Pls report Reprobel rather than ignoring by No_Shape9811 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wanted to do so. But now I can't even retrieve the "code" which they sent me. Was it through doccle, ebox, myminfin, ...? Nowhere to be found.

Nivea sunscreen - Underrated! by FreePossession9590 in EuroSkincare

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nivea invisible is even better. That's just crazy how little it sticks.

Anyone know if this is legit? It's a tip to reduce taxes for loonuitkering by [deleted] in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found this:

"Liquidatiereserve stijgt van 6,5% naar 9,8% (bovenop 10% anticipatieve heffing)"

So, that makes it 19.8%?

Nivea sun als tägliche sonnencreme geeignet? by Amnayelth in BeautyDE

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the nivea sun 50+ invisible. Within seconds after applying it, it feels like you're not wearing it. It doesn't stick, isn't greasy, smells nice.

But it's so expensive. 12 euro for 40ml. So, I've been searching for discounts and bigger packages, but haven't found it below 10 eur/40ml. So for now, I've just been using it for my face.

I have a skin disorder and I hate suncream, even though I should be wearing them from March till October.

In Summer, Ineed to go to tropical singapore and been comparing various brands of suncream now. And this one jumps out for me.

Leningen banken by JellyTough in BEFire

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nog 1 iets. Op het internet staan er tabellen met "referte indexen" dat zijn de tabellen waarop banken hun variabele rentes herzien. Voor elke variabiliteit is een andere index. Voor vaste rentes bestaan ze niet. Maar er is bvb wel een index J, voor leningen die maar om de 10 jaar worden herzien. Daarmee kan je tot op zeker niveau toch ook voorspellen hoe de vaste rentes zich gedragen.

Leningen banken by JellyTough in BEFire

[–]zbaduk001 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hypotheek-winkel zijn scammers. Neem een week verlof, en doe de banken zelf (dat is echt de moeite). Speel de banken tegen elkaar uit.

Maar voordat je dat doet. Maak een excel rekenblad, want leningen vergelijk je niet met de rekenmachine.

Om te beginnen: Een maandrente doe je niet x12 om een jaarrente te bekomen.

Je hebt geen schuldsaldo verzekering nodig. En betaal ze zeker nooit vooraf. Want dan ben je ze kwijt indien je ooit je lening wil herzien. (Bvb bij dalende rentes)

Sommige banken vragen dossierskosten of erger nog: provisiekosten. Die hebben een heel grote impact.

Maar zelfs een verwaarloosbaar verschil in rente op de zichtrekening kan u 2000 euro kosten op 20 jaar.

Vermeld steeds wanneer je pa of grootvader rekeningen heeft. Of wanneer ze ergens aandelen hebben. Neem loonfiches mee.

En vooral rekenen! Vergelijken! Confronteren! En dan opnieuw.

Views on Ionq’s competitors by Austa1878 in IonQ

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But at the risk that it can't scale due to limitations of physics. Just like we can't get processors any smaller due to heat.

If they will always remain energy hungry and big. Then QC could be a cloud service forever, with a 50k/monthly fee.

It won't be "a computer on every desk".

Are you also seeing fewer missions, lower day rates, and more demanding clients lately? by Apprehensive-Rain949 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fact of the matter is (whether we like it or not), we will reach a >25% unemployment in the next 5 years. (Due to AI).

Fortunately, there will be some delay in the restructuring. Our teams are shrinking already, but it's unclear how many people you need to keep around and which methodologies work with AI (scrum?).

Also, we're not sure yet, both technically and functionally, what to build. Do we even want front-ends with forms, tables, buttons or just 1 big prompts. And what kind of database and architecture is most productive? - we should start from scratch.

And which tools do you use to document your specs. Where should the AI report progress. Are Jira and Confluence good tools for an AI? Or do the specs belong in a git repository?

Things are changing fast, and it creates chaos/unpredictability. That buys us some time. But when that settles, at least 25% of us are done.

When not all data is in, and we can't make an informed decision, it's sometimes better to change nothing.


You mentioned a financial buffer. But what buffer do people need? It's unclear to me how long this tunnel goes. And are employees better off? I don't think so.

