Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

csarina

Thankfully we will not be affected by the changes although we are struggling just now, but that is our own fault (OH wanting to move back to Scoltand).

We both had the foresight to take out private pensions and we both work in the civil service so have pensions from there too, were it not for those we would really be in the mire.

We rent privately, that is our choice, we 'wanted' 3 bedrooms so family could come and stay and I also had a room for all my sewing stuff, and believe me there is a lot of it!! What does bug me a bit is the assumption that the elderly only 'need' one bedroom. When you have a husband who snores like mine does on occasions, it is wonderful to be able to get into bed in the guest room, where as in a one bedroom house/flat it would be the sofa. Actually what is my sewing room was a dining room, but we have the table in the sitting room.

I do however strongly agree that where someone is living in a 3/4 bedroom house on their own there is a case for them to be moved into a smaller place to make room for a family. I know of a case where an elderly lady (over 80 at the time) was asked to moved into a one bedroom bunglalow, brand new, her house had 4 bedrooms and she was sleeping in the living room using the kitchen as an all purpose room. The council were offering to move her, carpet the new place and give her a resettlement grant, would she move????? No!!!! They were only able to get possession of the house when she became too frail to live on her own, she tried to get one of her daughters to move in with her on the understanding that the daughter would get possession when the Mother died.......the daughter refused. The old lady is now in a lovely residential home where she has an en-suite bed room/sitting room and all her meals provided.....says she should have done it years ago!!! I just hope I never get so perverse in my old age!!

I am fearful of the furture for various reasons, especially financial, thanks to bad advice given to me when I stopped work to have my children, I only get a pension on my husbands contributions. When anything happens to him, my widows pension from his time in the civil service will cut down the amount I might get in pension credit, its a barb edged sword. However as long as I am warm and fed, I will survive.

I do feel sorry for those worse off than me, a friend whose husband died and left everything to the children from his second marriage......and who had to fight tooth and nail to keep the bungalow they bought, for which she paid 2/3rds of the cost; is finding it difficult, especially the heating bills....she does get pension credit and also CT benefit, but thats all that is avaialbe to her. We did own our own house.....I am glad we no longer do!!

LannyLee

kidcat wrote: »

Welcome Monty:)

Its freezing here today and DS6 is still off school so I have set up camp in the living room - will keep it warmish and he has his duvet.

Discovered that some of the winter duvets have gone missing since last year and am concerned they may have been thrown out and I have forgotten, so now need to buy two single winter duvets. Any suggestions ??

I'd recomend Primani for duvets we got a kingsize for £11 & it is so thick, it's brilliant, reminds me must swap from our summer to winter duvet this weekend.

pink_numbers

bluebag wrote: »

However little you do is still 100% more than you were doing.

This is such a good point, and a point that I have so easily missed! Thank you so much for saying what I needed to hear.

saving never used to come naturally to me. I was a natural godess of spenders! However, I have been trying really hard in the last 4, 5 years.

It IS much easier now to save, with everyone else having to save. I had a friend ask me if I fancied coming out for a brew. I let her know that I couldn't afford to but she was more than welcome to come round and I'd make her a brew and something to eat. When she turned up, she said 'thank goodness you said that because I can't afford it either!' :rotfl:

Hippeechiq

mardatha wrote: »

Hopefully by the time they sort it all out they'll be voted out anyway !
And then we have a whole new lot of muppets dreaming up a whole new lot of nonsense...round & round the mulberry bush eh ? And always its us who get the worry.
I got told by my dad never EVER buy a house. People who buy houses never have any money because the house takes it all. But that was a long time ago in a mining community where nobody ever owned a house. But I'm bloody glad I listened to him !
The big problem I see is - people's jobs are not secure any more, so how can you expect them to take on a mortgage for 25 years or whatever it is... look at the struggles some in here have just to keep the roof over their heads. They cant afford heat or food or repairs ! But at the same time they're telling us we cant expect to keep council houses for ever so where does that leave people ??!

I had my own house when I was married, and I worked damned hard for it - but, I had a messy divorce, and ended up with pretty much nowt!

My OH had the same thing happen to him in his divorce. He divorced before me and was forced to live in private rented accommodation while waiting for a council house.......he waited 12 years!!. I moved in with him while he was still renting privately, the cost of which was horrendous because landlords know there is a lack of council houses and therefore charge what they like because they know people have to live somewhere.

