Prepping when ill or infirm

[ForgeCorvus]

I was only once admitted in an emergency and was only in for 48 hours - but I found it very aggravating to be without stuff that I wanted. I had a phone but no charger. I had a £20 note but no change. I had no pen or paper and my shoes were in the house, I was in bare feet All those stupid wee annoyancies that you don't realise until it happens. So now am better prepared I hope.

I'll mention now that a denture tablet tube holds about £20 in 20p's, slips into a bag easily and doesn't look like a load of money if somebody 'tosses' your bag. 20p's are the one of densest small change (from a value to bulk perspective), are accepted by most vending machines and if its a "No Change Given" setup you can't loose more then 19p.... Unlike pound coins

I use small (cheap) drybags for small clothes , both washing and clean. Just don't get them mixed up.

[diamond lil]

I'll mention now that a denture tablet tube holds about £20 in 20p's, slips into a bag easily and doesn't look like a load of money if somebody 'tosses' your bag. 20p's are the one of densest small change (from a value to bulk perspective), are accepted by most vending machines and if its a "No Change Given" setup you can't loose more then 19p.... Unlike pound coins

That is very handy to know, thanks!

[ForgeCorvus]

I'll mention now that a denture tablet tube holds about £20 in 20p's, slips into a bag easily and doesn't look like a load of money if somebody 'tosses' your bag. 20p's are the one of densest small change (from a value to bulk perspective), are accepted by most vending machines and if its a "No Change Given" setup you can't loose more then 19p.... Unlike pound coins

That is very handy to know, thanks!

Been part of my EDC bag load for years now

[deckard]

This is a great thread. On my recent, albeit short hospital visit the one thing I didn't take was food, that was a mistake, especially as I'd not been able to eat properly for the last two days - having to journey round the hospital when I eventually realised I was starting to crash was less than ideal.

Luckily I had most of what I needed; extra warm clothes, medication, water , cash, phone charger etc. My ereader made waiting less boring.

When I left the house I had no idea I was going to be nipping to hospital, I carry this stuff all the time and whilst not mega prepared it made a big difference.

[jansman]

This is a great thread. On my recent, albeit short hospital visit the one thing I didn't take was food, that was a mistake, especially as I'd not been able to eat properly for the last two days - having to journey round the hospital when I eventually realised I was starting to crash was less than ideal.

Luckily I had most of what I needed; extra warm clothes, medication, water , cash, phone charger etc. My ereader made waiting less boring.

When I left the house I had no idea I was going to be nipping to hospital, I carry this stuff all the time and whilst not mega prepared it made a big difference.

By raising ‘the issue’ it’s obvious that there are a good few here who go to hospital , unfortunately.Your last paragraph about not realising you will be in hospital is a very good point.I sorted my bag yesterday afternoon after my ‘visit’,and I made sure all the essentials were in one bag only. That will now go with us when we go anywhere. Thanks for raising that observation deckard.

[jansman]

So what’s next on the list then? As our member grenfell said some time back ,about important preps; Money.

Where money is concerned,we are all in different places. Let me be clear when I say that this is not meant to be critical in any way.Life is life,and it changes quickly for all of us.This little collection of paragraphs is how it’s all happening in our household.

Our own daughters and husbands work hard in well paying jobs ( well paid to me anyway!) and live as mum and me did back then. They are building their lives ,so to speak.
On the other side,Mrs J . and me have been together for five decades and built our lives. We are now where we are.

Down the years we concentrated upon paying the house off. I know that people live in different housing, indeed both our daughters are in private rentals. Back in the 80’s however we had no choice. There were very few private rentals and as for a council house… We would have been quite happy to live in a council house,as now ongoing maintenance will probably be our biggest concern financially. But we are where we are,and it’s not bad! We are in secure housing,which sadly,more than a few are not.

Back in the day we earned awful money. Very basic.How we saved a deposit in two years I don’t know,but we did.We decided that children would come along early,and they did. We are so glad. Mrs J took a good eight years off to look after the girls and I grafted like crazy.We both did the right jobs! The priority was paying the mortgage. I will be frank ; we managed for a good time with very little money,and avoided debt where possible.The mortgage was enough. Neither of us regret any of it.

Right from our beginning though we kept an emergency fund. Back in the late 80’s we saved ten thousand pounds in two years,and we barely earned a thousand a month between us. The economic crisis back then meant we got ,as first timers,a reduced cost,so we had enough left for a new roof ( our honeymoon ) and a thousand on top of that. That stayed for years as our emergency fund,which thankfully we kept. My various skills and contacts helped there. As much as could be done for little outlay ,I did.

