I was watching a talk show this morning and one of the debates was about re-instating the winter fuel allowance. One of the people who called up to speak to the panel was saying that she was recently widowed and now lived alone in a large house with only one state pension and a small private pension income from her late husband but she was just outside of the threshold to claim income support.
One of the panels advice was for her to sell her home and buy a smaller one. The lady was 81 years of age and had lived in her home since she was married many years ago. She said that when her husband was alive there was two state pensions and her husbands full private pension of which she now gets a small portion. She told the panel that there was no way she could afford to sell her house as they had used much of their savings when her husband was ill to buy medical equipment and keep the heating on 24 hours a day because of his illness.
She also said that heating a house for one costs the same as heating it for a family. She said she canno claim income support as she is abocve the threshold for claiming benefits.
I totally understand what the lady is saying because she could have been speaking about me. I live in a large detached house, get a state pension and a portion of my late husband's private pension and pay tax on it as well. I am also just above the threshold for pension credit so cannot claim any benefits at all.
My question is, why are we being told to downsize our homes, I love my home, I have been here since we married in the 1960's and raised a family here, my home is my heart, when I go out and go back home again I breathe a sigh of relief because I am back where I belong as I am surrounded by my memories. Also I am 84 years of age and could not do with the stress of moving.
I can manage on my income, that is not the point, the point is, why are we being told to sell our homes, get something smaller so we can afford to pay our energy and food bills.
I think people are wary about such things because of the tales of people ending up coming off all the worse, in the long run.
I do think these schemes have changed and are more regulated now.
Have been tempted, lately, to find out more for myself.
What are you tempted by MissA?
Different heating system or something else?
AN41
If you need more money to make your life comfortable, warm etc. there is no need to sell your home and move out if you want to live there for the rest of your life.
Take out a retirement mortgage for part of its value.
After you die, or if you go into permanent care , the proceeds of the sale of your house/flat whatever, will pay back the mortgage and there will still be plenty left to leave some to your family.
I don't regret doing just that five years ago, when I was 81.
It has made all the difference. The family don't mind at all and I can keep warm, so they don't have to worry about me.
Money does give you the opportunity to make your home suitable. When my mother got to that stage she had the bathroom redone with a walk in shower, a stairlift fitted. For her staying where she was made sense, she had good neighbours, family living nearby, close to shops and GP. I think every case is different. You made a good decision as did my mother but I think sometimes a move is a good thing.
My children all left for uni and settled in either their uni city or their partner's home city. The nearest is nearly 2 hrs away and at the other extreme one is 5 hrs away. I'd love to move somewhere in the middle, I'd be very close to two of them and about 2 to 2.5 hrs from the other two. I think bus routes are important as well as I imagine most of us will get to an age where driving is no longer possible. I live near to a great bus route, just a shame it is on such a steep hill, I can never decide if it is worse walking up it or down it.
It is all pie in the sky as DH won't move and we can't downsize due to his junk. You wouldn't realise what he is like on a casual visit, I have placed an embargo on the lounge, hall, kitchen and spare bedroom. His office, the dining room, two bedrooms, the loft and double garage are full to bursting. The sad thing is lots of his stuff is worth money, just before Covid struck we had a year of selling off some of his stuff and raised £12k. We barely scratched the surface. If he dies, well when he dies as he obviously will, I won't know what is valuable and what isn't and neither will the kids. He has some niche collections like early electronics that just look like junk and some of it is and some of it is valuable, he pointed out somethings at the Science Museum in London where he had better and more examples than they did. Shame it will all end up in the tip.
I do sometimes think if I divorce him he will be forced to sort it out and sell the house but that seems a bit drastic so on we go.
I'm pleased it has worked out well for you AN41.
MissAdventure
I think people are wary about such things because of the tales of people ending up coming off all the worse, in the long run.
I do think these schemes have changed and are more regulated now.
Have been tempted, lately, to find out more for myself.
While I was reading this I had a phone call from my local energy adviser. Funny really as she was female and my local energy adviser who phoned yesterday was a man. I wonder if it is some sort of scam?
MissAdventure
I think people are wary about such things because of the tales of people ending up coming off all the worse, in the long run.
I do think these schemes have changed and are more regulated now.
