How to Euro Shop Online and Get the Best Prices Delivered to Your Door!

Living in Britain, I'd become used to logging on to the net and ordering whatever I fancied from sites like Amazon, VAT-free and no delivery costs, but two years ago, life took me to Denmark (or rather the missus did!), and boy, was I in for a shock! Get this...a 25% sales tax, or MOMs, as it's called here on everything you buy, including food! Even so, after I'd been here a few months, I naively logged onto Amazon to buy a few English books I fancied. Everything looked fine as I added to my basket, but once at the checkout, the price of all the items more than DOUBLED, simply as a result of where they were being sent to.

So, get this, Amazon is selling the same goods to you, from the same warehouse, but you have to pay twice the price? Why? Well, turns out it isn't Amazons fault at all. You can blame the EU for this one, and this after all those years of cheek we were sold the EU with the excuse that it was going to be a free trade bloc of one big European Nation. Just because your books are going to be delivered to Denmark instead of the UK you have to pay delivery (okay, that one you can cope with) and an extra 25% sales tax. Ha ha, how I laughed as I gave up on my attempted purchase and prepared myself for a life of no reading ever again.

But then I discovered, completely by chance, a rather nifty outfit called Play, who based themselves in a small island off the coast of France, called Jersey that has zero sales tax. Better still, these guys even do free delivery to Denmark, and best of all to buy from them (or anywhere else in the world for that matter), is 100% legal, subject to certain limits. Wow, I was like a pig in.....err excuse me. Anyhow, to say the least I was a very happy man and logging on every other night from thereon buying all of the books I could possibly get my hands on to make up for lost time.

After this I really got into buying a lot of things I wanted elsewhere in the EU, and once you start getting into this buying abroad off the internet lark you'll realise that Amazon is the exception in charging Sales Taxes at the buyers' rate. Most EU based companies will only charge their local rate, 100% legal again. Well, this little bit of info opened up another new horizon! Blimey, I even found a little-used, SECRET way of buying from Amazon and avoiding the Sales tax. 100% LEGAL again, and you can read about it here as I'm happy to give you this secret for free.

Then I started thinking...how many other websites or shopping opportunities are there out there like this? Completely legal opportunities to beat the taxman and keep more of your own money in your own pocket, while buying exactly what you want. Hell, half this stuff isn't even available here! The same probably applies to whatever European country you happen to be living in right now. Am I right?

Now, just think about all those people out there who know nothing about these sites. Maybe this even includes you? You come back from the UK with a holdall full of English books or decent underwear (my partner does!) simply because you think you'll never get the chance to stock up again. Well, forget it! Now you can buy from the comfort of your own home with delivery to your door!

There is now a site of my favourite online shops! These are personally tested and recommended shops with great prices, a fantastic range, and best of all, free or low delivery costs to Denmark and most of the rest of Europe. You can visit it right now at www.expatshop.eu.

Pound in freefall, but the dollar hides it

I must admit that I have been worried about the Pound for some time, what with the trade deficit, budget deficit and now the Northern Rock crisis.

Actually, the trade deficit bothers me least of the problems, as Britain has a large reputation for investing abroad. The others are not so good. especially the Northern Rock crisis, since the implication is the government have magically created the necessary backup reserves out of thin air (is there any other method?)

Now, I notice that in the past couple of months, the Pound has dropped about 6% against the Euro and Danish Krone. This has hardly got a mention, as all the media are going on about the weakening Dollar and the bargains available for those taking a shopping trip to the USA.

So please, Germany and Holland, don't give in to whingeing France and Italy about needing a weaker Euro, and the usual rubbish about generating exports. A devalued currency helps no-one long term.

If it carries on like this, the Euro could become the world's new reserve currency, especially for pricing oil, at least until China is ready to claim its spot.

Just a thought.

As for me, I'm off to browse the internet for some bargains from Britain...

The Truth behind the Miners Strike

Just in case anyone considers me to be some elitist Brit who went to public school, I can honestly say that I come from a North Eastern coal mining background and in fact, my Dad worked in the mines right up to the end in the 1980s and my family was badly affected by the miners strike. In fact, this was probably a pivotal moment in my life for realising the con of socialism and how the world is "every man for himself" whichever way you look at it.

While Arthur Scargill ran the campaign in the style of a World War 1 general, sitting 20 miles behind the front lines sipping claret and sending men and their families to their economic deaths, some of his cohorts really would have come around and put a brick through your window (or worse) had you dared to be a black-leg and go back to work. Ironically, these were the same guys who, a year later, were leaping around at the prospect of 30 grand redundancy money. A little known fact of the miners strike is that many of the collieries closed weren't even on the closure list that had triggered the strike, but a year of being left empty had led to flooding and other high maintenance costs that made it cheaper to pay the men off. And boy, how they all voted for closure when they realised how much money they would get! Sod you "comrade", became the prevailing attitude, and the younger blokes, like my Dad, missed out on the full redundancy and pensions offered to those of more senior years.