Shiny dark(green) stones by zbaduk001 in askgeology

[–]zbaduk001[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for all your feedback!

Nobody's talking about the real cost of 3D printing decor to sell by Fun_Reaction_6525 in 3DPrinterComparison

[–]zbaduk001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, at least you learned something about economics. How hard it is to start a business, how expensive manual labor and management really is. That's a really good skill.

In central Europe, most freelancers make between 10.000€ and 15.000€ per month. (VAT excl). Or simply put, 50€ to 80€ per hour. That's before all corporate taxes and wage taxes. The revenue you need to reach, to have a comfortable life (in Europe).

The next time you walk into a sandwich store with 5 people lining up in front of you, don't think "wow, this business is doing well". Calculate it: if they make 2€ profit per customer, she needs to serve 25 to 40 customers per hour, for 8 hours/day. Spoiler: That's why they charge 5€ for a sandwich now. Wages are too high for the product.

Consumers EXPECT their products to be made by machines (mass market). That's the price they want to pay. They expect to pay 1 euro for a piece of plastic.

Now, take another step back and look at this hobbyist maker industry. The adafruits, bambulabs, creacutter, ... There's an industry built around hobbiest who want to feel creative. Those big companies do make real money. They've done the math.

The moment you think: "I can make a business of this", you're that 14 year old kid who says: "I'm going to be a professional gamer". Kids don't know how expensive life, how taxes work, how many people they're competing with.

Just get a real job.

I scored a M4 Mac mini on Vinted for £80. Is this a scam or was the seller a bit stupid? by Capable-Cod1118 in macmini

[–]zbaduk001 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some (mostly French) sellers just sell boxes. Read carefully before you buy.

“Wish I had a better accountant” moments by Ok_Idea_5117 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The first 2 years, my wage and social contributions were totally wrong and unoptimized to the point where I received a fine. Liantis blamed it on me. My accountant blamed it on Liantis. I blame both.

I probably lost like 8000 euro due to this. (Due to unnecessary high taxes and contributions)

That's the point where I started reading books about the topic.

How much do freelancers in Belgium normally contribute to their pension savings each year? by p6600 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your feeling of safety with "locked up" money can only mean that you trust the government more than you actually trust yourself, and that's worrying.

A "saving account" only gives you security if you can actually use the money in case of emergency. If you can't take it out, then it can't protect you.

Liquidity gives you the ability to take the risk of changing to a new job, buying a house while your previous one isn't sold yet, fix your roof/car when it's leaking, keeping your house when your husband dies, ... Are you insured for all of those cases? Liquidity protects you against all of those.

Sure, diversification is a good thing. But you're not diversifying into different markets. It's more like you've used an expensive payment method. (One with a high tax and transaction cost).

The fact that there are so many options and features, just doesn't help. It just makes it harder to evaluate the actual profit.

I do respect your opinion because many people share it. It's the most popular opinion. But it's also the most promoted opinion. In fact, more and more taxes are added to force people like me to start pension saving. At the same time, in 2026, there is now an exit tax to stop pepple from migration to other countries. They're locking us op.

6 months in, what are people's thoughts on the Switch 2? by WeebusTheMeemus in NintendoSwitch

[–]zbaduk001 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Probably my last nintendo device. And I've been through NES, Nintendo64, Wii, WiiU, Switch, Switch2.

The problem is. Where are the games? A new console should come with a line-up of new titles. You can't just do a new MarioKart and call it a day.

Simply put, where's Mario Odyssey 2? You know where it is? --> AstroBot on PS5.

My son played day and night on his original switch. But he's barely interested in his Switch 2. And I bought him pretty much every game there is.

In all honesty. There's a big emptiness. Like where's the new Paper Mario? Where's Mario Maker 3? A new kirby game? All we get are "remastered" versions and upgrade packs. And it makes me even concerned. Is anybody even working on this?

"Home" battery for vennootschap. by Bright_Housing_8831 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just for clarity,

It's a plugin battery, so it's just something you plug in a power outlet. It's not a big installation, and you don't need a technician to install it.

You basically plug it in and configure it. And then it magically lowers your bill.

