Living on Capital..

Mehitabel

Hello.
I'm in the fortunate position of having had an inheritance as a child, which I have lived off for large chunks of my life, including the present.

The fact that I have this money -- and have not worked for long enough periods to qualify for contribution-led help -- means I am not entitled to any benefits. So I continue to live off this capital...

I own my own house and do not have a mortgage.

It all sounds very cushy, doesn't it? It's not. The capital is now dwindling fast. I am highly qualified, but in a very specialised area, which, like many, is simply not recruiting at the moment. But the fact that I'm highly qualified means employers with "filler-in" jobs, which I'm more than willing to do, won't touch me.

My current account has been overdrawn for many years; when it gets near the limit, I just take a lump sum out of the capital. yesterday I found that I've exceeded my overdraft limit on the current account..And the capital is now well below what most people would call comfortable.

I have no pension arrangements and no investments; the capital sum just sits in a Building Soc account. I am in my late 40s and single.

I have been through the banking/investment tips on this site, but none of them seem to apply to me, because I am not employed.

I am not proud of my financial history. I do not, in fact, enjoy living on capital. I'm not lazy and desperately want to work, but can't get taken on, and now ageism is cutting in. So is panic.

I don't expect anyone to solve my employment crisis, but any hints or tips for how to avoid wasting what's left of my capital would be very welcome. I suppose the truth is that I've had my head in the sand until now, and I want to take it out; better late than later..

(Oh, and please don't berate me for getting into this situation. I do that myself, 24/7..! )

Gratefully

- mehitabel

-BA-

"Dumbing down" is not a phrase I am keen to promote but certainly tailoring your cv to suit the jobs you are applying for is appropriate. You may be proud of your qualifications and think you shouldn't have to take them off but pride comes before a fall, as they say.

What field are your quals in? Have you thought about voluntary work to get some fresh up to date work experience.

A good site for looking into this is https://www.do-it.org . Don't forget if you aren't doing anything at present, you have nothing to lose by doing to voluntary work and it has excellent benefits.

Mehitabel

Thankyou, BA.

I already have more than one CV for different, er, eventualities. Trouble is, there are several years when I was pursuing my qualifications which I can only explain away with outright lies, which I hate doing. [I'd rather not say what I do because I would be too easy to identify.. But it's a professional qualification. ] But yes, I do use the right one for the right job. Or, I try to.

I've always been resistant to the idea of voluntary work, because it's felt too much like a final admission of defeat. I'm not yet 50 and I can't let go of the idea that I should still be able to get a "proper" job. Also, the bottom line is that I need an income! But I take your points about improving the CV and will certainly reconsider.. Starting with checking out that link.

SandC

I would get yourself an independent financial advisor to help you go through the options on how to deal with the capital and future issues such as pension. At the very least you have your home so try not to panic.

I guess you had the time and funds to get highly qualified in the field of your choice. I would perhaps now look to getting some basic qualifications if you haven't got them already or even go down the route of applying for shop work. You may enjoy it and may progress quickly. Retail is one area where it tends to be very good about the 'age' thing. I know there are employment laws about this but in practice it still happens. I never heard about anyone being sacked for dumbing down their CV so on that point I am wholeheartedly with -BA-. I know people who are not highly or specialist qualified who are having the same problems at the moment.

The main thing is to get yourself into employment of some description and I think this is the only way that you can do this in the current climate.

Go get that IFA and hopefully your mind can be set at rest just a little.

-BA-

Mehitabel wrote: »

Thankyou, BA.

I already have more than one CV for different, er, eventualities. Trouble is, there are several years when I was pursuing my qualifications which I can only explain away with outright lies, which I hate doing. [I'd rather not say what I do because I would be too easy to identify.. But it's a professional qualification. ] But yes, I do use the right one for the right job. Or, I try to.

I've always been resistant to the idea of voluntary work, because it's felt too much like a final admission of defeat. I'm not yet 50 and I can't let go of the idea that I should still be able to get a "proper" job. Also, the bottom line is that I need an income! But I take your points about improving the CV and will certainly reconsider.. Starting with checking out that link.

