How to Get Through The Tough Times The Old Style Way.

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  • Catbells
    Catbells Posts: 849
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    grandma247 wrote: »
    catbells if you get certain benefits you can have loft insulation done for free.

    I have decided that I am going to work my budget April to April from now on because all the yearly bills should be in by then. It is too hard to work out what any increases might be.

    Thanks Grandma. I'm not on any benefits - yet. I would imagine they kick in where your 60 or 65? Haven't retired yet.
  • shegar
    shegar Posts: 1,978 Forumite
    mardatha wrote: »
    What does everybody think will happen (is that bad grammar? who cares) will happen in the new financial year ? Are there more job losses in the pipeline ?

    Ohyes it will be a bad year, with central goverment cutting back on our local councils most departments will suffer greatly in the new financial year.........

    I do know that for certain, because as you know my husband had a severe stroke at 49 yrs old just over 2 years ago, and he needs 24/7 care, ,which I provide 24/7, im not too well myself but we have not been offered much at all for the new year..........

    Had a social worker call the other day to see if they can give me a bit of help cos im really tired and struggling at times and if im lucky they MAY be able to get someone to come in in the mornings to get hubby showered ,dressed etc, so that I can do my medical needs.........

    But I shant hold my breath!!....she tells me their budget has been cut again this year, so they I have to wait until Apr 5 to see if they have enough funding.........

    What tends to happen is I get very worn down after about 5 to 6 weeks of caring and in desperation I phone social services and say "please can you take hubby for a week cos im about to drop."..........obviously they do.......so now they want to try to get him out to a day care centre for a day a week to give me a day to either , sit down, go shopping, or even the hairdressers........that would be lovely for me..........

    But theres a waiting list to get him in to one of these groups, plus their funding as been cut so they want to reduce how many days they have groups...:mad::mad:......
    We are also about to lose our library, our buses have been reduced too.......:mad:..

    So I feel I shouldnt really be asking for help at such a bad time for our country..............

    Our fuel is so dam high its all gone mad, we pay £1.42 ltr diesel...:mad::mad:.......

    Why cant the goverment see we are going downhill fast.......all our food is delivered by transport, and transport cost money, fuel, wages, wear and tear on lorries, and TAX to get food to us ...............:mad:

    I really dread to see where it will all end........

    And my last moan, or rant, of the day, ..........THE OLYMPICS why are we spending so much money on this:mad::mad:the poor country is on its knees , with hospitals,drs,schools,libraries,councils, buses, in trouble ....... oh I could go on.............:mad: Yes as another member said .....well council tax is not going up this year..... I SHOULD think not either.....weve got enough on our plate to contend with this year..........sorry guys n gals but I needed that...:o
  • Hippeechiq
    Hippeechiq Posts: 1,103 Forumite
    edited 10 March 2011 at 3:44PM
    GreyQueen wrote: »
    :) I've just retrieved a pack of these from the freezer which I grabbed on a whim from the whoopsie cabinet last month at Mr T.

    As they don't feature as part of my normal "routine" I haven't got much of an idea.

    Could you lovely and resourceful people give me a pointer or I shall have to resort to a jar of cook-in sauce? :o And that would be very un-OS, and I shall probably be sent to the Arms in disgrace....:o


    Re the Chicken Thighs how about these (click on title)
    MOROCCAN CHICKEN

    MAPLE ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SWEET POTATO

    BACON ROAST CHICKEN THIGHS

    COQ AU VIN

    BRAISED HERB CHICKEN THIGHS

    I do a 6 week menu plan at at time, and eat all of these on a 6 week rotation (plus other meals of course :D) So I can vouch for all of them.
    All found on the internet during the past year, and all absolultely lush. HTH :)
    Aug11 £193.29/£240

    Oct10 £266.72 /£275 Nov10 £276.71/£275 Dec10 £311.33 / £275 Jan11 £242.25/ £250 Feb11 £243.14/ £250 Mar11 £221.99/ £230
    Apr11 £237.39 /£240 May11 £237.71/£240 Jun11 £244.03/ £240 July11 £244.89/ £240
    Xmas 2011 Fund £220
  • maryb
    maryb Posts: 4,658
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    Annie
    poor you with that midwife - don't let it upset you. I was 42 when DD2 was born 15 years ago (and 36 when DD1 was born 21 years ago) and the local midwives were more enlightened than that way back then. Just a possibility, but do you think you are perhaps going too far not to seem to 'know it all' because that must have irritated you when you were a midwife? Because there is no doubt that people like that don't tend to pick on the ones who are confident and well informed. The Health trusts like to say that women should be the ones making informed decisions about their own care in pregnancy so take them at their word
    It doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!
  • ChocClare
    ChocClare Posts: 1,475 Forumite
    GreyQueen wrote: »
    :) I've just retrieved a pack of these from the freezer which I grabbed on a whim from the whoopsie cabinet last month at Mr T.

    As they don't feature as part of my normal "routine" I haven't got much of an idea.

