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Posts by incastone  

Joined: 18 Jul 2011 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: -
Threads: Total: 2 / In This Archive: 2
Posts: Total: 12 / In This Archive: 12 		From: St. Albans, England, UK
Speaks Polish?: No, not yet
Interests: Music production, food, metaphysics, photography, politics

Displayed posts: 14
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incastone   
18 Jul 2011
Law / Which currency is better for Poland and the Eurozone? Euro or Zloty? [36]

Hi, I would venture to say that if you want to preserve or even expand your savings in the next 2 to 3 years then the bes thing to do would be to invest it in physical gold or silver.

Most of the main fiat currencies are on shaky ground at the moment, and with the US national debt exceeding the Greek on a per capita basis, and a new wave of QE imminent, I would not want to be holding dollars. Wouldn't want euros either.

The reason the Swiss franc is so strong at the moment may also be partly because of the Swiss central bank's decision to start seriously looking at reverting to a gold standard and start issuing gold francs for common circulation in the near future.

Gold is riding an all time high against the euro, pound and dollar at the moment, but is still a good investment so long as you can hold it for at least a couple of years, and silver even more so, relatively cheap to get into and its long term value is looking even better now that the emerging solar technologies rely on it for component parts.

If you bought silver today, you could pretty much bank on making a 25% return by the end of the year, more if you hold for longer.

Regards,

Matt
incastone   
18 Jul 2011
Life / Moving to Warszawa for 2 months for work: bank account, local culture, photography, people [10]

Hi everyone, I had a good look around the forum and got some useful tidbits before going for my first post (well 2nd post technically but hey).

I'm arriving in Warsaw tomorrow to do some contract work until the end of september.
I do not speak Polish, and although my work is translation based and I'm pretty good with languages, I'm not expecting to get anywhere with the Polish language in a couple of months, although I'll try to pick up enough to not seem completely ignorant :0)

I've got a couple fo questions though that I couldn't find up to date answers for, I hope you can give me a few tips.

1. Bank account: I need to open a Polish bank account. My rate is calculated in euros (gulp) but I'll be paid in zloty. I expect to save most of what I earn and will convert to sterling before I leave, so don't need a multi-currency account but will definitely need someone that speaks English, an English language internet banking site and a debit card, preferably visa but mastercard is fine too.

I need to have the account up and running by next monday. Possible? If so is there anything out of the ordinary that I need to provide to get it sorted?

2. I've lived and worked outside of the UK (where I'm from) since 2000, so I like to get involved in a bit of local culture. I'm not the kind of person that's really into the 'expat scene' (no offence), so I'm assuming and hoping that the Poles aren't the kind of people that will look down on you for not speaking Polish!

Are there decent electronic clubs or decent chilled bars and cafes that play electronic music where I can go get a beer on my days off, and not feel out of place for not being able to speak the language?

3. I'm into photography so if there are any events or things that are especially photo-worthy then it would be good to know about them.

4. I've read quite a lot of very scary posts quite frankly, from people that make it sound like they expect Polish girls to be lined up for sale in a mail-order wife fashion.

It's all a bit wrong.
I am single, and of course I'd like to meet some Polish girls/women/whatever your preferred term is but I'm pretty keen on avoiding some disastrous weird encounter with a member of the opposite sex that thinks I want to take her to another country :0)

Where do 'normal' people go to mix and hang out in the city - is the club scene good?

5. How does it all work?! What are the people like/what should I expect? Are there any cultural tips you can give me that will stop me from making a complete fool of myself, and/or offending people?!

Thanks for all and any info or advice, it's appreciated!

Matt
incastone   
18 Jul 2011
Law / Which currency is better for Poland and the Eurozone? Euro or Zloty? [36]

Hiya, I agree that the only thing set in stone is that all we can do is speculate, we're just choosing to play the same game from different perspectives.

This isn't the first all-time high against fiat currencies, those records have been broken many times over the past year or two, and will continue to do so for at least another 2-3 years in my opinion.

The Swiss debate - well they abolished their gold standard relatively recently, in 1997. Then the Swiss central bank (SNB) along with a whole host of other central banks sold off a mighty amount of their gold reserves, which if course pushed the price down for a while.

Then 9/11 happened, which triggered the start of the current situation. The gamble is betting on whether this is a bull market for gold and silver, or a bubble.

