Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

Possession wrote: »

That is absolutely awful about the dodgy financial contracts, though depressingly unsurprising.
GQ is there any possibility you could sell your glut to friends at work? Nothing better than fresh broad beans and (if I worked in an office) I'd be happy to buy some.

Can't sell them as it is against the rules of my (council) allotment and I work for the same council and it would be so wrong in so many ways.........:rotfl:Our allotment officer doesn't stint in sending untidy plot letters to anyone, so imagine that they'd be as diligent if un-permitted sales were happening.

I do offer gluts to family but they're 30 miles away and SuperGran doesn't eat broad beans - I shall probably dry most of them, although I am looking forward to having some of the fresh tender ones soon.

The debt advisor had never seen anybody so obviously mentally unfit to sign contracts as these people and there was a dire threat of putting it in court to have a judge rule on it. They were incredibly vulnerable individuals.

Unfortunately, there are a fair few people living in the community (read in council/ HA homes, on benefits with floating support - if that) who really struggle. Some of us ring us so regularly that we recognise their phone numbers as they pop up on screen, before they've even spoken a word. And my call centre takes about 50,000 calls a month btw. I've talked to some learning disabled people several times in one shift.

There are a lot of learning disabled/ severely mentally ill people living in the community who are very frightened by ordinary day-to-day living and can't cope and it makes us very sad as we try to get them the help they need. They are easy meat for predatory people, including those who sell financial products. I'd get banned from this site if I told you what I'd happily do to the exploiters of such people.

*************

On happier thoughts, I'm on flex leave today and have had my eyes tested. Optician looked, said Yup, one on each side of your nose, green, same as last year - next!

I'm playing silly beggars as it was a proper eye test including have photos taken of my eyeballs, which I have every year and everything is peachy in there, so am a happy bunny.

Also dropped into my Magic Greengrocer and staggered away with two bagfuls of fruit and veg for £1 so will have some trimming and prep to do as it's slightly damaged, hence being in the bargain box. I have lots of pears, and cabbage and red onions and a cauli and tangerines......:D

Coming onto the Late May Bank Holiday weekend, plus it's Memorial Day on Monday for the US. It was this time of the year, back in WW2, that the grubbyment sprang clothes rationing on the public. Done by a man with several hundred suits, if memory serves.

I shall remove some spondulicks from my bank as a precaution against anybody getting creative ideas about extending a Bank Holiday past Monday.

Never give the barstewards banksters an even break.

Frugalsod

thriftwizard wrote: »

I'm sure the predators operate in the private housing market too, thinking of our poor friends whose mortgage loan now amounts to more than 10X what he earns; she's unable to work reliably for health reasons, which were already apparent when they took the mortgage out. They have spent more than 10 years battling to keep their heads above water, but every crisis, personal or national, sinks them that little bit deeper & the loan just keeps getting bigger. The bank won't lose out; the property is a delightful ToC house with a pretty garden which they have cared for & done up beautifully, in a pleasant area close to plenty of jobs in the finance sector. But they've spent 10 years of miserable grind & are in imminent danger of losing everything they've struggled so hard for.

The problem is that people think that they own their home, when in reality they are only renting until they are able to clear the mortgage. If there are any problems they will be repossessed and the years of mortgage paying will be as if they were renting all the time.

GreyQueen

Frugalsod wrote: »

The problem is that people think that they own their home, when in reality they are only renting until they are able to clear the mortgage. If there are any problems they will be repossessed and the years of mortgage paying will be as if they were renting all the time.

This is sadly true and many people don't grasp the facts. It's an economic sleight-of-hand which calls someone with a mortgage, or a loan secured against their home, a 'homeowner'.

They're not the owner and won't be until it's all paid off. You can lose a mortgaged home a lot faster than you can lose a socially-rented one. Most lenders will move to repo at 3 months' arrears.

Perplexed_Pineapple

Scary stuff about predatory lending... won't be happy until have our debt including mortgage debt paid off. It's interesting times that we live in, no doubt, and only getting more interesting....
I've heard that it's possible to use a car as a solar dehydrator. Certainly it's an enclosed metal box that sits out in the sun and gets very hot on sunny days, with built in adjustable ventilation. Maybe try some racks on the parcel shelf? Has anybody ever tried this?
I seem to remember that there were some good posts a few months ago about growing fruit trees in pots for a patio orchard. Picked up some 18" pots for a couple of quid so thinking to give it a go. Haven't found the posts yet so if anybody can remember where they are in the thread would be a big help, ta.
Frugalsod and BB, regarding hurricane lanterns and candles, hurricane lanterns are safer to use, although if you aren't overrun with small children/animals and have a sturdy candlestick candles should be safe enough. However candles are safer to store in quantity than paraffin so either could be more sensible depending on your set-up. In a small flat I'd think candles the better option, I have both but store the paraffin in the shed. Next to the petrol, the gas cylinders and the fireworks :rotfl:

Frugalsod

GreyQueen wrote: »

This is sadly true and many people don't grasp the facts. It's an economic sleight-of-hand which calls someone with a mortgage, or a loan secured against their home, a 'homeowner'.

They're not the owner and won't be until it's all paid off. You can lose a mortgaged home a lot faster than you can lose a socially-rented one. Most lenders will move to repo at 3 months' arrears.

Hopefully people when there is another housing price crash that people will stop referring to rent as dead money. The fact that housing is actually an appalling investment over the long term shows how deluded most people have become. It costs a lot to maintain a home and this is all dead money.

