It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

champys

I'm sitting pondering all this.... I'm also one of those who have lived sensibly throughout, paid off the mortgage, never been in debt - all I've been pursuing is early retirement to have time to do the things I enjoy doing, time for volunteering, time to spend with loved ones etc. So what have we, the sensible ones, exactly gained? That retirement will have to be postponed for quite a few years now. Worse, my job is no longer secure either. If I lose it, my savings will have to be used first. More postponement of retirement. Meanwhile, all the governments are hammering on the fact that banks will have to start lending again, so companies - and consumers! - can start borrowing again.... I don't really get it, do you?
Right now, my most valuable asset is my potato patch.

mardatha

Right now, my most valuable asset is my potato patch.
*********************
THAT HAS TO BE THE QUOTE OF THE YEAR ! lol!

ceridwen

..well....and a very practical one. One has to eat - whatever else is going on - roll on the Square Foot Gardening. I'm just putting the finishing touches to my tiny little space:
- one Patiogro (greenhouse type thing) - 18? square feet of growing space - tick
- one readymade square foot gardening bed - 16 square feet of growing space - tick
- various assorted containers - about 16 square feet of growing space - tick
- a couple of miniature ballerina type fruit trees - tick
- growbag ready lined up 3 tomato plants - tick

I'm getting there. I think - according to Square Foot Gardening principles I should be able to produce enough fruit/veg for 2 people - so should be okay for me and any guests for meals - thats the theory - now lets see what the practice is...

One thing I WON'T be doing - no matter what - is postponing retirement. That turns up dead on time even if everything went totally haywire in all possible respects - I'd just live on whatever income the State would provide a retirement age group person. I just take the view that I've not been bored to death/underpaid all these years and glimpsing the "light on the horizon" of the blessed relief of Retirement only to have someone go and "extinguish that light".:p

cw18

ceridwen wrote: »

One thing I WON'T be doing - no matter what - is postponing retirement. That turns up dead on time even if everything went totally haywire in all possible respects - I'd just live on whatever income the State would provide a retirement age group person.

Of course, the problem with that (for many of us) is that the government keep 'moving the goalpost' on this one.

When I joined their pension scheme (ie. started work and paying NI contributions), they promised me a pension at 60. Then they changed that to 65, and since then have lifted it again to 66 (for me - it's currently 68 for my children). I've been really annoyed about this over the years, as a company pension scheme couldn't do this without approval from the members :mad:

So I'm in the position where I currently have one company scheme that will start to pay out at 60 (just under 17 years to go :T ), another company scheme (with AVC's) that will start to pay out at 65, and the state one which will (possibly) start to pay out at 66.

So what on earth do I class as my 'retirement date' now - especially given I'm considering becoming self-employed in the next 18 months or so, but won't be able to afford to pay into an additional pension scheme alongside that

Gigervamp

champys wrote: »

Meanwhile, all the governments are hammering on the fact that banks will have to start lending again, so companies - and consumers! - can start borrowing again.... I don't really get it, do you?

No, I've been perplexed by this too. I really don't get why, when everyone (from Joe Public to the government) is already in too much debt, they want people to get into even more debt.

It's not a sustainable model, which has been proven over the last few months, so why try carrying on in the same vein?

And a lot of peoples attitudes still haven't changed. You still hear people saying that they *have* to have their holiday abroad or they'd go mad. NO, YOU WON'T!

My hubby is earning the *average* salary now and he's the only wage earner in the household of 4. We don't have holidays or buy the latest 60" plasma screen etc. Our only debt is the overdraft and a couple of hundred that we owe to our old electricity supplier. Yet we live a comfortable life. Hubby can still buy his toys, if we're out and see something we like, we can buy it (within reason of course!) and we eat well because I know how to cook food from scratch and keep a good storecupboard.

People nowadays want everything and they want it now and they have no skill sets to fall back on (such as knowing how to budget, cook, grow food etc) when TSHTF.

The education needs to start at school, with home economics lessons brought back into the curriculum, because a lot of the childrens parents are unable to teach them due to their own lack of knowledge.

The children of us lot on here are very lucky because they see first hand how to cope and will hopefully be ok once they themselves get into the big wide world.

Phew, that was rather long!:rotfl:

ceridwen

CW18 - Tell me about it....the shifting goalposts that is. When I was born my own personal retirement age/job retirement age/State pension age and OAP tax allowance age were all the same - ie 60th birthday.

I was not pleased when the goalposts started shifting around to say the least - how about furious:mad: :eek: ? I have had to do quite a bit of replanning to ensure that I stick to my own retirement age of 60 - as my State Pension Age has been raised somewhat and my OAP tax allowance age was raised to 65.

I see that things have been made worse still for younger people - and sympathise.

I'm only grateful that I'm in my late 50s - so FAR too near to my retirement age for there to be any more "goalpost shifting" done to someone my age....whew!!!! It wouldnt avail the State as much as they hoped if they tried - as I'd just retire at 60 anyway and say that I was unemployed and claim dole money if that was the only way they left on the table for me to retire then.;) :cool: Guess thats one of the reasons I dont see them hurting that old an agegroup anymore - as many of us are "superglued" to not having our retirement postponed...and with a lot of experience of political activism...........

Charis

kittie wrote: »

I was just thinking about this energy saving bulb malarky. The ones being sent to people are the ones that give out a horrible depressing light and there must be a lot of people being depressed because of the light quality.

D'you know, I think you're right Kittie. My living room is so depressing at night. The bulbs are energy saving and it takes the central light fitting (5 bulbs) 2 uplighters and a lamp to make the room bearable. I have given up trying to feel comfortable in there.

Even worse, some of my bulbs have already blown, usually the 75W equivalent (14W) that don't get sold on special. One went 'pop' above me last week yet didn't trip the circuit breaker, which the normal bulbs do. I now have one bulb, which I am not supposed to put in the bin, lying around in a cupboard waiting for an accident to happen. How many thousands of these things are going to end up in landfill, thrown out with the household waste?

Gigervamp

Charis wrote: »

How many thousands of these things are going to end up in landfill, thrown out with the household waste?

Exactly! We're told not to throw them in the normal waste, yet there isn't anywhere else to put them, unless you go to ikea and remember to take them with you, or maybe the council tips. (I know that our council tip has a skip for flourescent (sp) tubes, so I presume the bulbs could go in that.)

Charis

It seems that Rhonda of 'Down to Earth' is reading our thoughts this morning.

She says in today's blog 'In hard economic times, the real currency is life skills.'

and

'There has never been a better time in my lifetime to know how to run a home efficiently. There has never been a more pressing need to know the skills of the homemaker.'

marybishop

Best quote I've heard recently (on the radio the other morning) - 'due to the current recession the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off!' Says it all really.