4 ms·

I played for around 10 minutes, quite fun. Some comments: - how would you get 4% gains in real life? it makes a massive difference, but you're unlikely to reac

I played for around 10 minutes, quite fun. Some comments: - how would you get 4% gains in real life? it makes a massive difference, but you're unlikely to reach this unless the money is put into the stock market - was unable to sell my property (the "request valuation" button does nothing) - the university option never showed up - there were no further jobs after ~12 years of career (stopped at something like engineering manager at ~45k/year which is very low for London) - advancing month-by-month is pretty slow. there should be a way of fast-forwarding to important events (new job, promotion, housing market goes up/down, etc) - had to transfer $ to savings / pension in batches every year or so, losing out on a lot of interest. should be possible to set a monthly amount - the expenses are way too stable to reflect real life I ended the simulation at 35 years old, with €200k savings, €60k mortage equity, and €80k on a pension fund. Living on a €100k house, no car, no gifts, no travel, no family. It's not bad, but for someone saving fiercely from 18 years without any major expenses it's not a great result. Getting a high-paying job (80k+) around your 30s will land you in the exact same place, while giving you 12 years to live more liberally.

llimos 6y ago
It starts out set in 2002. You could absolutely get 4% on a savings account in 2002.
- SilasX 6y ago
  That's not what I remember. I couldn't find data for 2002, but this[1] shows that savings accounts paid 0.6% at the end of 2003. Savings rates also generally track short-term Treasury rates, and those were below 2% for all of 2002. [2] Edit: Never mind, OP said this for the UK (which, nice rates btw). Leaving this comment for the links to US comparisons. [1] https://www.ncua.gov/analysis/cuso-economic-data/credit-union-bank-rates/credit-union-and-bank-rates-2003-2005 https://www.ncua.gov/analysis/cuso-economic-data/credit-unio... [2] https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=yieldYear&year=2002 https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/i...
pattle 6y ago
The interest is set at 4% because that was typical for a savings account in the UK when the game starts (2002) but I need to make it change over time Yes I need to add more jobs and different career paths. Once I add universities the type of job you can get will depend on your degree. I'm going to add a dating aspect to the simulation so you can start a family and see the expenses associated with that. Setting a monthly savings amount is a good idea. Still a very early stage, rough round the edges simulation at the moment
- iso1631 6y ago
  Why can't I buy Amazon shares from the start? :D
  - pattle 6y ago
    Ha, I want to add investments but it would have to be random-ish. No point in using historical data for share prices because that would make it a bad simulation if you already know the result.
    - yek 6y ago
      Maybe keep the historical data but randomize which company is associated with the data ?

llimos 6y ago

It starts out set in 2002. You could absolutely get 4% on a savings account in 2002.

SilasX 6y ago
That's not what I remember. I couldn't find data for 2002, but this[1] shows that savings accounts paid 0.6% at the end of 2003. Savings rates also generally track short-term Treasury rates, and those were below 2% for all of 2002. [2] Edit: Never mind, OP said this for the UK (which, nice rates btw). Leaving this comment for the links to US comparisons. [1] https://www.ncua.gov/analysis/cuso-economic-data/credit-union-bank-rates/credit-union-and-bank-rates-2003-2005 https://www.ncua.gov/analysis/cuso-economic-data/credit-unio... [2] https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=yieldYear&year=2002 https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/i...

pattle 6y ago

The interest is set at 4% because that was typical for a savings account in the UK when the game starts (2002) but I need to make it change over time Yes I need to add more jobs and different career paths. Once I add universities the type of job you can get will depend on your degree. I'm going to add a dating aspect to the simulation so you can start a family and see the expenses associated with that. Setting a monthly savings amount is a good idea. Still a very early stage, rough round the edges simulation at the moment

iso1631 6y ago
Why can't I buy Amazon shares from the start? :D
- pattle 6y ago
  Ha, I want to add investments but it would have to be random-ish. No point in using historical data for share prices because that would make it a bad simulation if you already know the result.
  - yek 6y ago
    Maybe keep the historical data but randomize which company is associated with the data ?