For all your comments on my l last post.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not poor, I've never gone hungry though I've had a pretty crappy diet at times. But I have a roof over my head, running water and whilst my home isn't warm enough to wander round in a bikini in the depths of winter it isn't too cold either.
Things have at times been a lot worse than they are now, I still remember how excited I was when I found a discarded nail file in a car park one day, I couldn't afford to buy one and had no scissors to trim my nails with.
I'm worried about how tough things are going to get once I have to give up work and am living just on my state pension.
Scrimping and saving, ranting and raving. Past retirement age.
3 comments:
Hi Hester
My husband paid into a private(and quite expensive) pension, which was misappropriated by the firm and he lost the lot. I am so fortunate that I worked for the local authority and had no choice but to pay into the scheme. Thank goodness for that now as I can add my pension to our basic government pension. I can understand why you are worried about living on a basic pension as I reckon my pension means that we can run a car and afford the petrol when we visit our friend in Cornwall for our fishing breaks. Without the extra life would be very basic and I live on a smallholding which I make work for me. Re. hairdressing. my friend cuts my (and my husband's) hair and I do her mending!
I might have frugal in my blog title but I reckon you demonstrate the trait better!
Good luck
Gill
Yes I know the feeling well, we existed on so little for so many years that my state pension which kicked in earlier this year makes us feel fairly well-off.
But the frugal habit has become ingrained, I still shop on the yellow sticker trail so we eat well on little money, cook from scratch most meals in the slow cooker which uses so little electric, have the heating on minimum and fill the kettle with just enough water for 2 cups of tea.
I'm sure you'll manage OK, working does incur some costs which will cease, and lots more time to seek out the bargains.
The state pension isn't so bad, really, even though it's much less than other countries. But with a low income come other benefits - you may be entitled to Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit, also free dentistry and spectacles. On the whole, life can still be pretty good; comparison sites are excellent for finding the best value in energy suppliers, insurances, etc, and continuing to search out the bargains. There are discounts on your heating bills, too . . . in fact after a lifetimne of working while single-handedly bringing up 3 sons, I tend to think my finances are in better shape now than ever before.
Sometimes, extra income from private pensions stop those benefits, hard as that is to understand.
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