Cost of living crisis and your diabetes?

[daxsmith05]

can someone tell me if i could get a pension at retirement?
I worked for over 10yrs but much of that time I was paid a pittance by a selfish tory that was so low I would have been better off on welfare after paying travel costs and when I left fully qualified and more qualified than anyone in the firm (including him) I was paid less than I could have started on in a factory yet had letter after my name!. A friend found my monthly pay slip and thought it was weekly! He kept my wages so low that for 2yrs i paid no NI and haven't got ten years NI record and I have been disabled ever since. He took advantage as I was autistic having been diagnosed recently.

 

[daxsmith05]

can someone tell me how to change "relationship to diabetes" to diabetic t2 as I cannot find out how to

 

[picitup]

Not exactly related to the question, but to save money:

When I shower, I wash my hair and face then turn it off and soap up. Then the shower goes back on to rinse off, saving water and gas.

Just today my wife and I were talking about using the microwave to cook things, rather than just heat things up in it. Our microwave is only 800w while the oven is probably 2000w. Also the slow cooker will have a new lease of life.

In the winter we don't have the heating on a lot as we don't feel the cold too much, rather thick socks, a shirt and jumper seems to suffice. Our front room is south facing so I'll be sure to open then blinds first thing to let the heat in.

The previous owner of our house had cavity wall insulation installed and the loft insulated so that's all done.

Not massive cheese, but we have mostly LED lights through the house.

All in all, a worrying time for all of us. I wonder what the government will come up with?

Cheers

Steve

 

[daxsmith05]

I cannot get hold of these nasty people as I don't know where they are and some are dead. The only one alive is my aunt who is selfish life her mother and a carbon copy including her politics and expects you to listen to her yet when you explain why she is wrong talks over you and drowns you out rather than listen to reason just like they do at election time. No other party does this and when she does this it infuraites me even more. I feel so angry about her. How can I calm down as she left on Tuesday and I still hate her and all her kind. She drives me insane without even being here. Everything she says is so wrong and she never listens to the other side just like all of them and especially her mother. Nobody understands how infuriating she is and the actions of her party infuriate me as well as they are so cruel. I want to overthrow them in a revolution and despise everything they all stand for and i hate that I am disabled due to genes past to me by both sides of the family. I hate that I am related to her and want her to leave and never come back. I am still stresed about what happened days ago and nobody understands why I hate her politics and her or how annoying she is that I am writing this days after she has left and am still furious with her arrogance and selfishness and that of her party too

 

[picitup]

can someone tell me if i could get a pension at retirement?
I worked for over 10yrs but much of that time I was paid a pittance by a selfish tory that was so low I would have been better off on welfare after paying travel costs and when I left fully qualified and more qualified than anyone in the firm (including him) I was paid less than I could have started on in a factory yet had letter after my name!. A friend found my monthly pay slip and thought it was weekly! He kept my wages so low that for 2yrs i paid no NI and haven't got ten years NI record and I have been disabled ever since. He took advantage as I was autistic having been diagnosed recently.

You could try this gov.uk page:

Check your State Pension forecast

also this is a very good site for checking your entitlement to benefits:

EntitledTo

Cheers

Steve

 

[LancashireLass]

Back to ‘ecomony 7‘ and storage heaters eh? The glory days!

We're fully electric (no gas connection) and are on Economy 7

Whenever I mention this in conversation - which is often at the moment! - people always comment on how old our place must be......
Built in 2011 I believe so not that old lol

 

[42istheanswer]

can someone tell me if i could get a pension at retirement?
I worked for over 10yrs but much of that time I was paid a pittance by a selfish tory that was so low I would have been better off on welfare after paying travel costs and when I left fully qualified and more qualified than anyone in the firm (including him) I was paid less than I could have started on in a factory yet had letter after my name!. A friend found my monthly pay slip and thought it was weekly! He kept my wages so low that for 2yrs i paid no NI and haven't got ten years NI record and I have been disabled ever since. He took advantage as I was autistic having been diagnosed recently.

