Interest rates on my meagre savings are damn near zero. In fact, when you take inflation into account, I'm actually losing money. My savings are depreciating at a faster rate than my interest is adding to the original amount.
This is crazy. The frightening thing is that it's not going to improve anytime soon. I used to rely on my bank interest to supplement my miserably small pension. Not any more. So I started wondering what I could do about it. Somehow I have to earn more than the 1 - 2% that I'm getting in bank interest, but I am scared silly about putting my few savings at risk.
I've thought about putting a bit on one side and maybe taking a punt on the currency markets, because I can't help feeling that sterling is down the tubes and that I should be hedging my bets by investing in some other currency. But then I think that I'm just gambling and most people lose money gambling. Instead of currencies I thought about buying gold, but it can be a bit of a hassle unless you buy an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that's physically backed by the commodity. Anyway, I've probably missed that particular boat by now.
The final thought was buying shares in foreign companies. Some research will produce a few jems that could make a capital gain and, at the same time, generate a much higher income (by way of dividends) than I'me getting in bank interest. They might also make a gain in currency terms. One such company would be France Telecom. This is the third largest telecoms company in Europe. Right now it's returning 7.9% on a price/earnings ratio of just about 10.
Worth a thought - but please make your own decisions, I'm no investment guru that's for sure.
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