Poll

Poll Started 22 Dec 2008: Fantasy Chancellor… It’s Christmas time, and if the fairy on the tree allowed you to pick any of the following to be Chancellor, who would you choose?

Last week the pound hit a record low against the Euro. Its official rate is currently hovering around the £1 buys €1.10 mark. So where do you think it’ll be in peak summer holiday time?

Poll Started 09 Dec 08: Which would you cut first… Christmas or Summer Holiday? The average UK family is said to spend £600 on Christmas, and not that much more on a holiday. So in tight times, which would you give up spending money on first? Note: If you are of a different religion, please substitute your nearest equivalent celebration e.g. Hanukah, Eid, Diwali for Christmas in the answer below. Which of these is closest to your answer?

Poll started 01 Dec 2008: Mortgage Brokers Which system did you use the last time your changed/got a mortgage? For years, I’ve always said never go to your bank/building society to get a mortgage, always use a whole of market mortgage broker (see mortgage brokers guide), but I'm interested to see how people actually do it.

The loan-to-value ratio of your house - the proportion of your house’s value you’re borrowing - is a key factor in getting a mortgage. Yet there’s a double whammy hitting this across the nation, that I call the evaporating equity trap.

Poll Started 17 Nov 2008. Should Cheap Booze Be Banned? There’ve been calls from a Government select committee for price caps on alcohol. This would impact the selling of booze in supermarkets and would hit promotions such as '6 bottles of wine for a tenner' or even low brand lager for 30p. Pros include... it’ll stop some “pre-loaded” binge drinking, making our streets safer. Cons include... it’ll penalise those who just want a night in at a cheap rate. So, it’s a deliberately polarising question. Should there be minimum prices set on booze?

Last week the Bank of England cut interest rates by 1.5 percentage points to 3%. The idea is to stimulate the economy, making borrowing cheaper and saving less desirable, to encourage people to spend.

Poll Started 26 January 2009: How close to the brink are you? Three months ago we first did this poll... then recession was on its way. Now it's here. Have things changed? On a scale of nought to nine, how near the financial edge are you? Which of these is nearest your situation?

Poll Started 28 Oct 2008: Would you take a pay cut to save your company? Due to the economic climate, your employer announces it needs to radically reduce its outgoings to keep the company's head above water. Reluctant to cut jobs, the boss sends a memo asking all 200 employees if they would agree to take a 10% pay cut, which should save 20 people from being made redundant. Would you agree to the pay cut?

Poll started 20 Oct 2008: What’ll happen to house prices? Annual UK house price drops of over 10% have been reported. But where will they go next? What do you think’ll happen to UK house prices over the next 12 months?