Colpisa journalist José María Camarero publishes ‘Crisisphobia’, a book that gives the keys to surviving economic doubts
His motto is “write and speak so that my mother understands me”. And without a doubt, José María Camarero (Talaván, Cáceres, 1981), economic journalist for the Colpisa Agency (Vocento), has made issues as complex as electricity bills or mortgages understandable to citizens. Now he embodies all of these economic tips in his first book, Crisisphobia: Keys to Surviving the Economic Apocalypse (HarperCollins Publisher), on sale January 11.
Is an economic disaster coming?
-‘Crisis phobia’ is a call to common sense, to serenity and to know that as consumers we have some power in our hands to act and avoid a complicated situation like the one we find ourselves in from getting tough our budgets relatives.
-We chain one crisis to another… Is it part of the cycle or are we doing it wrong?
-In the last recession we were injected with the mantra that we had lived beyond our means. I’m not saying it wasn’t, but not in every home. Since then we live with the yoke of having to accept what is put before us every day in our lives: the bank commission, the electricity bill, the payment of a tax… We never really thought about whether this deal with the entities financial, energy or even the Treasury should be like this. And I think one of the best consequences that this succession of crises will leave us is that it has opened our eyes. Now many people look at the electricity bill and wonder why this concept or because of this unexpected cost. And that is quite an achievement for a domestic economy.
-Is the book intended for experts or for an ordinary citizen?
-As I always like to think when I write, “Crisisphobia” is a book that our parents should understand. They are a generation that has generally not had the opportunity to access a financial culture that experts have. And to that mother or father of a family, to that young couple who just had their first child, to those single people looking for a job, to whom this book is addressed. If we, as economic journalists, succeed in getting the vast majority of the population who read us to understand what economics is, we have taken a step forward that was unthinkable years ago.
-What is the purpose marked with these pages?
-One of the challenges we economic journalists have taken on over the past decade without pretending to be haughty is knowing how to get our information to the street level. That it is clear what the risk premium used to be or that it is now clear why we are talking about megawatts/hour. And that is also the purpose of this book: to give very practical advice and, above all, to solve the daily economic doubts that haunt us from the moment we get up until we go to sleep.
Can we prepare for a crisis? I eat?
What is clear is that we are now much better prepared – I insist, as ordinary citizens – to face economic uncertainty. There will of course be more crises, we cannot ignore that. And there will be economic phases where we have it worse, we can’t fool ourselves. But neither of them descends into catastrophe.
-One of the most important chapters is energy. What should consumers pay attention to when the electricity bill arrives?
-Of course we should not go straight to the final amount that we are going to pay to the electricity company. Because that’s the mistake we’ve all been making for many years. You have to look at the power that we have contracted, because depending on that kilowatt, we can save money if we lower it to about 4.5 kW. Also in the type of tariff we have contracted and analyze the price we pay for electricity, in euros/kwh.
-Another subject that raises many doubts is banking. Best Fixed or Variable Rate Mortgage?
-The main thing is that the loan fee does not exceed one third of the total income of each household. The trend across Europe is to lock in fixed rates to ensure a stable quota. And financially, it’s not a bad option as long as that monthly payment doesn’t drown us out. Because then we have a big problem.
-If someone has some savings in the account… What do you recommend to do: put on a deposit, invest in the stock exchange, in a fund…?
-These options depend on each saver’s profile. Or, as I like to call it, investor/saver. Someone nearing retirement should not risk their wealth too much in the stock market, or at least not in risky investment products, but basically conservative. The deposit is the option for those who need liquidity in the medium term, for example to buy a house. But having too much money on deposit not only generates no returns, but inflation eats them up. In any case, it is always advisable to invest in the stock market under the guidance of an advisor. It costs money yes. To enter the stock market, you should always ask yourself how much you are willing to lose, how much you are willing to risk. That’s the key.
-Another major concern is retirement. Will there be money to pay youth pensions? Can we somehow guarantee a smooth retirement?
-The system will guarantee pensions, although of course they will not be, shall we say, as generous as many of today’s pensions. But we shouldn’t panic either. On the other hand, there is a fundamental fact when it comes to retirement savings: arriving at retirement with enough wealth to live another 30 years. This means that those who choose to retire and have already paid for a house are assured of a peaceful future. That is at the expense of savings. And then there is the opposite case: who always lives for rent. You haven’t made an investment like the purchase, but you should know that by the time you retire, you should have enough savings to cover that rent even if you are no longer working. The way to do it? Deposits, funds or pension plans. But what is clear is that at 65 or 67 our monthly income drops and we must have backed it up, either through housing or through savings.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
