'supporting each other through really tough times'

Popperwell

JKJ,
As you say in one way it's a job, in another way how many employers/companies take advantage and employees are exploited but can keep saying "Yes but you have a job"

Another worry...

I wonder how the people who have recently lost their jobs at Comet, Clinton Cards, Jessops, Honda and soon HMV are feeling. And I suspect many who were thinking of joining the police as a career may think twice seeing the starting salary is to be reduced from £23,000 to £19,000 and they say the average wage in the UK is £26,000 I never saw that kind of money, I still don't and no one around here working or not for whatever reason are on that kind of money.

JKJ

Heard on radio 4 this morning that despite earlier worries, the UK apple and pear crop is of a much high quantity than was expected and also of very good quality with good sized, juicy fruit. Anyone want to place any bets re the prices we are likely to see in the supermarkets? Good heavy crop must mean a lower price........surely? Not holding my breath by the way.

kidcat

softstuff hope your doctor can help - there is no shame in an injury, better to be set back a little now than alot when you are further on, alot of people sustain an injury when they begin exercising, for many that ends it for them but you are so determined I am sure you will be back as soon as you can.

Pops - my Ald! had the t-shirts in this week but cant remember when exactly.

Popperwell

Oh so true Unix.
What you say about TV and times past. Of course there were bad things about the years gone by and it is possible to see things more rosey than they were but I do get very nostalgic and for me I think it was a better period in my life. Or is it that getting older I see time slipping away, I don't know...

I so agree with the last points you make regarding the elderly and that food box. With much of the waste of food(and I know how many pensioners are good at making food go along way...wouldn't ot be great if the perfectly good food that is thrown away by supermarkets could be directed to Nursing Homes or pensioners themselves in the way you suggest. More could be redirected to food banks rather than the public who are often struggling themselves having to donate.

And yes sadly, as you suggest your Great Uncle is probably still working for the reasons you suggest. How many more? Trouble is there are big sections of society living this way at all ages, whatever their marital status and now even social class is not relevant. Everyone is looking for help.

Popperwell

Funnily enough, You and Yours on Radio 4 today(12pm-1pm)on line soon is talking about shopping habits and everyone who has phoned in and said they are spending less, income is frozen reduced and many are now saying they go to Lidl, Aldi, Poundland and the Independents.

But the avoiding of wasting food has been mentioned and how people are freezing items and stretching what they buy and Sainsbury's say on average shoppers are buying one item less in their trolley.

elizabunny

Iceweasel wrote: »

Apologies if you consider I'm hi-jacking your thread, but I'm reading all I can about that nice Mr Cameron's pension changes.

My wife and I are pretty devasted by all these new pension announcements.

I'm due to get a full pension come this August (over 37 years contributions) At least that's safe - I think - but I trust nothing now.

At the moment we get Pension Credit. So far so good. Well not that good - but we manage.

My wife is 15 years younger than I and we are concerned regards what she will do if I die before she reaches pension age - which looks like it will be around 2028.

Will she still be able to claim a pension using my contributions, as we thought was the case before?

She has no NI contributions to speak of, of her own. We are waiting to be told exactly what contributions she actually does have - and we think less than 1 year from long, long ago.

We thought she might get some benefit from buying / making up for some missing contributions, but 10 years worth would be way beyond what we could manage.

We are not happy bunnies tonight.

Iceweasel, welcome to the forum. These are indeed worrying times for many. I hope my post did not worry you even more and I certainly think it would be advisable to get some advice re: your wife using your contributions if anything happened to you, before she retires. After hearing the statement yesterday I understood that because I am due to retire in 2021 (if they don't move it again for the 3rd time!) I would not be able to benefit from my DHs pension contributions and he has worked solidly since he was 16!

I have looked onto the possibility of making up some extra years and it looks like it could be £689 per year, at today's cost.:(

I had not heard that we may not be able to receive the new State Pension until we are 70, can anyone clarify this position please.

nuttyp

I too am the product of the 70's era. My mum and dad worked hard, even having a small amount of land to grow produce on and sell at the auction each week. Many a sunday was spent in the ice cleaning leeks, picking potatoes and having to collect the fallen veg from the road side. I still pick the dropped veg now, and have been known to nip into a field of cabbages/cauli too.... shhhh!!!

We were talking to DD yeasterday, she was saying how difficult they are finding things. That is after taking some washing powder from us as she had run out!! It is well known i only buy things like this when they are on offer. I only purchase cheaper items, nothing beats a true bargain.

We reminised about when our girls were younger, i remmebered getting a veg box from dad. It was sent weekly all home grown or from other farms. We still buy a bag of 25kg of potatoes from the farm - £4 they are all mishapen for supermarkets. I can remember having to beg at the health visitor for a tin of baby milk as payday was 2 days away and little one was unable to have normal milk for the first time. At christmas my parents always used to get the girls some nice treats, like branded biscuits, and a tin of chocs.

I remember the hard times, like the day my husband was sacked after our first child was born, she went straight into special care. He wanted to visit her, but he said go your fired. That was our slippery slope for loosing our house and then being declared BR. Life has been difficult, but i consider myself very fortunate. I have 2 lovely girls, both trying to extand their education all the time. I think i have trained them well for looking after what money they have. My youngest works out the pence per 100g, and then we decide the best value. Reusing clothes by altering them is another good way, we also sell via car boots or ebay. Im afraid we have to try and sell everything if we can!!

Well done fuddle re the new car, see life is getting better. It takes time to rebuild after our upheavals.

Work has just rang, i have an extra shift tomorrow, so 8 hours managing pay.

Popperwell

elizabunny, The talk of getting the pension at 70 was mentioned by a few experts that appeared on news programmes on radio and I believe in recent days I heard a politician say something similar...

If you can access BBC Radio 4 on line and find last night's PM and go into the programme around the 50mins mark some questions are asked by listeners of Paul Lewis of Moneybox and his answers are quite interesting...I bet it comes up on Moneybox on Saturday at 12pm...many people are worried...

There is quite a bit on the topic in the first ten minutes too once you get past the news summary...

nuttyp

forgot to say, did anyone see the itv breakfast show this morning. They had a competition to win cash a car and 8000 shopping vouchers for the supermarket. The presenter said it should do your shopping for nearly a year. OMG thats over 2 years worth of shopping....... maybe more for others.

Some of these presenters, they have no idea.

elizabunny

Popperwell wrote: »

elizabunny, The talk of getting the pension at 70 was mentioned by a few experts that appeared on news programmes on radio and I believe in recent days I heard a politician say something similar...

If you can access BBC Radio 4 on line and find last night's PM and go into the programme around the 50mins mark some questions are asked by listeners of Paul Lewis of Moneybox and his answers are quite interesting...I bet it comes up on Moneybox on Saturday at 12pm...many people are worried...

There is quite a bit on the topic in the first ten minutes too once you get past the news summary...

Oh thanks so much for this Popperwell:T I will look now and see if I can get it:)