Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

PINEAPPLE we never miss any opportunity to collect wood from any source legally available. People in the village who don't have thier own open fire or stove will always offer surplus wood rather than throw it away. We also work on the principle that if you ask and the answer is no, then you're no worse off than if you didn't ask and most folks are more than happy to have broken things, old palletts etc taken to be burned than send them off to landfill. We're lucky in that this village has a very good grapevine and are often offered things from friends of friends, so we find the wood supply reasonable. We also invest our winter fuel allowance in logs so we find it ok to run the stove on wood and then we get to put the ashes on the garden so no waste either, Cheers Lyn xxx.

maryb

Annuity rates are very poor atm. When DH takes his pension he will automatically get a lump sum. If he buys an annuity with it, say he gets 4.5%, which is taxable(could be more could be less, depending on age, whether it's joint life, with/without guarantee, with/without indexation). If we put some of that money into solar panels we will save at least that on our electricity even if the feed in tariff is mucked around with for political reasons. That saving is automatically index linked (and the index is fuel prices not an artificially depressed RPI) and is tax free.

Only thing stopping us is that our girls have yet to establish themselves and put down roots. I'd like to be near to them if possible so that I can help during the stretched too thin years when they have young children. So we may end up moving. In which case you do need to look at payback period in the conventional way because you don't get any extra value for having put on energy saving measures

VJsmum

I Know I have asked this before, but because [STRIKE]I can't be arrissed to look back[/STRIKE] for the benefit of those new to the thread could someone tell me how do you make the holes in the tuna can?

Mrs_T_M

pineapple wrote: »

Borax must be the reason I have two heads and glow in the dark then. When I was a kid we had a little blue pot of a commercial mouth ulcer preparation - borax and honey - in the bathroom cabinet. My mother had never bought honey - all I knew was that I loved the flavour. So I used to sneak in there and help myself with an occasional dab on the finger. Mmmmm......

Ha!

I just wish that I could get the real stuff off the shelf here. I'm allergic to everything but surecare, which is a pretty penny! I could use the homemade stuff no problem, and I miss it.

maryb

You can still get proper borax on ebay - I bought a big pot of it just a few months ago

pineapple

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

We also work on the principle that if you ask and the answer is no, then you're no worse off than if you didn't ask and most folks are more than happy to have broken things, old palletts etc taken to be burned than send them off to landfill.

Fair point. So far as kindling is concerned if not for prolonged burning. I find it worth asking at joiners and in fact any sort of business or yard which uses wood. I do usually end up paying for it but it's a darn sight cheaper than those derisory little bundles of sticks you see on sale.
But (it may be the stove) I find it eats wood - even with proper logs - so apart from anything else it is harder to keep going. Possibly a dedicated woodburning stove would be better. But by the time I've finished paying for one of those I'd probably be pushing up daisies anyway. :eek:

mardatha

Wood isn't warm enough for this house Pineapple, we tried it and were miserable. We found the cheapest way is smokeless eggs and keeping the control to 0.

ALIBOBSY

bluebag wrote: »

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.

Interestingly at the point when the first "pension" payment was created by the government in the early 20th century the average life expectancy was only around 55 ish. So the majority of people would never get to pension age at all. It was designed to be a payment to the few that lived beyond the normal working life.

The only thing I have thought is that eventually each generation passes and much as I love my parents and inlaws and hope they will be around for many years to come within say 20 years won't the numbers claiming pensions start to fall?

Plus won't the BB wealth tied up mostly in property rises be passed back into the economy-either via inheritance or taken by councils/government taxes.

If I were really cynical I might think TPTB are happy for fuel prices to be high and to not really be that bothered about smoking and drinking as these reduce life spans particularly in the "masses" and poorer groups in society.

Not to mention the complete disgrace that is the "Liverpool pathway".

If the rich and powerful know what is down the line won't they take a rather them (meaning the bulk of us) than themselves and try to hang on to their wealth/power/position as long as possible?

Or maybe I have been reading prepper sites too much :rotfl:.

Ali x

Wyre

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

There was "You stupid woman".

Let's not forget the Fallen Madonna with the big boobies! I loved that show as a kid.

[Deleted User]

PINEAPPLE our stove is a Clearview Multi Fuel jobbie and we get it up to running heat as quickly as possible after lighting up, so it's to the 450 ish mark on the thermometer stuck to the stove casing, then we find that it uses about 1/2 a basketful of big logs over the course of the afternoon/evening. It's an inset stove, so it's actually set into the fireplace aperture and the chimney breast is solid brick and goes up to the ceiling so the heat from the stove transfers to the bricks and radiates out all night, in fact it's sometimes still a bit too warm to keep your hand on it early the next day. We've insulated as much as it's possible to do and the lounge which is 32' x 16' stays toasty warm, so I guess we've been lucky and found the right set up for us? Lyn xxx.