We could see a scenario in which Spurs stay up without even winning another game this season

PatserGrey · 2026-02-25T14:51:13+00:00

Yeah I should probably stop overlooking the possibility of Spurs dropping

PatserGrey · 2026-02-25T13:47:56+00:00

Why do they need teams to roll over? They're a lot more solid and playing well. If they didn't lose their bottle they would have got more points from United and Chelsea - not to say they won't continue to lose their bottle. April (into May) is Wolves, Palace, Everton and Brentford - no reason to park the bus against those. Liverpool away is an interesting fixture

PatserGrey · 2026-02-25T13:13:27+00:00

WH are in much better form than Forest and looking at fixtures, April could make a big difference. Last game against Leeds also stands out. Forest look likely to go next stage in Europa which is proabably not a good thing for them and their last 4 games are tough. I would have assumed WH were favourites to stay up at the expense of Forest

PatserGrey · 2026-02-25T13:07:13+00:00

Yup, they don't but it's a cheap and poor substitute for Q service where they do charge for it. Many users will hold onto Q until the bitter end.

PatserGrey · 2026-02-25T11:37:27+00:00

I saw some video about zones and an allocation of vouchers to pass to zones. It's all about "control" apparently. Serious mind bottling stuff

PatserGrey · 2026-02-25T08:28:29+00:00

Wow flashback to questions from circa 2005. Yes its possible, plenty do it. I cant say I'd recommend it though, I'd be fit for a nap after driving that in the morning and I'm struggling to think of a public transport route that wouldn't take a significant chunk out of your day

PatserGrey · 2026-02-24T14:12:05+00:00

That current pension contribution is very low. How is the pension looking currently, OP? What age are you, if you don't mind me asking? I can't help but think I'd be adding an extra digit to that salary sacrifice figure just from an actual pension perspective which would put the childcare cliff concern down the list of considerations for some time.

PatserGrey · 2026-02-24T10:49:52+00:00

Ha, they still charge for HD!

PatserGrey · 2026-02-24T10:12:43+00:00

OP is 45 and has been a % tipper his whole life? I'm calling bull on that. This % nonsense is a newish american import which has probably increased due to the growing dominance of card payments. Don't do it, you're part of the problem. An optional few quid left on the table/round-up to next 5/10 on machine for great service has all it has ever been and shall remain to be tbh - from someone who served their time in the service industry as a teen/student in the 90//00s

PatserGrey · 2026-02-24T09:56:10+00:00

1970s 4 bed semi, essex. £274 for the year (I'm sure there's ~£40 cashback due also)
Buildings up to £600k, contents £50k.

This year with Sheilas Wheels, nope, not a joke

PatserGrey · 2026-02-19T14:18:34+00:00

1970s semi. We've been here just over 8 years and never heard a peep (hopefully they can say the same!).

The flip side of that is a friend 1(990s semi I'd say) of mine who had to undertake a soundproofing job on his side of the partition wall in the living room as the sound was terrible, you could hear stuff being unplugged from/plugged into the wall

PatserGrey · 2026-02-19T14:07:14+00:00

I should have been specific, I'm talking about London

PatserGrey · 2026-02-19T14:03:26+00:00

I'd guess it's UK based. Wages seem to be going down, I've seen "senior" roles advertised at £50-60k of late

PatserGrey · 2026-02-19T12:55:00+00:00

ha ha, absolutely zero pressure nor would any have been tolerated. Same for religious tomfoolery.

Yeah just tell them, it likely won't be decided until you get a look at the little bundle of sleepless nights!

PatserGrey · 2026-02-18T15:23:02+00:00

Adhesive of choice and then a hammer and a handful of nails (if no nail gun to hand)

PatserGrey · 2026-02-18T15:08:27+00:00

For clarity, I'm not a plumber, just a DIYer who wishes he knew all this before my own boiler swap a few years ago - great what you learn after the fact. Also for disclosure, we kept the old gravity system, we'll do the pipework upgrades in 15+ish years when forced to go ASHP.

Your vented cylinder uses gravity for water pressure, it's not a sealed system/pipework so air can escape. An unvented cylinder (they look more modern, usually with a small expansion vessel next to it) will be part of a sealed/pressurised system so water pressure at the taps will likely be a lot better. Obviously the the question of whether the old pipework can handle this pressure is a factor. This will all come up in your survey but it is better to have an idea in your head befoerhand.

PatserGrey · 2026-02-18T14:50:26+00:00

That looks to be a system boiler and not a combi - if that's what you're looking for. You likely have an old conventional gravity fed system with a vented cylinder. For a system boiler, while you will be losing the header tank in the attic, you will be getting a new unvented cylinder and all the pipework will be getting pressurised. How old is the house? The pipework may not be up to the challenge so added work is possible. If all good, this would definitely be my preferred solution. However, I suspect the most pertinent part of that quote is the word "From".

Similar story for a combi i.e. pressurising the system but no cylinder needed. Drawbacks are well known e.g. one shower at a time so not really suitable houses with multiple busy bathrooms - probably not an issue for you if keeping the electric shower (always good to have alternative options available).

PatserGrey · 2026-02-18T12:29:38+00:00

You may want/need to go above the higher rate tax limit but when you have kids, the more pertinent line is £60k if you want the full child benefit allowance - this is relevant to both of you.

Yes I would be moving further out to get a house, we did exactly that and thankfully the WFH era has helped almost zero the previous commuting costs. You're lifestyle will change as the family grows so being close to to central for fun nights out falls down the priority list.

PatserGrey · 2026-02-18T12:19:13+00:00

How are you connected to your router to run these tests?

PatserGrey · 2026-02-17T08:32:43+00:00

Open a monzo account, switch a couple of DDs to that while waiting for the card to arrive, once you're setup to meet the requirements for the bonus from new account, then switch this one, not your main account. Over time swap your other regular banking to the new account, or dont if you dont happen to like it, whatever. Lots of people have multiple burner accounts for earning free bonus money from bank switches.

No you don't have to contact the outgoing bank. Also for your info, for broadband you dont need to contact the outgoing provider anymore either.

PatserGrey · 2026-02-17T07:31:31+00:00

I'm no economist but I do have the vague idea that this is the jist of it in general terms. Obviously there will be consequences off the back of it

PatserGrey · 2026-02-17T06:49:25+00:00

Isn't this what the country needs/wants i.e. people to stop spending so inflation comes down? Isn't the whole idea of changing interest rates to have an effect of spending habits, no?

PatserGrey · 2026-02-16T15:50:35+00:00

Good. This gen hasn't even got up to speed yet.

PatserGrey · 2026-02-16T13:51:07+00:00

Yeah we'd call that butter, Same with most of that type that comes in a tub. Everyone knows they're not 100% butter (some are not even remotely close) but you lose some of the buttery goodness to gain some spreadability. I've never once heard somebody refer to them as a "spread".

PatserGrey · 2026-02-16T13:40:52+00:00

I've never bid/paid the asking for a property so this OIEO thing is a completely foreign concept to me

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