It’s not unusual for me to find that my arguments in a debate are different from everyone else’s. Take voting. Some people argue we should vote because it's our country. Others argue we should vote because if we don't, who will? On the other side, some people say we shouldn't vote because it makes no difference. I believe that these arguments are too individual, too emotional or otherwise don't hold up to scrutiny.

I say we should vote because it's selfish to expect others to do it for us. As an extension to that, there are many people (for example, those who fought in the war) who believe they have done a lot to help the UK continue to have the chance to vote. We can make them happier simply by getting out of our chairs and wandering down to our polling station, or by dropping our vote into the letterbox. Even spoiling the ballot paper because you don't know who to vote for or don't see a difference means you've at least made the effort.

I find myself in the same position regarding the bank-charges debate. People who are for reclaiming charges say that the charges are extortionate. Some say that the charges have put them into debt, or further into it. They say why should they fund free banking for the wealthy? People against reclaiming charges ask why people who are good with their bank accounts should have to pay for that service. They also ask why they should have to pay for banking when the system works well enough the way it is. They say the claimants brought it upon themselves.

Whilst I empathise very strongly with the people who have debt problems largely or solely because of charges, and admire their arguments much more than the other side, they are unfortunately too weak when faced with the stronger, more confident voices of the wealthy, who are much more powerful than the poor, relative to their height.

From my point of view, there is only one argument that should be used to say that people should reclaim bank charges: they are unlawful. Ethics, cost, personal responsibility, the loss of free banking, and whatever other arguments that people use on either side simply aren’t relevant.

Consider that wealthy people also optimise their finances as much as possible within the law. The result of this is often that many richer people pay even less tax than their poorer counterparts. In turn, this means that poorer people need to pay more to cover the losses to the Treasury.

Therefore, anyone who argues that we mustn’t reclaim charges because it negatively impacts others (i.e. themselves) should also stop trying to cut their tax payments with clever inheritance planning, income tax planning, CGT planning and so on. Whilst they’re at it, they shouldn’t shop around for the best deals, because that means some other poor bugger will have to pay more elsewhere. I could go on but I shan’t. Everyone optimises their finances as far as they are allowed to. Indeed, we can’t expect the world to work any other way.

Perhaps this debate will be academic if the rather expensive and talented packs of lawyers the banks have hired manage to do their jobs and sway the judge in their favour (although the excellent legal opinion I have received calls their arguments sophistry). We'll see which side: the poor and indebted, or the banks and the wealthy, are smug when it's all over.

I make no secret which side I'm on, but swaying the opinion of the public proves harder than swaying a judge when everyone has a vested interest, no matter how well you argue your case. And I’ve just written a few paragraphs on it.

I guess that means you also won't believe my view that gradually increasing your saturated fat intake must surely help you to build up a tolerance for cholesterol?

Hola muchachos!

The Motley Fool has given me free reign to write whatever I want in this new blog, so long as I don’t mock the editor. (Even then I make no promises). Clearly it has forgotten the surreal stuff that I tried tirelessly to get into my articles for six months with just one breakthrough (here), before I gave up to focus my energy on something more achievable: writing pure financial guidance in plain English.

Even though I can write anything here, what you can expect from me are still blogs with money in them, even if it’s just a ‘$’ sign embedded in an expletive like this ‘#@!$?+&*!!!’, which my editor has sullenly agreed he won’t touch, along with emoticons like :-$ and numbers with no commas: 100000000.

I have a huge interest in money and I think it’s quite likely that you do too! So it’s a theme I’m comfortable writing about. Maybe one day as a treat I’ll digress and share my anecdote about the bananas, the nudist beach and the angry gorilla, but until then you’ll get money comments.

The great thing about being a writer is that your ability gets better all the time. It’s a job where it’s possible to constantly learn new things. Indeed, learning new things is inevitable.

If you want to know about my money philosophy and writing style, obviously my articles are the place to look. I have common themes in them that repeat themselves, such as my style of investing, my attitude towards (or, rather, against) financial predictions, and my support for simple financial products over complex (and usually over-priced) ones.

Around those sorts of themes, however, I always have something new to say. It’s not me to write an article saying the same old tips, and it’s incredibly rare for me to simply write about the news. I aim to have fresh personal-finance tips every time, but all contained within a consistent philosophy.

To ensure that my more original thoughts aren’t lost to all my fans (hi Paul and Amy!) I’ve scanned through some of the articles I’ve written in the two-and-a-bit years that I’ve been writing for The Fool. Here are some of my favourites:

Three Common Money Mistakes
A Betting System That Works!
The Four-Step Guide To A Comfortable Retirement
Five Money-Saving Tips From Your Dentist
Rules That Make You Rich
How To Spend Less And Have More!
Insurances That Rip You Off!
A Pension Scandal Worse Than Maxwell
Cheaper Car Insurance In Ten Steps
Credit Cards With Small Print And Big Fees
12 Ways Your Credit Card Rips You Off!
10 Money-Saving Tips You Don't Know!
Five Ways To Make Money With Credit Cards
Give Your Pension Income A Massive Boost!
Whatever You Do, Don’t Claim Like This!
Ten Money Mistakes We All Make
How To Become A Landlord
Transfer Balance To 0% And Dodge The Fee!
Five Top Ways To Clear Your Debt
Stupid Humans Vs. The Computer
How To Be A Confident Negotiator
New Banking Code Fails Consumers
Key decisions For A Better Retirement
How To Get A Better Job
The Ultimate Guide To Reclaiming Bank And Card Charges

I don’t expect you to read them all, but doing so might increase your chances of one day reading what the gorilla did with the bananas.


Edited at 2008-07-24 08:06:07

Edited at 2008-07-24 08:11:45 Edited at 2008-08-02 07:13:55