David Cook
Qualified town planner and mental health nurse. Interested in literature, movies, theatre, music and dance. Cat lover. I live with my wife, Cyndi, and my cat, Purdy, in Guildford.
Location Guildford, Surrey, England.
Activity
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David Cook made a comment
Not overly keen on using poetry to alleviate stress.
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David Cook made a comment
Anthony of course.
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David Cook made a comment
I had a poem published which was primarily free form.
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David Cook made a comment
30 days or more than 30 days?
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David Cook replied to Christine Thabet
I knew that off by heart at school, you have reminded me.
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David Cook replied to Christine Thabet
Me too
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David Cook made a comment
No, but he lived in Guildford where I live and there is a statue of Alice chasing the rabbit near the White House [no not that one, the pub].
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David Cook made a comment
Are you alive?
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David Cook made a comment
4 plus 4 minus 4 plus 4
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David Cook made a comment
To help maintain a healthy mind and prevent dementia.
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David Cook made a comment
Probability. Questionnaire surveys. Voting surveys. Gambling. The pools.
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David Cook made a comment
I enjoy crossword and puzzles and was good at maths at school. The course sounds fun and interesting and is a short course.
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David Cook made a comment
This is fascinating. I like the concept of "emotional regulation" being about handling emotions NOT suppressing them. It needs to be remembered that people bring to jobs the point where they are at in their personal growth and their resolved or unresolved childhood issues. What help is there available to traders? In mental health nursing, we had clinical...
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
I agree with you, Cyndi. There are also theories about the way people respond to change and an important element is a resistance to change....this type of theory is used in management when organisational change is put forward. I resisted a performance related pay scheme which was introduced by the Borough Council where I worked for example because I argued...
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David Cook made a comment
There are theories and studies of organizational behaviour too. When I started mental health nursing I came under incredible pressure to adopt ways of working which were directly contrary to what we were being taught as students.
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Yes, fear I agree. There are theories and studies of organizational behaviour too. When I started mental health nursing I came under incredible pressure to adopt ways of working which were directly contrary to what we were being taught as students.
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It is incredible stuff that emerges about what occurs.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Excellent comments, Cyndi. I think this introduces the whole subject of quantitative v qualitative research methods. Also, I think quantitative science has been dominated by men who also dominate in the financial services sector. Qualitative research requires lateral thinking and a more open-minded approach. In psychiatry, there has been a move away from...
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David Cook made a comment
This raises the whole subject of quantitative and qualitative research methods in itself an interesting subject.
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David Cook made a comment
I monitored the shares over three weeks, 7th April to 28th April. BHP fell from 1274.0 to 1175.0. BP fell from 464.4 to 442.5. M & S increased from 335.6 to 366.6. Tesco fell from 185.2 to 183.2. Rolls Royce increased from 784.0 to 812.0. RBS increased from 237.7 to 265.4. Rank isn't in the INewspaper.
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David Cook made a comment
And 2013 to 2017?!
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David Cook made a comment
I would be very tempted to buy shares in Waitrose...because it is where I shop and it treats its staff differently to other supermarkets....they also provide exceptional customer service and offer many organic and animal welfare friendly products...and a free coffee and newspaper...My wife and I love this store...In USA we prefer Target and Trader Joes to...
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David Cook made a comment
I find it fascinating that, just my opinion, that Thatcher conned us into paying for what was already ours not hers!
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David Cook made a comment
Gosh I remember being taught about the South Sea Bubble at school!
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Didn't Keynes say about the long term, in the long term we shall all be dead!
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David Cook made a comment
This is so fascinating and answers a question I asked earlier about what would be the return if the same sum were but in a building society account. Could we also please have the average annual nominal returns please? It is intriguing how people will invest in cash deposits when in effect the real return is negative.
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David Cook made a comment
Opportunity cost is an interesting topic. I was talking to my neighbour yesterday about the cost of renovating his bathroom (£7,000). All the quotes were similar apart from one which was a little cheaper but only had a 2-year guarantee rather than a five-year guarantee. My neighbour then said he could do it cheaper if he did it himself. But we then looked in...
