunters are finding that they are relying more frequently on the Bank of Mum and Dad more often. As more and more young people depend on their parents to provide them with board and lodging well into their thirties it just gives you a clear idea on just how difficult it is to get your foot on the property ladder these days.

Then again, the sellers are in the same boat…most people need a mortgage these days to buy a house and many lenders just are not lending. So many properties are languishing on the for sale market.

Popularity: 12% [?]

We girls are constantly bombarded with propaganda when it comes to the ideal body shape. Whenever we pick up a newspaper or magazine there they are; articles telling us that Madonna works out 250 hours a week in order to look so fab at fifty…how boring.

Then you have to read how quickly Jessica Alba and Nicole Ritchie snapped back into shape after having their babies - easy so long as you treat food like the enemy and use diet pills as a meal replacement…
Now Nicole Kidman and La Angelina have recently had babies we will no doubt be treated in depth to how small their waistlines are within five days of their umbilical cords being cut…who cares for gods sake?

The thing is - none of us should give a damn. We all know these women have careers which depend on their bones being highly visible in evening gowns; we all know that if Nic or Angie really gave in and ate what most new mums eat after giving birth and relishing their new found freedom from pregnancy induced heartburn, indigestion and constipation that they would look just the same as we mere mortal women do - like minature subs.

Now Liz Hurley is releasing her own cookbook ! I have only one thing to say about this - it will be very thin on recipes…

Popularity: 9% [?]

 I may already be preaching to the converted but there are still people out there falling for those fraudulent PayPal emails. Most people can spot them at a glance but I do know some folk who have fallen for these authentic-looking missives. Just to reiterate what I spoke about a while back:

* PayPal NEVER place a link in their emails for you to follow. They ask you to log in yourself from your own browser.

* They ALWAYS remind you in every email never to reveal your password or security details and state they will never ask you for them.

But the fraudulent ‘notifications’ are still arriving and I just delete them. Below is an example of a fraudulent ‘PayPal’ email…

Dear PayPal account holder,10:23 AM 7/9/2008Due to recent attacks on multiple PayPal accounts and cardholders,
PayPal Online Department has created and implemented a new
security system designed to protect your account and provide
an increased level of protection to your money and personal data.
After multiple invalid login attempts on your account, we have
strong reasons to believe that it might have been accessed by an
unauthorized third party. This may be due to changes in your IP
address or location. Protecting the security of your account and
the PayPal network is our primary concern.

Therefore, PayPal Online Department has limited your access to
sensitive account features until your personal and financial information
are confirmed.

Once you have completed the steps required to remove the limitation,
please allow us 24 hours to review the information submitted.
In order to remove the limitation on your account, please follow the link below
to one of our secure servers:

http://217.218.211.178:8011/www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr=cmd=p

Case Id: PP - 45 - 16498 - 323
Notification reason: Suspicion of account theft and/or fraud attempt.
Date: July 11, 2008

Note: If you received this message in your Spam/Bulk folder, that is
because of the restrictions implemented by your isp.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We appreciate your business and the opportunity to serve your needs.

Copyright © 2008 PayPal. All rights reserved.

Note the link above - a bona-fide email from PayPal would never include this. Also note the attempt to explain away why their scam email arrived in your Spam folder…your security settings are just doing their job. PayPal never have such an inclusion in their emails.

Just remember:

If it includes a link - delete it.

Popularity: 8% [?]