Prepping on a budget

[ro2935]

Urban fox, check too see if you can claim your bus fares back for hospital visits, you will need to produce your bus tickets so dont throw them away, ask at the reception desk where the bursary office is, may be called something different at your hospital. these offices are usually tucked away in some obscure place.

Benefits are changing I found it pointless asking at the benefits office, if you dont know the reference number they wont help, make an appointment at citizens advice or welfare rights.

Things are getting tight for my daughter and I, just had to fill in forms for her disability living allowance & I know that she will have to go before a panel in the not too distant time, already had several friends who adult kids have gone in front of the panel and had DLA removed, [how can someone who was born disabled be no longer disabled, it begger belief, they are appealing against the dissition but there is a 6 month back log, I have one friend who is so dispondent I fear they will try to end there life]

At this moment I am tredding water, I dont seem to be getting anywhere prepping is on hold, I have cut back on everything apart from the internet, it will be the very last thing to go as it is the only way my daughter can talk to her dad and the rest of his family in Canada.

[piglet]

Things are getting tight for my daughter and I, just had to fill in forms for her disability living allowance & I know that she will have to go before a panel in the not too distant time, already had several friends who adult kids have gone in front of the panel and had DLA removed, [how can someone who was born disabled be no longer disabled, it begger belief, they are appealing against the dissition but there is a 6 month back log, I have one friend who is so dispondent I fear they will try to end there life

When they have their Atos appointment ensure that everything is recorded correctly. Your daughter should emphasise every important point, and even then you may find it is recorded differently. Keep records of every detail of the appointment... If not you might find that her memory of the appointment and ATOS's records may differ somewhat, as ATOS sometimes 'misunderstand' answers.
Then unless successful at the initial interview (like that's likely to happen) there will be a serious of appeals that can take as much as 18 months or even longer.

It is a very stressful experience for those people genuinely disabled and those who care. I really hope it is all satisfactorily sorted for you and your daughter, but be aware, it is not really about people getting jobs, or even in the case of the so called 'bed room tax', moving to a smaller place.

It is about reducing the government spending and reducing the amount people on benefits are paid. The government probably don't even care if your daughter gets a job as long as they can pay £25 a week less in benefits.
Sometimes some peoples 'SHTF' can go unnoticed by the rest of us as they are not exactly 'end of the world' stuff, but nevertheless, just as hard to deal with when you were really didn't see it coming.

And although I have a job and a regular wage......one day I will have to rely on a small pension and am aware that the pension payment are reliant upon the government/pension companies paying me, and that is why I am on this web site.

I wish your daughter good luck
piget

[urban fox]

i wish you luck too its right about sahtf that some folk dont notice. i am pulling round and if i have hope then i will pass it on to everyone. i thank everyone who has contributed to this thread. and all in the same boat as me. seems like we are paddling in the same direction. cheers all UF

[Auntystatic]

It sounds like your slowly sinking, you have used most of your saved stores and sold most of your gear, it can only continue until you have nothing left, then where do you go.

This applies to anyone not specifically to you, Make sure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled too, you should have by now contacted any credit card providers and claimed on insurances or stopped payments down to a £1 a month at least.

Lidl, Aldi, Farm foods, Heron and Iceland are your best friends for cheap quality food as are the main supermarkets value lines, except asda value tomato sauce yuk very vinegary get the lidl one, swap the expensive major branded food for the cheaper ones, vegetables are cheaper than meat or chicken nuggets, bulk up your meals with them. Tesco sells 3kg bags of pasta shells and twists cheaper than buying small bags, lidl often have 10kg bags of basmati rice in for around £11, there are food banks around the country to help people that can not afford to buy food for what ever reason.

If you have it get rid of sky tv etc or at least downsize it to a point you can afford (I went 3 years without a tv before I could afford a license), put your phones on pay as you go and reduce your calls, unless you really need one on contract (the kids don't need contract phones, if they argue tell em to get a paper round). You have to work through your bank statements to see what you can get rid of or reduce payments too, if your getting into trouble go and see the citizens advice bureau, its amazing how some companies will suddenly back down when they find out the CAB is calling them.

I hope these suggestions help you and others, its not nice suddenly finding out you have lost your income and can be quite a shock, just don't panic, don't let it get on top of you and ask for help as soon as possible.