Preparedness for when

Hillbilly2

Well said HUH. I have always enjoyed Alan Sugars annual rant at trying to return the money. He has letters stating there is no route with which to return the fuel payments.

bluebag

Hard_Up_Hester wrote: »

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

Hester, you should claim it, even if you don't need it now. We live in uncertain times and you may have need of it later.

Politicians of all stripes have their fingers in the pie and don't go short of anything. If people like you forego their fuel payment they may just so a lot of sycophantic backslapping and vote themselves another inflation busting pay rise.

westcoastscot

bluebag wrote: »

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.

Hi Bluebag I understand this is happening a lot, and VJ's Mum I wouldn't want to live with my parents either but we've talked about this as the kids have grown up - we all get on very well and respect each others' boundaries. What I'm thinking of is further down the road of Mum and Dad supporting grown children living at home - i'm talking about independent children choosing to live at home, and it takes education and respect on all sides to ensure that Mum is not just a slave! We always talked about Mum/me spending 3 months each year with each child, but it's worked out that two live here with me rather than nearby on their own. We're thinking about setting up a second base on the east coast as some of us wish to return there for work, and so we would go between the two houses - it's still two houses for 4 people/potentially 4 families. It's all about investing in our own family and being inter-dependent and self reliant.
WCS

bluebag

westcoastscot,

It makes perfect sense for all the family to share resources, this gives the most bang for the buck so to speak and historically the norm.

You obviously are way ahead here and have manged a workable situation.
But generally, the expectation has been that children fly the nest and the elderly are cared for by professionals. I think we will all return to multi generational homes, but it is going to take a while for a change in thinking to become mainstream.

I the meantime we seem to have this hybrid system which is far from ideal, but I'm sure we will get there.

westcoastscot

Bluebag, for us it has just evolved and we're trying to make the best of what we have. Our life totally changed when my ex left, and I've worked very hard to provide the kids with a good education, and they've worked hard during and after uni - i'm very fortunate that we get on so well and have the same values. Together we're much stronger than the sum of our four parts.

Edited to add: it's possibly partly due to where we live also? We have a culture of not expecting professionals to care for our elderly and families do still work together here in small businesses - I guess we haven't evolved here too far from our past as other parts of the UK, making it easier for us.
WCS

bluebag

thriftwizard,

I hear you, Oh how I hear you, and appreciate just how difficult it is.
Got no easy answers for you, we just have to do the best we can.

Try to remember yourself now and again, when you are just you and not someones daughter, mother, friend, spouse and general dogsbody.

Take some time for that, no matter how little, it's important to still connect to who we are and not just what we are.

paidinchickens

mardatha wrote: »

You're playing into the govt'shands by looking at other groups and envying them...divide and conquer is so easy isn't it
My own amazing huge pension is £103 a week... the RV gets a huge £143.. but we pay full rent and get a breathtaking £8 a month off the CT.
Better life for me would mean having a holiday, that's all. Longest one we had was 4 days, furthest we've been was Bruges and Galway.

I would like to know if the £8 off the CT goes on sweeties

greenbee

Hillbilly2 wrote: »

Well said HUH. I have always enjoyed Alan Sugars annual rant at trying to return the money. He has letters stating there is no route with which to return the fuel payments.

bluebag wrote: »

Hester, you should claim it, even if you don't need it now. We live in uncertain times and you may have need of it later.

Politicians of all stripes have their fingers in the pie and don't go short of anything. If people like you forego their fuel payment they may just so a lot of sycophantic backslapping and vote themselves another inflation busting pay rise.

My mum always reckoned that the best way to spend her fuel payment wasn't on the fuel, but on the things that made the lack of fuel bearable. So every year she has carefully spent it on interlining curtains, replacing worn out blankets or buying good quality winter clothing. As my dad is happy with the house several degrees cooler than she likes it, this worked well for them - and now fuel prices are even higher, the payment goes towards their oil bill and they have minimised the amount of fuel they need to use.

I suggest you claim Hester, and use the money for winter preps so that if you DO need it, you have it and are also well prepared. You can always make a contribution to something like The Rucksack Project https://www.facebook.com/rucksackproject or a food bank if you feel that you need to share the benefits of your payment.

mardatha

I'll have you know that I have not touched, crunched, swallowed or sooked a sweetie since the 15TH OF JUNE! Low carbing! :cool:

paidinchickens

:A I would have to have my mush stitched up, mind that may be a good thing as it would stop me putting my foot in it so often :rotfl: