Need to economise…

Hi Mamma66, you are right about the length of time a PIP application takes, but if you get an award for the time you are /were eligible it would be paid retrospectively and would help you "catch up" financially even although you are back to work. The only thing you need to do is make sure that you tell DWP immediately you are fit again to prevent any PIP overpayment.

WonderfulLife

Perhaps they are opinionated but those are my opinions on the subject.

Yes, but Mamma66 wasn’t really asking for people’s opinions on her and her husband’s financial dealings, she was looking for tips on how to economise.

When I was made redundant at 64, and couldn’t find work, we had to cut back. First thing we did was to use savings to pay off the mortgage, which only had a few years left. We switched to online shopping, with a strict list, no random buys. We sold the second car, as I had no work to go to. We also ate our way through the freezer before we bought any meat or fish!

On bank accounts, we had a joint account for all bills, food, etc, but kept our own accounts. That way I could indulge my perfume habit and him his fishing tackle addiction without arguments! We each paid 2/3 of our salary into the joint account and kept 1/3 for ourselves. Worked well for 40 years!

Tanjamaltija,

Interested in your reply about joint finances. My husband managed our finances as he was an accountant. He insisted we had joint bank accounts as we were married and shared our lives. I was always more of a spender than he was. However, he also wanted each of us to be able to carry on easily financially if one of us died. He did die and from that day onward I had access to all our joint bank accounts and for the rest of our income I informed the companies where shares were held. I always recall being advised to get multiple copies of his death certificate as some companies who needed proof of death did not return the death certificate. I never forgot how gruelling it was to do all that. So I was glad we had joint bank accounts but I know everyone has different ways of living and they have different ways of sharing their lives. I think the OP is dealing with her disability very well. I wish you all the best Mamma66.

There’s a lot of good advice here, especially from people who have had similar situations to deal with.

As for joint bank accounts - there’s no right or wrong really is there? I have had a joint account with my husband for years and have never even looked at it. I have my own account and my husband has no idea how much I have in it. We’ve never had a single disagreement about money in the almost forty years we’ve been together, but we do usually discuss big expenditure items beforehand, with one notable exception: On holiday for my 60th birthday I ordered a bottle of champagne at dinner, when the waiter asked if it was a special occasion my husband was dumbfounded when, instead of saying it was my birthday, I said we were celebrating paying off our mortgage. He had no idea that I had the funds to do that and was stunned when I told him I’d already made an appointment with the solicitor.

ESA (employment support allowance) may help you here if your hours/pay is reduced and likely to remain so for a while.
But honestly why wouldn't your DH step and fill in where you can't regarding finances? I get that some relationships work that way but some flexibility would help immensely here.
When I was off long term 8 years ago with Breast cancer and all the treatment that went with it - once my sick pay dropped by half - it was my HR department that directed me to ESA and it was a massive help during a difficult time.

Batch cooking is a good way to keep to a budget. But please remember that you also need to build some treats into your life, otherwise it all seems to be about cost cutting. If you like baking making a nice fruit cake that lasts well is nice. We to like lamb and our lovely local butcher often has an offer for £20 - this may sound a lot but I always try to do what my mother used to and make the Sunday roast stretch over a few days - roast with a nice lot of vegetables and Yorkshire on Sunday, lamb curry on a Monday and then shepherds pie on a Tuesday. Obviously one wouldn’t have this every week but as a treat it does work out quite reasonable. This also applies to other cuts of meat. I hope you feel better soon.

Tanjamaltija

We do have a joint account - yet the bank advised us to have separate accounts too, because the joint account is frozen until the will is read.

When I was widowed the joint account was not frozen.

We have always had separate bank accounts, I thought it was the norm. We also pay into a joint account for bills etc. It works perfectly.

In terms of bank accounts, we have both separate and joint accounts, as did my own parents, it works fine!

I think most of the advice here is absolutely sound, however, don’t be concerned about “burdening” your DH, if your worried or anxious about your finances, you’re a team, of course you should discuss with husband and “share” the burden.

Good luck with your recovery

PS joint bank accounts are not normally frozen between spouses when one dies

ESA has been replaced in most instances now with Universal Credit and that is based on household income. You might qualify for New Style ESA if you can apply and ask for Contribution based ESA, in your own right, based on your NI contributions across the last two years.

We base our meals around veg and pulses . Smaller amounts of meat can be added if you wish . Heated throw are great to keep the chill off instead of upping the heat of the room . Going through all your outgoing bills and seeing if you can swop for cheaper alternatives. Seeing it as a short term thing helps , I hope you get well soon.

