make do and mend for tougher times

Possession

Molly41 wrote: »

I am beginning to feel just a little bit more positive about my brown envelope moment of last week. I have just had an email from my physio who very kindly wrote a letter in my support to say that the decision is farcical. He will also write (along with my GP) so hoping this will help. My MP, who is conservative, has asked me what she can do to help. What does anyone suggest I say to that?

I believe if she writes to them they have to look at the case urgently, so I would furnish her with the facts and ask her to contact them. But there are people on here far more qualified to comment than me.

fuddle

Thanks for the links. I guess I need to get around the MSE main page more. I'm going to go try to understand pension funds and at the very least try to open a savings account. I think I'm allowed to do that now.

prepareathome

I see the government is determined to go ahead with cutting benefits with Atos being awarded the contract for PIP which will replace DLA............

[Deleted User]

can I say something, please and not in a bad way but it is on my mind cos I know several of you are having to jump through hoops because of lead swingers

dh just got in and he was cycling with his club and I mean serious cycling 40-60 miles a time and up and down big hills. Out today with 7 others and one, G, can always go out and is super strong on the rides, staying at the front. Off on the sick and has been for years, says to the group (friends) that he had a foot injury years ago. I have been to events with him and he does not limp or go slow. They have managed to get him to be introduced to the world of work, starting next week. That is exactly why the genuine sick and disabled are getting such a raw deal

grandma247

Kittie I knew someone dh sometimes worked with. He was on disabilty allowance or whatever its called and he had a brand new car from the mobility people. He was supposed to have a bad back but dh said he was able to lift washing machines and cookers. I think we all know someone like that.

Trouble is it depends on whether those who should can be bothered to investigate when informed. That will probably be changing though.

fuddle

Pensions are so complicated I need about £100 per month to realistically save for my retirement. That freaks me out as I can only budget for £10 per month at the moment. I've opened a basic savings account online with my bank and transferred £10 - why I don't know because I'm not going to get very far on that. It's a real worry.

grandma247

fuddle it will mount up just slowly and as your children get older you can add more to it. I have no idea about pensions. We have a small private pension but now it will be worth next to nothing anyway. There is nothing we can do about it now it is too late. Instead I am learning as many os skills as I can and hope to start some kind of business maybe.

oldtractor

same here fuddlebut £10 is better than £0

Possession

fuddle wrote: »

Pensions are so complicated I need about £100 per month to realistically save for my retirement. That freaks me out as I can only budget for £10 per month at the moment. I've opened a basic savings account online with my bank and transferred £10 - why I don't know because I'm not going to get very far on that. It's a real worry.

With the wonders of compound interest (in a pension), £10 will become more than just £10. The important thing is to get started.

prepareathome

kittie wrote: »

Re oven, me too I would definitely have a built in oven if I had the chance. Ridiculous having my oven at calf height and I now use my cheapo table top one all the time. I can`t be doing with having to kneel on the floor to see how things are cooking, ridiculous design

As you can see in the before picture of kitchen I had a mini oven with rings on top and used that for nearly two years along with a camping stove as it got to the state where to get down to check oven even though it had a glass door was so painful and getting anything in or out meant putting it on the stool, then a plastic box turned upside down with thick towel over it and then I would get down on hands and knees and put in or take out food from oven then I had to crawl into living room to use couches to get me up........daft so we bought that mini oven for£99 and it was good - could only put one big or two small things in it but I just worked round it. It was then I invested in my first slow cooker, I now have two.

So no way when kitchen was done was I having a low level oven and I didn't have to even use disability to get it as they said we could have what we wanted. I think now cookers should be a think of the past and hobs and wall mounted ovens the norm.

Next week I hope to buy the halogen oven as income will drop from Sept as less overtime for hubby as less people off due to holidays.

I have filled in the form from the Community Legal Advice Team but the girl had said they would like up to date wage slip so next payday is 15th so will wait for the payslip and send July and Augusts as they want two months. Girl I spoke is on holiday till the 13th anyway so she will be back just before new wage slip arrives.

One of the receptionists at the doctors has just gone beyond the call of duty for me. I ran out of my Oxynorm at end of last week, just didn't notice I was on last sheet of them and so ordered more on-line Monday and so should have been at MR S pharmacy by Wednesday but when I phoned yesterday and today not there, so eventually have got through to the doctors and they found my prescription was there and they do not know why it was not given yesterday morning to the person who picks up the scripts for MR S.

So he asked if someone could get up before they closed and I said unlikely, I certainly can't and hubby got a lift in this morning which means the bus home tonight so unlikely to be home before 6.30pm and surgery closes tonight at 6pm ( late night surgery till 8pm is Tuesday) so the receptionist a nice guy who has been there about 10 years now and always helpful told me he will take my prescription to Mr S straight away ( a 5min walk for a healthy person if they can get across the busy road quickly) so that then hubby can pick it up sometime before MR S Pharmacy closes at 8pm.

Having them again means I will not need to take the Oxycontin at night if pain is bad which then kicks off me being awake 36+ hrs, as they just work for 4hrs (Oxcontin are slow release version and supposed to work over 12hrs) and usually once asleep unless pain is very bad I might wake a bit but fall asleep again very quickly without taking any more pain meds.

I hate all this jiggling and messing around with pain meds, I just wish pain would go away. With them I can function to a degree and even get things done - still not gone out, not even to check, my potatoes and they are only in side garden, since last Thursday when I picked all bar last quarter of crop....don't know if blight will have got them as its in my area and all areas round me.

With the Oxynorm hopefully will get out this evening and check, not weighed what I got but counted and I put in 4 seed potatoes and so far have had 420 back but I only covered the green shoots once on half them so don't expect a great return. Some have been really big and others tiny but most middle size. I did put one seed potato in potato planter not in ground like others and got 60 potatoes from that alone as did keep covering the green shoots as it was in back and easy to do.

Dehydrated a lot of them but also just boiled some and froze them whole and others mashed and froze. Gave quite a few to son and family as well.