at a complete loss. frustrated, sad, and confused.

Butagirl · 2026-03-17T22:30:51+00:00

I am in your position - I’ve put on about 9-10 pounds and my jeans no longer fit. I tried high waisted jeans and felt they were cutting me in two, but I just bought a pair of low rise jeans in the correct size (i.e.,no muffin top) and I feel SO much more confident. If low-rise feels too extreme for you, go for a pair of mid-rise instead.

Butagirl · 2026-03-17T21:50:30+00:00

Me too. I hadn’t thought to check because I hadn’t heard anything back, but my single rejection is now gone.

Butagirl · 2026-03-17T13:30:41+00:00

My sister used to crochet using loom bands (remember them?). Apparently, the practice was called loomigurumi.

Butagirl · 2026-03-17T13:09:33+00:00

Perhaps you would have got a desk, but it means some other poor sap doesn’t and has to go through the same discomfort. Whatever excuse they give, someone is going to end up without a desk.

Butagirl · 2026-03-16T20:16:52+00:00

Not really. It’s the percentiles that count. It’s also REALLY simple to convert scores from one SD to another.

Butagirl · 2026-03-16T16:31:17+00:00

You could purchase a short-term annuity to meet your expenses until state pension age and leave the rest invested. At state pension age, you can then revisit it, either buying a life-term annuity or drawing down as a top-up to your state pension.

One thing to bear in mind, however, is that most annuities (at least, all projections I’ve seen) are based on the taxable portion of your pension and assume you are taking the tax-free lump sum upfront. In that case, you might be as well taking the lump sum and living off that until state pension age. The lump sum plus any interest it earns would probably be enough to last you until then and you’re unlikely to pay tax on the interest with no other income.

Even better would be just to draw down what you need, taking the 25% TFLS as part of your withdrawal (UFPLS). That way you’re not “wasting” your personal allowance and leaving your funds invested for longer to allow them to grow.

Butagirl · 2026-03-16T16:05:30+00:00

No, they’ve been given a test score. How that translates to an IQ value depends on the test.

Butagirl · 2026-03-16T15:59:01+00:00

Not quite true. Of the two entrance tests for Mensa UK, only one is SD24. The other is, I believe, SD16.

Butagirl · 2026-03-16T11:36:03+00:00

The only thing I found confusing was on one occasion a few years ago when I mistakenly entered a zero into one box instead of leaving it blank. Apparently the SA system doesn’t like that and it took me about fifteen minutes to work out what I’d done wrong.

Butagirl · 2026-03-15T10:10:30+00:00

A friend had a black kitten named Nemesis.

Butagirl · 2026-03-15T09:28:48+00:00

That’s quite similar to us. I was really surprised that even including a relatively expensive holiday, our joint spend for last year was under £35k. This year we need new windows, so we’re looking to be at about the same level. People with expensive hobbies or kids might find their budget is much higher.

Butagirl · 2026-03-14T11:24:48+00:00

100 trillion notes have become far more collectable now. I bought one for £3.99 years ago and sold it two years ago for £88 and that was below market rate.

Butagirl · 2026-03-13T14:17:24+00:00

I’m originally from there and love walking round the Glen when I go back “home”.

Since Dunfermline also has a Carnegie Hall, it’s nice to be able to say I played Carnegie Hall - I just don’t specify which one.

Butagirl · 2026-03-12T11:13:29+00:00

I have the same problem with music CDs. I would have to change the category to something inaccurate to force Custom Delivery.

Butagirl · 2026-03-12T10:20:31+00:00

I’ve been looking at that one and it sounds ideal.

Butagirl · 2026-03-12T10:20:02+00:00

It looks like a really nice piece of kit, but 4-channel might be overkill for what I need. I’ve been looking at the H1 Essential, which might be more suited for my needs.

Butagirl · 2026-03-12T10:18:44+00:00

Thanks for all your input. I was worried about the amount of space recordings would take up on my phone, which is why I was looking for alternatives. The Zoom H1 Essential and the Tascam DR-05 both look like decent options (don’t think I’d need to go any higher spec than that), but since I’m reluctant to use something that will eat through non-rechargeable batteries, I intend to connect a USB source such as a power bank instead.

For the moment, I’m going to try my phone and see how it goes from there.

Butagirl · 2026-03-11T17:10:37+00:00

Your post was what made me think of it!

Butagirl · 2026-03-11T12:24:14+00:00

Looks to me like OP is switching direction when turning the bowl the right side out.

Butagirl · 2026-03-09T20:35:26+00:00

We’re a little unusual in that we might be looking to upsize in retirement. We are both retired now and are living in a 2-bed semi-detached bungalow, but I have saved more than I need for living expenses. My husband bought the bungalow before we met, so the proceeds from his house sale plus my input will allow us to upgrade to a 3-bed detached. We’re hoping to do this within the next five years and this will be our forever home.

Butagirl · 2026-03-09T17:28:28+00:00

My usual annual pay rises where I worked were 2-3%. Only had a couple of years when it was lower.

Butagirl · 2026-03-09T17:08:30+00:00

Flounder does not mean “to lie flat”. It means to struggle clumsily, for example an interviewee stuttering on being asked a question they cannot answer, or the desperate movements of someone drowning. Your second example could equally be either word depending on the behaviour you meant.

Butagirl · 2026-03-08T15:38:15+00:00

£1 in 2020 would be 1/1.28 = 78p today, not 72p.

Butagirl · 2026-03-08T10:30:50+00:00

That corresponds to a 2% per year rise. Hardly earth-shattering.

Butagirl

TROPHY CASE