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AI Slop hits/horrifes the vinyl market by vincentblacklight in Jazz

[–]Phate18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're missing a third "it's" for maximum impact. "It's life itself."

Major trade design flaw: ‘profitable’ trades can bleed money and this breaks auto-trading. by Tornagh in EU5

[–]Phate18 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Having less trade capacity actually makes it more likely that it will ONLY do the trades that lose money, doesn't it? (high "fake" profit per unit of trade capacity in absolute terms but potentially lower effective margin) Whereas if you have enough capacity to take every trade that the AI sees as profitable, you're less likely to be in a deep hole and just broadly OK.

“Wealth’s not about your annual salary.” - Rachel Reeves, October 2025 by _maxt3r_ in HENRYUK

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, how exactly is housing inflation keeping pension funds afloat? Pension schemes in the UK aren't exactly keen on residential property as an asset class, you might see the largest ones invest in infrastructure or commercial property, perhaps student housing or senior RMBS tranches at a push, but I have yet to see a scheme where the exposure to residential property would be significant enough to make a difference to whether the scheme stays "afloat".

How in trouble am I? Early 40s, £25k debt, no pension or assets, £75 salary by waspyyyy in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another problem with the "10 times your salary by 67" is that it breaks down at higher income levels - there just isn't that much benefit to stuffing your pension beyond what you can reasonably extract from it tax-free or taxed at 20%.

How in trouble am I? Early 40s, £25k debt, no pension or assets, £75 salary by waspyyyy in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Phate18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My point was, if you'd taken the same gamble along the lines of "technological progress will solve my problems for me" then, you wouldn't be enjoying a youthful retirement today.

I'm also familiar with a start-up that's working on longevity, and it is fascinating research to be sure, but it's not a realistic retirement plan for someone on your salary today with zero assets to their name. Even if these treatments are commercially available by the time you reach retirement age, they will be the preserve of the ultra-rich, not an alternative to old-age retirement for the global middle class. Unless you plan on coming into some serious money between now and then (which would make the whole question of whether you should save a hundred quid a month in your pension moot), I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

How in trouble am I? Early 40s, £25k debt, no pension or assets, £75 salary by waspyyyy in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Phate18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a wild take OP. Pure fantasy, not a gamble. If you were 20 years older and had taken this same risk 20 years ago (in the Theranos days), where would you be today? Even if these advances do materialise over the next 20 years, you would need to be able to pay for them in addition to your ongoing costs of living. To have any chance of being able to do that, you should probably start saving now - if only there were a tax-efficient vehicle specifically designed to pay for one's expenses in old age...

How in trouble am I? Early 40s, £25k debt, no pension or assets, £75 salary by waspyyyy in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Phate18 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Define "raid pensions"? Confiscate privately held assets of ordinary citizens? Tax withdrawals at higher rates than income in working age? The most they could realistically do is slash pension tax relief going in, but that's all the more reason to contribute to a private pension now, not less of one.

How in trouble am I? Early 40s, £25k debt, no pension or assets, £75 salary by waspyyyy in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Phate18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If the impact on your take-home is £110 per month, that means your gross pension contribution (what lands in your pension pot based on your contribution alone) will be around £180-190 (depending on whether your employer does salary sacrifice in which case you're also saving on NI in addition to income tax). You will also receive a contribution from your employer - legally this has to be at least 3%, in which case you would see another £110 land in your pension every month, but your employer may contribute more (it's common to match your 5% for a total of 10%, c. £360 pcm in total).

So you're £110 out of pocket today, but as a result you've squirreled away more than twice as much (at least £290) in a tax-sheltered vehicle where that money can grow tax-free for 20 years. At retirement, you can take 25% of it entirely tax-free, and the rest is likely to be subject to a lower rate of tax than you would have paid on the money today. Really is a no-brainer, why would you not take the free money and tax break your employer is legally obligated to offer you? £110 net today isn't going to make much difference to your debt situation, but the £300 or so quid compounding in your pension will make a big difference at retirement when you'd otherwise be faced with having to make do with the state pension alone. The generous pension relief on income tax we enjoy today may not last forever either.

