When we first moved to France in 2005, £1 was equal to 1.50 euros. That was before the big nose-dive. I've just looked to see if there's been any improvement: nope, it's still only 1.1 euros. But then I thought, it's not long 'til April when I should get an increase in my British State pension. I walked down to the postbox and, lo-and-behold there was a letter from Gordon Brown telling me that in April I would get the princely sum of £88.88 per week! But, before you start passing the hat around, I do get a small occupational pension - though I'm constantly worried that the small pension-provider involved might go bust.
So, things needed to be done to boost our income, but what? A little lateral thinking was required. Recently, I've been successful in bidding for projects on the excellent Peopleperhour.com site (PPH). This matches creative-writing providers like me with suppliers. In order to get chosen, though, you have to bid low. It doesn't make you a millionaire - well, not yet anyway - but it has helped to bridge that gap between the current low exchange rate. And, what I like about it is that I can work from the comfort of chez-nous, and my employer doesn't need to know my age nor how presentable I look!!
Well, a few days ago PPH asked me whether they could profile me and pass it on to the media. The story was that it isn't always necessary for the thousands of British people living in France, for example, to return home when times are tough and their French isn't good enough to get a job in France. IT is always there to gain access to funding opportunities. Lulu.com, the organisation that has published my 4 books, are also interested in profiling me. So, all is not yet lost. Maybe I can turn it into a publicity campaign for my writing career. I'll then be able to change my slogan of 'I'm NOT a celebrity - get me published' to 'I AM a celebrity......'
We'll have to see.
15th February 2009
There was thick frost last night in the Tarn et Garonne, but this morning the sky is blue and the quality of light is breath-taking. It lifts the spirits and reminds us why we moved here. We're also nicely placed for visiting either Biarritz, 2 hours due west, or the Cote d'Azur, a couple of hours south-east.
There's an amazing carnival which takes place in Nice this month. It's the biggest in Europe, reminding me of that other parade which dances down Main Street in Florida. The Nice Deputy Mayor Rudy Salles stressed that he wants the carnival to have a truly international dimension and see its reputation and influence grow throughout the world. Certainly the links are there. A spokesman for the world's carnival capital in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil recently said that 2009 is officially 'the year of France' in Brazil and extra special efforts have been made to ensure the Nice carnival will be represented in Rio.
This year's theme in Nice is Roi des Mascarades (King of Masquerades), which is all about transforming yourself. Looking at all the cartoons in Europe's financial papers, there is plenty of transformation going on. The fall in the pound has incurred the wrath of Mr Darling's continental counterparts, with French finance minister Christine Lagarde urging the bank to intervene in foreign exchange markets and the Germans pledging to put the issue of currencies high on the agenda. I've also seen spectacular caricatures of Carla and Nicolas Sarkozy doing a Punch-and-Judy-like spat over who should get all the media attention.
Wish I could make one of the floats at this month's carnival in Nice! There's no lack of puppets on the world stage - wonder if I could make one of Tony Blair?
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There's an amazing carnival which takes place in Nice this month. It's the biggest in Europe, reminding me of that other parade which dances down Main Street in Florida. The Nice Deputy Mayor Rudy Salles stressed that he wants the carnival to have a truly international dimension and see its reputation and influence grow throughout the world. Certainly the links are there. A spokesman for the world's carnival capital in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil recently said that 2009 is officially 'the year of France' in Brazil and extra special efforts have been made to ensure the Nice carnival will be represented in Rio.
This year's theme in Nice is Roi des Mascarades (King of Masquerades), which is all about transforming yourself. Looking at all the cartoons in Europe's financial papers, there is plenty of transformation going on. The fall in the pound has incurred the wrath of Mr Darling's continental counterparts, with French finance minister Christine Lagarde urging the bank to intervene in foreign exchange markets and the Germans pledging to put the issue of currencies high on the agenda. I've also seen spectacular caricatures of Carla and Nicolas Sarkozy doing a Punch-and-Judy-like spat over who should get all the media attention.
Wish I could make one of the floats at this month's carnival in Nice! There's no lack of puppets on the world stage - wonder if I could make one of Tony Blair?
