As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

CorBlimeyHowMuch

So yet again Im awake at a silly time of day 4.30 am ish, I had to get out of bed as I could feel what I can only think of as a panic attack coming on, head buzzing full of 101 ideas and what ifs and oh my god how has my life come to this type of thoughts, feelings like this are so negative that it surely cant be good for the old heart and blood pressure:eek: last thing I need is to keel over with something at this particular point in my life. So I have got out of bed and am trying to be proactive and positive as I refuse to be negative but some part of my brain is in denial of whats happened in the last few months, and I really need to give myself a damn good shake and get on with things.

One thing I have realised is that living on a single persons Jobseekers Allowance is going to be damn hard,if not nigh on impossible but hundreds of folk do it everyday and so I will have to, wont be a luxourious lifestyle but it keeps the wolf from the door and I wont starve.

I did a sort through of all my clothes and shoes yesterday and sorted them into keep and charity shop piles, was quite an eye opener:o:o, I wont have to buy anything for a very very long time and the charity shop pile wasnt very big.

This is a learning curve for me, Ive gone from an existance of not worrying too much about the pounds to making every single penny squeak and be accounted for and to stretch what I have actually got to make ends meet, in my head the ends dont ever meet hence my panics and pacing the floor at daft hours not sleeping. Ive been fast forwarded to real life and landed with a painful bump on my well padded backside.:D:D

I joined the local library yesterday, what a game that w:Das, as Im not quite in my new address and no longer at my old marital home address and in a domestic violence hostel Im in limbo land and having to explain this over and over again especially in front of a desk of folk waiting to have:D there books stamped so I got all bristley and asked to go somewhere more private to discuss this and got the attitude back of its here or nowhere type of reply, well the new emerging me took a deep breathe and after some pointed words I was shown to a side room where I made my point and hey ho Im now a member of said library.

I had 2 lovley cds to listen to and some brilliant sounding books on saving the pennies and one on shabby chic doing up junk shop furniture sounds good, then I had to laugh to myself, me with a paintbrush in my hand, I hope paint splatters and paint runs and drips are the in thing decorating wise :rotfl::rotfl:still I have to learn sometime.

Sorry for typing all this dribble, this forum has kind of become my outlet for my woes and worries about coping on a limited income,and the feedback so far has been so kind and constructive,I am feeling sleepy now so will post this then go grab a couple of hours now I feel tired...

CBHM x

ceridwen

Hi CorBlimey

Hope things get sorted for you soon.

I'm surprised to hear that you encountered jobsworths at your local library - I'm well used to finding peeps like that in other contexts and one does have to develop a bit of a "battery of techniques" to deal with them. The most helpful thing is if you know "their System" better than they do I've found:rotfl:. Always bear in mind with jobsworths that their first priority is to protect THEMSELVES and you dont go far wrong....:cool:

Guess it was someone having a bad day at the library and taking it out on you - as a lot of libraries are currently in the process of a range of cuts being implemented:mad:.

To me - libraries have always been one of the last bastions of Real Life (not the harsher stuff one finds outside their environs these days...) - with the exception of the odd:cool: person who thinks its okay these days to take a screaming child into one:eek:. (To use their own language "I'm like its okay like - its a baybee - wadyafink?"). Errr...nope....one can now speak in libraries (they're not "halls of hallowed hush" these days) - but they ARE still quiet places where peeps expect to be able to read in peace....and breathe...

Don't forget to borrow some student cookbooks while you are in there. They will give a lot of ideas for food for singlies. Your best bet for cheap food ideas are student cookbooks and vegetarian cookbooks of the 1960s/1970s era.

I'm old enough that I now have a range of cookbooks through from the 1960s to present day and the ones of today are certainly more interesting - but the recipes in the ones of that 1960s/70s era are a lot cheaper than those in present day books (ie using cheaper ingredients). On particularly broke times I still reach my first vegetarian cookbook of all - and its from that era (ie Doreen Keighley's Vegetarian Cook Book). It cost me 30p at a health food store of the era and was produced by the Vegetarian Society. A typical recipe would have been "rice and onion cheese" (which included onions, rice - brown obviously, tiny bit of butter, 6 oz Cheshire cheese, pinch nutmeg, seasoning). They just didnt have all the more exotic flavourings and expensive cheeses back then that we take for granted these days...

EDIT: That book is still for sale - not reprinted since the 1970s by the look of it - but Amazon has 66 copies for 1p (plus postage) at the moment.

Hardup_Hester

I also have panic attacks that wear off if I get up, CBHM so you have my sympathy. Yes living on JSA will be a struggle but you will get lots of good advice on here. 10 years ago when I left my ex I was allowed £11.27p a month in benefit. When my divorce went to court my barrister had to escort me at all times, even to the loo (fortunately I had a lady barrister) as my ex even threw his briefcase at his own barrister.
10 years down the line I have a home, a mortgage, a job, & I'm getting married later this month, life will get better for you soon,
Hugs Hester

Kimitatsu

CBHM - Hugs to begin with.

You are doing fabulously, and I am sure that you will soon get the hang of budgeting and making all of the pennies squeak as we all do! There is bucketloads of advice on these boards, and on this board particularly it is non judgemental (some of the other boards can be a bit brusque!).

If you are on JSA, when you get your own place see if there is a furniture recylcling project near you. They collect furniture PAT test it (where needed) and clean it up and then give it away for a nominal donation or free usually if you are on benefits.

