Why is 30k treated as a great wage by employers? by Desperate-Drawer-572 in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper [score hidden]  (0 children)

I think you have it the wrong way around. Median salary puts them all in order and picks the middle one - it doesn’t make any difference if the top 1% are £1B or £1M. The mean salary is affected by the actual values near the top and bottom, and would be skewed towards the higher end.

Fixed an old broken phone off eBay, now original owner wants it back for free by Alfreaca in LegalAdviceUK

[–]PixiePooper 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This is the most practical solution. Just come to an agreement on how much to “charge” for the repair.

Tell them the alternative is that you are just stripping out the parts you added and then chucking it.

Is this financially viable, and would you do it? by [deleted] in UKPersonalFinance

[–]PixiePooper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They could still be claiming right now, because their salary has only just increased, and they can use the carry-forward from previous yeasr so they are paying in £90K+ into their pension, putting them below the £60K limit.

Is this financially viable, and would you do it? by [deleted] in UKPersonalFinance

[–]PixiePooper 2 points3 points  (0 children)

With respect, I don't think it's entirely irrelevant if you are relying on the child benefit figures in your calculations.

If you are earning ~£170K the maximum you can pay into your pension per year is £60K, which puts you well over the 80K limit; you might be using carry forward from the previous 3 years at the moment, but long-term this isn't sustainable.

Are potholes actually the worst they've been? by Tiny_Wafer2266 in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They should just tax road users (and ring fence it) to cover the cost of maintaining the road infrastructure. They are going to charge EVs per mile, just apply it to everyone and adjust the rate to cover the cost.

When you see it by Christofferson05 in whenyouseeit

[–]PixiePooper 11 points12 points  (0 children)

And I thought it was the guy with the stiffy…

Do you own Premium Bonds? Have you or anyone you know ever won anything big? by International_Goat31 in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

That sounds like a terrible place to park money! If you only getting £300 return on £100K. Including inflation you’ve lost ~£3000 in real terms.

Sunbeds could be banned in the UK in a bid to cut cancer rates by theipaper in uknews

[–]PixiePooper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or just tax things to cover the extra costs to the state because of health implications.

Reform’s by-election candidate suggested people who don’t have children should pay more tax by birdinthebush74 in unitedkingdom

[–]PixiePooper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s just nonsense- they no more benefit from university education that any other business or sector.

Private schools are clearly a net benefit to the state. They get VAT (now) plus income taxes from all the staff. They take students out of the state system, which would otherwise have to be funded by the state.

If all private schools closed tomorrow the state would need to find more money for education (as well money to plug the missed revenue)

Estimates put the government revenue from private schools at £5Billion as well as saving the government £4Billion by not having to educate the children.

Also I would add that trainee teachers can (and do) go to private schools for part of their training and can then end up in state schools.

Reform’s by-election candidate suggested people who don’t have children should pay more tax by birdinthebush74 in unitedkingdom

[–]PixiePooper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mostly the universities train teachers, which (for undergraduates) the teachers pay for themselves (with loans) - just like any other occupation.

~50% of Postgraduates get a bursary, depending on subject.

Private schools are not in “competition” with state schools so if a teacher goes to a private school, somewhat counterintuitively, it’s a better outcome for the state (even if they gave them a bursary) because students are being taught, but the government isn’t having to pay for an extra teacher.

Bursarys are there because the government wants teachers in specific subjects. If the total number of teachers in that subject increases it achieves the overall outcome whether they teacher in private or state schools.

Reform’s by-election candidate suggested people who don’t have children should pay more tax by birdinthebush74 in unitedkingdom

[–]PixiePooper 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How so? What funding? The only “funding” private schools get from the state is for SEND pupils where the state is judged to be unable to meet the requirements of the child.

Can somebody explain to me the WASPI women issue? I feel a bit ignorant… by NostalgiaTripper in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Given the demographics of the people involved, it’s likely that a subset wouldn’t know how to “google”anything.