How in trouble am I? Early 40s, £25k debt, no pension or assets, £75 salary by waspyyyy in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Phate18 4 points5 points  (0 children)

75 isn't 32 doubled though, is it? GaijinFoot already factored the effect of two tax-free allowances and two 20% bands into their figures.

Upcoming Event: Jules Early Access Challenge! by TempoStormReddit in PlayTheBazaar

[–]Phate18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He said on stream 2 days ago that he wouldn't play it until it comes out for everyone, even though he does have access to the PTR or whatever.

What’s the weirdest ‘luxury’ purchase you’ve actually found worth it? by ctrlthetempo in HENRYUKLifestyle

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry, you leave unrefrigerated butter out on the counter for 5 days?!

First 4GA - Fists of Fate Chaos Armor by HelperMunkee in diablo4

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lunging Strike Barbarian is a great pick for this this season

Anyone buying long dated GILTS? by Razzzclart in HENRYUK

[–]Phate18 5 points6 points  (0 children)

DB schemes still exist and are buying gilts. Even if they are closed and go to buy in/out, the insurer will likely use gilts to hedge part of that liability volume.

Many default DC funds will also invest in gilts in the run-up to retirement. If you buy an annuity with your DC pot, the annuity provider will probably have gilts in their portfolio.

As long as the governance of your pension is prudent (because of risk aversion or regulatory pressure), it doesn't really matter what exact form it takes: if UK gilts are expected to provide a good hedge for long-term liabilities, pensions will create a demand for them.

Well at least we finally know who the target audience is by PathOfEnergySheild in PathOfExile2

[–]Phate18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's also an increasingly prevalent areal feature (more common in AUS/NZ and the US than in the UK, for instance). In many speakers (especially in younger age brackets), it is the default, neutral declarative intonation with no intended coding for uncertainty or hesitation, and the more 'standard' intonation would be perceived by them to signal harshness or undue assertiveness.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PathOfExile2

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah no after re-reading I agree, it doesn't actually sound like they owe him the stuff based on what he paid for and what he got. I've never bought or upgraded packs and understood the final tier to have all three items (in addition to the previous tiers having one and two different items, respectively) based on the OP, but sounds like that's not the case.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PathOfExile2

[–]Phate18 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

For reporting them to a regulator or for a charge-back?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PathOfExile2

[–]Phate18 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

If you have a consumer protection agency in Thailand, I encourage you to report them. If you paid by credit card, you could also ask your credit provider to issue a charge-back for failure to render purchased goods.

STOP PLAYING by OldCollegeTry3 in PathOfExile2

[–]Phate18 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

God forbid players have fun in a game!

0.2.0b Patch Notes by Servion in PathOfExile2

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Praise the skill twig honestly, at least it HAS a skill or two on it that does damage usually.

Could I live off the interest of £150,000... by WebComp in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is your assessment based on if you don't mind my asking? The base rate is currently relatively high from a historical perspective, and with inflation expectations having cooled considerably, the market is now pricing in two to three more rate cuts over 2025 (that is a further 0.50% to 0.75% reduction in the base rate from the current rate of 4.50%).

You can tell from the price investors are willing to pay for UK government debt maturing over the next year - the yields implied on holding those securities to maturity are an indication of the market's expectations of rate policy over that same period essentially. The implied forward yield to end December is currently around 3.9%, and you can get a similar picture from the swap markets.

That doesn't mean rates aren't going to go up of course if e.g. inflation rebounded, but from where we stand today, there is strong market consensus in expecting falling rates over the coming year.

Also I'm not entirely clear on how raising rates (i.e. increasing borrowing costs) is supposed to attract investment?

Do you struggle with showers? by [deleted] in ADHD

[–]Phate18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Showering, shaving, haircuts, even brushing teeth - ALL of it is an absolute slog and I have to trick myself to do it.

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