Gradually we were able to build the fund,earn more too and we also continued to spend as little as possible. We both paid into pensions and also personal life insurance. The latter was a great choice. When my dear wife had breast *ancer her insurance had a section that allowed a substantial claim. Thankfully she survived. That money was put into various places ( mainly pension)and will benefit her financially later on. As she had *ancer ,there is no more life insurance,but I changed mine to a much higher rate. As a result of my illness we can claim that even before I die,as it allows for terminal illnesses.That is a big plus.
My own personal pension is the same. I can claim that tax free in its entirety. It’s not huge,but Mrs J can use that fund to supplement her income for 20 years! She will be ok,and that makes me more than happy.

So whilst I read Money Saving Expert and people cannot get by on less than a half million pension fund,we can!

Unfortunately,if I don’t cash that pension in before I die,my wife will be taxed. On the other hand my income tax payments cover my disability benefits. Sadly,cashing in the ‘investments’ would mean loss of my benefits,and our savings are there for my wife when I am gone.I won’t lie though; my benefits are pretty good. In fact once my work travel costs/ car are deducted ,I am better off! I am not allowed to drive anymore,so that’s great! On the plus side,what I have claimed already should cover the tax on my pension when Mrs J claims that fund.I feel no guilt about claiming benefits either. I paid for that.

Of course, ‘some people’ could also have things like precious metals and cash too,and their wife could have rather a collection of gold jewellery- so on top of our experience,that could be a good idea for anyone planning their future. I wish I had.

So that’s Mrs J and me. Whilst we have never made a fortune,we’ve made a fair living. Gentle saving hasn’t busted us. It will pay. No debt is good too. All of that means my mind is calm, and my dear wife will be comfortable.

I hope our lifetime financial experience helps at least one person here. X

[Arzosah]

Jansman, your post has made me think about my own financial history ... which dodges about quite a lot, but I've split it into good/bad because you can still do well even though you make mistakes. Here we are then:

Financial mistakes:
- I tried really hard to make a go of working in finance, and I just didn't have the ability to do it as a full time job. I made so many mistakes I basically got fired.
- I had 3 years of frittering on nonsense tat that I later took to charity shops. Not as bad as it could have been, but bad enough.
- I didn't look after my property well enough - the 2nd house I bought, it was a going concern. By the time I came to sell it 10 years later, it was a doer-upper.
- my investments were ok except the French investment property I've mentioned in other posts. I didn't do the sums for myself, and it was a loss-maker for many years. Those losses are slowly being made good now, but its still a loss-maker.

After the turn of the Millenium, I started to get proper control of my finances (except for the French apartment).
The good points:
- saved like crazy after I was 30 or so.
- when I wasn't living in my property (travelling, living with boyfriend etc) I rented it out, as well as renting out rooms in my first house when I *was* living there. And I worked from home most of the time.
- when I took breaks, I put my stuff in storage rather than start again - I had someone to help me who was brilliant at judging what size storage room I could get away with, that really helped.
- I got qualifications for the white-collar jobs I did - export finance and the therapy/counselling.
- paying extra money off the mortgage
- paying it off altogether when I downsized and moved to a small town.
- even though my business started dying on its feet, I kept my savings intact. When I had to retire four years early because of illness, I had enough to keep me going. Savings are still fine.

[jansman]

Arzosah- wow! You did very well . The thing is we *live* life ,and time passes fast. We don’t realise how fast until we get older do we? We also have to go through life taking chances sometimes.
From your *Good Points* section though ,was to me one of the most important points IMHO . Saving like crazy. We can ‘invest’ etc. but cannot beat simply stashing cash in a simple way. As my brother said back in the 80’s when private pension was started big time,salespeople tried to imply that a pound would make half a million by retirement age. Yeah right!

[Arzosah]

Thanks jansman! Yep, time passes fast - for a long time, it seemed to be infinite, and then suddenly wham, you're staring at a pension and/or retirement, sometimes forced by circumstance.

I *did* take risks, and most of them paid off, but yes, the basic element was to save like crazy. Nowadays, when utilities can be charged so unfairly to consumers, part of that "saving" is to assess what you're paying out, in terms of what for and what convenience. This is the point at which I always bang on about moneysavingexpert, and how all their budgetting and saving tools are free

[jansman]

So,what now? Well this is about illness or infirmity ( and older age too) rather than what happens when Martian invaders come! The prepping I’ve done over the years has certainly paid off over the last year. Not the *outdoor* living sort of kit,but rather food storage and the like.

Now I am rather unwell and limited as to how long I have left upon this earth,I have spent time clarifying information about pensions,insurance,savings etc. I have also clarified with the companies the benefits from them we believe will come. For instance,my pension funds I can claim,tax free ,in full right now because of my terminal illness. If my wife claims after I am gone,tax will be due. And so forth…

Also we have bang up to date wills. Most important. What’s more,if you are trade union members as we are,they are free!

So all this complexity is listed. A prep!

This week we have also had real experience of this arrangement working well! Unfortunately my elderly mother passed away. As the eldest child she sent me a file with just the above! Even her funeral is organised and paid for. The house and chattels will all go through a pre opted solicitor and divided when all issues are settled. It is working as we speak.It has reduced stress for sure.

Just a few things that might help you.