Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. This week, in a bumper post, I look back at our trip to London to see Kygo. Also, my thoughts on whether to accept a job offer, and some thoughts on the UK state pension.
Weekly Update
It’s been a busy week taken up mostly by our trip to London to see Kygo, and here is how it went down day by day.
London
Monday
We had to drop Poppy off at the cattery and it seems that each time we have to get her in her carrier, it becomes more difficult. It’s like each time she is more scared. This time was by far the worst. She managed to get through a gap in the kickboards in our kitchen and hid right at the back wall under the kitchen units. It took lots of work to get her out, and as she got more stressed, we got more stressed, which meant she got even more stressed. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle. If only we could explain to her that this is just a temporary thing, and we love her, and we’ll be back.
It must be scary for animals when they don’t know what’s happening. We don’t do this often, and we travel much less now than when we didn’t have animals. Oana and I have agreed that following our Norway cruise in 2025 we will be scaling back our travel even more. Once Pops is no longer with us, we can travel. She’s the third part of our household and we try to treat her as an equal as far as possible.
Too tired to cook…
After we dropped her off we were both physically and mentally shattered so we decided to grab a quick bite for dinner. We went to a food hall in the city centre; Oana had Peruvian and I had a Yorkshire pudding wrap with rosemary fries. The wrap was good, but the paper they wrapped it in stuck to the Yorkshire and the whole thing fell apart. The guy saw what happened and made me another one without my asking. The second one was much better, and I really enjoyed it. The filling was shredded beef, carrot, peas, and roast potato. Next time I would do without the fries.
As we were eating we talked through the plan for the following morning. We had booked the National Express, which is a four-and-a-half-hour trip, and we’d have to wake up at 07:00. Instead, we decided to take the hit and book the train. We could get to London earlier than the coach but sleep in an extra couple of hours.
Tuesday
It was a decent journey down to London. Our train was quiet and we only made a few stops; Chesterfield, Derby, Leicester, and then London. When we arrived at St. Pancras the first thing we did was make a beeline for the sandwich kiosk at King’s Cross where they do an amazing Reuben. However, tragically, the place has closed since last we visited.
Not wanting to carry our luggage too far, we decided to head to our hotel in North Greenwich to freshen up. We got to the hotel a little early for check-in and expected to just be able to drop our luggage, but they said we could have our room early. We dropped our stuff off, freshened up and headed back out into central London.
Mind the gap…
On the underground journey, we witnessed a scary incident where a guy tried to board our carriage but his foot fell into the gap between the train and the platform. He fell heavily and had he been angled differently his leg would have snapped. Those close to him managed to lift him and help him to his feet but he was obviously embarrassed and in shock. He hurried away down the carriage. I suspect when the adrenaline wore off he was probably in a fair amount of pain.
View from above…
We have been trying to get up the Walkie-Talkie building for ages but every time we try there is no availability. Fortunately, we recently discovered the Gardens at 120 Fenchurch, which is a rooftop garden with free entry. We had a walk around and took some pics. It was nice, with amazing views of the London skyline, but it was freezing cold. After half an hour or so up there, we started back to street level to find some food.
We stumbled across a place called Farmer J, which it turns out is a London chain. They offer food that is freshly prepared on-site, and sourced from local farms. It wasn’t anything special, but we enjoyed it. For lunch and dinner, they offer a Field Tray where you choose a main and two sides.
It was tasty but we were both still very hungry.
We had a walk around the financial district and onto the river, with a brief stop at Roasting Plant for a coffee. It was a Mexican blend with notes of citrus and peanuts and I enjoyed it very much. We took a subway to Oxford Street to see the Christmas lights, which were ok I guess. For some reason, I decided to check what Too Good To Go offers were in the area, and there was one for a nearby Starbucks for £2.50. I went in and showed my code, and the guy started taking pastries from the display and bagging them up for me. Every time I thought he’d finished he grabbed another. In total, we received a plain croissant, an almond croissant, a pain au chocolat, a maple and pecan muffin, and an apple and cinnamon Danish. All that for £2.50 and it was all fresh.