Your pride is indeed in danger of coming before a fall. You are long term unemployed, fact. How and why is not quite so important. How you are going to get back to work is far more important. Voluntary is nothing to be ashamed of and as long as you try to get something that would compliment the kind of work you want to do, then it can only serve to benefit you.

Mehitabel

Hi SandC.

I have done shop work in the past (and yes, was once sacked when they found out I had "dumbed down" my CV!) I'm applying for lots of jobs in that area, but keep getting rejected.

I have wondered about IFAs. But friends have warned me off, with the argument that a) they are rarely truly independent, or b) They can't tell you anything you can't find out yourself from sites like this.

Having tried to research it and confused myself hopelessly (hence my first post!) I am less and less convinced by argument b).

Still, I'm nervous of trying to find an IFA I can trust and get along with. Picking one from the Yellow Pages, or even a pro website, seems so random...

dmg24

Could I ask how much money you have left? You say that the amount is 'well below what most people would call comfortable', in which case you may be entitled to income based JSA.

Do you have anything in place for your retirement?

Have you looked at voluntary work? This could enable you to make some contacts and get recent work experience.

Mehitabel

dmg24, I have about £16000 left. And no, nothing in place for my retirement (not that I have anything to retire from.. :-( )

I've been told I'm not entitled to JSA because I haven't made enough contributions in the past. I've spent too much of my life unemployed and living on this lump sum.

I have looked at voluntary work. It's something I would do, if I knew it was relevant to the area I wanted to work in. The hitch here is that making that analysis would mean abandoning the area I'm qualified in, since there is nothing remotely relevant in the voluntary field there. And I'm not sure I'm ready to do that.

My main concern, though, is how best not to waste what remains of my funding.

-BA-

I fully understand why you are reluctant to divulge what your field of interest is, but it does make it somewhat difficult to offer advice. Is self-employment a possibility? If so then there are companies who would help to create a business plan and support on how to complete self-assessment, etc.

Whilst your main concern is how not to waste your remaining capital, this is the Employment, Jobseeking and Training forum and hence our responses have focused on your employment status. If you want financial advice on how to best distribute your capital then might I suggest you post a thread in the Savings & Investments forum?

PasturesNew

Could you start a part-time business using your specialist knowledge to provide yourself with an income that will pay your bills/food while you look for work?

You don't have to commit to starting your own business, or invest in it... just there might be a way you can find a sub-set of your specialism in and do some part of it just enough to keep you going.

SandC

Mehitabel wrote: »

Hi SandC.

I have done shop work in the past (and yes, was once sacked when they found out I had "dumbed down" my CV!) I'm applying for lots of jobs in that area, but keep getting rejected.

I have wondered about IFAs. But friends have warned me off, with the argument that a) they are rarely truly independent, or b) They can't tell you anything you can't find out yourself from sites like this.

Having tried to research it and confused myself hopelessly (hence my first post!) I am less and less convinced by argument b).

Still, I'm nervous of trying to find an IFA I can trust and get along with. Picking one from the Yellow Pages, or even a pro website, seems so random...

Regarding IFAs, well, I too have heard many people say they would never use them but they DO have specialist knowledge in their various areas. I suppose as you do not work that you have the time to research the various options but you have come on here asking where to start so in reality you can't do yourself what an IFA can do for you.

I would ask everyone you know for recommendations rather than plucking someone from the yellow pages. You do not have a lot of money to 'invest' shall I put it so I am unsure really without employment what you can do. You are going to run out of this money within 2 years if you are living off it and then, well JSA is not enough to live on and you will have to look at your living arrangements I would guess.

I still think shopwork is your best option, it's a shame that you have been sacked for lying on your CV but are you sure that you are approaching the employment in the right way? Bear in mind that previously you didn't 'have' to work but now you do. Did you just get on with the work or was there more to it leading to you being sacked? I'm not suggesting any sort of misconduct but how did they find out? I would give it some serious thought.

The two problems are highly interlinked as you are aware so there would be no wastage of the capital you have left bar money saving tips on living cheaply but as I said above, it's going to be gone in less than two years. Firstly, try to work out how much you have been spending each year and that will give you an idea of where you stand right now.

You could, of course, check out the thread in debt free wannabee for those who are attempting to live off £4k per year?