make do and mend for tougher times

smileyt_2

mardatha wrote: »

I think UKPreppers is a terrific site. I agree you get the ex-army types who go over the score on the freeze-dried rations or the Mad Max/Rambo wannabees - but any interest or hobby on the planet has these types..always some who go overboard. I've learned such a lot from there and funnily enough it was kittie who got me into all this !
Prepping is for many different things, but all of them boil down to water/food/heat. Get that sorted and you've done all you can.
One guy on there was caught up in the London 7/7 bombs and had to get off a tube train and walk along the track in the dark - he now carries a torch in his rucksack, wears comfy shoes and changes at work.
Remember the riots in London - what if you were out all day or on holiday, and came home late to find that going on...would you have a backup plan?
What if there was a power backout that lasted 24 hours ? No supermarket tills, no cash machines, no petrol pumps, no traffic lights, stair lights in flats. etc etc.
Its all about making us think. Thinking hurts, But it's good for you :D

Very true, Mardatha. I have learned loads from there. So I have some bottled water stored, my water butts and i will get some purification tablets and that will give me peace of mind. I certainly don't have a gun or any weapons or 500 years' worth of freeze-dried food. My preps are for periods of unemployment, and like GQ, a hedge against rising costs and the lack of interest any savings gain (not that I've got any savings mind you! ). If things really went belly-up I would be in trouble as I'm in an urban area and I'm poor so I just don't have the back-up that rich people have. You just have to do what you can. Plus I love the idea that I am not totally reliant on anyone else.

Byatt

Pooky wrote: »

Byatt - the way I've read it is that HB will only be paid for a set period (and then a gap between reclaiming) and will be based on need, not on where you actually live. So for example, I have two teenage DDs so we could only claim for a two bed flat LHA as that's all we officially need to live in. So it will effectively be cutting the benefit to those who live in a property that is outsized for their needs. I think a single person allowance will now be based on a room in a shared house rather than a one bed house/flat etc.

Thanks Pooky, I must admit I just don't process stuff like I used to, and it takes a while if at all to sink into my brain. Because I've always (well in the last 3 years, goodness that long!) had to consider bedroom need and amount of rent which is vastly different between one bed and 2 bed in the private sector, I'm aware I'm restricted in the size of house I can live in. Not even sure I understand what I'm saying, I must be tired! :rotfl:

fuddle

I never even gave storing water a second thought till I went on UKpreppers. I agree about the extremes some people go to on there but I guess when non of us actually know what we're preparing for it can very easily snowball.

I think for some people it can be a hobby, a self gratifying hobby that is useful at the end of the day and can only benefit the inividual who is prepping.

Someone very wise gave me some advise re: prepping to calm me down and get my mind focused so I would not spiral into meltdown and that is it's all about concentrating on four areas heat - cooking - light - food. I think we're all preppers at heart

Edit to add: really sorry about the lack of punctuation and grammar but I CBA tonight

katieowl_2

mardatha wrote: »

I think UKPreppers is a terrific site. I agree you get the ex-army types who go over the score on the freeze-dried rations or the Mad Max/Rambo wannabees - but any interest or hobby on the planet has these types..always some who go overboard. I've learned such a lot from there and funnily enough it was kittie who got me into all this !
Prepping is for many different things, but all of them boil down to water/food/heat. Get that sorted and you've done all you can.
One guy on there was caught up in the London 7/7 bombs and had to get off a tube train and walk along the track in the dark - he now carries a torch in his rucksack, wears comfy shoes and changes at work.
Remember the riots in London - what if you were out all day or on holiday, and came home late to find that going on...would you have a backup plan?
What if there was a power backout that lasted 24 hours ? No supermarket tills, no cash machines, no petrol pumps, no traffic lights, stair lights in flats. etc etc.
Its all about making us think. Thinking hurts, But it's good for you :D

Before we left London the local electricity sub-station caught fire one Sunday morning (electrical fault caused by numpties stripping copper IIRC)... "Oh -the powers off" I said, and took my stove top kettle out to the garden where I'd rigged up an outdoor kitchen with the camping gaz, because it was boiling hot (remember those summers :D0 and I'd turned the Aga off. I made tea and went to answer the door to one of my neighbours having forty fits, as were all those out on the streets to see what was happening "I can't get any cash out" "I've just been to the station and there's no trains running" "I can't get any petrol" "my phone's flat and I can't charge it" "how am I going to cook lunch"...etc went on for hours. I think the leccy was off about 12 hours for some people, ours was about 4. Doesn't take much these days with all the gadgets to cause mayhem. Supposing it had been one of the main power stations? (Fukashima anyone??)

We had belt and braces for years cos' we turned the Aga off in the summer to save money, and because it was too hot otherwise, so I guess we just thought it through a bit more than other people. Here I have oil (rayburn), Calor Gas hob, electric oven, but I also have an open fire indoors I could cook over in a pinch, gas barbeque, rocket stove (could use that in the fireplace if weather was dire... We have candles, torches, electric re-chargeable lanterns and a couple of oil lamps...wind up radio. Also we've a well, although the water is untested. I really ought to look into that a bit.

Kate

Pooky

I understood what you meant Byatt

We don't claim any means tested benefits as although DH isn't able to work we had an insurance policy in place to provide a reduced replacement wage should the need arise, he is entitled to contribution based benefits (laughable really as his monthly tax payment is higher than what he gets in benefit). But I'm fully aware that without that policy in place we would have needed mortgage assistance/HB and that the amount payable would be for a two bed flat rather than what we live in. I sure that will cause a great deal of stress for those who lose jobs etc as obviously you can't just up and move somewhere cheaper/smaller if you're expecting to be back at work as quickly as possible. I think a lot of landlords will be out of pocket as people just can't afford to pay their rent. (although that should help bring private rents down, but won't help if landlords have a mortgage on the property and need a set rental income to service it). A lot of unknowns to come for everyone I think.