Dave’s Hot Chicken
It would appear that the people of London love Dave’s spicy meat. We walked past a fast food place called Dave’s Hot Chicken and people were queuing down the street for it. This fuelled a great many jokes and puns about people wanting my meat and whatnot.
And it started so well…
We were getting hungry again and I did some searching on Google Maps and found an Italian restaurant nearby that had decent ratings called Mortimer House Kitchen. Our table was next to the open kitchen and the food looked great. We shared a Caprese salad for the starter, and for the main Oana had porcini pasta and I had meatballs with polenta. It was tasty but quite small portions.
After finishing our mains, we sat for a while and ordered a tiramisu to share. It was very nice, and we sat some more to let the meal settle, whilst we watched the chefs in the kitchen. Then we saw something that turned the whole meal on its head. A chef no more than a couple of meters away tasted a dish, put the spoon he had put in his mouth back in the dish and used it to serve the food which was then served to a customer.
Chefs tasting food is standard practice but restaurants should have tasting spoons that are used once and then passed to be washed. They definitely should not be reused.
When the bill came it had a service charge added and we explained to the server what we saw and that we would not pay the service charge as a result. On our way out we stopped to have a chat at the front desk to explain what we saw, but they fobbed us off. In the end, we filled out a complaint form to the local FSA department and I’ve received a reply stating they will be investigating.
Trust
The thing about restaurants is that you put so much trust in them to be hygienic. If they are engaging in this sort of practice in an open kitchen, it leads you to ask what they are doing behind closed doors. It makes you question their food storage, hand washing, and more.
Following the gross end to our dinner we took a walk to the Lego store and then headed back to the hotel for a fairly early night. Our sleep was disturbed around 04:00 when the fire alarms were briefly activated. Just as we were drifting back to sleep they went off again. It wasn’t the best night’s sleep as a result.
Wednesday
We had an early start and walked along the river to the underground station at North Greenwich. We planned to head to St Paul’s for the Penguin Trail in that part of the city. Unfortunately, the maps available were not great. They were cartoonish, and obviously not to scale. Not being too familiar with the area we gave up after about an hour.
We had not eaten breakfast and our next task was to find somewhere decent to eat. I looked up an Australian place that did brunch so we set off in that direction, but came across somewhere called Brother Marcus that looked busy and had an interesting menu. We stopped in and ordered the fried chicken rosti each. It was not good.
The secret to a good rosti…
A rosti should be golden and crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside. These rostis had the depth of a drink coaster and the texture to match. At one point Oana picked one up and smacked it against her plate and it didn’t break. The meal was ultimately disappointing.
After this, we had a walk through Borough Market and over the Millennium Bridge. We were heading to Trafalgar Square, as just beyond it was a shoe shop we wanted to look at, and the restaurant we had lunch booked for. We saw many of the tractors taking part in the protests about farmers and inheritance tax.
I’m not sure how I feel about the issue of IHT and farms, and I don’t know enough about it to pass a detailed and informed opinion. All I’ll say is that we all have to pay taxes in some way. Farms are an essential part of our society and national infrastructure, providing an element of food security. Maybe there should be a rethink of how farms are owned and operated. It’s a messy situation because if farms are exempt from IHT, it could raise arguments against other family-owned businesses being exempt as well.
Lunch at Cicchetti
Anyway, after being caught up in that protest we had lunch at Cicchetti and it was an amusing experience. The place is always busy and the tables are close enough together that you are basically on top of each other. The table to our side was made up of a young French man and an older man I assume was a work colleague, friend, or both. Anyway, the younger man spent the whole time loudly bitching about his job, his employer, his colleagues, and the bad attitude of the people he works with, and he just generally came across as very entitled. His dining partner was trying to calm him down but the young man was getting himself increasingly worked up.
After lunch, we had a walk to Hatchards bookstore, which opened in 1797 and claims to be the oldest in the UK. It was interesting looking around the various items on sale but we were both feeling a bit fed up, cold, and tired. We decided to go back to the hotel for a snooze.
Oana showered first and got in bed, and was asleep when I had finished showering. I played a bit on my phone but quickly got sleepy. I had what can only be described as one of the most satisfying snoozes of all time. Everything was perfect; the bed, the angle of the pillows, the temperature, the soft glow of the street light through the window, and the faint sound of traffic. It all combined to a great afternoon nap.
