Preparedness for when

westcoastscot

I've been thinking about this and think we're going to have to go back to multi-generational living. It solves so many financial problems - it's cheaper to live together, the loneliness that older single people suffer would be gone and the work of keeping house is cut to some extent. In our house I have two of my grown children living at home again - as they contribute fairly to our household costs I'm able to work part-time as we are all able to make our money go further for us. As my arthritis worsens I'm finding my quality of life is largely maintained as I can pick and chose jobs around the house - enough to keep me active but not to much to be physically challenging, and I'm only "expected" to do a third of cooking, housework, garden work etc.

[Deleted User]

Yes,yes,yes WCS got it in one!!!

bluebag

westcoastscot,

My personal view is that it is happening a little already, lots of young are living with mum and dad unable to afford somewhere of their own.

Many elderly are being looked after by family to avoid losing the family home to care home/carer costs.

The difficulty is the bulk of the work for this falls on Mum, who is getting squashed between the generations while still having to work herself.

I think that as unemployment grows and family commitments get larger, fewer women will be able to work and living standards will take another grind down as her income is lost.

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

This I know because I went to the hardware store an hour ago to buy a new hammer.

Did you get four candles and some Os, while you were there?

VJsmum

:eek:

Please don't say I will have to live with my dad again. I really couldn't cope with that! Or the MIL come to that - all those unanswerable questions she asks ("but why didn't leeds Uni accept the boy up the road to read medicine" "I DON'T KNOW!!")

Anyway - moving on.

It is a good debate and one I am very interested in. THe pension burden is the biggest one the state has, but what is to be done? Means testing some of it I guess. But as one who has always worked hard, budgeted well, studied industriously, and invested wisely, I think I might resent paying for some workshy nomark who has done sweet FA their whole lives, spent frivolously, has nothing to show for it and expects a handout. I gave up my family allowance - it was going to be taken anyway and was never intended for someone like me who has a regular income and a generous husband. Why should the government pay for me to have my children?

Our pension calculations assume we will get nothing from the government and nothing from parents - therefore anything that comes our way will be a bonus (obviously I would prefer said parents to live well and leave nowt, though that is unlikely).

And, yes, health permitting I am planning to travel, holiday, cruise and do burger all that I don't want to :rotfl:

bluebag

I think when it comes to the governments inability to pay pensions, my view is they will keep pushing the pension date out until few survive long enough to be able to claim. That coupled with inflation will see what pension is claimed worth very little.

Hard_Up_Hester

I received the paperwork to claim for the winter fuel allowance, I'm not claiming it, I can manage without & I will.
Hester

[Deleted User]

£land are selling Double Wall Travel Mugs.

[Deleted User]

I don't think any one of is immune from the future, no matter how prepared we think we are and lessening value in pensions given is going to cause immense distress and hardship. I don't think there is a single answer to the problem either. WCS is right in that multi generational living will most likely become the norm, and it is one way in which incomes can be maximised with the older adults helping look after the younger family members and the middle family looking after the older family members. It would solve the loneliness problem and with many individuals contributing to only one dwelling feasibly it would help a whole family to stay warm, fed and cared for. It is after all the original way in which we lived for hundreds of years before modern day ways became the norm. We also lived perfectly well although not so long or so comfortably without electricity, modern intensive farming methods and industry. There were however considerably less of us as a population then and I don't think the current level of people could live well on the amount of land available to us as individuals. I'm sure the way we live our lives will be harder and the quality of housing and living will be much less than we have become accustomed to but the human spirit is an amazing thing and I'm sure that we as a race and as individuals will always make the best of what we find and live as well and as comfortably as we can and live a good life in whatever circumstances we do find ourselves!!!

thriftwizard

The difficulty is the bulk of the work for this falls on Mum, who is getting squashed between the generations while still having to work herself.

HEAR HEAR!

ATM for me that means I'm flying up & down the road (a 52 mile round trip) to take my Mum & stepfather to the doc, the dentist, the hospital & the supermarket at regular intervals whilst still ferrying my "cuckoos" around (one of whom has a "proper" job but still can't afford to live independently here, but if he goes elsewhere, won't have a job) as they can't afford to run cars & the buses are sporadic, subsidising the (4th year) student & he who can't quite afford to live where he needs to, trying to keep my own tiny business on the road & run the household. Luckily we can just about survive on what Him Indoors brings in, and the girls do give me a hand here & there (no reason why the boy shouldn't, but he's never here for long enough) but our "savings" cushion has been completely eaten away trying to keep the boys' student debts down and by car repairs; I can't do without a car because of my parents, but it swallows up any profit from the business.

Actually, my life would be easier if they were, say, in a granny flat, attached to us. And they wouldn't be paying £8,000 a year service charges, for nothing more than a polite phone call once a day - anything more costs extra - but they'd quite literally die rather than think they weren't capable of living independently any more...