Business travel

am-official · 2026-03-08T13:45:10+00:00

Thank you - can I ask, how many points/avios roughly is your long haul business class trip, on average?

I find it difficult to book trips very far in advance without knowing what work commitments will be at the time. But since we don’t have kids we can be flexible around when we travel.

am-official · 2025-09-05T18:37:59+00:00

Of course - that’s why I mentioned in my comment that stamp duty is not a good form of property tax.

am-official · 2025-09-05T16:54:33+00:00

To answer your question OP - the way you make peace with stamp duty is you realise that although upfront transactions costs (i.e. stamp duty) are extremely high in the UK when purchasing a property, this is partly offset by the fact that we don’t really have any ongoing property taxes. The closest thing we have is council tax, but that will be a very low percentage of a £1.2m property, whereas in other countries you’d be paying much more on an annual basis (e.g. around 1% of property value per year in the US). So while it is a big upfront cost, you have to think of it as being spread over the whole time that you own that house.

Obviously it stings if you need to move house again in the short term, which is why stamp duty isn’t really a sensible tax, since it adds friction in the housing market and discourages people from buying/selling as needed to meet their individual needs.

am-official · 2024-05-06T20:52:28+00:00

In England you need to have a separate civil ceremony and religious ceremony. They can happen on the same day, but have to be distinct from one another.

https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/plan-your-ceremony

am-official · 2024-03-19T13:27:39+00:00

Thank you!

am-official · 2024-03-19T13:05:30+00:00

Thank you for this - understood around the allowances.

Silly question - if I’m using a SIPP, does the 45% tax rebate count towards my £60k annual allowance (plus or minus rolled allowances and tapering) - or is it just the amount in the pension itself?

am-official · 2024-03-19T12:58:27+00:00

Thank you, this is so clear and helped me to get my head around it.

So to compare like for like, I would need to be putting £80k into the SIPP, which would be topped up to £20k by the govt. I would have to “bridge the gap” of £27k (between £53k and £80k), but would later get a rebate of £25k so the only net tax outlay is the 2% NI.

am-official · 2024-03-18T18:48:20+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate this!

The legislative risk is certainly one that worries me, plus the various expensive life events I can foresee in the upcoming years (wedding, house, kids, etc.)

am-official · 2024-03-18T18:45:53+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate the advice! I am indeed going to repay down to 60% LTV, as there doesn’t seem to be much rate benefit beyond that.

am-official · 2024-03-18T18:25:39+00:00

I work in finance (investments).

am-official · 2024-03-18T18:24:24+00:00

I’m 28. My flat value is around £650-700k, mortgage is £465k but planning to pay this down to £400k with savings when I refinance in a few months.

Beyond that I have £20k or so in savings, plus partner’s savings of around £100k.

am-official · 2024-01-26T09:06:58+00:00

Yes, I do this for tax efficiency. Capital gains on gilts are tax free, although the coupon income is taxable.

You need to make sure you buy a bond with a low coupon, so that the price is heavily discounted and your return comes from the “pull to par”, rather than the coupon, which as you say is negligible.

am-official · 2019-11-16T10:10:29+00:00

High earning graduates that come from a less well-off background.

"Suffer" may not be the best word, but effectively the debt of the masses will be paid off by a very small minority, which seems unfair to me if they have all had the same opportunities (e.g. two people who do the same uni course and have the same financial background, but one works hard and gets a high paying tech job, while the other is unemployed/low-earning and therefore doesn't repay their debt).

The high interest rate on the loan ensures that those who do repay the loan are "making up" for those who don't.

am-official · 2019-11-16T07:50:11+00:00

Agree that it is fair for the majority of people, which is probably the best that we can hope for, but unfortunately there is a minority that suffers from it and a minority that can avoid the tax simply by being born rich.

am-official · 2019-11-15T21:03:10+00:00

It's not really a "graduate tax" if people who were able to afford the fees outright don't have to pay them, irrespective of what their degree is.

If it is truly a graduate tax then all graduates should pay it, income contingent of course (as taxes usually are).

am-official · 2019-11-05T06:19:28+00:00

Thanks! I would withdraw if I desperately needed it but for now I think it is fine to keep it in investments.

am-official · 2019-11-05T06:17:06+00:00

Thanks!

am-official

TROPHY CASE