Cost of living crisis/kWh Measuring Contest

This has always been the case though. Interest for a mortgage is front loaded and gets much less as you pay off more & hold more equity in the property. Overpay as soon as you can. Nearer to the start makes a massive difference. An extra couple of hundred means you're effectively making 2 payments per month if you can afford it.

At least the mortgage is generally lower than most at 80k!

Layers only do so much though when it’s really cold. Trying to do office work with several layers but you can’t feel your fingers isn’t at all fun.

Since reading the article below a while back I totally changed how I wrap up in winter

getpocket.com/explore/item/staying-safe-this-winter-means-a-lot-of-time-outside-here-s-how-to-stay-warm?sponsored=0&position=4&scheduled_corpus_item_id=c8dd6c65-efd7-46cf-baed-feda75089e57

Last year, when it was really needed as a result of of leccy prices I got through it nice and snug

TLDR

Keep your main trunk warm the rest will follow, loose layers but not too many, invest in merino wool thermals

Ridiculous that we still have to think about this, but that's the fucked up country we live in

You need gloves that have no fingertips. It's surprising how well one can type in those. You can also buy normal gloves and cut the fingertips off, but they will come undone when you later want to wash them.

Yeah, actually I hadn't taken into account the fact that interest rates would drop as equity was paid off. It was a knee jerk reaction, which I hate.

Every other time I've looked in the past, the interest rate has been on the floor, never really considered it a factor.

I'm not in a position to do it yet anyway and the long run rate of interest is forever down, so I expect it to fall soon enough. 

Someone asked a question about an £80K mortgage, it's in Hull, Mortgages are lower, salaries are on the floor as well, but I also have the disadvantage, of buying on my own.

It's at least a year before I can do it. But it still kind of hurts.

Every step I make in furthering my career, in my pay, seems to be too late. It feels like punishment for shit I didn't/couldn't do five/ten years ago. 

This starts to sound like therapy now and it kind of is, but for the longest time, I Had imposter syndrome. But as soon as someone gives me the opportunity to talk about what I know, I kind of realize that I know my subject. 

So, I'm going to go for the higher paid jobs, because I can and should. I'm good at what I do (construction/design/engineering).

Doesn't everyone have imposter syndrome when they start their career and move up into new positions?

I know I've had it, I know bosses at work that have had it and told me

The key is exactly what you said Stu, you know more than pretty much anyone else on the topic you've been working on it's just about having the confidence to know it. 

It's easier said than done though.

Putting this here www.pcgamer.com/capcom-president-stirs-the-pot-saying-game-prices-are-too-low/

As it's generally inflation related. I'm not sure I get all the gamer anger. Back in the day games cost 30 quid (more on n64) a pint cost less than 3 quid. Pints now regularly go over 6 quid. Or cinema tickets my local Odeon charges 15 quid a ticket these days.

In pounds per hours of entertainment terms games seem to still be cheap despite costing a fuck tonne more to produce these days. Plus I feel for the Devs who should get better money.

Not that I've bought a CD in a while being a vinyl twat, but yeah they've not significantly changed in price and streaming is really fucking musicians.

Gig tickets are quite a bit higher these days.

I use streaming on my phone a lot or in the office. But try go to gigs, get merch or buy vinyl for anything I properly want to support, either good or just weird and interesting.

None of it is quite the same as I got out of CDs as a teenager. Where I'd just have 10 or 20 CDs I played to death and really listened to.

I still buy CD's when I really like a artist. Occasionaly a LP but those really rely on how much effort went into the production and whether the music itself is a good fit (personal taste ofc).

I am on and off the spotify sub often simply due it being first on my cost saving list. I still have 120 cd's and if I want to listen to a particular song I use youtube. I still go to concerts but due to my physical condition I can only handle standing for 2 to 3 hours. I went to a porcupine tree concert last year and due to a delay and the concert self being 3 hours plus 45 min break, It really broke me physically. Merch is a bit of a weird one. I do not mind spending a bit as long as the T-shirt is decent quality. My Tool T-shirt years ago was badly damaged from washing it just once.

I know bands that have played 2nd and 3rd stages on big festivals who make piss all from streaming. Most have normal jobs.

If they sold even 1,000 albums that makes more than streaming.

So, yes - fuck streaming.

The way streaming works you cannot make it work for small (maybe even medium) bands. Compensation mainly goes to already big popular bands and artists while the rest gets less of a ever smaller pie. I do not say this to shame people who stream just to be clear that you do not financially support smaller bands and artists this way.

Honestly, I do not understand why there is at least not direct integration for a artists merch/touring dates.

Does Taylor Swift get more per play than the Taylor Swift tribute act?

I'm a grand in credit, paying £220 and not had fuck all. Arseholes.