I see Steve has already given you the links to check what you're currently eligible for. If you are currently on income based benefits like Universal Credit, then you also get NI credit as well, so that can add to the number of years you will have by the time you retire. You may also be able to "buy" extra years of NI credit to get you to be eligible if you won't have enough, whether it's worth the initial outlay will depend on your individual situation.

 

[Felinia]

I suppose this is slightly left field, but I thought about how my actions will affect others. To save costs, I've cancelled all my charity subscriptions - National Trust, Devon Air Ambulance, British Heart, Cancer Research etc. I then looked at all my other monthly direct debits and whether I really needed them. So I kept essential insurances - car, home, boiler, 3 large kitchen appliances, elderly cat, Phone/tv/broadband, and cancelled the rest. Normally I have annual services for things I can no longer do myself, like carpet cleaning, valeting, garden labour, but some simply won't happen this year until I see how things go. I've also put my electrical upgrade on hold - it's desirable but not essential - and £600+VAT. So this will all impact the charities, and service people. I expect the retail trade and hospitality industries will also be affected - less income for everyone all round - including diabetics.

 

[Leadinglights]

We had some exterior insulation installed last year and although it has made a difference it is not as helpful as hoped in that the biggest impact is upstairs which is now too hot. Downstairs only has a small area of external wall so it has not helped much in the lounge where you are sitting to watch TV.

 

[Drummer]

We had some exterior insulation installed last year and although it has made a difference it is not as helpful as hoped in that the biggest impact is upstairs which is now too hot. Downstairs only has a small area of external wall so it has not helped much in the lounge where you are sitting to watch TV.

My husband put a new roof and doors on the conservatory, checked for draughts and leaks, and that made a noticeable difference to the temperature downstairs - it acts as an airlock for the back of the house and protects against the winds from the South which come blasting up the slope from the sea, and I hang clothes to dry in there.

@daxsmith05 I suggest collecting all information about your employment history and contacting the pension people - if you have a look on the pension forecast site there should be contact details. Armed with your National Insurance number and what dates and other information you have, they should be able to tell you what their records show and see how it matches up with what you can tell them. Any information/evidence such as payslips might be handy if you still have any.

 

[Leadinglights]

Does anybody have a smart meter which actually gives then useful information about how much energy they are using day to day or even hour to hour, or is the one we have a very poor design or are we just not using it correctly.

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Does anybody have a smart meter which actually gives then useful information about how much energy they are using day to day or even hour to hour, or is the one we have a very poor design or are we just not using it correctly.

We have an old one on our gas that is not informative and when we get one put on our electricity soon they will replace it so we have an in home display so we can keep track properly. My son has a very helpful smart meter that he has been using for a while to keep close control on his energy usage and he can see it change as he switches on something and then switches it off again.

 

[Blue flash]

We had some exterior insulation installed last year and although it has made a difference it is not as helpful as hoped in that the biggest impact is upstairs which is now too hot. Downstairs only has a small area of external wall so it has not helped much in the lounge where you are sitting to watch TV.

I haven't got smart meter, but am now taking 2 reading 9pm 9am and experimenting with things on standby, off, and might try unplugged

Only few days since price rise announced but think could save 30pm just by not using standby on things.

 

[Mrs Mimoo]

I mostly eat protein and green stuff now - and for example mackeral was £3 a pack it's now £5. So Not sure what to do - may just have to 'suck it up' for two years. :-(

Quite obvious Things I'm doing:

1. shopping at Lidl, from the bargain food yellow sticker stuff, and batch cooking, freezing then cooking with microwave. Works v well for beef ragu and mince / curries, bulk protein dishes.
2. Grow own veg - this year tomatoes, cucumbers blueberries and herbs. Next year add chard and brassicas.
3. not wasting leftovers at all
4. turn lights off when not using
5. Do only 2 loads of laundry a week full. (We have plenty of clothes and bedding to last)
6. shower in 2 minutes - time myself with a short pop song!
7. turn down thermostat on water and rads.