Have been tempted, lately, to find out more for myself.
It seems schemes for equity release come off as somewhat negative. However it seems to me an actual mortgage, only on partial value of the property, paying interest - might be a valid option.
I desperately need a new kitchen, and a shower room (?) or at least a cubicle.
I'd be content to have the lowest cost (B & Q - I've been researching!) or secondhand units, so perhaps about 8 to 10 thousand for both? Less, hopefully.
I can't get out of the bath if I sit in it, so have to kneel, and I'd love to be able to soak, wash my hair, etc.
madalene
However much you may mock Monica, we also do not want an extremely expensive heat pump, costing possibly as much as £1400 for our house, which even if we had it, is said to be nowhere near as efficient at heating a house as a gas boiler. Nor do I want to have the entire system replaced with all the upheaval and expense, because it seems many current radiators and piping systems will not work with a heat pump. For this reason we are having a new gas boiler fitted next year. Our current gas boiler still works but is quite old.
I bought myself a new car last year. I chose a petrol Hyundai i20. I did not even consider an overpriced electric car, with all the attendant problems of needing a charging point installed, and the limit on how far you can travel without needing to recharge, which often entails a wait for a charging point to be free. Not to mention the somewhat alarming prospect of the electric car exploding into flames spontaneously. This is rare admittedly, but it happens. Then there’s the thousands of pounds required to change the battery after a few years, not to mention the almost impossibility of selling on the car for anymore than a pittance.
When technology advances and is useful and affordable, that’s great and we make use of it, much the same as everyone else, but I won’t accept technology that is overpriced and inconvenient, and nor should anyone else.
I am not saying everyone should move to the new technology. You give good reasons why, at the moment, you would not not.
I drive the same car as you, and I accept that electric cars are the way forward, but not yet, for the simple reason that most people do not buy new cars, of any kind, they are too expensive and, for those of us who tend to buy older secondhand cars, the older ones on the market are way behind current technology and could soon need expensive replacement batteries
I am not advocating that everyone has a heat pump immediately. What I am deploring is the closed mind attitude that says I do not want any new technology ever and to hell with the problems this causes other people. Which I do not think is how you think.
If in 2 years time if someone offered you a small silent heat pump, that needed simply to be fitted where your current boiler is and could be changed in a day and saved you money. I think that you would at least think about it, where, as far as I can see, based on her post, even if it earned her a fortune, Cariadagain would still say ,'no'. She is just turning her back on all new developments in modern technology, without any critical thinking.
M0nica
Cariadagain I love your posts. they are so nostalgic and remind me of the old people of my youth , who weren't having any of this electricity, they had (coal) gas lighting and why would anyone want anything else.
Come to that, inside loos were unhygienic, and there was nothing wrong with good coal fire, as they coughed their lungs up from all the air pollution and smog.
They always assumed that the current technology was the ultimate and would never be improved and if it did not work properly now, it never would.
I expect when the first man invented the wheel some old blokes were standing in a corner saying it would never work, it would keep breaking, they preferred to have severe arthritis, than risk using any of those new-fangled things to share the load.
But please keep going, we need people like you to remind us where we would be if we did not adapt to new technology, expecially any that will combat climate change.
I don't think I'd be allowed to say what my friends dad said when the council wanted to modernise his house and put an inside toilet in. It was colourful and not very police. He died some years ago but he thought inside toilets were disgusting.
I bought my first house in the 1970s, we got outbid on the house across the road which had gas lighting and no electricity at all. I couldn't imagine someone not wanting electricity but I guess we aren't all the same.
Having been born in a house with an outside toilet at the far end of the yard, no hot water, no bathroom, I don't want to go backwards. Granny would say I've gone soft.
That should say polite not police.
Doodledog
mokryna
Doodledog
How is the £8m a day worked out, please? If people are here illegally aren’t they under the radar, and therefore cost nothing? As soon as they claim anything they are no longer ‘illegal’ and are either seeking asylum legally or deported.
Lots of people want to get into the UK because they know they will be employed one way or another. Give everyone in the UK an identity card, so that if the police, were in doubt of a person’s legality, they could ask for it. Then, prosecute the employer if the person is illegal.