I not only plan meals, I shop for all the basics online and therefore my head isn’t turned by things that aren’t on my list. If you get deliveries Tues to Fri most supermarkets don’t make a delivery charge.

Another thing I find helpful is making a list of stuff we need and sticking to it so I save money, also draw out the cash before as it’s easy to dab a card .

I feel very strongly about keeping my own bank account which is a kind of independence. My Mother, born in 1906, believed exactly the same. Its still possible to work out some financial decisions together. To me, sharing a single bank account goes back to the idea of women being dependent on me.

Germanshepherdsmum

Roast lamb doesn’t have to mean a joint. Lamb chops or steaks will be just as tasty with the usual accompaniments. Same with pork. Swap a whole chicken for two breasts. You can still have a lovely roast for a fraction of the cost.

Two chicken breasts will cost almost as much as a whole chicken. We buy a whole chicken and my husband cuts it up - we have a roast with the breast, use the legs for either pasta dishes or cawl so we get at least 3 meals, sometimes 4 out of a whole chicken.

Use the chicken carcass to make a glorious soup. Add loads of veg. And pasta if liked. Makes a substantial meal almost for free.
Don't forget to bin the bones.

Is this the same as the famous mumsnet chicken? ;)

"therefore my head isn’t turned by things that aren’t on my list."
I agree with this Germansheperdsmum, also taking cash only when shopping and taking a flask and snack when out and about. Also you tube tutorials for a new craft, skill or recipe so you are still having fun without expensive courses or venue tickets.

Reading this I feel the need to ask you all to check with your banks whether joint accounts are frozen upon the death of the one holder.

The are in Denmark, and my understanding is that this is a principle of any country's banking systems.

In other words, if you only have joint accounts the survivor will literally be left with no access to his our her own money until Probate has been granted on the death of their spouse.

Here all married couples are advised and expected to have seperate accounts as well as any joint accounts they may wish to have.

Our state pensions can only be paid into our separate accounts as no details of anyone's income may be revealed by any authority or bank to anyone else (including a spouse)

So look into this ASAP or you may find yourself in a very unenviable position while trying to deal with the loss of your spouse.

Sorry OP! First I hope your health continues to improve. Apart from everything already suggested: do you have any magazine, newspaper, Netflix etc. subscriptions, or donations to charities that are paid by standing order? If so, you might want to put all these on stand-by until things improve financially again.

Please, do not rush back to work, or take too seriously the making food from scratch idea if you do the cooking. It is a fine one if you husband cooks, but as I am sure you are tired, or tire easily right now, it is not for you.

And if your better half can't do housework now is the time for him to learn, or else just let it pile up, until you feel like doing it.

The happiest years of our married lives were when we had to budget and enjoyed the challenge, but I suppose we were young then and believed that things would become easier, which they did. Not so much fun as we get older.

grandtante, when one holder of a joint account dies, in England and Wales the money in the account belongs to the survivor(s) in England and Wales (I can’t speak for Scotland or NI). The bank will need to see the death certificate in order to remove the name of the deceased from the account. The account won’t be frozen.

Germanshepherdsmum

grandtante, when one holder of a joint account dies, in England and Wales the money in the account belongs to the survivor(s) in England and Wales (I can’t speak for Scotland or NI). The bank will need to see the death certificate in order to remove the name of the deceased from the account. The account won’t be frozen.

Thanks so much for clarifying, GSM, we live in England, when my Dad died back in 2016 all jointly held accounts were fine, I just popped the death certificates down and just his single accounts frozen and held til probate granted.

WonderfulLife

I m a bit confused when you say MY savings have reduced dramatically and you don't want to put pressure on your husband. Do you mean that you and your husband have seperate bank accounts.

I honestly find that awful, my late husband and I had joint accounts from the day we became engaged until the day he died. He was ill for eight years before he died and had to take early retirement, 5 years before his state pension was due and we were not allowed Attendance Allowance as they said my husband was not ill enough (but when we finally got it, my husband died three months later).

We used our joint savings to pay for everything, wheelchairs, urinals, walking sticks and frames, stair lifts and nebulisers because the NHS provided them at first but then wanted them back and because we had money in the bank we could not claim benefits.

Why can't your husband help you out, surely you are a partnership and should be supporting each other.

My mind boggles when I read about married couples having their own accounts.

Me too