I'm putting my money on the former.
Here is a link to a short article on the gold franc in terms of a parallel currency rather than just a standard issue like the krugeraand/panda/sovereign etc:

marketwatch.com/story/swiss-parliament-to-discuss-gold-franc-2011-07-0 7

It is just one article telling one side of the story granted, but I just wanted to confirm that there is the beginning of a real discussion about it.

In any case, even if it is a bubble, it will still last for as long as the current 'solution' to global financial problems is to keep printing more money. If the central banks keep the printing presses running, inflation will stay high, and investors will keep turning to precious metals in order to protect their wealth.

When the price stablises though, metals will always be a good way to store wealth because the way the fiat system works, inflation will always devalue paper money against rare commodities.

I know a few people that make good money from stocks in the current short term, and I will be the first person to admit that the main reason I don't invest (in the short term) is because I find the metals market (and politics) much easier to get my head around!

The return from metals for me as a new investor 2 years ago have been so astronomical that yes, I do often think it's not sustainable, but as soon as I think they are slacking off, they take off again, and returns of around 150% are difficult to walk away from.

I will always be prepared to eat my hat of course, and if I lose the lot, you are more than welcome to buy me a beer and tell me 'you told me so' :0)

Matt

ps that photo posted above made me giggle, but man, crazy times..
incastone   
18 Jul 2011
Life / Polish equivalent of Maplins or Radio Shack in Łódź [12]

If you know what you are after, it would probably make more sense to order from one of the big stockists on the web, either Digital Village or Thomann.

That's if the same sort of place doesn't exist in Poland which it sounds like it doesn't, although if it does that would be cool as I will want to buy some bits and pieces next month.

DV charge you 60Pln for delivery, Thomann charge 80Pln. With Thomann the delivery is free if you spend over 800Pln, but you can also knock DV down if you are spending a bit.

You'd be best off buying from somewhere like that rather than Maplins or the equivalent as they won't be able to supply items of a good enough grade if you're recording.

thomann.de/pl/index.html

dv247.com

Disclaimer: I haven't even arrived in Poland yet (!) but had to do the same thing from Denmark as prices were pretty extortionate there, but as ever, YMMV.
incastone   
18 Jul 2011
Law / Which currency is better for Poland and the Eurozone? Euro or Zloty? [36]

Hmm, shiny!!

Gold at $1,600 doesn't really seem like a good investment does it, totally agree there. I do expect it to hit $2,500 without too much effort within a couple of years though, but I swapped out for silver personally because it's bigger and makes me feel better if I have to store it in larger boxes ;0)

To be fair to silver though, it does have many industrial uses (so still good in boomtime), it's a major ingredient in the new solar technology which has a good future (so long as we don't all blow ourselves up), and it's trading well below its traditional levels (in terms of the gold:silver ratio).

There was a nice window to play that ratio game which was essentially free money, swapping gold for silver then back again, and then back again, now I'm just going to forget about it and see what happens (Dark beer - check).

I think those of you playing the Stocks game are far braver than I am, that's for sure. I hope in a way for all of our sakes that you're right, because a global crash isn't going to be much fun at all.
incastone   
19 Jul 2011
Life / Moving to Warszawa for 2 months for work: bank account, local culture, photography, people [10]

The bars you mentioned Harry will be a good starting point, liking the sound of the beer selection..

I produce electronic music myself for kicks so always nice to find a club that plays decent tunes, but my glory days were in Brighton in the early nineties - I've definitely done my time/getting old :0) So not a huge deal if there isn't a great selection, and I don't think they make them like they used to anyway, do they? :0)

I'm not a champagne cocktail fan no, but I do love coffee so looks like I won't miss out there.
Thanks for the input guys.
incastone   
19 Jul 2011
Law / Which currency is better for Poland and the Eurozone? Euro or Zloty? [36]

I agree with your quote- incastone, if it does blow up again and it is very possible, there will not be the same tools in place to stop the rot. If it came to that, I will be buying as much farmland as I can get.

Yes indeed, farmland, good call. Slightly out of my league at the moment unfortunately.

To contradict myself - Maybe the crash is exactly what we need, it's a ridiculous debt generating system we have.
I'm all for the 'I'll swap you this fish for a haircut' way of doing things.