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David Cook made a comment
I enjoyed the conversation especially at the end where Martin shared his personal negative experience of an investment.
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David Cook made a comment
This was very interesting..too... didn't know that concrete was invented such a long time ago...that final coin looks a bit like Britannia...
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My wife, Cyndi Sabo-Cook, and I, we are collecting them!
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David Cook made a comment
William Shakespeare...two plays featured on the £2 coins; Battle of Britain 50p; Three different bridges on £1 coins; Coats of Arms on £1 coins; a dragon on a £1 coin; various emblems on £1 coins. We have 16 different £1 coins.
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David Cook replied to Shiro Burnette
Hadn't thought of graffiti!
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David Cook made a comment
Archaeological records, current buildings what is left of them, evidence about building materials and influences from outside Rome such as the Greeks, typography, drawings and paintings of Rome. The cinema has recreated Rome...Gladiator for example?!
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David Cook made a comment
I love the video and the interactive timeline...So Julius Caesar really was assassinated then...and the Romans were pagans until the time of Constantine.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Good point Robert although as you say less ethical investments do not have a true bottom line.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
What a ridiculous comment Peter. As you have got all the answers why are you doing the course?
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David Cook made a comment
I found this extremely interesting.
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David Cook made a comment
Do you have the figures for the ten-year performance of £1,000 invested in a building society please.
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David Cook made a comment
Is there any correlation with the fund manager and the performance of this fund at all? I know that sometimes a fund will decline after a particular fund manager leaves and then where they move to that fund benefits. So is it worth being a fund manager groupie!
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David Cook made a comment
How fascinating, the interest rate chart. So, it has really been only between about 1983 and 1993 that investors earned a relatively high real return. So, for example, in a building society? and between about 2008 and 2014 [and prior to about 1982] putting my money in a building society means that the value of my investment in real terms is falling. Is that...
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Yes Roy, although opinions can be based on evidence. Fascinating that Teresa May has called for an election now. She says that Parliament is too divided to proceed without an election. But I think the people are also divided. In both USA and UK, the margins that determined the election of the USA President and the margin that voted in favour of BREXIT were not...
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
We are very fortunate that I had no choice but to contribute to Final Salary Pensions Schemes, which also pay you if you become a widow. My Dad always suggested I make Additional Voluntary Contributions, which would have been good advice had I had acted upon it. I don't think AVCs were matched by the employer however. Another thing is that there was tax relief...
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David Cook made a comment
One of the advantages from the employee's point of view was the now quickly disappearing Final Salary Pension Schemes provided certainty for the employee about what their pension would be. Not so good for the fund managers of course. As we then get "holes" in the funds if the market falls.
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Thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply.
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This is an excellent comment, Cyndi. It does appear from this talk that post-crash people look for investments that spread risk and provide income [dividends] rather than a large increase in share prices. And thank you, Roy, for being so validating. I remember many years ago I had some unit trusts which were doing very well. I shared my experience with a...
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David Cook made a comment
The crash brought about a change in attitude and investment fund activity. Falling interest rates have also been a significant factor. People have become more cautious and want to spread the risk. Focus more on dividends rather than increase in the share prices.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Thank you Cyndi...I could not invest in companies that make me feel bad for investing in them...especially pubs for one....the comment about the wind may be true...but it is a good metaphor for the vagaries of the so-called safer and steadier shares...We can all remember examples of supposed safe companies that have been bailed out by Government...
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David Cook replied to David Cook
Is it not in the FTSE 100?
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David Cook replied to Richard Southgate
And Final Salary Schemes are very lax in producing information...I have found...
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
I agree...that ethical does not necessarily mean lower returns...sometimes it is just the "weight of money" that drives up share prices in less ethical companies..,.I suggest..
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David Cook replied to David Cook
And thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply...some futurelearn courses there is no response...
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David Cook replied to David Cook
I agree!