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8th February 2009
It's been a funny old week. Sarkozy's rubbished Gordon Brown's VAT-reduction, saying the economic solution is to boost industry. I agree. And the old country, i.e. the UK, is still up to its old tricks. The first ID cards are here - but no one in the UK can read them because the necessary finger-print scanners haven't yet been produced! Then there's the thought-police who've not only positioned Orwellian spy cameras on every street corner, but now are set to force their way into homes to check that you're eating properly. And the weather's gone beserk. There's white-out Arctic conditions in normally moderate Britain, so everyone's having to take the ice-trucker route to work, but without the snow-chains. Climate change has certainly started with a vengeance - maybe it's the last billion years of the Earth's existence. I certainly prefer this, natural, explanation rather than the man-made greenhouse gases reason. Everyone's gone recycling crazy, even though when you investigate what happens, the answer is 'nothing'. Apparently more energy is needed to recycle our rubbish than is saved. Our local French binmen tip each recycling container into one big heap in the back of their lorry anyway! And lightbulbs: don't get me started. Here in France our beloved 100w bulbs can no longer see the light of day, all to be replaced by the stupid so-called energy-efficient long-life bulbs. Do people realise that to save money at all, you have to keep these new-fangled things on all day? You can't keep switching them on and off or they won't last. And you won't be able to use your relaxing dimmer-switches any more. And, to cap it all, it takes more energy to dispose of these new lights than they save. You couldn't make it up.
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1 February 2009
There are some new things planned for this year in France:
New diagnostic. When you sell a house in France, if your electricity system is more than 15 years old, you must now get an electricity installation 'diagnostic' (check) done by a professional.
Livret A. All banks and post-offices now offer this popular tax-free investment bond - was 4% in January.
Euro elections. Elections will be held from June 4 - 7 - the only ones in France open to voting by British nationals.
Rent increases. A new supplement 'supplement de loyer de solidarite' is now payable by social housing tenants whose incomes go above a certain ceiling. It's to encourage only those who really need social housing to stay in that sector. Good idea!
Virtual police station. This summer you will be able to report minor crimes on a website. (Wonder if a virtual policeman turns up to investigate it?)
After-sales advice. If you need to complain, or to ask for advice, on a product bought, businesses must now only use non-premium telephone lines (so keeping customers' blood-pressure low).
Alcohol. Legal age for buying alcohol and drinking in bars is going up from 16 to 18.
Gendarmerie. I've never really understood the difference between the gendarmes and the police, but at least they are both now run by the same body: the Interior Ministry (not the Ministry of Defence).
Train mediator: If you have a dispute with the SNCF, you can now contact the Mediateur de la SNCF at 66 rue de Rome, 75008 Paris. Let's hope you are not left stranded and have to walk all the way to Paris to do so!
New diagnostic. When you sell a house in France, if your electricity system is more than 15 years old, you must now get an electricity installation 'diagnostic' (check) done by a professional.
Livret A. All banks and post-offices now offer this popular tax-free investment bond - was 4% in January.
Euro elections. Elections will be held from June 4 - 7 - the only ones in France open to voting by British nationals.
Rent increases. A new supplement 'supplement de loyer de solidarite' is now payable by social housing tenants whose incomes go above a certain ceiling. It's to encourage only those who really need social housing to stay in that sector. Good idea!
Virtual police station. This summer you will be able to report minor crimes on a website. (Wonder if a virtual policeman turns up to investigate it?)
After-sales advice. If you need to complain, or to ask for advice, on a product bought, businesses must now only use non-premium telephone lines (so keeping customers' blood-pressure low).
Alcohol. Legal age for buying alcohol and drinking in bars is going up from 16 to 18.
Gendarmerie. I've never really understood the difference between the gendarmes and the police, but at least they are both now run by the same body: the Interior Ministry (not the Ministry of Defence).
Train mediator: If you have a dispute with the SNCF, you can now contact the Mediateur de la SNCF at 66 rue de Rome, 75008 Paris. Let's hope you are not left stranded and have to walk all the way to Paris to do so!
25th January 2009
It's rare to experience heavy winds in this region. In fact, living in inland France the normally calm weather is one of the things we love here. How could we forget that the UK, being a tiny island, is forever battered by winds from the Atlantic meeting those from the North Sea, then churning with those from the North as they meet the Channel currents. How smug we felt with recollections of all those ruined umbrellas, blown inside-out in the ever-present English gales. Well, as you've probably gathered by now, pride often goes before a fall. On Friday an unusual storm hit us totally unprepared. Gale-force winds tore down our fences and very heavy rain swelled the nearby River Aveyron so that all the nearby houses were flooded up to cellar level. The cover on our pool tore free from the ropes that Him indoors had assured me were guaranteed to keep it tethered. I certainly wasn't going to hang on to all four corners as it flew up into the air. Paragliding is not my favourite pursuit. Life's hazardous enough. But that's not all. Suddenly our electricity went out. Of course, being in the country, this is quite a frequent occurrence for intermittent minutes. But not for 2 whole days! T.G. I'd implemented my plan B when we moved here: never rely on just one power source, just in case. We've got a gas hob, electric oven, microwave and open-fire. Therefore, if anything happens to one....... And if all else fails, I thought back then, we could always throw some jacket potatoes on the fire. Well, we waited and waited for the usual intermittent electric interruption to return...and waited...and waited. The worst is that living here, it's very difficult to find out what's happening. We could hardly turn on the TV/radio/PC etc. Eventually we found out that a giant pylon in the Aveyron region had been blown down. But TG, as you can see, it's now just returned. Just as well. We'd run out of candles, matches, hot water, residual heat and food. So, I live to blog another day. Hope to see you all next Sunday, electricity willing!
