Council taking all my DLA in care costs leaving me with nothing.

teddysmum

Would it not be cheaper to do without a Motability car and keep the mobility allowance for occasional taxis or pay someone to transport you in their own car ?

Poppie68

Joan.Batt wrote: »

Motability goes on a car through Motability. I can no longer drive and so rely on nominated drivers. i live over 30 miles away from my local hospital and have no local amenities.

I cannot seem to eat well on £25, I wonder what do you do for that? I would appreciate some advice.

As your nominated drivers will also have their own car why not just give them petrol money when needed? Seems silly to waste money on a car that sits on your drive for the majority of the time while you struggle to afford to feed yourself.

Joan.Batt

Thank you all, you have given me something to think about. My Care component went on my diet, ( I can eat no meat, pasta, cheese, indeed I have to follow a strict low fat diet and I mean low. If I eat fatty foods it causes severe pain and a stay in hospital. going to respite facilities, it pays for underwear and such like (I wont go into details) it pays for excess electricity. I have to stay warm and only have night storage heaters and so it is expensive. Its not as if the Care Componant wasnt being used for my Care.
I cannot return my DLA Care until Xmas this year. This is something I will be doing.

I have not had any benefits check and so will take your good advice and make sure I am getting what I am entitled to

Again many thanks all. I was beginning to think it only was me, I am sure you can appreciate how isolated you can feel at times.

Joan.Batt

That is one amazing body of work. I cannot thank you enough. i will certainly look at it.

GwylimT

If your storage heaters are more you may benefit from using an oil filled radiator or other plug in heater in the room you use the most.

faerielight

I hear your distress, care assessments can be dehumanising, depending upon the social worker.. I had one last summer where I was mocked for my incontinence. I used to have to pay all my care allowance for my care agency, but I contested it recently, as I had got into debt and was struggling, they did take things like money for bedding ruined by incontinence, and the special diet I am on, into account, and I now only pay 12 pounds a month..They definitely won't take holidays into consideration.. I haven't had a holiday since 1992! I'm hoping to win one on MSE

You can contest it and ask for a reconsideration. Did you fill out a budgeting form? I agree with Poppie in that if you don't drive any more, giving up the motability car will free up a good #250 a month. I understand though, how a motability car represents freedom. I have one and it stops me feeling so hemmed in and trapped. I have no central heating in my flat, and the oil filled radiators are better than storage heaters. I got mine from Argos, they were a great investment and mimic central heating.

Tigsteroonie

GlasweJen wrote: »

To be fair DLA is supposed to cover care and mobility costs, day to day items such as food and utilities should be covered by either wages or earning replacement benefits like JSA/ESA. Are you getting everything you're entitled to?

^^ This. DLA is for the additional costs, but you should be getting some living costs too in the form of ESA.

Ames

GwylimT wrote: »

If your storage heaters are more you may benefit from using an oil filled radiator or other plug in heater in the room you use the most.

I lived in a flat with no heating for a few years until about 18 months ago, the best thing I ever bought was a heated throw. Like an electric blanket but it didn't have to be laid flat, you could put it over you like any other throw on the sofa. I got it from Tesco and it wasn't much, from memory less than £30. It was machine washable too.

ETA it was something like this, although this seems better as it has a remote control.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/GLOWMASTER-LUXURY-ELECTRIC-OVERBLANKET-BLANKET/dp/B00GIIQB2Y/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1460134346&sr=8-5&keywords=heated+throw
Oil filled radiators were also great, but I always ended up buying little ones, looking back that was crazy and I should have just splashed out on a bigger one.

[Deleted User]

GwylimT wrote: »

Now, the shopping list.

Apples x 15 at least £3.18
Bananas x 5 99p
Baking potatoes x 4 70p
Whole slices loaf 36p
Tinned sardines x2 68p
Wholewheat pasta 500g 61p
Chicken soup 24p
Tinned tomatoes 31p
Gravy granules 20p
Bolognese sauce 28p
Tomato soup 24p
Veg soup 24p
General potatoes 1kg £1
Mixed salad 90p ( cheaper to buy a whole lettuce but depends on what you like)
Brocolli whole head 38p, frozen 1kg £1.20 so frozen is cheaper in the long run
Carrots 500g 43p
Tomatoes 450g 91p
Six free range eggs 85p
Parsnips 500g 73p
French beans 57p (optional but nice with gravy)
Cottage cheese 300g 64p
Soft cheese 200g 52p
Salmon fillets x4 £3 (frozen)
Chicken fillets 1kg £3.83 (frozen)
Peas 500g 78p
Meat free mince 400g £1.57 or 300g fresh turkey mince £3
Porridge 1kg 75p

The total is £24.74, this is morrisons, tesco was 27p cheaper, sainsburys was £1.23 more.

Now, somethings will last more than a week on the menu I posted, those are bread, jacket tates, peas and the mince probably the porridge as well and of course gravy, I haven't posted anything that doesn't have a low fat content. If you get someone to take you out, or get someone to go out in the mobility car you could make it cheaper as I found a lot of value ranges aren't available online, plus any local lidl or aldi could be taken advantage of.

sorry but where in gods name would you shop for those prices? a skip?

Richie-from-the-Boro

GwylimT wrote: »

If your storage heaters are more you may benefit from using an oil filled radiator or other plug in heater in the room you use the most.

oil filled are x3 times more expensive per kWh