Frugalsod

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Frugalsod and BB, regarding hurricane lanterns and candles, hurricane lanterns are safer to use, although if you aren't overrun with small children/animals and have a sturdy candlestick candles should be safe enough. However candles are safer to store in quantity than paraffin so either could be more sensible depending on your set-up. In a small flat I'd think candles the better option, I have both but store the paraffin in the shed. Next to the petrol, the gas cylinders and the fireworks :rotfl:

I have no children to worry about and live in a flat so it is why I have opted to consider candles as a heating option. I already have a LED Lantern so that is my main emergency lighting though for long term lighting I am thinking of gravity lights. http://deciwatt.org by using these and filling the bags with cans I can get free emergency power with no need to worry about running out of fuel or fire risks.

Frugalsod

Memory_Girl wrote: »

Sneaks into room and checks out Greenbee isn't around - cos I am in the middle of editing a huge file that she needs tonight!!;)

Lookie - a new toy!!!! I mentioned last week that combining the Thermal Cooking Bag with a rocket stove was a way of future proofing our food and a family that is emigrating sent me theirs in exchange for a Tutorial and the new Recipe book.



I WANNA PLAY!!!

But I shall be a good girl and keep working till school run time instead

Anyone ever played with a rocket stove before?

MG

I am looking at one of these.

http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/new-basecamp/

Similar to a rocket stove but with the ability to charge USB devices. Also like you, it could be used with a wonder bag with a pot that you have heated.

GreyQueen

Frugalsod wrote: »

Hopefully people when there is another housing price crash that people will stop referring to rent as dead money. The fact that housing is actually an appalling investment over the long term shows how deluded most people have become. It costs a lot to maintain a home and this is all dead money.

If you look everything, realistically, we 'rent' everything. We don't get to leave this life with our goods and chattels and quite a lot of them won't be in any fit state, or usable, by any heirs we might want to pass them on to.

If you can make the philosophical leap from saying I own it into I use and control it FOR NOW then you may be in a better position to handle change and loss, which are the essential truths of life.

You may think you own your house and that you will always own it and your children will inherit it, and their children etc etc but a compulsory purchase order or an eroding cliff or a sinkhole can render your ownership moot.

A delightfully-wacky character called Stuart Wilde pointed out that everything is on loan from the god force; it's here now, it may be somewhere else in the future. You can avoid a fair bit of stress if you accept that things aren't always where they used to be and what's yours now may not be yours in the future.

My flat is my flat because I pay to use it and have a contract protecting my rights. If I don't pay my rent, my contract can be ended by a court of law. I wouldn't sleep any easier if I had a mortgage on it, or if I owned it outright. Indeed, I sleep less well as I'd have repair costs and the ever-looming menace of being sicked with a share of any major works which the whole block requires, the odds on which lengthen with each passing year (1970s building).

We're just passing through, folks, and so is everything else in the universe.

fuddle

Frugalsod wrote: »

The problem is that people think that they own their home, when in reality they are only renting until they are able to clear the mortgage. If there are any problems they will be repossessed and the years of mortgage paying will be as if they were renting all the time.

Frugalsod wrote: »

Hopefully people when there is another housing price crash that people will stop referring to rent as dead money. The fact that housing is actually an appalling investment over the long term shows how deluded most people have become. It costs a lot to maintain a home and this is all dead money.

*on laptop that doesnt work properly so punctuation will be off

Owning ones own home used to be easy done. We "bought" our property with 100% mortage and all fees paid by the builders. We "bought" our home without spending a penny. Of course we lost it! Crikey, when I think back we were idiots being advised by people who didnt hae to think past their own gain. We paid £48k off in mortgage repayments all the time we "owned" the house then boom - repo time. The house went for 10k under what it was worth but do the sums and it profit all round not to mention their investment back. Stupid kids playing at the big game not even having the nouse to look into what ifs etc etc.

We are nearly 5 years later and up until this point it had still been my dream to re-own my home. That is no longer important in my life. I now work in care. I see an awful lot of poorly people stuck in their homes that are no longer suitable as they have aged, cant physically up keep and havent the money to pay for people to do it for them. I see them fighting for adaptations that are not really appropriate but are better than nothing. So much money tied up in the property that could set them free but their home is their castle and one to never be given up. I see vulnerable people trust their offspring with power of attorney as they age but instead of using the home as a pathway to appropriate care issues are swept under the carpet for fear of needing to sell to pay for appropriate care.

I no longer strive to own my own home. I strive to survive and deal with whatever life throws at me.

Frugalsod

fuddle wrote: »

*on laptop that doesnt work properly so punctuation will be off

Owning ones own home used to be easy done. We "bought" our property with 100% mortage and all fees paid by the builders. We "bought" our home without spending a penny. Of course we lost it! Crikey, when I think back we were idiots being advised by people who didnt hae to think past their own gain. We paid £48k off in mortgage repayments all the time we "owned" the house then boom - repo time. The house went for 10k under what it was worth but do the sums and it profit all round not to mention their investment back. Stupid kids playing at the big game not even having the nouse to look into what ifs etc etc.

We are nearly 5 years later and up until this point it had still been my dream to re-own my home. That is no longer important in my life. I now work in care. I see an awful lot of poorly people stuck in their homes that are no longer suitable as they have aged, cant physically up keep and havent the money to pay for people to do it for them. I see them fighting for adaptations that are not really appropriate but are better than nothing. So much money tied up in the property that could set them free but their home is their castle and one to never be given up. I see vulnerable people trust their offspring with power of attorney as they age but instead of using the home as a pathway to appropriate care issues are swept under the carpet for fear of needing to sell to pay for appropriate care.

I no longer strive to own my own home. I strive to survive and deal with whatever life throws at me.

Sorry to hear that you lost your home. I would never wish it on anyone. Though as you said you paid £48 k in "rent" for a place to live. I have had a number of friends who have lost homes but still think that owning is better than renting, yet have place with an interest only mortgage that they cannot switch to repayment.