God, how Consett was boom town in those next few years. You could tell who the ex-miners were by the new extensions on their houses, new cars and flash new electricals like VCRs, while they all desperately tried to run down their redundancy money enough to qualify for the dole. Years later, you could definitely tell who the ex-miners were by their enormous beer bellies from a retirement life of spending all day in the club.

Socialism? Don't make me laugh.

In Denmark, Some men are more equal than others

Imagine living in a country that takes huge taxes from you, including a huge cut of your worldwide income.

Imagine that this country prides itself on the alleged principles of fairness and equality.

Imagine then that a chance for the people to decide who runs the country you live in comes around. At last, a chance to make a small difference by voting on the person/party you feel is most likely to improve the lot of the country you live in.

Imagine then that you get told to f**k off since no-one cares what you have to say and you don't even get the chance to vote.

Sounds unlikely? Well, when my Danish partner and I lived in the UK, we could both vote no problem, but move to Denmark and it turns out that foreigners are NOT allowed to vote in the general election.

I can see why, since foreigners aren't brainwashed into Danish socialism from an early age and can see right through it, so imagine the dangers of them enforcing some change for the better, eh?

Funny too that my partner, once she'd lived outside Denmark more than 2 years lost the right to vote in Danish elections. Denmark obviously realises that any Dane living abroad for more than 2 years will be de-indoctrinated in socialist thinking and thus vote sensibly with clear-headed thinking.

Some men are indeed more equal than others, and Stalin would be proud.

The Big Government Inflation Game

When it comes to the official government inflation figures, these often understate true increases in the cost of living, due to the statistical reporting methods used. As the famous old adage goes, there are "lies, damned lies and statistics", and nowhere could this be truer than here. One trick is to reduce the real price still further if the assumed quality of an item included in the basket of goods has gone up in quality. For example, a 2007 computer could be classified as ten times more powerful than a 1997 computer, and even though they have the same retail price of say, £1,000; the figures are adjusted downward due to the increased processing power: whether you really needed that extra processing power, or whether it is even possible to buy a 1997 specification computer is not considered. Another trick is replacement, or substitution theory, where, say, if high quality beef rises in price, then it is assumed that many households will trade down to cheaper beef, or even some other type of meat.

Neither of these sound like correct ways to measure price increases in anything, but they do sound like nice ways to massage the true inflation figure downward.

What's the best way to get yourself and your savings outside of the inflationary, currency devaluation, welath destruction cycle? Buy Gold and Silver, and any other commodities you use in your daily life. Historically proven to usually work.

Why are Socialist countries like Denmark so apparently rich?

A lot of people, usually academic economists and fans of socialism who've never actually lived in Denmark make the Nordic model out to be some great utopian society. (un?)Fortunately, I have, so I know they forget two things:-

1) The Scandinavian countries are all very rich in natural resources, even if it is often claimed otherwise. Denmark and Norway are, per capita, two of the world's biggest oil producers. Iceland and Denmark (esp. through Greenland) are two of the biggest seafood producers, then finally Sweden and Finland are so full of trees they supply much of the timber and pulp paper throughout Europe. Without these assets, these countries would run massive trade deficits and be unable to afford their generous welfare state.

2) These countries have successfully monetised many aspects of private family life that was previously outside the scope of inclusion in official economic figures like GDP. Take childcare and elderly care, for example, in Denmark, you'll often find 2 women work as childcarers, and as part of the system they drop their own children off with other childcarers! It's the same as paying someone to paint your house while you pay them to paint yours. A no-brainer for government, since it's more tax-collection opportunities, but bad news for individuals.

Can anyone even put a cost of the long-term social damage it does to families? Funnily enough, Danes are reknowned as "serial mongamists", IE drifting from one relationship to another, collecting kids from various relationships and partners along the way. You almost feel weird here if you keep the same partner for more than 5-7 years (the old 7 year itch, eh?)

Honest Financial Advice at No Price

Don't forget to visit my investing sites for financial information to help you save money. First, there's Successful Tax Free Investing. Then IT Contracting in Denmark. Then, if you live in the EU, loads of tips on how to Shop Online and Save and finally, visit Invest Gold and Silver to find out how to invest on the two things likeliest to save you from financial collapse in the uncertain future awaiting us all.

First Post

I've started this blog simply because I feel so strongly about the massive amount of wasted taxes we pay...where will it all end???