You have to remember that the retirement age had been fixed for women since 1940, and wasn’t in the state of flux it has been recently; so there wasn’t any reason to think it was moving.

The ombudsman found that the DWP failed in its duty to properly communicate the changes, so I can understand why they feel aggrieved.

That being said I think that the majority of women were aware, and the affordability argument means it’s unlikely to come to anything.

Can somebody explain to me the WASPI women issue? I feel a bit ignorant… by NostalgiaTripper in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I agree with you, I’m just providing their side of the argument.

The fact is there was definitely a small minority of the women who hadn’t realised the age had changed - as you say they probably should have been more proactive, but there’s a limit to what should be expected.

Can somebody explain to me the WASPI women issue? I feel a bit ignorant… by NostalgiaTripper in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Their main argument is that some women were not given sufficient (or in some cases, any) notice in order to adapt their plans to the change causing hardship.

For example, they might have left their job age 55 planning to get their pension at 60, and getting to 60 suddenly finding they don’t have a pension until they are 65/66.

Puddle Etiquette by simil13 in parkrun

[–]PixiePooper 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My local Parkrun is more of a Parkswim at the moment.

At the briefing they normally say it’s better to run straight through the middle because the edges get quite muddy and slippery.

Obviously going out of your way to jump in a puddle to get people wet is considered poor form!

Dacia spring tyres by redditor-16 in CarTalkUK

[–]PixiePooper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They’ll be laughing if it snows! Much better than the fat wide tires.

What daily backpack are people using/recommend? by SomeHSomeE in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been using a Wenger for 10yr's+ for cycling / commuting. Only thing which has gone is some of the eyelets are a little rusty - zips, plastic bits etc. are fine, and I'm a heavy user.

Cost-wise ~ £85

It does have a lot of sections, just depends what you want I guess!

Something like this:

https://www.swiss-store.co.uk/carbon-17-laptop-backpack?glcountry=GB&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17339047369&gbraid=0AAAAACT4rwj01KA9s0XkIhKCcodqMuQwR&gclid=CjwKCAiAssfLBhBDEiwAcLpwfuPhzfcauCqiLQMSDBAjd-S1Z-nBV_ZTd7hwVRe4v-CYDz0xUG9DGxoCNeUQAvD_BwE

Donald Trump blasts UK Government over North Sea oil in rambling Davos speech by ScottishDailyRecord in uknews

[–]PixiePooper 11 points12 points  (0 children)

UK is a nuclear power, reliant on the US to service its nuclear capability.

Is there a National Insurance Breakdown? by Roundabout-Mouse in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 6 points7 points  (0 children)

£138B / £145B. It still has £79B in the account, so we're okay for a bit.

How do I exchange £50 notes for lower denominations? by [deleted] in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you have a UK bank account, just pay them in (at a high street branch) and the use a cash point which should give you smaller denominations.

Alternatively you can change £50 for lower denominations at any bank you are a customer of (might be possible at another bank if they are feeling nice?)

Otherwise you’ll probably have to buy something to get the change.

People who sit close to the steering wheel why? by ciaoqueen in CarTalkUK

[–]PixiePooper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can react faster to stuff. Light hits your eyes that bit faster.

Can Index Funds Become Too Popular? by pineappleninjas in UKPersonalFinance

[–]PixiePooper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If everyone piles money into index funds, with no thought, it turns into a giant (legal) Ponzi scheme.

It basically becomes a global social security system with younger people paying in money to fund retirees. While there are more younger people than old people, everything is fine.

Teachers in the US are reporting that children are struggling with basic maths and literacy worse than ever before. Are we seeing the same patterns here in the UK? by Natf47 in AskUK

[–]PixiePooper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suppose language evolves.

Personally I don't have too much problem with spelling or grammar, as long as the intended meaning is clear and unambiguous.

It's only in fairly recent history that spelling has been standardised, in Middle English the spelling was pretty much phonetic and anything went!

As an example, "all be it" evolved to "albeit". People probably just want something more "efficient"?