Not much else I can do other than wear a huge slanket and hope its a mild winter. xxx

 

[Felinia]

I mostly eat protein and green stuff now - and for example mackeral was £3 a pack it's now £5. So Not sure what to do - may just have to 'suck it up' for two years. :-(

Quite obvious Things I'm doing:

1. shopping at Lidl, from the bargain food yellow sticker stuff, and batch cooking, freezing then cooking with microwave. Works v well for beef ragu and mince / curries, bulk protein dishes.
2. Grow own veg - this year tomatoes, cucumbers blueberries and herbs. Next year add chard and brassicas.
3. not wasting leftovers at all
4. turn lights off when not using
5. Do only 2 loads of laundry a week full. (We have plenty of clothes and bedding to last)
6. shower in 2 minutes - time myself with a short pop song!
7. turn down thermostat on water and rads.

Not much else I can do other than wear a huge slanket and hope its a mild winter. xxx

This was almost my list!!
I get 3+ weeks of veggies from the farm shop for £28
I shower at the swimming pool - their power and hot water!
I only ever have one light on at a time, and walk round with my late brother's dynamo driven fishing lantern after dark. I imagine it must be like living in Jane Austen times.
I keep everything turned off (except fridge/freezer and WiFi for my phone), only turning on when needed.

My cousin in New Zealand has also noticed the massive cost rises in many things, especially food, but central heating is not so common there. They have log burners for heating. This is what my cousin sent me. "Our government aid to our power account comes to an end in September. It has been a huge help. Our power bill being around $150 dollars a month of which the govt pays out $63 per fortnight." In other words their power has cost virtually nothing this past winter.

 

[Lynne888]

Do you find the farm shop sacks of potatoes last ? Asking as my other half is frequently throwing away supermarket ones, even on day of purchase.

During lockdown I bought sacks of potatoes rather than supermarket bags. I kept them in the shed with the brown sack sealed down (no daylight). I had them months as there’s only two of us.. the last few would be a bit rotten but so much better value. I agree regarding supermarket spuds.. lucky for a bag to last a week! Haven’t bought any potatoes since diagnosis though but it seems others do still eat them regularly??

 

[Lynne888]

Does anybody have a smart meter which actually gives then useful information about how much energy they are using day to day or even hour to hour, or is the one we have a very poor design or are we just not using it correctly.

I can check on Bulb app (see image). It tells me when more electricity is being used and I know from the image that a shower sends it higher, using the ninja air fryer sends it higher and boiling a kettle sends it higher. I’m happy with less than £2 a day though and the peaks are short lived . Recently had our electric aga converted as it was costing £15 A DAY!

 

[Felinia]

I can check on Bulb app (see image). It tells me when more electricity is being used and I know from the image that a shower sends it higher, using the ninja air fryer sends it higher and boiling a kettle sends it higher. I’m happy with less than £2 a day though and the peaks are short lived . Recently had our electric aga converted as it was costing £15 A DAY!

Wow - that a lot! I've got a Smart Meter, so took your tip and checked my daily usage. Between 95p and £1.66 these last 6 months, averaging £1.27. I'm up for renewal and the quote they gave me averaged £4.10 a day. That's just from October - I dread to think what it will be by next April!

 

[Lynne888]

Wow - that a lot! I've got a Smart Meter, so took your tip and checked my daily usage. Between 95p and £1.66 these last 6 months, averaging £1.27. I'm up for renewal and the quote they gave me averaged £4.10 a day. That's just from October - I dread to think what it will be by next April!

It’s going to get a lot worse isn’t it.. I stopped using our log burner a few years ago but I will have to use it again this year that’s for sure.

 

[nonethewiser]

It’s going to get a lot worse isn’t it.. I stopped using our log burner a few years ago but I will have to use it again this year that’s for sure.

Well according to press energy prices will be frozen, some say for 12 months others 18 months also 2 years quoted.