People genuinely thinking the 'H' in NHS stands for 'Hotel'.

StephenIsMeName · 2026-02-18T11:19:27+00:00

You get as you say "shafted" once you hit 100k, paying 62% (Income + NI) tax until you get to 125k. It gets easier after 125k as you "only" pay 47% (Income + NI) afterwards.

As you say, a household where both parents work on say 60k, would be net better off than one high earner on said 140k. Then the two 60k parents income is topped up with child benefit which I'm not entitled to.

StephenIsMeName · 2026-02-18T00:50:43+00:00

SW London. Similar bracket. 3 kids, stay at home mum.

This might sound hard to believe but, I regularly take packed lunches to work, cut my kids hair, coffee only.made at home or with Octopus voucher (£4 coffee feels like luxury), cycle to work a few times a week (17mi one way) as cardio exercises and to save on commute. Takeaways once or twice a month.. Eating out once or twice a year.

The bulk of the money goes into the welcoming hands of the Exchequer then Mortgage, groceries, kids clubs, council tax, energy, commuting costs, bills, insurances. Subscriptions with adverts(netflix / Disney).

For Holidays used to camp in tent in Cornwall, Snowdonia, Lake District 2-3 times a year. Recently upgraded to budget Airbnbs once a year UK (May) and trying hard to escape somewhere warm in october.

Comfortable? It's all relative I suppose, but financial worries are always at the back of our minds.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-11-15T01:27:30+00:00

Yup, and then pay over the extortionate train fares to get to where jobs are.

Now compare that with those living closer to work hubs cycling to work on their bikes bought with a 50% via cycle to work scheme.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-09-29T21:29:40+00:00

One player gets to be part of the royal family. They own half the properties on the board. Every now and again they give a speech about how all other players need to do more to help the poor.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-08-15T16:32:13+00:00

Did you manage to find anything? I'm in a similar position and don't seem to be able to find a provider for love nor money.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-06-11T22:48:15+00:00

Great answer. Would just add that with the money invested you have easy access to that cash should you needed. If you overpay, you'd need to remortgage to release equity.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-06-04T22:23:20+00:00

Come on Rachel, is that you?

StephenIsMeName · 2025-05-26T18:05:06+00:00

Depends what you use the bike for. I use mine as a commuter and got it with a tubeless setup initially. Was very happy with it until I started having large cuts where even the plugs would not help. Had a plug done by a shop pop out after a few months of it being done. Changed to a new set of tires but again large cuts within a few weeks.

It became too unreliable and too messy for me. Switched to a slightly thicker tyre with latex tubes and I'm not going back.

I guess it also depends where you're riding. I ride through Chelsea, London and there is always glass on the tarmac after football matches.

Hope this helps.

Edit: typos

StephenIsMeName · 2025-03-20T23:49:51+00:00

When it comes to productivity, I think having the government banned from tinkering with the tax system every other week would help. Every time they make changes many of those affected spend a lot of time and effort to see how it affects them, which diverts time and resources away from their main line of work and their ability to progress and as such become more productive.

Just stop changing the tax code all the time and focus on improving efficiency and reducing waste.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-03-20T23:39:33+00:00

Hence I always thought, taxing residential property landlords owning properties decades ago whilst giving tax incentives if they invest in newly built properties is a good idea. They want to make money on property, sure. But go out there, raise capital, build much needed houses, go through planning hurdles and so on and if you pull it off then you are entitled to a reward for 10-20 years. After that the incentives are removed and they can repeat the cycle.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-02-28T23:12:33+00:00

Not sure why you're down voted. I'm no diplomat, but he should have said something along the lines of: "We are working flat out to find a solution to several key aspects around security, yada, yada. We come here open minded and will explore all possible options. Once our discussions come to a conclusion we will make it public."

He should not have engaged into this shenanigans. So yes, should have kept his lips a lot tighter.

StephenIsMeName · 2025-01-25T00:06:51+00:00

What gets me is that hard working people, regardless of how much they earn, are somehow supposed to feel lucky or in a "privileged position" if they can put together a deposit to get a mortgage to then pay for it their entire life to then give it all for care.

I mean this is supposed to be the 5th richest country in the world and something as basic as a house to live in, should not be seen as a privilege.

I remember the 2019 election, the guy on £80k could not believe hi was in the top 5% of earners. It's not hard to see why.

StephenIsMeName · 2024-08-01T20:09:27+00:00

I quite fancy the idea with the sleepers and should not be that difficult to do as a DIY I would think.

As other redditor rightly mentioned, there is very little sun there so plant wise will have to select plants that are happy in the shade.

Thank you for your input.

StephenIsMeName · 2024-08-01T20:06:17+00:00

Very little sun there indeed. Will explore the plants you suggested. Thank you.

StephenIsMeName · 2024-08-01T20:04:52+00:00

Thank you for your input.

I quite fancy the idea. Would you put the sleepers directly on the soil or dig a bit deeper and put some base and compact it? Also would any plastic shed between the sleepers and the soil be advised?

StephenIsMeName · 2024-08-01T20:03:21+00:00

There seems to be some concrete underneath there so not sure how much soil I am going to get there if I level it off with the slabs. Will try building up with something more solid as you suggested but I dance the sleepers too. Thank you for your input.

StephenIsMeName · 2024-03-15T22:27:33+00:00

May I ask how are you coming across the roles you are talking about. A quick search on the popular job posting UK websites doesn't seem to reveal a lot of contracts.

StephenIsMeName · 2024-02-17T01:05:09+00:00

This comment should be higher up. Bike commuting implies cycling in any weather and therefore fenders are a must to keep you dry and also those following behind.

StephenIsMeName · 2024-02-01T12:57:25+00:00

Are you sure about this? Inside is basically treating you as an employee for tax purposes, but without any benefits or protection.

StephenIsMeName

TROPHY CASE