The Concert
Pre-concert food
The doors to the O2 opened at 18:30 but Kygo was not due on stage until 21:00. We left the hotel around half-six, intending to eat in the food hall across from the O2. We opted for the Mexican place and chose a burrito bowl each; beef for Oana and pork for me. The food was dire. My pork tasted like briny tuna. Oana’s burrito bowl was minced beef with some beans, salad, and rice. There was no flavour to it.
After a couple of bites of my food, I put it to one side and went to the burger place, Southern Soul. The guy who served me was friendly and chatty, without it coming across as forced. I went for the beef brisket burger, served with beef jus, English mustard, and pickles. I watched my burger being made and the chef took real care of each one he made. My burger was amazing; one of the nicest, tastiest burgers I’ve had. On the side, I had some waffle fries and mayo.
After smashing through the food I went back to the vendor to tell them how much I enjoyed it. The man who served me explained the place was owned by his nephew, who was the guy making the burgers. I had a brief chat with him as well. I always try to give that good feedback when I can, because I guess that most of the time people come back to complain. We would have gone back the following day but we had to leave before they opened.
The O2
The O2 is not what I expected. I literally thought it was just an arena, with the usual concourses and whatnot. I did not realise there were dozens of restaurants, shops, bars, an indoor climbing wall, a battle bar, a cinema, and an indoor skydiving place. It’s huge inside, and I have since read that it’s the ninth-largest building in the world by volume.
We had a look around the inside of the arena itself and then took our seats. We were near the aisle, with two young women sitting on the end, then myself, and then Oana, and then a group of three; two guys and one woman. This group of three were not just drunk; they were absolutely steaming and it was only around 19:30.
Alcohol, again…
During the support act, they kept getting up and coming back. They were stumbling, slurring, and spilling drinks. The people in front were hit by some of the spilt drinks, and everyone in the area was getting annoyed. Sometime around 20:30 I’d had enough and went to speak with security. As I was chatting with them, the couple who had been hit with the spilt drink came over to make the same complaint. Shortly after security came and had words with the offenders, and explained to me that they’d told them clearly that if there was one more issue they would be thrown out.
In my opinion, they should have been ejected at this point. They were not just a bit drunk with a little buzz. They were hammered. Throughout the concert they continued to fall all over, bumping into other people, whilst spilling more drinks. The woman was the most annoying one. She was barely dressed with everything on display and kept trying to engage the people around her. She kept arguing with her partner, loudly enough it was distracting from the performance, and at one point the guy had enough and fell asleep for almost an hour. Due to her size, she was encroaching on our space so that Oana and I, and the two young women, were squashed into the space for just three seats.
Like being hit by a bulldozer
I’m not fat shaming here but in her drunken state, with her hardly being dressed, and constantly banging into us it really took away a lot of the enjoyment. If a small person knocks into you it is barely noticeable. When a large, drunken, person does it, it just hits differently.
I lost count of the times they stumbled over us to go to the concourse before coming back and not remembering where they were sat. Oana, myself, the two young women, and others around us were openly laughing at them but they didn’t notice because they were that drunk.
It’s difficult to accurately convey just how annoying these people were. They detracted from the concert, and on the videos we took for our own memories, you can hear them screeching and shouting at each other more clearly than you can hear much of the music.
This event was not cheap. I don’t understand how they could look back at this and think it was a good time.
Back to the music…
Anyway, back to the actual concert. The support act, SOFI TUKKER, was insane. Some music makes you feel a range of emotions. Some music can bring tears to your eyes, or bring you back to an earlier time in your life. It’s a lot like smell in that it can evoke feelings and memories so vividly. Then, you have music that is just fun and makes you smile. This is the space that SOFI TUKKER seemed to fill. Their song, Woof, has been played a few times in the Scothern household since we got back from London.
Kygo was great and put on a hell of a show. He had a lot of artists with him to do the vocals and brought out the orchestra for several songs. Some of my favourites were played, including the remix of Wait with M83. Sadly, the two songs I like with Sasha Alex Sloan, I’ll Wait, and Let Go, were not performed.