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Although, it is a myth that ethical investments are less safe and less profitable..I suggest...just a thought...!
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I found this very interesting...it is interesting to maybe compare it with other cities and with other similar places which had similar advantages but didn't grow to the same extent...
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David Cook made a comment
My wife and I are going to Rome for our honeymoon in May 2018. We are currently learning Italian. I have visited Rome once many years ago at Christmas time. We both love Shakespeare [including Julius Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra] and we enjoyed the recent remake of Ben-Hur even though it had bad reviews...in fact we were the only two people in the cinema...
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David Cook made a comment
What have the Romans ever done for us? Straight roads...historic buildings...Julius Caesar; Antony and Cleopatra; Ben-Hur; Hadrian's Wall; Roman Baths; Latin; Fabulous buildings in Rome; Galley slaves; Persecution of Christians; chariot racing;
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David Cook made a comment
I found it useful to know that the first £5,000 of dividends is tax-free. The dividends we receive are well below that.
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David Cook made a comment
Excellent video...Sadly, my observation is that investment funds are promoted on the basis of past performance...which in itself generates more purchases which then keeps driving up the performance...without any understanding of what exactly the companies are doing themselves...also Pension Funds..particularly those which are compulsory to contribute too...are...
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David Cook made a comment
Small companies have potential for growth..but the risk of bankruptcy too..
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
We also recommend Ethical Consumer Magazine Stephen..,.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Excellent conversation between Stephen and Cyndi...I was horrified when I asked Surrey County Council to let me know what the Pension fund is invested in...and I was powerless to have any say in this matter..and now I receive a pension based on some firms that I would not have chosen to invest in...I currently receive a small pension which was ethically...
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David Cook made a comment
I am so glad that we are going to look at the ethical dimensions of investment...this is so important...we can use money spiritually for good or bad ends...
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David Cook made a comment
I believe the role of ratings agencies such as Standard and Poors and Moodys has been a bit of a controversial issue...How is insider trading prevented...people who work in those businesses could have an interest in manipulating the ratings...
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David Cook made a comment
Are the bonds issued by all Governments considered to be "default-free"...?
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David Cook made a comment
I think my Dad used to invest in gilts...The key relationship here is that the capital price of a gilt will move inversely to movements in interest rates..this really does my head in...!
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David Cook made a comment
I have always found Bonds extremely confusing...so this is extremely interesting and helpful.
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David Cook made a comment
No, don't pick up a copy of the Financial Times...the I newspaper is only 50p...I found them all except Rank...Is Rank known by another name at all?..
BHP Billiton 1277.5
BP 465.2
M & S 334.8
Tesco 184.2
Rank ?
Rolls Royce 778.5
RBS 239.5
6th April 2017 Page 38 The I Newspaper -
David Cook made a comment
Disappointing to see that we are asked to track BP..which was responsible for the Gulf of Mexico disaster...so excellently addressed in a recent movie starring Mark Wahlberg...my wife and I intend to avoid their gas like the plague...
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David Cook made a comment
Well, people working in the financial services industry may well use this technique, but they still seem to make poor decisions sometimes!
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David Cook made a comment
The absolute value, the price, doesn't really mean much, in itself?..i.e. Next isn't necessarily more than Tesco...just that a share costs more..is that correct?
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David Cook made a comment
I do hope that we shall be examining "ethical investing"...
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
I remember the Enron scandal, Cyndi. We have shares in Baywind, Fenland Green Power, and Triodos Renewables...all renewable energy which my heart is in..and Fenland is where I was born...the return on the Baywind shares has been amazing...Far more now than I originally invested...My Dad was a big investor in the Stock Market...and paid for me to go to school...
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David Cook made a comment
Extremely small print!..Why is small print small!
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David Cook made a comment
One of my current accounts is with SMILE, which is part of the Co-operative Bank...I like to support the Co-operative bank..but I read that it is in financial difficulty...however..at the moment I am reassured by the Compensation Scheme...however a part of me wants to jump ship...