18th January 2009
Like many British expats in France, I have been looking to supplement my dwindling pension due to the ever-continuing exchange rate crisis. Although a former administrator, I knew that however improved my skills in the French language, I would never be able to hold my own in a French office - it's the phone that's the killer.
Some time ago I wrote about my discovery of job bidding by the internet. To date, following my success with peopleperhour.com, I can report that this is a marvellous way to earn income supplements. All from my own computer I can send my creative articles, my own invoice and receive monies directly into my French bank account. Now that's my kind of job - all without leaving the house.
But, of course, this raises the question of French income tax. So, I was interested to read that easier ways of starting mini-enterprises like mine were introduced this month in France. The new auto-entrepreneurs system means you do not need to be formally registered on the registre du commerce (saving a fee and much bureaucracy), but you can apply on-line at www.cfenet.cci.fr (you can also subsequently close the business there too). Declarations and payments can also be managed on-line via http://www.lautoentrepreneur.com/. You also have 3-years exoneration from taxe professionnelle. For the thousands of Brits who run gites, the government has decided that the status is not obligatory for those not already formally registered on the registre du commerce. At present, it is only obligatory if your turnover is more than 32,000 euros p.a. Fat chance!
Of course, nothing comes easy, but what I like about it is that if you earn nothing, you pay nothing., unlike some other business regimes.
Some time ago I wrote about my discovery of job bidding by the internet. To date, following my success with peopleperhour.com, I can report that this is a marvellous way to earn income supplements. All from my own computer I can send my creative articles, my own invoice and receive monies directly into my French bank account. Now that's my kind of job - all without leaving the house.
But, of course, this raises the question of French income tax. So, I was interested to read that easier ways of starting mini-enterprises like mine were introduced this month in France. The new auto-entrepreneurs system means you do not need to be formally registered on the registre du commerce (saving a fee and much bureaucracy), but you can apply on-line at www.cfenet.cci.fr (you can also subsequently close the business there too). Declarations and payments can also be managed on-line via http://www.lautoentrepreneur.com/. You also have 3-years exoneration from taxe professionnelle. For the thousands of Brits who run gites, the government has decided that the status is not obligatory for those not already formally registered on the registre du commerce. At present, it is only obligatory if your turnover is more than 32,000 euros p.a. Fat chance!
Of course, nothing comes easy, but what I like about it is that if you earn nothing, you pay nothing., unlike some other business regimes.
11th January 2009
I was interested to read that there's a new form of equity release which has started here in France. It's called Foncier reversimmo, by a French bank Credit Foncier. This new equity release is different from the old 'viager' system in that the borrower remains the owner of his property, and the scheme is reversible. That is to say that if the borrower is a ditherer, he has the option of paying back his loan with the money plus the generated interest. When the owner of the property dies, it's transferred to a spouse or an heir. If the heirs want to keep the property there is the option of paying back the loan, which is not the case in a traditional viager sale.
Why the scheme is particularly interesting is that over-65s who own a property but suddenly need extra money as they get older - perhaps for a care-home - they can release funds without selling their home. The amount you can get depends on your age. At 75 you can get up to 45% of your property value, at 95 up to 75%. The factors which see the loan ended are the death of the last of the joint borrowers, if the property is sold or given away, or if the property is transferred (except for that resulting from the death of the first joint-borrower). If, on the death of the last of the borrowers, the debt is greater than the property value, the bank is responsible for the loss! So, the heirs - in leaving the property to the bank - will have no debt to pay back.
Sounds good to me - but then, you know what a worrier I am. I always need a Plan B.
Why the scheme is particularly interesting is that over-65s who own a property but suddenly need extra money as they get older - perhaps for a care-home - they can release funds without selling their home. The amount you can get depends on your age. At 75 you can get up to 45% of your property value, at 95 up to 75%. The factors which see the loan ended are the death of the last of the joint borrowers, if the property is sold or given away, or if the property is transferred (except for that resulting from the death of the first joint-borrower). If, on the death of the last of the borrowers, the debt is greater than the property value, the bank is responsible for the loss! So, the heirs - in leaving the property to the bank - will have no debt to pay back.
Sounds good to me - but then, you know what a worrier I am. I always need a Plan B.
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