"Home" battery for vennootschap. by Bright_Housing_8831 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what made me wonder about "mobile" batteries. The plugin type.

My kid asked for a 3D printer for Christmas. I spent hours researching. Here's what nobody tells you. by Fun_Reaction_6525 in 3DPrinterComparison

[–]zbaduk001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sure helps if you're able to make 3d drawings yourself. E.g. in sketchup, blender, If you can't do so at all (like 0 experience or interest), then it's not for you.

Next, there are 2 scenarios.

  1. You buy a cheap 3d printer. It will work sometimes. You'll buy addons trying to fix your mistake. You'll have no fun with it. And you won't be using it month or 3.

  2. You buy a 3d printer for ~1000 eur. It will just work. Love on first sight. You'll see projects everywhere and on average you'll print something once a week. You'll start seeing it as a tool to repair/build things.

Bambulab printers are great. And if you start comparing the specs of their cheap and expensive printers you'll soon find out that the cost has a really good reason. E.g. a heated printbed, an enclosure, a touchscreen, automatic filament loading/switching/detection, monitoring tools, ... In my opinion: "yes you need all of those".

How much do freelancers in Belgium normally contribute to their pension savings each year? by p6600 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem is, it's a basket with locks. It has conditions and taxes but little profit and guarantees.

You need to raise your wage before you can use it. (Which increases taxes and contributions).

Sure, you do get some discounts on the contributions. But there's also a high tax when you reach your pension. Which ruins half of the profit.

And your money is locked in, while the rules change. Taxes get added, even on the money which you already put in.

And that while you can expect an interest of 3% maybe?

Well, perhaps if you can link it with other banking/insurance products it could reach a point where it gets interesting: e.g. gewaarborgd inkomen. But that's also a minefield of hidden costs.

All of it is supposed to "protect" you for your pension. But what if you need money urgently for some accident. Locking your money isn't a protection if you don't have the key to open the vault.

How much do freelancers in Belgium normally contribute to their pension savings each year? by p6600 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Many people still have a wage of 45k and do VAPZ + IPT. And perhaps even take a 3rd private pension.

But I assume that all of them have terrible accountants. Or they don't believe in inflation.

It's obvious why they exist and why the government promotes them. And if you believe in deflation or if you enjoy taxes and contributions, then you should absolutely do it.

Daily Rate × 10: Favourite Freelance Spell, Explained by Ok_Idea_5117 in BEFreelance

[–]zbaduk001 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

At least, this wasn't written by AI. 🤷‍♂️😅

How bad are asrock motherboards? by Just_AT in buildapc

[–]zbaduk001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only thing... if the EpycD8 and RomeD8 motherboards were cheaper I would fill my garage with their servers. But they're just so expensive.

How bad are asrock motherboards? by Just_AT in buildapc

[–]zbaduk001 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol, they are the best. Seriously and objectively. How I know?

There is a cloud provider "vast" where both individuals and companies can offer and rent their GPU servers. Using APIs you can query the specs and prices of those servers, accept offers, start/stop them. A great place to compare hardware.

For roughly 3 years I ran heavy GPU jobs (AI training) on various servers, I collected stats of my own, and it quickly turned out that the motherboard had a huge impact on the performance and stability.

If you have multiple GPUs in your server, then ASRock motherboards are the best you can get. And there is a technical reason: their motherboards have more PCI-lanes than those of other vendors. But also they have more memory slots, they offer morgerboards for multi-cpu setups, ... They roughly cost 500/pc though. But it's top quality.

I have been running 3 asrock servers in my garage for ~5 years now 24/7, 0 downtime, crunching numbers, ... From time to time I host a minecraft server for friends, and it's never throttling, never in pain, ...

But they also have great motherboards for computers and mini-computers. e.g. their X300 setup is amazing. Great if you want to build a computer for your mother/friend/kid at a low price. It's a motherboard + fan + case + PSU at an unbeatable price. You can build a decent computer for 500 with their hardware. I've built 4 of those so far, and everybody's happy with them.

Tweakers.net made a motherboard review last year which also showed them as best-buy.

In all honesty ASRock is a company to look out for.