Debate House Prices


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Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

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  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    Generali wrote: »
    You mean lace cheap cider with contraceptives? I think you could be on to something there.
    Hey .... hang on there old bean ... I drink cheap cider ... and that implies I am of the chav underclass!

    I meant probably more McD's and Stella. If it were added in a way that provided a cumulative effect, then ongoing, that'd work so even posh people could go to McD's 1-2x a year if they really insisted on it.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    Also ... related to all this gadding about - are Entry Prices in AUS as ridiculously overpriced as they are here?

    e.g. £12 to get into a smallish zoo. That's two hours at NMW, or, not really bl00dy worth it.
  • LydiaJ
    LydiaJ Posts: 8,083 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    I remember when I was a very new undergraduate going to some kind of "get to know the tutors" event, at which one of them tried to provoke a discussion by suggesting that tap water should have contraceptives in it, with the antidote freely available to anybody who wanted kids enough to show up and collect it. His idea was to make getting pregnant a choice, rather than something that happens when you're not paying attention to preventing it.
    Do you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
    Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
    Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.
    :)
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    LydiaJ wrote: »
    ...a discussion by suggesting that tap water should have contraceptives in it, with the antidote freely available to anybody who wanted kids enough to show up and collect it. His idea was to make getting pregnant a choice, rather than something that happens when you're not paying attention to preventing it.
    That was me.... I'm surprised you remember that night. Good idea isn't it :)
  • LydiaJ
    LydiaJ Posts: 8,083 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Mortgage-free Glee!
    That was me.... I'm surprised you remember that night. Good idea isn't it :)

    Well I never! How lovely to make contact again. I didn't recognise you when I met you recently. I understand about the sex change, but how did you manage to lose 6in of height? ;)
    Do you know anyone who's bereaved? Point them to https://www.AtaLoss.org which does for bereavement support what MSE does for financial services, providing links to support organisations relevant to the circumstances of the loss & the local area. (Link permitted by forum team)
    Tyre performance in the wet deteriorates rapidly below about 3mm tread - change yours when they get dangerous, not just when they are nearly illegal (1.6mm).
    Oh, and wear your seatbelt. My kids are only alive because they were wearing theirs when somebody else was driving in wet weather with worn tyres.
    :)
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I keep meaning to ask you .... you're doing all this gadding about and I wonder if you can inform us:
    - how much are you paying per litre/gallon?
    - how does this compare to the minimum wage?

    It seems to have dropped by 1-2p at my garage since I filled up last week (b4st4rds) ... and it's £1.40/litre here for diesel, which is £6.40/gallon (roughly).

    NMW is now £6.19. So one gallon is a bit more than one hour of NMW.

    Petrol prices a very volatile in Sydney but at the moment average about $1.30/litre (=81p). Diesel is more like $1.50 (= 93.5p).

    Minimum wages over here depend on your age and what you do but for an adult are generally above $20/hour (=£12.50). Taxes are also a lot lower in Aus than in the UK for low earners especially; almost the first $20,000 of income isn't taxed! To compare like with like though, a gallon (4.55 litres) of diesel takes perhaps 20 minutes to earn with gross salary. Also the traffic isn't anything like as bad so you burn up much less while sitting in traffic.

    Lastly, Australia is, I read, the most urbanised country in the world (sounds dumb, what about Hong Kong or Singapore???) so places tend to be either close together or hundreds of kms away.

    I earn about double the minimum wage ('award wage') for my job which means I can keep a family of 4 fed, clothed, comfortably housed in a rental and driven about the place in a single small car on my salary. I don't smoke but I do drink and I have Foxtel (Sky). Holidays, fancy meals out etc would require a second income which we don't have at present.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    LydiaJ wrote: »
    Well I never! How lovely to make contact again. I didn't recognise you when I met you recently. I understand about the sex change, but how did you manage to lose 6in of height? ;)
    It was the easiest way to cut off all that manhood stuff... take a 6" slice right across the body and rejoin the legs :)
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Generali wrote: »
    Diesel is more like $1.50 (= 93.5p).

    Minimum wages ... adult ... above $20/hour (=£12.50). ...almost the first $20,000 of income isn't taxed!

    .... a gallon (4.55 litres) of diesel takes perhaps 20 minutes to earn with gross salary.
    So 2/3rds of ours.

    Ah. You see, if I am sitting here and want to drive 50 miles to visit a zoo and back, then stopping en-route and feeding a parking machine with some coins so I can have a bit of a look around, that can cost a whole day's pay at NMW. Which is what curbs spending in the UK as the "total day cost" of doing anything is so much.

    You've also got the weather there to "just hang out" as it's nice and sunny. Hard to build up enthusiasm to "just hang out" when it's blowing a gale, tipping it down and miserable. And just hanging out is free.
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    So 2/3rds of ours.

    Ah. You see, if I am sitting here and want to drive 50 miles to visit a zoo and back, then stopping en-route and feeding a parking machine with some coins so I can have a bit of a look around, that can cost a whole day's pay at NMW. Which is what curbs spending in the UK as the "total day cost" of doing anything is so much.

    You've also got the weather there to "just hang out" as it's nice and sunny. Hard to build up enthusiasm to "just hang out" when it's blowing a gale, tipping it down and miserable. And just hanging out is free.

    You can usually park for free in most areas for 2-3 hours too.
  • misskool
    misskool Posts: 12,832 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Today's harvest. I'm so proud, we've never managed squash before.
    579203_10100332547698909_1437737033_n.jpg
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