Nice People Thread No. 14, all Nice and Proper

Generali

PasturesNew wrote: »

I received my £250 refund earlier this week.

You pay more tax than I could earn if I found a "good" full-time job.

I'm over here if you need me ...in the "really can't find the sympathy" corner

I'd love to but I really can't find the effort.

Sympathy I have in spades. Effort....not so much.

I as always wish you very well of course, especially as times are hard.

silvercar

michaels wrote: »

Looks like DW owes 21550 and I owe about 400 - whether I have the receipts to prove it is another matter.

Of course about 6 hours ago my family finances spreadsheet had a rough guess that we owed 22k so not a lot learned really

WE get bupa through my work, it costs 869 which is then taxed at 40% and this has pushed me over 50k costing me another 250 in lost child benefit. For outpatient treatment you get up to £1000 per year less a 200 excess - seems to be a bit of a rip off to me....

You wouldn't think it a rip off if you needed to make a big claim or had a health concern that needed specialist care. The same health care would cost a lot, lot more if you were to take out BUPA privately.

I am puzzled as to why you are doing your tax return at this time of year. I thought the deadline was 31 January 2016.

hjd

silvercar wrote: »

I am puzzled as to why you are doing your tax return at this time of year. I thought the deadline was 31 January 2016.

That's the deadline, but it helps to know the damage as early as possible to help with the planning!
On the other hand, if you are due a refund, then the earlier you submit your form the earlier you will receive the refund.

michaels

Normally we are owed so normally we do the tax return asap. This year is different because of the cgt but if I don't do it it will just be hanging over me and I think I will bung a couple of hundred quid to an accountant to check it is done correctly and no tricks have been missed.

Bupa I have only ever claimed out patient so it would be cheaper payg. Still on the brightside this year I may need to get rid of a gall bladder so perhaps I can get my monies worth there

michaels

nic_c wrote: »

Ideally people would have access yo two cars, a small economical one for daily short commutes and one for holidaying on longer trips.

Hi nic and welcome to the NP if you are new or apologies for my limited short term memory of you aren't...

We currently have 2 cars for pretty much this, an electric car for local trips, up to 75 miles round trip realistically, you can charge at various places away from home but it is not really practical with kids. In theory nissan will lend us an alternative car for 14 days a year but the car they offer is smaller than the electric car and not really big enough for day to day use let alone a family holiday for a week. Sadly this means that moneywise it doesn't work so well as the second car costs tax, insurance, service and mot every year before it goes 1 mile and then an arm and a leg in repair bills

CKhalvashi

michaels wrote: »

We currently have 2 cars for pretty much this, an electric car for local trips, up to 75 miles round trip realistically, you can charge at various places away from home but it is not really practical with kids. In theory nissan will lend us an alternative car for 14 days a year but the car they offer is smaller than the electric car and not really big enough for day to day use let alone a family holiday for a week. Sadly this means that moneywise it doesn't work so well as the second car costs tax, insurance, service and mot every year before it goes 1 mile and then an arm and a leg in repair bills

The issue we'd have with electric cars is mainly that OH can be thrown at any UK base her employer decide to put her, meaning that it's not uncommon for her to drive 120 miles in a working day. Most people here know what sort of schedule the car I'm driving tends to have, and will know an electrical car is useless for me on a regular basis.

We've put 51000 miles on the Yeti in just over 2 years, and my car has nearly 30000 since last September, so the priority is economy, comfort and boot space over whether it's electric.

If something comes with a 300mi range in less than an hour, I may consider it. The Tesla is nice, but having done the figures with it, I don't actually save any money over having my diesel execmobile. I'm worried about technology that's relatively untested, unless it's worth me going and renting a car if needed. My car is built in the UK too, which is something else I consider very carefully before buying a car.

I've quit smoking this morning (again), so will possibly be steering clear of the NPT the next few days, as we all want it to remain nice

CKhalvashi

silvercar wrote: »

I am puzzled as to why you are doing your tax return at this time of year. I thought the deadline was 31 January 2016.

Mine was done at the end of April. Due to an SEIS investment, I owe £0.00, and the government will guarantee another 30ish% of the investment

vivatifosi

Good luck with quitting smoking CK.

I think Tesla is an interesting proposition, but probably worth a year or so's wait for them to refine further. Actually I find Elon Musk a really interesting person. I'm reading his biography at the moment. What he's achieved with SpaceX is amazing.

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

Good luck with quitting smoking CK.

I think Tesla is an interesting proposition, but probably worth a year or so's wait for them to refine further. Actually I find Elon Musk a really interesting person. I'm reading his biography at the moment. What he's achieved with SpaceX is amazing.

I suspect Tesla is going to get overtaken by the car companies. They are already very good at making and selling cars and just need to slot a different engine in. Imagine simply trying to set up a distribution network to rival Ford, GM or Toyota.

I suspect that Tesla is going to join a very long list of companies that were first but ended up worst. The Wright Brothers went from first flight in 1905 (and no flights at all in 1906-7) to exiting the business by 1916. Lyons computers are rarely seen these days outside museums despite making the first commercial computer.

I suspect, and these words may well come back to haunt me, is that if Tesla has a future as a mass maker of anything it's as a mass maker of batteries. That's where their advantage lies I suspect.

SpaceX on the other hand is an amazing company. This is the most 21st Century tech video ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDkItO-0a4

A reusable rocket, privately made by a bloke who made a fortune on the interwebs being filmed from a drone.

ivyleaf

Goodness, where is everybody? We've all obviously had very busy days. And I expect lir is still recovering from her skyclad dancing....