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David Cook made a comment
The Government has undermined ISAs by making most small savings exempt from tax now..Correct?
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David Cook made a comment
Instant access accounts generally have a lower interest tier. Interest paid more frequently. Money can be withdrawn more easily [which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the purpose of saving]. The less accessible the money, the higher the interest rate.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
You have experienced the beauty of the Thames now.
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David Cook made a comment
A beautiful poem beautifully read.
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David Cook made a comment
Perhaps psychiatrists could be equally cautious about prescribing medication.
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David Cook made a comment
I participated in the survey. I read a wide variety of books, magazines and newspapers. I prefer paper to electronic media. Currently I read USA Today as I am in USA. At home I read the I newspaper. There is an interesting article today about what happens if it is decided that the President is of "unsound mind".
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
I hope the course facilitators will get involved as much as they say the "learners" ought to.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
We have a complete month of spending record keeping (January 2017) and are setting our budget for February and March 2017.
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We recently changed our budgeting having worked out that it would be cheaper to buy a car rather than rent and to buy a printer rather than go to shops and libraries.
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David Cook made a comment
My wife and I have rarely had any problems using websites to pay for items. In fact, just recently we paid for gas at a gas station and if we had not tracked what happened using a website we would not have known that we had not been reimbursed for the unused credit we had paid for the gas. We were victims of a "wedding chapel" website in Las Vegas and we are...
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We have become very adept at comparing high street shopping with online shopping and there are some great online comparison sites for example comparing prices of cds and books.
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Most of our payments are monthly which makes budgeting easier. We have a few annual payments:- house/contents insurance; subscriptions to various entertainment centres; magazine subscriptions. Generally we pay things monthly unless it costs more to pay them monthly.
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David Cook made a comment
We spend beyond what could strictly be defined as "needs". The extent to which our wants are met depends on our income, savings and unsecured debt availability.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Tiger is a cat!
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
I am happy to help!
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David Cook replied to David Cook
Robin is correct.
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David Cook made a comment
The switch to the use of CPI was a political hot potato. My Surrey County Council pension is adjusted annually for inflation i.e. it is not a fixed annual pension. I don't think it goes down in the unlikely event that prices fall!
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
The deeds for our house are in our solicitor's safe. I have a photocopy.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Also, bear in mind that if I die today you will receive a widow's pension from Surrey County Council. You will get this automatically without me having to up date my will. I need to ask the Coucil whether you can remain in the house if I die.
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David Cook replied to Cyndi Sabo-Cook
Our biggest non-financial asset is our house. We have a willing buyer who would buy our 30% share but I don't know how quickly the transaction would be completed. The willing buyer is the local Council. So, we would not have to put it on the market. I do not know what would happen if the Council's valuation is not acceptable to us.
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David Cook made a comment
This is a useful way of classifying assets. Presumably liquidity is a continuum from cash in my pocket at one extreme and say a pension fund at the other extreme.
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David Cook made a comment
Is there a new edition of this book please? Or is it still reasonably relevant?
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David Cook made a comment
We chose 700 in five years as a good return bearing in mind current low interest rates. We chose Loan A2 because the Loan B options required closer examination which we were not willing to do at the moment. We chose to insure the boiler as saving the money it could take five years to have enough save to cover replacing the boiler. We chose to investigate the...
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David Cook made a comment
I purchased my house in 1990 at about 75,000. The market then fell as mentioned in this lesson. My property is now, 2017, valued at about 250,000. I own outright 30% of the value of the property. I pay rent for the other 70%.
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David Cook made a comment
Whether or not to return our rental car to Lancaster where we rented it .or to Albuquerque where we are now. How long to rent it for again bearing in mind that we may be in Albuquerque until March 2nd or whether or not to buy a car and then sell the car when we return to UK. If we returned it to Lancaster we would save on the additional charge but we would...
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David Cook replied to David Cook
It has proved an excellent investment. One in particular if I add all the dividends I have received it is well in excess of the amount I originally invested.