Nice People Thread Number 10 -the official residence of Nice People

Nikkster

Doozergirl wrote: »

It would cost me more than £2.20 in petrol to get to the bank and parking!

I walk at weekends, unless it is a special occasion

Masomnia

Just finished doing my slides for the presentation I have to give on Thursday as part of the interview. Have to do them tonight as I'm travelling down tomorrow and staying in a hotel

Feeling well up for it. I'm a good fit for them I think, and I'm actually quite looking forward to the day. I know my stuff and I'm fairly confident presenting so it should be ok. It's the presentation and some group exercises, tour of the building, and a 20 minute interview.

Only snag is that the dress code is 'smart casual', which for me is an absolute nightmare. You know where you stand if it's a standard business dress thing, nice suit, cufflinks and all that. Sadly not so. I've got a nice jacket (brown), and a nice shirt and jumper, trousers I'm thinking chinos (supposedly these will make a good impression).

zagubov

Masomnia wrote: »

Just finished doing my slides for the presentation I have to give on Thursday as part of the interview. Have to do them tonight as I'm travelling down tomorrow and staying in a hotel

Feeling well up for it. I'm a good fit for them I think, and I'm actually quite looking forward to the day. I know my stuff and I'm fairly confident presenting so it should be ok. It's the presentation and some group exercises, tour of the building, and a 20 minute interview.

Only snag is that the dress code is 'smart casual', which for me is an absolute nightmare. You know where you stand if it's a standard business dress thing, nice suit, cufflinks and all that. Sadly not so. I've got a nice jacket (brown), and a nice shirt and jumper, trousers I'm thinking chinos (supposedly these will make a good impression).

I'd offer advice but as we all know I dress myself by covering myself with sticky glue and jumping through my wardrobe.

I will, instead, offer my best wishes. :beer:

Hoping some more clothing-savvy NPs will parachute in to your rescue ASAP!

Generali

chewmylegoff wrote: »

So...in my first job I had a stakeholder pension for the last two years I was there 2003/4. I paid in 2% and my employer paid in 2%. Total annual contribution was about £1,200. So max paid in was £2,400.

I got an annual statement in the year after I left which was quite unclear but seemed to suggest that contributions were still being made by my ex-employer. I phoned them up and told them that this appeared to be happening and that they should check. They checked and confirmed that there were not.

I then didn't get another statement until today. Basically I had it registered at my parents old address because I was moving house every year or so. When they moved I forgot to get it changed. Eventually I got around to conducting the provider and getting them to update their records.

Got the statement today - fund is worth £21,000.

This seems literally impossible - it is just invested in the fund manager's rubbish uk equity accumulation units. The annual performance over 10 years would have to be something approaching +25% compound for that to happen, I think?

What should I do next? The only thing I can think is that the pension company might have made an administrative error. I suppose I should contact them and ask them to check. The current statement says that the performance in the last year is investment growth only - no contributions so whatever has happened isn't still happening.

Basically there are 2 things that could go wrong: either you have too many units or each unit is priced incorrectly.

If it's a unit pricing error, the likelihood is that it will impact everyone and they will definitely notice. If you have too many units then your old employer has bought extra for you.

You should be able to see which is the case by comparing the number of units across statements. Depending on how they do their fund accounting, the number of units should either remain static over time or fall very slowly.

purch

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Got the statement today - fund is worth £21,000.

Was it invested in a BTL in a particularly nice part of Belgravia ?? :T

Either that, or what Gen said ...............

purch

Masomnia wrote: »

Just finished doing my slides for the presentation I have to give on Thursday as part of the interview.

That takes me back.....slides.

Saturday night in the living room, Dad get's out the projector and screen and we all sit there looking at the slides of our holidays.............waiting for that hilarious moment when he would put one in back to front, or upside down.

Such simple days

purch

Masomnia wrote: »

Only snag is that the dress code is 'smart casual', which for me is an absolute nightmare. You know where you stand if it's a standard business dress thing, nice suit, cufflinks and all that. Sadly not so. I've got a nice jacket (brown), and a nice shirt and jumper, trousers I'm thinking chinos (supposedly these will make a good impression).

You havn't mentioned shoes. That is the killer........what to wear with Chinos that are not too "casual" but not too "smart" ........................... oh, and lose the jumper mate :eek:

chewmylegoff

purch wrote: »

You havn't mentioned shoes. That is the killer........what to wear with Chinos that are not too "casual" but not too "smart" ........................... oh, and lose the jumper mate :eek:

Smart casual is:

Brown brogues (Oxford)
Red pantaloons
White and blue checked shirt
Mustard jumper or cardigan
Tweed jacket
Labrador (Black, optional)

LydiaJ

GDB2222 wrote: »

Hey, some good news for once! A relative has been called in today for her liver transplant. So, that's fantastic, as she looked really unwell when I saw her in December. She's been on the list for years. She's so dainty that apparently she can manage on half a liver. I have no idea how that works.

So, we celebrate for her, whilst bearing in mind the grief some poor donor's family is suffering. So and

This may have been answered already - I haven't read to the end of the thread, just far enough to have 3 posts to reply to - but anyway... IIRC a liver consists of several self-contained lobes. If you put half a liver in a transplant patient, it may be a sufficient size for them, and even if it isn't, it will grow until it is. Amazing things, livers.

lemonjelly wrote: »

Across the next 7-8 weeks I have fixed rate savings maturing that'll cover 50% ish (depending on any agreed price if I go ahead). Between june-december there will be another 30k plus maturing for use. I'll still have 40k easy access, & I've accounted for the new car I'm still waiting on.

My preference is to have as small a mortgage as possible, & then as things mature wipe off bigger tranches of the balance.

I'm thinking that if I can get it all paid off asap, I can start squirrelling for improvements, next car etc etc,.

You are in an excellent position. It sounds like a great plan.

Doozergirl wrote: »

I managed a few small pieces of chicken. Tiny mouthfuls, well chewed and washed down with water. I have carrot and apple juice made for me by DD. It is not too painful if I can hold my tongue over my left tonsil space to protect it. It tastes superb, thank you for that idea, lir

I've sucked on three pieces of dairy milk. Heaven!

I do think it's generally a bit better this evening

Glad you are feeling on the mend, Doozer.
Gen, all the best for Thursday.

LydiaJ

Nikkster wrote: »

I would say AIP first (might or might not be needed for an offer; AIP doesn't necessarily need to be from the same place you end up getting the mortgage from... ), then solicitor (I found one the by the end of the week I put my offer in), then surveyor (found them the following week). Buildings insurance only needs to be in place from exchange - so I dealt with that towards the end (there was enough to be going on with!), and I decided about contents and life insurance at that point too (yes to contents, no to life).

Edit: apart from anything it was good to leave some things to do - after the flurry of activity the solicitor underway, mortgage offer sorted and survey done there was a lot of waiting around with nothing useful that could be done!

Try to find a personal recommendation from somebody who's had a good experience of buying with their solicitor. Some are much better than others. Also, think about whether you want one who's good at replying to emails, for example, as opposed to one who mainly works by phone, or whatever, to get one who will fit with your best way of dealing with things.

Nikkster wrote: »

I thought of wishy washy the pantomime character!
I would say a charwoman (or indeed charperson) was a cleaner.

I agree. Although "charwoman" makes me think of a cleaner of decades ago who scrubbed floors with a brush etc, whereas "cleaner" suggests someone whose work is assisted by more up to date technology.