Low income, savings gone - what now?

SallyJane_2

Hi again Zippy - a million thanks - will do!

SallyJane_2

Hi barnaby-bear. Have been in touch with CAB and someone is going to phone me next Wednesday to have a chat about claiming benefits. Many thanks for the advice!

DawnW

The OP might also register with Quidco to get cashback when changing utilities suppliers, insurances etc? Too late by the sounds of it this time round, but well worth it for future changes / purchases, and takes no time at all.

SallyJane_2

Hello Dawn .. thank you for another useful piece of info. I've learned a lot since my "maiden" post one o'clock this morning. Brilliant!

lynzpower

Hi sally!
Bit more info for you from me ( are you overwhelmed yet!?!?)

I was thinking about your situation and remembered about http://www.carers.org/ the princess royal trust for carers.
they are the unbrella org for hundreds of carers organisaions UK-wide, which as well as financial advice, they sometimes give grants, but often they also do support groups, and a fair amount of things like massage, armoatherapy, days out and some holiday grants.

I tihnk you are entitled to carers grants, additionally can your father manage his own financial affairs himself- as directpayments.gov.uk might be able to help and he can employ you as a carer ( with money from the state) I used to work in social services but it was a while ago now, so my memory is hazy on these points, but also to say that the website I gave above also has a chat forum that looks pretty good - if you can tear yourself away from here that is

moanymoany

You don't say what is wrong with your dad, but that you have been refused payment for caring.

For the last 3 years DH and me have been down this road. Get on to Social Services and ask them to send someone to help you fill in the forms for attendance and care allowances. We did this and the very nice and helpful woman told the aged parents about a whole raft of benefits they were entitled to. At a later date they also arranged for carers to go in three times a day to prepare meals etc.

Mum wanted me to do everything, but I was firm and insisted that they accept all the help they were offered. It was not long before the carers were friends. I had given up work to care and when it was all arranged I went back.

The main bit of advice is to keep on and on until you get a response. Make sure you get someone to come to the house to fill in forms and give advice.

This DOES NOT mean that you don't love and care for your dad. You have to care for yourself as well. The stress involved in this situation is no small thing.

I'm sending you love and healing thoughts. :A

chevalier

SallyJane wrote: »

Hi Chev. Have already checked council tax banding and it seems to be correct. Paid surveys seem a great idea! Yes please, I'd like a list if you could post it on here. You sound well organised! Thank you.

Hi there Sally Jane. Below is a list of the survey and cash back sites that I use. There are others eg ipoints, and rpoints, but I haven't used them so don't like to recommend them. Has anyone else? Are they any good?

And no I am not organised! You should see my study!


https://www.lightspeed.com - this is a survey site, where you get points which turn into vouchers (you choose). May not help with the cash flow, but the vouchers could be saved towards birthday/xmas or given as presents.

https://www.caio.co.uk - survey site that gives money. A bit fits and starts ie no surveys for a couple of weeks, then three or four the same day.

https://www.yougov.co.uk - again paid surveys. However takes a while to get to the minimum payout level

https://www.pigsback.co.uk - this is a points site, ie they give you points for buying things via their site. BUT you also get points for signing up for news letters (some of which are even interesting!), and also for clicking on adverts with pink borders. I have spent NOTHING with them but got a £10 voucher through this week (only been registered since January). There is also a thread in the freebies section, which gives you all the daily answers to the competitions so you can have a better chance of winning on them.

https://www.mutualpoints.com - another points for clicks site. You can also buy things via their site and get points too. For a long time, I just clicked the links in the emails they send you, and that gets you 5 points. At 3000 points you get £20 I think. You can do searches via their site and that gets you points too.

https://www.quidco.com - this is a cash back site, so very good, for checking if any potential new insurers (ie if you have checked your contents insurance say and found a new provider), are offering cash back. Eg Lloyds was offering £120 cashback on new policies at one point (the offers do change). You can also get small amounts of cash again for doing searches via their site. You can earn 52p a day by doing this. Every little helps.

https://www.greasypalm.co.uk - another cash back site, where you can do searches and get small amounts of money. But it all adds up. I think you can get about 50p a day on there for nothing. Minimum payout is £20 I think, but you can sign up to survey sites via there, and get extra money that way for nothing.

Again more medium term money might come from claiming back bank charges. Also if you had an endowment you can write to your provider suggesting you might have been misinformed about its performance. Many people have got money back on that. There are articles from Martin on the main site about how to go about doing this.
If you are going to do this, it is wise to set up another current account first, with a bank that you have no debt with. Just to be on the safe side.

Best of luck
chev

SallyJane_2

Hi Lynzpower and thanks for the info ... yes, just a little overwhelmed, lol. Doubtful if I can get carer's grant as dad has savings. Thanks again Lynz.

SallyJane_2

Hi MoaneyMoaney! Dad has heart problems, arthritis, raised BP, sometimes has dizzy spells, walks with stick on bad days. On loads of tablets. Just found copies of my application - it was for Carer's Allowance - not awarded as dad gets Disability Living Allowance higher rate mobility component. It looks as if dad needs to claim attendance allowance and then I may get something. CAB ringing me next week so fingers crossed.
Thank you for your kindness .. it means a lot to me that total strangers care.

SallyJane_2

Hi again Chev ... thanks for the list - it all looks very interesting. Yes, part of my mortgage is endowment and I am going to try to claim something in the next few days. It looks fairly straightforward. Will let you know how I get on.