My favourite song of Kygo’s is Freeze, and funnily enough, Kygo has said in interviews it’s one of his favourites too. He normally ends his concerts with this song and puts on a huge show with the orchestra, and drummers out on stage. The song lasts over eight minutes, but it’s a masterpiece. I couldn’t understand how, or why, much of the audience chose to leave as the song was starting. It’s like what you see at many football matches where the crowd starts pouring out in the 85th minute. I just couldn’t understand. The song was brilliant, but it was distracting watching hundreds and hundreds of people heading for the exit whilst the song was being performed. I also felt it was massively disrespectful to the artists.
On the whole, we still enjoyed the concert but it will always be tainted by having to deal with those drunken dipshits.
Thursday
We had another early start as we wanted to get to St Pancras with time enough to chill before the journey. There was a Farmer J near the station, so we had breakfast there. We won an auction on Seatfrog to get an upgrade to first class for the return journey, and we made sure to stock up on free shortbread and crisps. It was, thankfully, a fairly relaxed journey back.
Once we arrived back home, we got the place ready for Pops and then went to pick her up. We tried for a while to get an Uber but no cars were available, and we ended up getting the bus. The cattery is a fair distance away and it took a long time to get across the city. We picked her up though and brought her home, and settled down for some food.
We are a little concerned because she’s not eating. I’m writing this on Saturday afternoon and so far she’s only had some cat milk and some Likilix. We’ve put her out wet food, biscuits, treats, and more, but she’s ignoring it all. We hope it’s not a return of her tooth problems and that it’s stress which will subside.
That, my friends, is the report from our trip to London.
Thief in our Apartment Complex
In all the years we’ve lived here there have been times when parcels have been stolen. It’s a shitty fact of living with many other people where there’s no secure lock up for packages. Some people just don’t play by the rules civilised society should adhere to. In recent months it’s been very bad.
Whilst I was in St Pancras waiting for a coffee before boarding the train back, a neighbour sent me a message asking if I could take in a Lego delivery for him. We’ve spoken a few times and he bought my Lego Star Destroyer a few months back. I explained I was in London but would check when I got back home. The package was apparently delivered a little over an hour before I got back, but by the time I arrived at our apartment, the parcel was nowhere to be seen.
The Post Room
We have individual post boxes that are locked for each residence, but these are so small only letters will fit. Packages are left in the post room, which is open to everyone passing through. We recently had two locked parcel bins installed but the keys are accessible, making the locking of them a bit redundant. Short of somehow giving each flat a huge lockable unit for parcels, I’m not sure what the answer is. We’ve asked for an Amazon locker, but have been refused. I’m not sure what the answer is, apart from setting some sort of trap for the thief.
It’s ridiculous how much is being stolen. We have to watch for delivery updates like a hawk and then rush down as soon as something has been delivered. There have been times when people have rushed down only to find that in the few minutes between the parcel being dropped off and them coming to collect it, it has already been stolen.
I don’t think it’s likely to be the delivery people. I think it would be too easy for them to be caught. It has to be a resident. If anyone has any ideas on how to legally deal with this, I’d be interested to know. I don’t think CCTV is going to be effective because it will not be able to read the labels on each individual package, so it has no way of distinguishing between people getting their own packages and those who are stealing.
This neighbour who messaged me has now lost out on a retired Lego set because someone decided to steal it.
Scammers
Similarly, I had an interesting experience selling a TV on Facebook Marketplace. Whilst I was in London I was receiving enquiries about our old TV that we’ve replaced. We wanted something a bit bigger. The TV still worked and it was literally a case of us just trading up.
One guy was interested and wanted to see it working. When I got back, I took several pictures and recorded a video of the front and back, with the TV screen switched on, and to give the guy peace of mind I spoke through the video including his name, addressing the points he asked about. He said he’d take it and arranged to drive over that night.
I handed over the TV and received payment. It all went fine. Later that night the buyer sent me a series of messages calling me a scammer and saying I sold him a broken TV. He claims to have reported me to Facebook and made other comments as well. The TV worked fine when I handed it over.