    Could you lovely and resourceful people give me a pointer or I shall have to resort to a jar of cook-in sauce? :o And that would be very un-OS, and I shall probably be sent to the Arms in disgrace....:o

    This is a nice one (and dead easy):

    Chinese Chicken

    In a casserole dish, place
    6 tblsps wine
    3 tblsps soy sauce
    1 tblsp water
    1 tblsp sugar
    1 tsp made mustard

    Mix round to stir. Put your chicken thighs in the dish and zhuzh round so they get covered in the sauce. Bung in the oven on about gas 5 for...um.... not sure - an hour? I judge it by when it starts to smell nice ;). Remove the lid from the casserole and return to the oven for a further 20-30 mins until skin is crispy and brown. This is a dish which benefits from cooking until the meat falls off the bone, as nothing is more bleurch than a scarcely-cooked chicken thigh!

    This is delicious and makes a LOT of gravy - more than you'd think for the amount of liquid you start with. It also freezes and reheats beautifully - in fact, it tastes better the next day (this also allows you to let it go cold and take off any extra fat). Serve with mash to soak up the gravy, or rice.
  • Catbells
    Catbells Posts: 849
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    Sounds a bit dodgy. I would never sign up to anything from cold callers coming to your door..

    Thanks F Dreamer. I know what you mean and I never usually let people in and probably shouldn't have. He just seemed such a pleasant lad and had ID round his neck. What do I sound like!!!! :eek:

    I rang the company he works for SIG Energy Management and they are working on behalf of the energy companies. They are getting proper full grants from the government for people over 70 to have the insulation done and part grants for other people like me. It hasn't been done yet and I don't know how I could have it done any cheaper (£190) any other way. I hope I haven't been done. Will ask on another board on MSE.
  • Catbells
    Catbells Posts: 849
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    Think you made a mistake. The mere fact that they said
    "He said it was in response to the energy companies overcharging over the past 10 years and was a way of 'giving back the money' to consumers"
    A bit unlikely that he/they would say that but more importantly admit to overcharging. Assuming they fitted it not a terrible price as in you do not have to fit it. BUT I recently spotted a deal for my mate NOTE not on benefits an organisation was fitting roof insulation for £47 and doing wall insulation for £67 (or vice versa). I also got triple or double rolls (depends on the gap between the joist) of 7" insulation for £1 a roll (carbon offsetting by an electricity company can't remember which). All in all a poor deal but you will still get your money back possibly in one year. They did fit it????
    If they had said carbon offsetting it would have been believable also it is not normal for salesman to do this it is done by post? or a card in local paper.

    Thanks Brandyberry. I am starting to have a few misgivings. Yes they come and fit it too. Do you think £190 is too much. Got a sick feeling in my stomach now....
  • Catbells
    Catbells Posts: 849
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    Woo are you saying they haven't fitted it yet? Have they measured your attic? "I would get £300s worth of free insulation to the loft (10"thick) and I would have to pay the balance - about £190." If they haven't measured you attic how can they come to that figure? You may find that the "about £190" ? may turn out to be more? Possible?
    If you haven't done it yet try the following ring up the council see what they have on offer or what they know is on offer from other sources. Do a search for offers BUT start here as money saving expert often know about insualtion deals.
    Your offer sounds iffy.

    Yes he went up into the attic and measured it so the price wont change and I have that in writing. Since there is a partial loft extension they are going to insulate the access hatch too to keep the extension warm.
  • maryb
    maryb Posts: 4,658
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    bertiebots wrote: »
    £8.56 an hour...luxury:rotfl: I get £6.47!!;) I pay 5.5% of that into my pension and hope that its not going to go up- so am keeping my fingers crossed..makes me quite mad that the front line staff will suffer yet again whilst the managers on fat salaries probably wont notice a thing :mad: I think the media portrays all public sector workers as people who will retire with huge final salary pensions taking away from the tax payers purse etc etc , but its actually only the big wigs who get the disproportionate payouts (surprise surprise!!!)

    To be fair, part of the proposed changes will mean that you are not subsidising the fat cats to the same extent as before. The way a final salary scheme works is that everyone pays in at the same rate but the rate is probably more than younger workers need to pay and a lot less than older workers need to pay. If everyone stayed on the same salary all their lives it would be swings and roundabouts but with a final salary scheme the pension you walk away with is based on what you earn at the end even if the contributions you have paid wouldn't cover your entitlement. So the ones who get promotion to high paid jobs late in their careers scoop the cream off the pot. If there then isn't enough in the pot to cover all the pensions then everyone has to pay more. Moving to a career average will minimise the amount of extra funding that is needed AND stop the high paid managers grabbing most of it.
    It doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!
  • floss2
    floss2 Posts: 8,030 Forumite
    maryb wrote: »
    Annie
    poor you with that midwife - don't let it upset you. I was 42 when DD2 was born 15 years ago (and 36 when DD1 was born 21 years ago) and the local midwives were more enlightened than that way back then. ....

    I rememebr my late mum telling me that when she was expecting my younger brother at the ripe old age of 41 in 1971, she was put into a private room in the maternity unit as the "young girls will be upset by the sight of an older mother".....in fact they were all queing up to be given advice from a mother of 3 kids between the ages of 7 & 11!!
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