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

oldtractor

I'm sat here wrapped in a blanket with a hot water bottle. its cold. hot water bottles are the way to beat the fuel price hike.

greenbee

Storage jars - I have Kenco coffee jars which fit very well in my kitchen cupboards. I don't drink coffee, but all my family and friends knew I was collecting them, so my storage jars were free

I think we need to be very careful about judging people who have money. Many of them have worked very hard, and have taken risks that the rest of us would never dream of in order to get where they are... risking being in a far worse situation than many people on these boards currently are but having faith that their gamble will pay off.

They may be our employers, or run the companies that will pay our pensions. A lot of those high earners are also paying the taxes that are getting the country through the tough times when others are no longer in a position to do so and need help from the state.

And as for philanthropy... Well we have no idea how much of their income they give to charity, but the chances are that many of them are quietly and privately giving more than their 'tithe'.

Interestingly, many people who live in big houses aren't particularly well off but feel an obligation to maintain their inheritance. And many of them are technically in fuel poverty because of the costs of heating such buildings (and believe me, they think 'heating' to over 16 degrees is extravagant, so they're not exactly being profligate, just trying to stop the building falling down however, uncomfortable it might be to live in. They do sometimes turn the heating up for guests, but it seems to be less and less frequent!

[Deleted User]

greenbee wrote: »

They may be our employers, or run the companies that will pay our pensions. A lot of those high earners are also paying the taxes that are getting the country through the tough times when others are no longer in a position to do so and need help from the state.
!

Ahh now that is a bit of a sore point. I have a relative in law who is an investigating tax officer and he often tells of the rich who duck and dive and use all sorts of dodges to avoid paying tax. He says that billions are owed in tax

The people who are getting the country through are the ordinary, everyday hard working low to middle income tax payers like my grown up working children, who are now finding life a financial struggle. Low to middle earners and tax paying pensioners are being hammered out of all proportion

Keep then down, keep them quiet and lock them to a ball and chain until they retire at 70. It is slavery

oldtractor

kittie wrote: »

Ahh now that is a bit of a sore point. I have a relative in law who is an investigating tax officer and he often tells of the rich who duck and dive and use all sorts of dodges to avoid paying tax. He says that billions are owed in tax

The people who are getting the country through are the ordinary, everyday hard working low to middle income tax payers like my grown up working children, who are now finding life a financial struggle. Low to middle earners and tax paying pensioners are being hammered out of all proportion

Keep then down, keep them quiet and lock them to a ball and chain until they retire at 70. It is slavery

Brilliant post Kittie,says it all.

scottishminnie

SDG31000 wrote: »

Hi scottishminnie, we have a big glass jar with a rubber seal on the lid that we use as a cookie jar and we got it from Ikea a while ago. I'm not sure if they still sell them, but I hope that helps

Thanks for this. I tend to avoid Ikea as I always seem to end up with things I don't really need however my mum wanted to make a trip to get some cheap drinking glasses so I may go along with her. If I tell her before we go in that I'm only buying x then I will only come out with x. She takes it as her personal mission to keep me right on track.

I popped into the local Co-op for a newspaper on the way home tonight and got 2 french sticks for 10p each. I was thinking about whizzing them up for breadcrumbs which I can then freeze. Would french sticks/baguettes be ok for breadcrumbs?

ChocClare

When I was a student some of us used to go to Ascot. My friend rented a flat from a chap in Ascot who got complimentary tickets and they wore charity shop finery. The photos in the papers tend to show the ones with more money than sense but there are still those who go for the fun of it. But I do agree that when you're struggling, it can be galling to see it!

At completely the other end of the scale, I have been to a concert tonight by the Watoto Children's Choir - AIDS orphans from Uganda singing and dancing in the most fantastic, uplifting evening, even though their stories were very harrowing. DH is working in the church where they were performing and the vicar gave him two tickets and said, come and see them, they're brilliant. And they were - absolutely amazing. They're going to Portsmouth & Southampton next and then to Devon and Cornwall before going back to Uganda. I'd definitely recommend it if they happen to be on at a church near you!

It definitely puts things in perspective when you hear about new babies dumped on rubbish dumps with their hands and feet tied, and little children losing one then the other of their parents to AIDS and ending up on the street - and then seeing how happy they are now.

At the point where one of the little girls invited the audience to stand up and sing and dance with them, however, it DID show just how rubbish the average English person is at dancing :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

freudianslip

kittie wrote: »

Ahh now that is a bit of a sore point. I have a relative in law who is an investigating tax officer and he often tells of the rich who duck and dive and use all sorts of dodges to avoid paying tax. He says that billions are owed in tax

The people who are getting the country through are the ordinary, everyday hard working low to middle income tax payers like my grown up working children, who are now finding life a financial struggle. Low to middle earners and tax paying pensioners are being hammered out of all proportion

Keep then down, keep them quiet and lock them to a ball and chain until they retire at 70. It is slavery

This is what gets me.... the have's, the very wealthy offshire account holders etc. We have had tax amnesty's in the past for plumbers, doctors and dentists. What I would call our middle class. Now I don't agree with any one diddling the system and if people have not been declaring well then they deserve the book thrown in my opinion but come on, there's obviously bigger fish to fry and they should also be investigated - isn't that why the Ritz and the like were attacked in the TUC marches?

I agree, it's like always, our decent earners are being bled dry, the ones who are massively earning will know every trick in the book and will be allowed to get away with it. (generalising massively, but that is how I feel)

scottishminnie

These are like the ones I would like for my flour and sugar however I think I'd like to find them for less than £20 so the search continues.

http://www.havens.co.uk/tableware/dinner-services/maxwell-williams/olde-storage-jar/glass-storage-jars/product5356.html

There is a TK Maxx not too far from me - I may pop in there and see what they have.

mardatha

Only problem there is that I'm clumsy. I break things. I drop them, wallop the tap with them, knock them over or chip them. God knows what I'd be like with a kitchen full of glass jars.... Lethal I think.

jackieglasgow

I have those scottishminnie but from here I don't think I paid delivery for them, but the delivery from there seems to be £5 for unlimited items, so there's still a slight saving.