Can I suggest that if you are suffering from anxiety attacks you see if your doctor can refer you for some NLP? Neuro Linguistic programming changes the emotions attached to a situation or scenario, so that you dont "relive" those negative emotions each time. It is fabulous for anxiety attacks and phobias and I have seen many people who have been crippled by a fear walk out a different person. The great thing about it is its not invasive, it doesnt take a huge course of treatment and its usually quite quick

Remember that whatever time of day or night there is usually someone to talk to on the forums, and its never dribbling, sometimes just giving the thoughts words helps you frame them and deal with them I call it monsters under the bed syndrome - they are always there until you pluck up the courage to look, and then you realise they are either dustbunnie or not there at all

Sadly we too had a jobsworth at one library we were at, in the end I had to complain to the local council as my boys didnt want to go to the library because she was just down right horrid! The council took my complaint seriously and gave her "retraining" after which she was lovely. I would love to say that it was the only time I have ever encountered it but this year complained to the PCT about the reception staff at the doctors too! The doctor bless him was mortified and dealt with everything very promptly explaining that we could ALWAYS speak to him even if we couldnt get an appointment. Sometimes jobsworths forget that you are the customer and it is you that they are there to serve.

It was warm here yesterday but cooler by the evening, and we are forecast thunderstorms later in the week :eek: Still the grass is looking better for a bit of rain. Does anyone know where I can get instructions to make a herb wheel? All this talk of herbs makes me feel that I should extend the herb garden and putting them in one place would be a start! If I can get an idea of how to make it them I can adapt it into a raised bed as my knees are rubbish and kneeling down is not happening :rotfl:

Today I too must get some housework done, the house looks like a bomb has hit it after a week of half term. Hope everyone has a good day x

7_week_wonder

Good morning all,

I hope you managed to get some more sleep CBHM. One thing you can be sure of - you will come out of all this a much stronger person: and if you stay around on these boards you will have a fantastic set of resources you can call on any time of day or night.

I dearly love my OH but at times........... We were supposed to be having some of his distant relatives drop in for a cuppa today. They phoned last evening to confirm they were in town and I heard OH quite cheerfully say "Come any time and stay for lunch" :eek: At that point, all the shops had already shut and the cupboards were pretty bare - I was not impressed! but somehow I've managed to cobble together some nice salads (as long as they like chickpeas and couscous) and thank heavens for the hens: lots of eggs means I can stretch such vegetables as we had into some tortilla.

And then to cap it all - he forgot to reset the alarm: so instead of having a wee lie in I'm up at normal weekday time. Grrrrr

Oh well, I suppose it's given me time to catch up here before I head off for the morning.

smileyt_2

Morning all!
Got up early hoping to be able to clean the hen pen out but it is absolutely pouring down with rain :mad:, so much for flaming June, eh?

CBHM could the refuge you are in help you with setting up costs or applying for grants for furniture etc? Or maybe try your local freecycle group. If you could get yourself a food mixer or blender off freecycle, you could make all sorts of dishes to freeze, including home-made soups which would be lovely in the winter. Also, does your refuge provide any counselling? It sounds as if you have had a rough time, so I'm not surprised you are having anxiety attacks. It is hard being single and finding the energy to motivate yourself day in, day out, but you get used to it, and when you do motivate yourself, the sense of achievement is fantastic!

[Deleted User]

CBHM, it sounds as if youve had a pretty awful time so no wonder your not sleeping and feeling panicy. I would second other replies, get some advice from your doctor. Are you still living in the area you were previously? hope you have friends and family who can support you.
I joined the forums to get advice with my debt and found the old-style forums that way, you will get loads of practical advice here, I am now living on a much smaller budget in order to deal with my debt and can honestly say I am much happier.
Wishing you lots of hugs, really hope you are soon feeling more settled. Keep in touch

mardatha

Glorious weather up here....

Morning:Cloudy with outbreaks of Rain6°CAfternoon:Cloudy with outbreaks of Rain7°CEvening:Overcast5°COvernight:Overcast5°C

TudorRose

Dull & overcast here this morning.

As it's Sunday didn't get up until 9 but cleaned the bathroom & downstairs loo while my tea was brewing & my toast cooking.

Have caught upon here so will start the ironing in a few minutes. Not much to do but wear a lot of linen mix trousers at this time of year (mainly from CS) & they need a good hot iron to get them respectable for wearing in the coming week.
I have a steam generator iron which I have filled up with water from my dehumidfier. The dehumidifier came from the shop I had & I have been putting it on when I dry washing indoors (a tip I found somewhere on this board) & it helps to dry the washing really quickly. Great if space is limited & you have more than 1 load to do. Have found that towels come up really nice and soft & much nicer than when I just leave them on the rack.
Used to use the tumble dryer when I had a washer dryer but replaced it with just a washing machine a year or so ago. Don't miss it & must have saved a few quid in leccie.

icelandic_queen

Hi CBHM, I was in the position you are in 8 years ago around this time of the year and I just want to say that the only way is UP!! I had my 3 kids with me and the one good thing was that it was summer so we went on lots of walks, picnics in the parks and the library (but the people were lovely). The hostel was in another part of town so I tried to look on it as an adventure, especiallu for the kids. I know it's hard on the JSA but it is do-able (just about)! Hugs to you and the best of luck