Evie74_2

Mar - I agree that UK Preppers is a terrific resource; I've learnt quite a lot in a short time lurking there. From a personal point of view I have to be careful to take it a step at a time as I am liable to get overwhelmed and over-anxious if I try and do it all at once.

You never know what is around the corner. I lost everything in a fire when I was 20 - I was travelling back to Uni after the holidays with all my personal possessions in the car, when it inexplicably burst into flames. I got out, but I was left with the clothes I was wearing, and nothing more. All my books, clothes, CDs, photos, everything went up in smoke - even my documents were in the car (I thought I might need them at Uni...).

It's not something I'd like to go through again, and I learnt the hard way that it's a good idea to keep copies of things like birth cert/driving licence/insurance docs/passport in a safe place. If something like that did happen to me again, I hope I'd be better prepared these days. When I was 20, my parents bailed me out. I'm sure they would again, but at my age I'd rather not have to ask!

It's easy to think that things like that only happen to other people. I know they don't.

Sorry for depressing rambly post - Fuddle isn't the only one to have had a glass of wine this evening!

Evie xx

Byatt

Pooky, when I was married we had an insurance policy in place if my ex was out of work through illness. Possibly redundancy as well, I can't remember now. I was a great believer in making sure we were covered. Silly man stopped payments when we separated though. Not that it mattered to me by then.

It's been a real eye opener for me moving into the private renting sector. When I first needed to rent, there was very little about, just before the property crash, and had to take what was available, a 2-3 bed property at £700pm, that was in 2008! I was paying less on a mortgage but because I wasn't working couldn't get a mortgage...now there are properties all over the place and I would have had more choice. With my (now) bad credit rating and only self employed (more or less seasonally), I can't move. Having said that my LL won't throw me out anytime soon and hopes I will stay here for years, so a certain measure of security, which is what I crave mostly. Anyway, I'm rambling!

SpikyHedgehog

The bedroom tax - this site is quite clear in explaining who will affect & how http://www.housing.org.uk/policy/welfare_reform/%E2%80%98under-occupation%E2%80%99_penalty.aspx

It will only affect people renting council or housing association properties - not private rent (generally more expensive than council or HA rent) and claiming any housing benefit. It's not just for people claiming full HB, it's also for people like me, claiming some HB because the money I earn isn't enough for me to pay everything I need to pay out.

It will affect anyone who has 1 or more 'spare' bedroom - hence my worry about DS1 going away to uni: I won't get child benefit anymore of course as he won't be a child but DS2 will still be a child so will still need me to be there for him in school holidays, so I won't be able to work more than I do now. And I will need that 3rd bedroom when DS1 is out of term time so back at home - but I don't know if I'll be able to afford to stay in a 3 bedroom house.

Errant Husband doesn't qualify for HB in the Girlfriend's council house - so them having 1 bedroom 'too many' won't be a problem... Just as well, as he needs that bedroom for when DS1 &/or 2 go to stay with him, he can't put a 16yr old boy & 9 yr old boy in the bedroom of a 12 yr old girl, & there's only 1 reception room at the house, so not suitable for any of the children to sleep on the sofa.

Got a 2 bedroom flat so your son or daughter can sleep in it at the weekend when they're with you instead of the custodial parent? Had a 2 bedroom house because you lived there with your parent but now they're in hospital & you were caring for them so weren't working? Now your children have left home you want to foster? Actually, you've been fostering and are the home of your long term foster child who you can't adopt as the powers that be say the child is too old to be adopted? Ooh, you've got this house because it meets the needs of your disability and don't really want to move because you need a bungalow with accessible bathroom and doorways wide enough to get your wheelchair through?

Ok, so you know you can't stay in the house anymore - now, where to move to? Can you still get to work from there? Can the children get to school or will they have to change school? Are there even any spaces in the new school? Are there any wheelchair accessible homes available at all?

Oh dear, you couldn't find anywhere with affordable housing that met the occupancy criteria, so had to move into private rent, but now the rent is higher than in the original house. Oh, that's ok, the council can pay that out. But now the landlord wants to sell up, so you have to move again...

It's a scary scenario. Yes, it will also affect you if you still live in the 4 bedroom house you had when your children were at home & now it's just you & no spouse - but only if you claim HB.

I think as an inducement to move into smaller housing, it could do with a bit more thinking about...

fuddle

Wine makes me worse Evie, I shouldn't touch the stuff.

I'm on the anti-D's more so for the anxiety than the depression also, mine are citalopram so look like it's similar stuff. I blame being a fishermans wife :rotfl:

Byatt

Spiky, thanks also for the explanation. I will read again in the morning when brain is working better, but that's why I had to move to a smaller place, when my DD left home (suddenly and without warning!), when she met a man and moved in with him. I was left in a 2-3 bed (it was defined as 2 bed but had arguably 3), on my own trying to find most of the £700! I don't get full HB now, might do in September, so still have to find most of the rent.

Does it not make any difference that your son's main address would be yours, if he went away to uni?

There's so many pitfalls that you don't see until you're in it. My biggest fear has been the insecurity of being at the LL's whim. Like I say though, although this place isn't perfect, things could be worse, and at least the LL wants to rent long term, plus I have a small garden.