Most employers want to see a passport or other means of ID. I can't be sure, but I think it's a legal requirement to ensure that your employees have a right to work in the UK. You also need one to open a bank account. Immigrants with no right to remain can't use the NHS, claim benefits, send their children to school, legally marry, or do anything that might bring their status to the attention of the authorities.
I am not saying they don't exist, but the idea that they are being housed in university halls, or anywhere else to the tune of £8m a year seems very odd to me. How can they be counted, for a start?
I'm a retired HR manager and yes you have to check a prospective employee has a right to work here. At the extreme an employer can go to prison for employing someone who has no right to work or pay a large fine, not sure how much it is now but it used to be up to £45k with a higher fine for a second offence. Needless to say most employers take the checks very seriously.
Montymops
I can assure you that actions are being taken right now to save money in the NHS.
My daughter tests new computer programs. A program had been built long before Labour came to power. But, it can’t be used until it has gone through the testing procedure.
This program is being tested for an NHS trust in the West Country.
If successful this program will be rolled out across the country saving hundreds of millions.
So you see, there are things happening that you’d never know about.
MissAdventure
I desperately need a new kitchen, and a shower room (?) or at least a cubicle.
I'd be content to have the lowest cost (B & Q - I've been researching!) or secondhand units, so perhaps about 8 to 10 thousand for both? Less, hopefully.
I can't get out of the bath if I sit in it, so have to kneel, and I'd love to be able to soak, wash my hair, etc.
We had our bathroom done two years ago. A lovely young man was just setting up as a self employed plumber and he did a fantastic job. I bought everything, so did lots of research and got bargains where I could. It cost £6k and the great thing is he is doing really well and we have someone we can trust who doesn't overcharge us with the added advantage he knows people who can do anything you like. We had our lounge redone a few months ago, replastered and decorated and new carpets and radiators. He did the radiators, along with new boiler, and recommended people for all the other work which worked out really well.
I would love a new kitchen but DH is finding the disruption of jobs being done harder to cope with. I've spent this week painting all the cabinets and they look better than I dared hope. Just waiting for Amazon to deliver the new knobs for the cabinets and hopefully next week my plumber will be fitting a new sink and taps, he is busy and fits me in when he can and charges me a reasonable amount, one panic with a tap that wouldn't turn off he called in on his way home, sorted it and wouldn't even charge me. After Christmas I intend to get a professional in to clean the cooker, apparently they can bring them up like new. A few new accessories and I think I will have a bargain "new" kitchen.
Having been born in 1937 and living in rural Derbyshire I was brought up with gas lighting and coal fires.
Solid irons were heated on a gas ring , you had a cloth holder so as not to burn your fingers and a coal fire heated up the oven.
You had to be very adapt at pushing the hot coals to one side or the other to heat it up or cool it down.
You also had to have a fire in the middle of summer for hot water from a back boiler.
Would I go back to that?
Would I heck, give me all the technology I can afford,
petra
Montymops
I can assure you that actions are being taken right now to save money in the NHS.
My daughter tests new computer programs. A program had been built long before Labour came to power. But, it can’t be used until it has gone through the testing procedure.
This program is being tested for an NHS trust in the West Country.
If successful this program will be rolled out across the country saving hundreds of millions.
So you see, there are things happening that you’d never know about.
I'm in the south west, wonder if we will be the first to get this.
I think one of the issues with the NHS is new treatments cost money and we need and want them but people forget they have to be paid for. My gran and aunts died of breast cancer, now we know the family have the BRCA gene so on the NHS I saw a top geneticist and now I know I was lucky and didn't inherit the gene which means my children and grandchildren are safe. Don't know what the test would cost but all these new things do cost money.
Usedtobeblonde
Having been born in 1937 and living in rural Derbyshire I was brought up with gas lighting and coal fires.
Solid irons were heated on a gas ring , you had a cloth holder so as not to burn your fingers and a coal fire heated up the oven.
You had to be very adapt at pushing the hot coals to one side or the other to heat it up or cool it down.
You also had to have a fire in the middle of summer for hot water from a back boiler.
Would I go back to that?
Would I heck, give me all the technology I can afford,
Well that's two of us for sure.
The worried well. The "local enery advisor" is a scam. Be wary.