After I moved in with him, because of the landlords we had being greedy, and putting rent up by unreasonable and unaffordable amounts, we were forced to move 3 times in 6 years before finally getting a council house 4 years ago. So we have moved 4 times in the last 10 years, which not only costs a lot of money, but is also utterly exhausting. Finally, I thought I was settled.

I'm 51 and we have two adult children in the house at the moment, by the time they leave home I will probably be nearing 60 maybe more, so what is being suggested is that, when my OH and I are in our 60's, we will be turfed out of our home because we no longer need a three bedroomed house.......and all of you who are applauding this decision, think this is fair, do you?

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that those who do approve of turfing people out of the home they've lived in for years are in fact home owners and are in no danger of having such an awful thing happen to themselves.

Frugalista

Would just like to say a big welcome to Monty :wave::wave: (what's about keeping that name - we already think of you as Monty).

You'll find the extended "family" here on Old Style are like a box of chocolates - mostly sweet, but with a few nuts :D.

Looking forward to a male perspective on things - so start posting .

LannyLee

Hippeechiq wrote: »

I had my own house when I was married, and I worked damned hard for it - but, I had a messy divorce, and ended up with pretty much nowt!

My OH had the same thing happen to him in his divorce. He divorced before me and was forced to live in private rented accommodation while waiting for a council house.......he waited 12 years!!. I moved in with him while he was still renting privately, the cost of which was horrendous because landlords know there is a lack of council houses and therefore charge what they like because they know people have to live somewhere.

After I moved in with him, because of the landlords we had being greedy, and putting rent up by unreasonable and unaffordable amounts, we were forced to move 3 times in 6 years before finally getting a council house 4 years ago. So we have moved 4 times in the last 10 years, which not only costs a lot of money, but is also utterly exhausting. Finally, I thought I was settled.

I'm 51 and we have two adult children in the house at the moment, by the time they leave home I will probably be nearing 60 maybe more, so what is being suggested is that, when my OH and I are in our 60's, we will be turfed out of our home because we no longer need a four bedroomed house.......and all of you who are applauding this decision, think this is fair, do you?

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that those who do approve of turfing people out of the home they've lived in for years are in fact home owners and are in no danger of having such an awful thing happen to themselves.

I'm sorry, but yes I do think it's fair.

I know that view will make me unpopular & I'm sorry you & your OH have had such a bad time with landlords etc, but do you think it's fair that a couple on their own to have a 4 bed house when there are couples with young children (our own Sammy_Kaye for example) living with 2 young children in a tiny flat & have a much greater need.

I don't know what the solution is, but I don't think that council houses for life are very fair at all & should be means tested in some way. Although TBH don't know who I'd trust to do it, as no matter who we have in they always seem to muck up the simplest of things.

Sorry if this makes me unpopular, but it's my opinion & I do hope we don't fall out Hippeechiq.

Margaret54

Hi Monty Welcome aboard. Yes we are a very friendly bunch on here, and it is lovely to have a male outlook as well. We look forward to hearing from you when time allows.

greent

Just popping on - sorry, Hippiechiq - I think that moving again wouldn't be the best scenario for yo, but I think it's more unfair that you'll be living in a 4 bed house whilst young families are in tiny flats. I really like your posts and don't want this to be a problem - but that's my opinion...

And, yes, we're houseowners (with a mortgage of course) - but having been on the other side as a child (small council flat and waited for years until we got bigger but still small council house) (and DH was the same - him, mum and sister in small high rise 2 bed council flat) I do think houses for lfe are wrong. Mind you, I also think that there is far from enough council housing (and that makes 2 ppl in a 3-4 bed house worse in some ways) and that desperately needs sorting.

magicmum_3

I too am glad that child benefit is being kept for over 16's but am worried what will happen with the EMA.

Its freezing here today, both dds have a paper round and their hands were frozen by the time they got home despite wearing two pairs of gloves each. Soon warmed them up with a cup of hot chocolate and some readybrek though. Think i may have a look at getting them some heated gloves.

Things are tough here as another week untill payday and things already running out.
I have quite a few bits in the freezer though so will have to make a list of what i have and see what i can make out of it, hopefully i can make it stretch.

Hugs to anyone that needs them x

parsonswife8

Margaret54 wrote: »

Hi Monty Welcome aboard. Yes we are a very friendly bunch on here, and it is lovely to have a male outlook as well. We look forward to hearing from you when time allows.

Don't think he has to think of a witty name tbh. He's already known on here, as Monty..:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: