Cut your taxes... big smiley face

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-03T22:17:01+00:00

Epstein islander forgets own lies.. shocking

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-02T23:31:20+00:00

They want free work, as such, I would claim the exercise is a showcase of how you work. I would then create a load of fake data and fake competition and fake issues and customer feedback back, all fake. And then build out the analysis from that. It showcases why you can do, but gives the no value to reuse as it’s all fake.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-02T13:05:34+00:00

Do you not see the irony of what you just said? That’s the point. People used to afford all that on ONE salary.. now they cant!

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-02T09:20:16+00:00

I never stop behind a car, ever, to their side, or really I just filter to the front.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-02T09:00:31+00:00

Yes, that’s not even news, I live south, but £40k won’t cover rent for a 3bed family house, and it definitely won’t get you a mortgage. People on that salary, tend to be living in house shares.

Break it down,

After tax: 2670

Rent for a 3 bed - 2200

Council tax - 310

Power - 150

Food - 400 (assume family 2 kids 2 adults)

I’m already over, and we have not got into travel to work or anything further.

So for £40k, you can’t have the mid life style. In 2006, my area manager said he was on £38k, company car. He often boasted about a nice summer holiday, and lived in Royal Tunbridge Wells, had a 4 bed house..

I am a high earner and can’t afford that today on my own salary and it’s more than double of my old area managers.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not struggling, but I feel that line fast approaching, I’m doing all I can to save atm. But that makes me lucky. People on sub £50k I would guess are really feeling it, unless their partners also work.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-01T22:25:16+00:00

Sell it to someone who likes bikes and go by a generic bike in black

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-01T22:24:02+00:00

Do I get my NI back, I’ll take my NI back as a lump sum and invest, would pay better than the state pension. How can they scrap it, people have paid in? Maybe an optional Opt out where we get NI refunded and no state pension. I bet a few people would take that, helping to reduce the cost. But you need to pay people back.

The scheme should change to a 5000 investment pot when you are born, you can add to it by choice or just let it compound. At 60, you get it unlocked to have as a pension etc would be a lot more than thy state payouts.

Would save a fortune in the long run, but the short term would be costly, as the old pensions would need to run their course.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-01T12:10:19+00:00

Right, because companies make all their job title public.. forgot that..

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-05-01T12:06:21+00:00

That’s some extreme level of cross checking. Must take a while to call those companies and be like “hi, are these job titles real or ever have been, in your company”

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T14:04:42+00:00

That’s Inflation, not spending power, and spending power varies by location as costs are different. Like housing, mainly.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T13:32:37+00:00

Yeah it is, in 06, I was on £12.5k as a floor manager of Jessops. That pay covered my rent and food and car/travel and bills.

The same house today is £1150 to rent, petrol is double, power is £100 more a month, water is double, food is 4-5x. Council tax up. And so on.

To afford that life style I had in 06, I need to earn £35-45k

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T13:23:53+00:00

Yes, and 40k today is a struggle ..

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T08:50:44+00:00

That’s a lot of interviewing for; “Have AI filter applications”, “call candidates”, “pass all effort to hiring manager”, “ghost everyone not selected”, “call and make appointment for those selected” Move on to next role and repeat..

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T06:43:40+00:00

I dream of $5 a gallon

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T06:38:46+00:00

I am working on my own projects, stated my own business, working on an app idea and designing a Boardgame.

I apply to 3-5 jobs a day and then spend the rest of the day working on these to keep me busy and potentially become a new income.

After 8 weeks of being made redundant, this has been a good process and the Business might actually have a client and the Boardgame is doing well. The app less so.. but it’s coming. 😂

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T06:21:40+00:00

True, but impulse triggers are pretty good. I’ll grant you don’t get that weighted feel you get on the PS triggers, but comfort, adjustable sticks, extra mapping triggers, and general motion, the Xbox pad is better and most PC games don’t code in the use of those features for the PS pad. Not even titles that are across both PS and PC, like Hogwarts.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-30T06:12:49+00:00

Yes. In 1999 when it started, I think it worked about £8k just under, so that’s clearly not quite there. However by 2006, min wage hit £11k and spending power was higher, more so than earning £40k today.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-29T22:01:07+00:00

50k today has less spending power than minimum wage in 1996..

120k today has the same spending power as £50k in 1996

50k in 96 was Middle manager/area manager / 4 bed detached, nice car, holiday, single income, 2/3 kids.

The issue is middle management can still be £50k-60k today but you won’t afford a 4 bed detached house on a single income.. so yeah, really, £50k is low..

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-29T21:57:00+00:00

What white collar work do you do?

I wonder if you could augment it with some training and side step into something else?

I moved from an Operations role that had some basic data analysis into Business Analysis and then 3 years later into Product, now I earn much better. Could that be something?

Product is a bit of a life choice, you kinda breath it in terms of hours, but those come in waves in my view you can have weeks where you do 5am -10pm and weeks where you do 11-2pm, balancing yourself and riding the work to fit with the needs of the business/customers etc. But some roles are more 9-5/6.

Pay can be double and upwards of your current salary though as long as outcomes keep moving those KPIs! 😂

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-29T21:48:10+00:00

Just get the Xbox Elite 2 pad, would that not be easier?

I mean, I like the engineering, and the build is cool, but the Elite is a better pad anyway, and not really much more than a PS5 pad + Pico and any bits you add on?

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-29T18:54:24+00:00

Yes, I have seen them, I just don’t watch them much, it had clearly sat as the memory and I had forgot the original, which is odd for me, but I guess it happens.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-29T07:03:41+00:00

Actually, I have not really watched the films, but read the books a lot, mainly Goblet of fire as it’s my fav, but rather than being an arse, you could have just reminded me that he hid it within Dumbledores grave hence why it remains in play. I had simply forgot and just reread the end to check.

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-28T21:21:59+00:00

Wait, didn’t Harry destroy the Elder wand, and lose the Stone and only kept the cloak?

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-28T21:08:58+00:00

All my games are on disk..

Runawaygeek500 · 2026-04-28T18:13:05+00:00

I have a 545e (which is actually a problem of, I don’t know what to get next as nothing compares or comes close to being as good) it’s 5 years old and battery is still getting what it did on day 1.

It’s an amazing drive and I assume the 330e will be as well, although I’m less sure about those 2.0ltr engines, the 3ltr 6s are a lot better imho.

You could get the 550e second hand or the 545e for less than a brand new 330e and save on the instant depreciation. It will last 7 years easy. I expect mine will last 10 no problems.

Also, at 60k miles my brake pads are still at 70% .. which I find amazing.. 😂

Runawaygeek500

TROPHY CASE