The Scam
We had a bit of back and forth with me repeating the facts that I’d given him many photos and videos of the TV working. He takes the TV in his car, gets it home, and says the screen has a blue tint. It didn’t when we had it. It worked fine. He started asking for a refund, and that’s when the alarm bells started to ring.
Although there’s a chance the TV was damaged in transit (I didn’t see him secure it with anything in his car) it seems more likely to me that he was hoping I’d just give a refund to keep him quiet. He could then sell the TV on again and make some money. After all, when we were chatting about buying and selling online he told me he used to flip cars. Am I joining the dots correctly? Who knows.
I asked him to put himself in my shoes for a moment. I sold a TV in good faith. It worked fine. I satisfied the buyer with images and video of the TV working. Then, I receive a series of angry messages accusing me of being a scammer. No message to politely enquire about an issue he was having with the TV. No, no. This guy went straight from zero to scammer.
When I asked him what he’d do in my situation, he replied “Not sell a broken TV” and then he left the conversation.
The thing is, I was going to give the TV away for free to someone who had their house burned down, but they sourced another one before I made the offer. I don’t really give a shit about a few quid, but I don’t like people trying to take the piss.
Job Search
I’ve been offered a job this week which has a lot of positive aspects to it, but the training could be problematic. The company is based in a small satellite town to a mid-sized city, and although it’s less than a hundred miles door to door as the crow flies, it will take two hours each way by car, or three hours each way by public transport. Let me explain…
I don’t drive. I’ve never bothered to learn. I think too many people own cars, and too many people use them for journeys that could be done by other means. I think we need to move away from a car ownership model, to perhaps a car share structure where people rent cars for when they need them. It’s a long way off I suspect. As I hold these beliefs it would be hypocritical of me to buy a car. Also, long-standing joint issues mean it would be painful driving, and that’s just another reason I don’t want to bother.
Public Transport
So my remaining option is public transport. I would have to get two trains and a bus each way, or a cab. For a 09:00 start, due to train timetables, I would leave the house at 05:00 and not return until after 21:00. I don’t think this is conducive to learning.
If I go via the cab option, it will cost a minimum of £1k for the week, and it would shorten the day by two hours, maybe slightly more.
It’s a WFH job but the training has to be done in person. There might be other times I’d need to go into the office. The more I think about it, the more I’m talking myself out of it. This isn’t a dream job, it’s just a job, which brings me on to…
Regret Minimisation Framework
In the book I’m listening to there’s a concept referred to called the Regret Minimisation Framework. This was put forward by Jeff Bezos and is concerned with reducing the number, and severity, of regrets you’ll experience. He used this idea to help him decide whether to try making Amazon work or to stick with his job.
I’ve used a similar approach when helping mortgage customers in the past. If they are deciding between a shorter fixed rate or a longer fixed rate I would often break it down like this;
“If you go for a shorter deal, thinking rates will go down, and then rates actually go up, would you feel worse than if you went for a longer deal and rates instead dropped?”
It’s a case of what makes you more uncomfortable; certainty for longer, or uncertainty that could lead to a net positive. There’s no universal right answer, and each person will have their own opinion on it.
In terms of how this links to my job search, I have to decide whether to take this job or not. If I take it, I’ll be starting in a month and I’ll hardly have any time to work on other projects I’ve got in the pipeline. I know that I’ll regret not having a real go at some of these projects. If I turn the job down, I don’t know if I’ll get another opportunity like it again. Maybe I’d have to settle for something worse. It comes down to which course of action I’d regret not taking.
What I’m Doing
Listening: Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths.
Watching: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Financial Update
Assets
Premium Bonds: £15,500.00.
Stocks and Shares ISA: £91,208.57.
Fuck It Fund: £36.79.
Pensions: £89,737.46.
Residential Property Value: £237,447.00.
Total Assets: £433,929.82.
Debts
Residential Mortgage: £184,783.09.
Total Debts: £184,783.09.
Total Wealth: £249,146.73.
My pension fund dipped back under £90k which is a little frustrating, but not really an issue. It’s just a psychological thing more than anything.
By the time of the next post, I expect these figures to have changed massively because I’ll have received my final pay from my old employer.
