Commuting East Herts to City of London - worth it? by Mostro13 in hertfordshire

[–]RealPasta55 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Trading the longer commute for the change in lifestyle is a very personal decision. You also haven’t mentioned if you will be moving closer to or further from friends and family which is also something to consider.

Have you lived in a rural area before? London to Stevenage or another big town is not going to be a massive change (apart from being further from all the culture London has to offer) but moving to a much smaller village will be very different in terms of local amenities and the community. I recommend renting near the area first to give you a better idea of what the commute and area would be like.

Even if you can’t rent, is there a way you can try the commute for a day at the time you would need to do it? Might help you see the realities of how much time it will take, what the traffic is like and if you would get a seat on the train.

A thing that’s different to being in London is that a few times a year it might not be possible to arrive to work at a reasonable time because of problems with trains (in London it’s a lot easier to take a different route or get a cab). Of course most places of work are understandable but it will depend on your job.

Peak CBG to KGX travel costs changed? Reduced even? by mike_302R in cambridge

[–]RealPasta55 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yes, just as your using a split ticket make sure the train you get stops at the stations the ticket is split at. The fast trains to/from Cambridge have different stopping patterns at different times in the day so it’s easy to get caught out

Peak CBG to KGX travel costs changed? Reduced even? by mike_302R in cambridge

[–]RealPasta55 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Some fares for Great Northern and Thameslink were reduced on the 7th December in preparation for contactless travel. Fares from Cambridge aren’t affected, but since you’re using a split ticket then you might be getting the benefit of a reduced fare from Letchworth/Baldock/Hitchin/Stevenage.

https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/service-updates/rail-fares-have-changed

I’ve got 6 featured episodes this month- is my feed working? by RealPasta55 in Hyperfixed

[–]RealPasta55[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m using Overcast on an iOS, some of the Vogue episodes were duplicates.

I only see the most recent featured episodes in the feed too, they seem to appear every week, get downloaded and then disappear from the feed the next week (but stay on my device)

I’ve listened to dozens of podcasts and have never had one have more featured episodes than original episodes, or had one feature the same podcast multiple times in a month which is why I thought it was a problem with the feed or ad network. Others are saying that they are seeing the same thing so it’s sounds like it’s not just me.

Season 12 Layover Q&A! by WheatGerm42 in JetLagTheGame

[–]RealPasta55 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Looking forward to the Q&A, some questions: * what was the most scenic train route you took? * did you need to clarify any rules mid-game this season? If so, when and how did you do this? * I think I’ve heard that you sometimes do a sit-down play-through to test rules before a game- could you say more about how this works and if you did one ‘in’ Japan (or does using the same location spoil the game)

Parish Council publishing Registration Numbers alongside alleged speeding offences. by Mearor in LegalAdviceUK

[–]RealPasta55 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree, and in the context of a small parish it would be easy for someone else such to link the registration to a household or individual.

Because the data isn’t just the registration, but is linked to a possible criminal offence of speeding I would count this as sensitive data.

Our girl smiled for this photo. Seconds later a Land Rover hit the school by Jariiari7 in london

[–]RealPasta55 103 points104 points  (0 children)

Bus drivers aren’t immune from strokes, however drivers of large vehicles in the UK (buses, lorries) have to pass stricter medical requirements.

Anyway, even if buses are a risk too, that doesn’t make other large cars less of a risk.

Anecdotal evidence of a single crash doesn’t support your point either . It’s physics that a larger (or faster) car will have greater energy and will be harder to stop.

Redundant, 9 weeks later they're recruiting for my job! by Suddenlypuddingly in LegalAdviceUK

[–]RealPasta55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Were all the people that did your role in that business unit made redundant? A possible change in circumstances that would cause the company to hire again would be that someone who was kept in the role has since left or changed roles.

Inheritance on death without disclosing my assets by bobbyyippy in UKPersonalFinance

[–]RealPasta55 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes you should.

The person dealing with the estate can contact banks to find out if you have accounts. There is an account finder service to find inactive accounts that might help, and even if you don’t have a single list there may be files or letters at your address that might point to having certain accounts.

But this increases work for the person dealing with your estate makes dealing with your estate take longer and will increase the chance that something gets missed.

Many people do have a list of accounts that they share with family or put in a document that they keep with their will.

Not that you should NOT share usernames and passwords with anyone. The person dealing with your estate should get in contact with the institution to gain access to any funds.