Hang on, what am I, a charity? Make that 3 haircuts.

Crap, I've got to get up early for my flight, bedtime.

Poland here I come! Put all barbers on standby!
incastone   
30 Jul 2011
UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK not a problem as far as i can tell [79]

Please don't write your posts as if you are speaking for 'the English'.

There are approx. 5.5 million British citizens living as expats around the world today, and a large number of them do so in order to avoid having to encounter the kind of uneducated drivel that you are spouting, the same uneducated drivel that got close to a hundred young people murdered in Norway.

(Those 5.5 million Brits live happily abroad in civilised nations that don't blame them for wanting to be there, too)

Your life will always be wretched until you can accept responsibility for your own life experience. Stop looking for a scapegoat and start growing up a little.
incastone   
30 Jul 2011
Life / Polish equivalent of Maplins or Radio Shack in Łódź [12]

There's a massive Saturn electronics store in Blue City that stocks loads of cables, connectors and stuff like that, there's one in the funky glass covered mall next to the central station too.
incastone   
30 Jul 2011
Life / Moving to Warszawa for 2 months for work: bank account, local culture, photography, people [10]

Thanks for the extra tips :0)

That festival sounds good and I definitely want to see Krakow so that's on the to-do list.

I've been here just under two weeks now and I'm liking it a lot. The prices are obviously fantastic, the people have all been friendly and helpful so far and even coming from Copenhagen where the gene pool is insane, the women here are very beautiful (my first Danish girlfriend was half Polish though so I all ready knew I liked those Slavic cheekbones) :0)

I was kind of gobsmacked at the traffic I have to admit, time to build a few extra lanes maybe! Rush hour is insane.

Public transport works fine though, and I walk to work/get the train to town usually so not that bothered.

The only thing that kind of sucks is the tax system, and I have some questions about that but will post them elsewhere.
Actually, the other thing that I will be avoiding as much as possible is using the post office, and taking a book with me when I can't avoid it ;0)

Harry, I can safely say that I've forgotten more names than I've smoked cigarettes, but most likely heard him play!
incastone   
30 Jul 2011
Law / Some advice needed on NOT having my personal tax allowance deferred to next year [6]

I just found out that under Polish law, as I am a contract worker and don't have residency status, that my personal tax allowance is 'put by' and can only be claimed at the end of the financial year (next February).

As it stands I'm being deducted about 40% of my gross, whereas if I had the allowance then it would be about 23%, which is a lot more palatable.

I've been told that if I have residency status then I will be taxed 'normally' and so the allowance will be calculated into my salary each month.

I'd really rather have it in hand then, but apparently it takes 3 months to get residency status. Is that true, or can I apply for and get a residency card/paper/number sooner than that?

Thanks for any info and advice,

Matt
incastone   
31 Jul 2011
Law / Some advice needed on NOT having my personal tax allowance deferred to next year [6]

Hiya, yes sounds crazy, no doubt I haven't explained it too well either.

Those percentages aren't the basic rate of tax I'm paying, they reflect the total amount of deductions including the health insurance, pension etc.

(I can't get my head around a 9.75% compulsory state pension pay-in either but that's another story).

As I understand it, I get my gross. Then the 9.75% is deducted for the pension, then another 1.5% for something else, and then there is the optional sick day deduction of 2.5%.

After that, I should then have my personal allowance deducted, and the income tax is calculated on the balance, with the personal allowance added back on at the end, and I think the personal allowance rather than being a fixed figure is calculated at 20%.

Is this right so far?

So what's happening is that I am not being given that 20% deduction, the income tax is just being calculated on the gross (not even the gross minus the pension and insurance contributions!).

I have been told that if I want the personal allowance then I have to have residency, whether that means a NIP number or Pesel number I don't know.

Otherwise I will get the money back in Feb.
This is a large corporation operating in many different countries, so I wouldn't expect them to screw us deliberately, but I don't know the law.
incastone   
1 Aug 2011
Law / Some advice needed on NOT having my personal tax allowance deferred to next year [6]

Hi, yes the purchase order that is issued has 'umowa zlecenia' written across the top, does this give more clues?

I've attached a sample of the xls sheet we are given to fill out, I've put 1000zl in so you can see what the numbers generated are more clearly.

Thanks again for any help,

Matt


  • egtax.JPG