Preparedness for when

elaine241

jK0, I dont usually comment on this type of situation as only those involved really know how they feel. Here is my 2 penneth worth!
If your GF is not treating you the way you feel you should be then u need to either address it head on or dump her and find someone who does appreciate you for being just you!! It may be that she really doesnt realise how you feel and that her actions are resulting in you being upset. I would spell it out to her clearly and frankly and give her the chance to put her side of the situation. If after the discussion things do not improve then you know in your heart what you must do!!

With regard to those people living hand to mouth and not having access to a few hundred pounds or less please remember your local credit union. Credit Unions are set up to help those who would ordinarily not be able to access any form of borrowing ( except pay day/money lenders), those who wish to save in not for profit financial organisations or those who who have bad credit histories which other lenders wouldnt even look at.

My get home preps have had a positive influence on my well being this week. It was always nagging in the back of my mind to get them checked and reorganised and now that I have done it I have a feeling of relief that I am up to date! My next target is to go over what I have in stores and kitchen, rotate so nothing is hiding out of sight and will be wasted. I have quite a lot of dried foods, beans, lentils, preserves etc and really need to update the inventory to see what I am running low on.

Quick prepping confession I have still to do the dreaded paperwork !!! I have to copy important docs, put some on clouds and pens!! I also need to update my driving licence having lost it 10 years ago and never getting a new one! Also when I can afford it get passports for myself and the other 3 in my household. I have no recognised form of ID!!! I am a non person, which I quite like the idea of but isnt practical for this day and society! x

daz278

am i right in thinking that the Americans allowed their housing market to adjust with thousands thrown out of their houses but ultimately beneficial to the economy , which our government shied away from

nuatha

daz278 wrote: »

am i right in thinking that the Americans allowed their housing market to adjust with thousands thrown out of their houses but ultimately beneficial to the economy , which our government shied away from

It depends on your point of view - it was beneficial to the banks who'd caused the initial problem. It was less beneficial to the 10s of thousands who were repossessed and lost their homes.

Our government bailed out the banks, again very beneficial for the banks and is currently making the least able pay for the privilege while their friends in the city are doing remarkably well out of the economy.

There are other points of view, but austerity is about rewarding the rich and making those less well off poorer and the poor destitute (and increasing the national debt and selling off assets very cheaply.

YMMV

NewShadow

When it comes to SHTF moments, I figure in the UK it's more likely to be economic than environmental (baring fire/flood which would likely destroy stores anyway).

Given this I was much relieved to come across this article - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/07/24/3549931.htm

Back in June of 1965, a Scotsman weighing 207 kilograms, described as "grossly obese" and hereafter known only as Mr A B, turned up at the Department of Medicine at the Royal Infirmary in Dundee.

He was sick of being fat and wanted to lose weight by eating nothing and living off his body fat. He told the hospital staff he was going to fast flat out, whatever they said, so they may as well monitor him along the way.

He ended up fasting for one year and 17 days — that's right, he ate no food at all for over a year. He lived entirely off his copious body fat, in the end losing about 125 kilograms of weight.

That's me fine for around 6 months then

Frugalsod

NewShadow wrote: »

When it comes to SHTF moments, I figure in the UK it's more likely to be economic than environmental (baring fire/flood which would likely destroy stores anyway).

I also think economic SHTF is more likely than environmental on average. A fire can happen anywhere but does not impact everyone at once. Though you can prep for fire or flood if you think they are a real risk. I have a fire blanket and it has never been used mainly because I cook in a way that eliminates such risks. You can also store food in airtight drums that would float so might not lose those in a flood, unless they followed the flow of water out of your property. You could also store many delicate items in such drums if needed, so reducing real risks of losses.

Also clearing any debts so that bailiffs are not a risk. Losing any preps because of a debt defeats the purpose. So this has been my priority for the last few years. I should be debt free this year and will have built up a sizeable emergency fund as well.

By cutting the usual overheads I will also have increased the scope for paying off debts and once debt free will have reduced the risks from a cut in income that could hit anyone. After that then there is prospects of actually building savings and preps at the same time. If you are at any risk of potential unemployment then you should cap any savings at a level of no more than £6000 as this would stop you getting any means tested benefits like unemployment benefits and housing benefits. The figure is higher if you are retired but at different levels for different things.

Then my plan is to look at boosting long term food storage probably by freeze drying foods. These are more adaptable than dehydrated foods and also cost little to maintain over many years. This also allows you to average out the costs of food so reducing your vulnerability to food price shocks.

Longer term by keeping my overheads low and my savings below the thresholds for means tested benefits then I should be able to cope with what ever is thrown at me. Without debts I should be able to cope with any cut in income, and even the most severe deflation.

moneyistooshorttomention

Frugalsod wrote: »

If you are at any risk of potential unemployment then you should cap any savings at a level of no more than £6000 as this would stop you getting any means tested benefits like unemployment benefits and housing benefits. The figure is higher if you are retired but at different levels for different things.

.

As I recall the amount of allowable savings for retirement age people is £16,000 (not an amount that would go a vast distance for someone that was a home-owner needing to set to one side money for house upkeep on the one hand or allowing enough savings in case of having to what I call "subsidise the NHS" - eg pay for one's own hearing aids, pay for one's own operation, etc).

I read an article in today's paper that the NHS in some places are even trying to ration hearing aids (despite them only costing the NHS peanuts - ie £90 each) by telling people to make do with one or none (despite them needing two and the price to pay privately is £3,000 each!!!!). I certainly know the NHS are rationing cataract operations - as they tried to pull that stunt on my mother recently and lied to her saying that she didn't need a second one after all (fortunately she had already been told by them that she did and was able to "fight back" by asking why they had apparently charged their mind about it being necessary to do her 2nd eye too).

RAS

Actually at present the rules are savings over £6K have to be declared and benefits are reduced but over £16K you get nothing for income based JSA etc.

Roughly the same under Universal Credit

Example
You have savings and capital of £12,000. The first £6,000 is ignored, so the tariff income is worked out on the remaining £6,000. For every £250 of this amount, it’s assumed you’ll get £1 of income a week.
Calculation:
£6,000 divided by £250 = £24.
So, the amount of tariff income from your savings or income is £24 a week. This amount will be taken off your Universal Credit.

moneyistooshorttomention

When I said "retirement age" - I meant they are both "over State Pension Age" AND they are retired. People in both these categories are graciously allowed to keep £16k of their own savings.

nuatha

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

As I recall the amount of allowable savings for retirement age people is £16,000 (not an amount that would go a vast distance for someone that was a home-owner needing to set to one side money for house upkeep on the one hand or allowing enough savings in case of having to what I call "subsidise the NHS" - eg pay for one's own hearing aids, pay for one's own operation, etc).

I believe the limit for pension credit is £10K, I thought £16K was the joint limit, though I may well be out of touch on that one.
There has been some discussion on levying a charge on property to be repaid when the property is sold to fund various services - the initial model being care homes but discussion has included healthcare charges (including surgery and hospital stays) and infrastructure. Unlikely to happen in the short term, but longer term, who knows

moneyistooshorttomention

I hadn't read anything about that - ie the Government trying to levy a charge on peoples homes to cover them getting their NHS operations:eek:

I wouldn't put it past them mind you...:cool:.:eek:

Do you have any links to anything on this?