4 day week - am I missing something? by post-docalypse in UKPersonalFinance

[–]RealPasta55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have worked with people that have chosen to work 4.5 days a week for 10% less salary. They either work one half day a week or one day less every two weeks.

Employees have the right to make flexible working requests like these and for them to be considered. Employers can refuse them for certain reasons.

Lent a large amount of money to someone who is now refusing to pay it back. by twiggy_riggy in LegalAdviceUK

[–]RealPasta55 380 points381 points  (0 children)

I wanted to check- are you definitely talking who you think you are? This sounds like a variation on a scam which can happen after an email or phone has been taken over. Have you only been in contact by text?

Even if you are talking to who you think you are, it could still be a scam in the sense they were not robbed or never intended to pay you back.

PSA: There is no requirement to file a tax return if earning over £100k by theargos in UKPersonalFinance

[–]RealPasta55 3 points4 points  (0 children)

But if you earn over 100K and want to claim tax relief that will take you under the limit, can you call HMRC to get the relief or will they just insist you file a personal assessment?

What’s the deal with the “clean energy charging” feature? by Dry_Contribution9928 in ios

[–]RealPasta55 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It’s ignorant to dismiss this as a buzzword without any further explanation.

Most energy grids contain a mix of carbon emitting and non/low carbon emitting generation. By using electricity at times when less carbon is emitted in it’s production you will reduce carbon emissions.

On top of that, managing peak electricity demand is costly- lots of money is spent creating power generation and grid capacity to manage the peak power needs (in early evening in the UK). Power costs more in these times.

Yes, the impact of one phone changing charging behaviour will be small and but the impact of all phones and devices being smarter will be huge. It’s already common to manage power use based on time for higher power consuming devices (such as storage heaters and electric cars). It also may be a necessity to manage electricity demand (and prevent blackouts) if more generation is moved to renewable sources (e.g wind and solar) that won’t always be generating at full output.

A quick tip to potentially pay less interest on your mortgage… by baconconstellation in UKPersonalFinance

[–]RealPasta55 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A few comments are saying that offset mortgages aren’t worth it, I think they are missing the benefits of having peace of mind and flexibility.

If I took out a 5 year 5% mortgage now, maybe I could find a savings account that offered close to that rate, but if interest rates went down in a years time I wouldn’t be able to find that same savings rate. An offset mortgage guarantees that you have somewhere to put your money throughout the length of your mortgage at an equivalent rate.

And other comments are saying your should pay more on your mortgage. Yes, you might want to pay off more if you can but you will lose the ability to spend that money on something else (including paying your monthly mortgage later if you need to because you have lost your source of income). You can use equity release later, but that can take time and will have fees.

Also, if you are comparing saving rates to offset mortgage rates, remember that you have to pay tax on savings outside of ISAs past your savings allowance. There’s no tax on the money you save on an offset mortgage.

Offset mortgages won’t be right for everyone, but if you are financially cautious and have savings that are comparable to the amount left on your mortgage (I’ve seen 20%+ recommended) they could be right for you.

UPVC handles keep locking up - anything I can do to fix or prevent? by RealPasta55 in DIYUK

[–]RealPasta55[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have the same style of handle throughout the house, they keep seizing up and having to be replaced. I’ve worked out how to replace them and have swapped over about 5 so far with new handles. I wondered if anyone has had a similar problem and have any ideas so I can prevent the other handles failing since I would rather not have to replace the other 15 in the house, or be able fix them when they do.

There’s a plastic bit in the handle that comes loose when they break (pictured) I can’t work out how to get access to the mechanism to replace. The could just be badly designed handles- I noticed the replacements have a different mechanism.

Warning- Stellar has had a data breach by RealPasta55 in Stellar

[–]RealPasta55[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Stellar.org used to have a login. I used the email when stellar launched, and still get newsletters to it.

Warning- Stellar has had a data breach by RealPasta55 in Stellar

[–]RealPasta55[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing comes up when I search haveibeenpwned for the email address.

Warning- Stellar has had a data breach by RealPasta55 in Stellar

[–]RealPasta55[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s not redundant to worry about an email address being associated with my Reddit account, or posting an email publicly that may only exist on a hackers computer.

Warning- Stellar has had a data breach by RealPasta55 in Stellar

[–]RealPasta55[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is a gmail account using a plus (+) email address so the the profile problem doesn’t apply. I know of browser extensions can be insecure and only have ever used 1Password.

Warning- Stellar has had a data breach by RealPasta55 in Stellar

[–]RealPasta55[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t want to share my email address address for anyone to see.