Money, money, money

I know it's been a long time since my last post, and I apologise profusely for this. The end of term in Cambridge has been somewhat manic, and the reading week that followed wasn't any quieter. Now, though, we have a chance to take things a little more easily for a while.

Whilst browsing around on Facebook, I stumbled across a fairly heated exchange about who had it hardest; a Christian Minister or a high-ranking executive. Words were exchanged about the number of hours worked and the availability of down-time from the respective jobs, but what struck me most profoundly was the different units of value being cited. Is it possible to compare the responsibility of managing multi-million pound budgets with the intense nature of pastoral responsibility for all the souls in a parish? I'm not sure it is.

It also got me thinking about money, and about the fact that money really does sit behind all aspects of modern life. The question 'can we afford it' is usually the first phase of any major life decision we might take; it was our first thought about moving to Cambridge for me to study. We speak of 'cost-benefit analysis' when making a corporate decision, and we speak of lifecycle costing or full economic cost in the worlds of private and public sector. This is so much a part of western life that has become normative and we no longer question it.

It saddens me that there will be more young people taking this type of approach to their university education from now on. Regardless of your position on fees, it's clear that there is more anxiety about student finance now than there has ever been in the past, and this can't be good. Whilst cost is important, so is opportunity, and so is equality; can we, and should we, put an economic price on either of those?

My final thought comes courtesy of the BBC website who feature an Oxford academic who is aiming to give away £1m over his lifetime. I won't retell the story, read it yourself. All I'll say is that this kind of effort is inspirational for me. I sometimes wonder how we'll get by on my grants from the church, but this example gives me hope. It also makes me look at our contemporary approach to Christmas with a certain amount of disgust. We're trying to do a cheap Christmas this year with a modest budget per-head, and it's really hard. It's hard for two reasons. Firstly because you really can't buy much for under £10, and secondly because there's so much expectation around Christmas that you're made to feel Scrooge-like if you don't push the boat out.

We don't seem to be able to exist without money, but it would be nice if it didn't have to be at the centre of all we think and do, at least for a little while.

Tuesday roundup

As yesterday was a Bank Holiday, my semi-frequent Monday roundup didn't happen. Here's a Tuesday roundup instead.

KP Skipped - I worked hard for a crisp related pun there, and I think I got away with it. It turns out that the out of form Kevin Pietersen has been dropped for the upcoming Twenty20 games against Pakistan. I applaud the guts of the England selectors in leaving him out, but I can't help feeling that his downfall was brought about by his disastrous spell as England captain. Since then, he just hasn't seemed like the player he used to be. I expect the selectors had something to do with his ill-judged promotion, so they probably need to take a share of the responsibility for his current state. Announcing the news on Twitter in conjunction with an expletive probably wasn't the best move though KP.

Lies and corruption - Having posted recently about the higher moral standards in cricket (compared to other sports), I am very disappointed to see the revelations about the Pakistan cricket team. It's not the first time the sport has been rocked by a betting scandal, and I would think that the explosion of online spot-betting has made life very difficult for the ICC's anti-corruption people. It's such a shame that the Pakistan team seem to have so many problems at the moment, and I hope they return to their position as a top test team soon.


Looking forward - Matthew McMurray has broken a 2 month blogging gap with a catch-up post, and his post makes me look forward to my own training. He recounts some of the events from his current placement, and I find myself itching to get stuck in! 

Speaking in tongues - This week, the Chaplaincy has hosted an exchange trip. We are linked with chaplaincies at the Universities of Oulu (Finland) and Braunschweig (Germany). Each summer, a group of students visits one of the three countries, enabling them to experience church in another culture and life in another place. A few years ago we went to the Finnish leg of the exchange, and it was fantastic! This week we have a bunch of Finns and Germans with us, and on Sunday they joined us for worship. In the service there was one of those special moments. When we say the Lord's Prayer at Chaplaincy, we often encourage people to use their own language or version of the prayer, but usually you can hear a very dominant lead from the English-speakers. On Sunday, though, there was a definite feeling that we are an international church! The sound of the different languages together was one of those moments when it felt like we were doing it right for a change. All were welcome, and all languages were welcome. We shared together, and our collective experience was broadened. Tonight is the farewell party for the visitors, so we sheall drop in to say farewell.

15 days

Money, money, money

Today, I am struck once more by the polarisation (in financial terms) of the world I currently inhabit compared to the one I am moving to. My job today is to do some analysis on a £2.7M annual budget. When we move to Cambridge in September, we will have to work out how to live on £18k per annum. Must be careful not to transpose any decimal points in either set of calculations.  

Why are finance forms always the same?

My current job is in a context where finance forms abound. I'm well used to the various formats and the different ways of thinking about money, and I'm accustomed to the tendency to use shorthand phrases and acronyms which mean nothing to most of the population. It shouldn't surprise me, therefore, that I have a number of questions to ask the DDO about how one is meant to fill in the 'family budget for ordinands' form which is due this Friday. Having not been an ordinand before, this is all new to me! I'm also not familiar with the various benefits and tax credits for which we may be eligible. One of the problems is that if I apply for any benefits or credits now, the assessment would be based on my current salary, and not my impending student status. If I don't get actual figures based on an actual application, I can't really put anything on the form.

My job for this evening is to do a bit more internet research. After that, if I still have questions, I'll give the DDO a call. I'm sure this could be simpler!
91 days

Check your wallets

If you have a 20p without a date on it, keep hold of it; it might be worth £50 according to the BBC.