The next few months are going to be interesting because we don’t know with any confidence what we’ll be doing. Oana has a job offer but they aren’t being consistent with what they’ve already promised. Oana was offered a part-time role, for approximately 25 hours per week. The contract that has been sent to her is for a full-time role. She’s been trying to rectify this without success.
If neither of us is earning, then our savings will reduce by £2k-£3k each month, with various expenses coming up over Christmas and early into 2025. When you draw from your investments you are not just losing that amount, but the future gains that amount would have made over time.
Regular readers will know that I’ve got a passion for fighting against poor customer service, but institutional incompetence is spreading to recruitment as well. The amount of businesses that have contracted out the screening and eligibility checks for employees is incredible, and many of those screening companies don’t know what they’re doing. In the past few weeks, Oana and I have been left utterly confused by some of the requests made by these third-party companies. When I stop and think about it, I’m amazed anything, anywhere, actually gets done.
The UK State Pension
I read an interesting bit of trivia this week which I’ve not been able to verify. It was that, when the UK state pension started being funded by NI contributions, there were 20 workers for each person drawing the pension. Over time that ratio has dropped from 20-1 to 3-1. If true, this would mean that in 1946 approximately 4.7% of the UK adult population would have been old enough to claim the pension. Now, it would be something like 25%.
Other sources I’ve called on claim that in the early 1950s, the ratio of workers to pensioners was 5-1, with this projected to drop to 2-1 by the 2040s. One thing for certain is that unless we have a massive baby boom, the population will become skewed towards older people. Relying on the state pension to fund retirement is foolish if you can avoid it.
Why is this happening?
A couple of factors are pushing the state pension to the brink.
Increased life expectancy is a major part of the problem. People are living longer than ever before, which means they’re drawing their pensions for many more years. Retirement used to make up a small proportion of a person’s life, but that is increasing all the time.
The other side of the coin is falling birth rates. With fewer children being born, the size of the future workforce is shrinking. There are fewer people to pay the money needed to fund the state pension for a growing number of pensioners.
The state pension is being squeezed from both sides.
Another factor is the baby boomer effect. A large number of people born in the mid-20th century is now reaching retirement age, creating a demographic bulge. It’s almost like a storm surge about the make landfall.
Implications for the future…
This shrinking ratio means that fewer workers are available to fund the pensions of a growing number of retirees. As a result, the UK government faces tough choices:
It could increase taxes or National Insurance contributions to raise funds, but tax increases are never popular. The added difficulty is that, as a long-term project, any tax increase would not have an immediate benefit. Many people would struggle to understand why they need to pay more simply to get what people before them have enjoyed.
Another option would be to raise the state pension age further to reduce the number of years people can claim. Much like the previous option, this would not be popular.
Or we could reform the state pension system entirely to ensure long-term sustainability, possibly along the lines of a universal basic income for all.
What can you do?
While the government struggles not just with these challenges but seemingly with simply existing, it’s essential for individuals to take control of their retirement planning. Relying solely on the state pension may not be enough to maintain your desired standard of living in retirement. The state pension is barely enough for someone to exist, and it’s not sufficient for someone to live comfortably.
People should consider:
Reviewing workplace or personal pension schemes to make sure free money is not being left on the table. Many pension schemes offered by employers will contribute more if you also pay more. Not maxing out this benefit is leaving free money on the table.
Exploring investments to supplement your retirement income is another avenue to explore. There are lots of investments out there and it’s vital to make sure you understand fully what you are doing. If you don’t understand an investment you are just gambling.
Ensuring you maximize your state pension entitlement by checking your National Insurance record. This can be done quickly and easily online through gov.uk. If there are gaps in your record, you may be able to pay to fill in those gaps to make sure you have a full record of contributions. Always seek expert and impartial advice to make sure you are not paying for something you do not need.
The UK state pension is a valuable benefit and bonus but it should not be the only thing relied upon in retirement. Too much can, and probably will, change as our population make-up evolves.
That’s all for this week in this bumper post. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great week ahead.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions in this blog are my own, and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer, be it past, present, or future, nor should they be considered advice.
If you want personalised financial advice, seek an appropriate professional. If you are in financial difficulty, seek advice via the resources below:
Biolink
You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:
bio.link/davidscothern.