If you ask them which "locality' they are an advisor for they haven't a clue. And ring off.
CarriadAgain
Here’s the truth Re your african mother.
She didn’t fly from africa She’s Nigerian by the way.
She flew in from Chicago. She was turned back at Chicago because she didn’t have health insurance.
Her intention was to get a connecting flight from the uk to Lagos. I don’t think she thought she was going to go into Labour at 6 months.
There are many aspects of our housing, immigration, nhs that are wrong but spreading lies only adds fuel to the fire, ie the recent riots.
theworriedwell
MissAdventure
I think people are wary about such things because of the tales of people ending up coming off all the worse, in the long run.
I do think these schemes have changed and are more regulated now.
Have been tempted, lately, to find out more for myself.While I was reading this I had a phone call from my local energy adviser. Funny really as she was female and my local energy adviser who phoned yesterday was a man. I wonder if it is some sort of scam?
I have no words 🤦🏼♀️
My kitchen is past being spruced up, really.
I've painted the doors, added knobs, used sticky black plastic to cover the window ledge.
It has huge gaping gaps, holes in the backs of the cupboards.
The stop cock is only accessible by pulling out the cooker, crawling behind it, disconnecting it then crawling behind the washing machine...
petra
theworriedwell
MissAdventure
I think people are wary about such things because of the tales of people ending up coming off all the worse, in the long run.
I do think these schemes have changed and are more regulated now.
Have been tempted, lately, to find out more for myself.While I was reading this I had a phone call from my local energy adviser. Funny really as she was female and my local energy adviser who phoned yesterday was a man. I wonder if it is some sort of scam?
I have no words 🤦🏼♀️
No idea what you mean. I did get a call while reading this thread, I did wonder if these multiple local energy advisers (I've had other calls in the past) are a scam. I've had advice now that they are a scam, what don't you have words about?
HelterSkelter1
The worried well. The "local enery advisor" is a scam. Be wary.
If you ask them which "locality' they are an advisor for they haven't a clue. And ring off.
Thanks for that.
MissAdventure
My kitchen is past being spruced up, really.
I've painted the doors, added knobs, used sticky black plastic to cover the window ledge.
It has huge gaping gaps, holes in the backs of the cupboards.
The stop cock is only accessible by pulling out the cooker, crawling behind it, disconnecting it then crawling behind the washing machine...
Oh I'm sorry, thought it might be a useful idea. I hope I'm not rubbing salt in the wound when I say my knobs have arrived, DH was slightly bemused that I was so excited about new knobs. They look great, teenage grandson has given me approval for my choices. Can't wait for the sink and tap now.
I hope you get your kitchen and bathroom, a nice kitchen and bathroom are such nice things to have.
petra
CarriadAgain
Here’s the truth Re your african mother.
She didn’t fly from africa She’s Nigerian by the way.
She flew in from Chicago. She was turned back at Chicago because she didn’t have health insurance.
Her intention was to get a connecting flight from the uk to Lagos. I don’t think she thought she was going to go into Labour at 6 months.
There are many aspects of our housing, immigration, nhs that are wrong but spreading lies only adds fuel to the fire, ie the recent riots.
That is sad, was the baby OK? I can't imagine a civilised society not providing medical help for a woman in labour.
theworriedwell
MissAdventure
My kitchen is past being spruced up, really.
I've painted the doors, added knobs, used sticky black plastic to cover the window ledge.
It has huge gaping gaps, holes in the backs of the cupboards.
The stop cock is only accessible by pulling out the cooker, crawling behind it, disconnecting it then crawling behind the washing machine...Oh I'm sorry, thought it might be a useful idea. I hope I'm not rubbing salt in the wound when I say my knobs have arrived, DH was slightly bemused that I was so excited about new knobs. They look great, teenage grandson has given me approval for my choices. Can't wait for the sink and tap now.
I hope you get your kitchen and bathroom, a nice kitchen and bathroom are such nice things to have.
Could a plumber relocate the stop cock, perhaps into the cupboard under the sink, to make it more accessible?
We're getting quotes for a new kitchen, also new doors and worktops plus deep drawers instead of a whole refit.
It would still be totally disruptive!
I mean either/or alternatives, a whole kitchen or a refurbishment.
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