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

ivyleaf

morning all :hello:

I haven't posted on this thread before, but wanted to say thank you to Dollydaydream for the flapjack recipe - I had to go and make some immediately, of course, and I already had all the ingredients so in effect they are free :j I put glace cherries and coconut in them. And I'm meant to be trying to lose weight

About the new retirement age, apparently a campaign is being mounted against the proposed changes because so many of us have no time to make any changes to our plans. It makes me cross when I read so much in the media about how women need to be putting much more money away for their retirement - just where is this money supposed to come from?:mad::mad::mad:

On a happier note, some of my daffodils and crocuses are in bloom, and the ones I planted last autumn in the (North-facing) back garden are showing their heads above ground

Thanks so much for these threads - we OSers are certainly "all in this together" even if the government isn't!

ifonlyitwaseasier

well i depressed myself, i have "35 years, 11 months and 4 days" till i retire!!!!!! and hubby gets to retire 6 years before me!!!


apart from that....

i'm going to be planting stuff out this weekend, well getting my seeds sorted and digging a bit anyway

have been trying to sort out my "floordrobe" but failed entirely so will be giving it another go each evening, trying to get a bit more sorted each day.

Rowan9

shegar wrote: »

I live in between Minsmere and Dunwich/ Sizewell ,Yep Bury is about 40 mile from me down on the A14..........im deep in the countryside.....:D WMF where were you living in Suffolk? please

blimey missus - I was in Beccles:eek: - used to walk the dogs in woods at Dunwich! Helped with the school trip to Misnmere twice! Here's me found kindred spirits after I've moved away!

Re retirement age and death. In my previous (miserable) existence as a Shell wife, I remember hearing that Shell had the richest pension fund in the world (exaggeration surely??) because so many employees died within a year of retirement. Many used to retire at 50 ish a few years back. hhhmmm comparing that to my 92 yr old farmer uncle who has just recently gone into a home due to dementia. I know that you can find lots of different statistics for each side of this though.
Re volunteering - I used to run a volunteer centre and recruited through the local high school amongst other places. The result was a great mix of ages. The teenage volunteers were a great hit at the local retirement home as they loved hearing residents' stories about the war, life in the 'old' days etc and also enjoyed visiting elderly people as often their own grandparents lived a long distance away.
We also had some retired volunteers, some in their 70s, who had a wealth of experience and often joined committees to help with accounts, admin etc. I'm hoping that more people will see that volunteering is such a good way to brush up skills, develop new skills and add to CVs in this time of hard to find paid work, as well as finding enjoyment in it.
Cold here today but no rain or snow :T. Yellow split pea soup from the freezer and baked potatoes with something on the menu today.
Take care all
W

MaLarkin

Morning All only just I know, this thread takes a bit of keeping up with we are an opinionated lot.

Re retirement age; what really gets me is the way our thinking on it has changed. I always thought it was unfair that the retirement age was different for men and women especially as men tend to die younger than women.

BUT the assumption was that this would be corrected by lowering the retirement age for men not upping ours!

Of course I understand the reasons why its going up, because they can't afford to pay us pensions when we're living longer but as someone else said surely all it does is moves the problem around. If we stay in jobs then they aren't going to be there for the school leavers and that worries me a lot. If you don't get the work ethic early it can be lost forever and having generations growing up expecting only to claim their jsa when they leave school will surely cost us more in the long run. Not just talking of cost in money terms here either.

Rant over getting to OS matters. I'm going to try my first batch of twinks today. Got a day off and I'm going to enjoy it.

bertiebots

I will be able to retire at the age of 67! Not really what I had in mind but then again its a long way off too ...and I have this policy of trying not to worry about things that far into the future. I did have a look to see how my lack of ni contributions will effect my pension (if I ever get one) and its not as terrible as I thought due to claiming child benefit . With another 30 yrs of working life ahead of me I should hopefully be able to make this up anyway -although I am not earning enough to pay it at the mo! I just need to stay healthy:eek: My kneck may have other ideas......

