It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

JayJay14

On the housing subject - I think it would be better to try the 'carrot' route first and offer people a bonus/rent free period/free removals or something, to downsize. I'm sure there will probably be some who would take up the offer and it would help some families. Better to try to change attitudes that way than force people to move against their will.

If we have to sell next year we will be looking for a rental. We won't be able to afford anything too big but there are not many suitable smaller properties arround. There are any number of large houses out there, many with 5-6 bedrooms, though how people afford to buy them I don't know. The wages round here are below national average, many on minimum wage, so it is very hard to find something affordable. Even a small property will take about half my wages in rent, and that assumes I still have a job by then.

I feel lucky in many ways as I can plan for the possiblity of losing the house, at least we have time to get this one ready to sell and we'll be debt free once it's gone. But it has been our home for 11 years and I will miss my garden. Also we probably won't be able to keep our dog and that thought breaks my heart.

ubamother

Primrose wrote: »

I wish it was possible to stockpile gas & electricity so that you could store it at a cheaper rate and pay less VAT. I guess some people could perhaps provide vastly over-estimated meter readings if they think prices are going to rise but we're on a system now with British Gas whereby we provide online meter readings every month. I think the utility companies must be getting wise to this practice because in the past month we've had three different meter readers turn up to double check our meter readings!

When VAT first sent on fuel (blimey that dates me!!) I'm sure lots of people deliberately overpaid their fuel bills - some by hundreds of pounds because if they paid before the VAT was added it wouldn't be (added I mean) until their use had caught up with their payment. Not sure if this works but I do remember it happening!

EstherH

Isn't VAT on fuel only 5% so not affected by the changes?
TBH, I'm not sure that the added 2.5% is going to make much of a direct difference to us as the reduction last year didn't. Most of our money is food, gas, elec, mortgage... We rarely eat out, have spare money for luxuries etc. Have been looking at Morrison/Tesco receipts and very little has vat on and they're the places that I seem to spend most money.
Having said that we will notice it on petrol. Put about £130 a month in, so extra £3plus there but can't stockpile that.

ceridwen

ginnyknit wrote: »

Well I guess when DD moves out we could be in that position! We have a 3 bedroom and there will be 2 of us however as Dh is disabled and has to have his own room I hope we will be ok, our neighbour lost his Mum and Dad a couple of years ago and now has a 3 bedroom all to his self but it would be awful if he had to leave as he clings to the memory of his parents and the house is as his Mum left it - and immaculate to boot. Our row is lovely but the option would be the maisonettes opposite originally for sheltered accomodation but now full of alcoholics and junkies we have had terrible times with them in the past. By the way I am not predjudice we really have gone through hell - Dh ended up with angina from the stress and he is no wimp. Guess we will have to wait and see, needless to say won't be telling DH about this little bombshell :cool:

Actually - I've been thinking further on this article today and thought "Hang on in there a minute - what was I said about it will be middle-aged people who will be affected - but pensioners (ie older people) won't be":think::idea:....."But, of course, we have an organisation like Shelter AND we have an Age Discrimination law......". Hmm.........:cool:...well it would be a form of age discrimination to tell someone they had to move out because they were middle-aged, rather than old.....I wonder......:cool:

icelandic_queen

I posted over on 2 other boards about my gas provider. My prepayment meter is going to be replaced very soon and the credit will be taken of it. It's going to take 28 days for reimbursement probably by cheque which will then take another week to clear. I have 85.00 quid on mine that I've been 'stockpiling' every week. I'll be taking a note of what exactly I have on down to the last penny and getting the fitter to verify it!!! I wouldn't put anything past them!!

northwest1965

EstherH wrote: »

What type of toilet rolls does everyone buy - I know, exciting topic-not! But was just wondering as I get the basics but wonder if it is false economy although even if I buy more expensive they don't seem to last any longer.
.

No one seems to want to talk about toilet rolls Esther:rotfl:
I normally buy whats on offer, I stockpiled when morrisons had offers for Velvet (2 free in pack I think). Last week I bought 2 packs @ £1 each Nouvelle Soft (4's)

ceridwen

Charis wrote: »

Blimey, this deja vu is getting worrying. :eek: I only posted this a few days ago.

I remember the little "conversation" that we were having round this topic a few days back - and was thinking about it today....:cool:

Very very difficult situation - I was even thinking about the area in my locality that is the "best" one for Council housing...wondering whether if I were in a "too big:cool:" piece of Council property whether I would be getting in my request for a transfer to a 1 bedroom flat there right now - before the en masse ones are likely. But I remembered what the "local grapevine" had told me about several problem flats there even.

Difficult....obviously there are "problem" neighbours in many places (I won't say everywhere - because that isnt true - my parents have absolutely no problems where they live and never have had - thank goodness for my peace of mind in this respect:D It really helps to know that they have some very good neighbours...)

The phrase "There's no easy answers" definitely comes to mind here. If only everyone recognised/accepted/acted in accordance with a well-developed sense of Social Responsibility. In some respects - we need the rise of the "New Victorians" I feel - some of them had a huge sense of civic responsibility - as witnessed by the fact that they seem to have been the ones who started up public libraries/public parks/etc. Certainly some/a few of them seem to have been very well aware that wealth and privilege brought corresponding responsibilities as "payment" for the privileges that they personally had...

But it's certain that the only way forward is to bring these matters up for public scrutiny - rather than try and sweep them under the carpet. I think there ARE a reasonable size group of people who do actively want to think in some way other than "Me, me, me..." and make some sort of "contribution" towards the communal good.

icelandic_queen

I've been stockpiling toilet rolls, washing powder toiletries and food basics ever since I realised that I was going to be made redundant and subsequently became a carer. I've bought about 200 loo rolls!! They're different makes, just wherever I saw them cheap. I bought 5 packs of 18 quilted ones for 4.99 in S*drug and they seem to be the best, although we've yet to try the other brands out. It does help that I have a utility room. Unfortunately that's also where the computer is so I'm currently sat on 1 cheek and my leg is going numb cos there's no room to move!!

ceridwen

EstherH wrote: »

What type of toilet rolls does everyone buy - I know, exciting topic-not! But was just wondering as I get the basics but wonder if it is false economy although even if I buy more expensive they don't seem to last any longer. Don't think that stockpiling on a years supply of basic toilet rolls is going to save much on vat. In my case maybe £1.00.

No vat on most of the food that we are likely to stockpile, rice, pasta, tinned stuff so no saving on the vat there though at the price everything is going up theres no guessing what we could save on the normal rises. Wish I had had a large stock of rice and pasta a couple of years ago, can't believe how much they have already gone up since then.

Well - on the subject of toilet rolls - I've been buying the cheapest white ones I could find - usually T*sco Value ones - but am suspecting that things are being "spread out more thinly" with them recently. I couldnae swear to it - but I wonder if the paper is even thinner than it was and so will be reconsidering on this.

Bit of a "motto" for a lot of things at the moment - ie "being spread more thinly". I have been using Marks & Spencers as "default mode" for clothes shopping for basic items - like undies/teeshirts/jumpers - but, having read someone complaining that she had found recent teeshirts from them were developing holes because the material had been "stretched more thinly" in order to cut more teeshirts out of the same amount of material and had a Eureka moment about "Thats why my latest ones from them feel so thin .....:cool:" I will be searching further afield for these things in future (thats assuming I ever feel the need to buy any clothing again - apart from undies and footwear - as I...<cough> did rather stockpile clothing as well <cough>).

ceridwen

Primrose wrote: »

I wish it was possible to stockpile gas & electricity so that you could store it at a cheaper rate and pay less VAT. I guess some people could perhaps provide vastly over-estimated meter readings if they think prices are going to rise but we're on a system now with British Gas whereby we provide online meter readings every month. I think the utility companies must be getting wise to this practice because in the past month we've had three different meter readers turn up to double check our meter readings!

I wondered why I seem to have so many different meter readers - now that inefficiency cant be to blame any more.....DUH! <hits head smilie>. Actually - I just give them exactly accurate readings - so that I know exactly where I am financially....so it's obviously not me that this is aimed at...