I have spent this morning trailing to the bank to try and get a statement to provide for my potential employers . The bank said on friday that they could print one for me in branch but I didnt have my sign in details. Today they said they couldnt:mad:, so a wasted journey . I ended up trailing to the library to do it and so far am thinking its cost me about £10 to apply for this job and its only £6ph!! Got home and had missed the phone call from said employers so am sat waiting for the phone to ring:(.

There will be no seed planting here today as its trying to snow again!:eek::rotfl: But the bread maker is on and the smell is lovely so am trying to think happy thoughts and get my but in gear to bake some buns;)
Have a good day everyone!

MoneyQueen

I am happy this thread is back. I had been missing it. Never realized it's been moved to Arms.

I am in a fortunate position with a secure job and some savings but I still lurk on this thread for inspiration and it motivates me to enjoy the life at it comes even in the most difficult of situations.

Thanks to all of you

MQ

starsandmoon

Il be able to retire when Im 67. Have worked part time for the past 9 years so dont know if that will affect my NI contributions. No doubt by the time Im getting near retirement it will be all change again.

Still uncertain about my future in both my jobs so am carrying on as normal.

Freezing here today. Have had a whoopsie M % S soup. Got loads of reduced food in M & S at the weekend, 4 pints milk 50p, pate 50p, pasta salad £1 and a big fresh soup for £1:T

RAS

Red_Doe wrote: »

I`m not expecting to ever retire, being one of those expecting to work until she drops. I don`t make enough to pay NI contributions and haven`t for a while.
To be honest, I did think it would come to this and fully expect one day for `retirement` to vanish altogether. It`s worrying...my health is deteriorating and I work a very physical job, so.....
Doom and Gloom though it sounds, I really do foresee the days when everyone simply has to do what they can to survive whilst the government continues to rake in taxes but give bug*er all back to those who have worked or cared for their families for most of their lives. Makes you wonder why they`re voted in, eh?

Red Doe

Even if you do not have the state pension because missing NI credits, you may qualify for whatever is left of the pension credit situation, at present that is not much different to what you are earing c£6K per year.

ChocClare

rachbc wrote: »

average life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last few years - meaning increased costs to health care, social care, pensions, increased demand on housing, transport, food resources, population growth - it might not be fair but in has to be paid somewhere and although this will be an unpopular view to the 'ladies of a certain age' who dominate this thread my feeling is that they should pay for it just as much as I, my husband and our children will. Yes the goal posts have been moved but then so have they for students to be, public sector workers, working parents and pretty much all 'normal' folk

This is so true, rachbc. I work in a nursing home where the policy is that those who can pay do and those who don't are supported by the charity that runs it. No difference is made in the treatment of the people who live there, but the charity feels that there are many people coming into the Home who have more money than those donating to support the charity, iyswim, and therefore it is only right that they pay. Last week, the Daily Reactionary was making huge headlines about pensioners forced to sell their homes to pay for care home fees, but the sad truth is that we ARE all living much longer than we used to do (or than we were expected to do when Bevan promised care from birth to death) and there are far more of us than there were then into the bargain, so the money isn't just going to drop out of the sky. It IS unfair, and I know there are always going to be groups of people who bear the brunt of it and, if you're one of those people, then you have every right to be severely p***ed off. I am going to have to work to 66 to get my pension - six years more than my mum, who is 22 years' older than me and has benefited from all the booms which now have to be paid for somehow.

It is depressing to think like this but in the true spirit of it's tough but we cope, I just keep one thing in the back of my mind - at least we don't live in the US, where so many people can't afford health insurance and where the difference between rich and poor is fast turning parts of the States into a third world country...

Hardup_Hester

I have to admit I can't understand the problem with having to sell your house to pay for your care, ok so you wanted to leave it to your kids, but if the kids haven't got themselves sorted by the time their parents are in their dotage they never will.
I feel the same about people who complain that they have to give up a 3 bed council house & move to a smaller property when the children have left home. I shall have to move from my 3 bed house when I retire & I shall sell it to fund my care!
No doubt I'll be shot down in flames for my opinion, but so be it!
Hester