What can't you afford?

[Marleymerm]

Last week at work my colleague told me her recent eye test showed she needed glasses, but she couldn't afford them, she's known she's needed them for a couple of years but said she doesn't have the money. We both work full time in office jobs and neither of us have expensive hobbies or social lives, we're both pretty boring.
I realised this morning I haven't bought new shoes for months despite the ones I have coming apart, because I can't afford them. I've picked up pairs but put them back down when I've thought of what else I need instead.
When I asked this question to my friend about what she couldn't afford she told me her monthly prescription! She hasn't got it for 3 months.
It's a weird time we're living in so everyone's doing without something. But do you have any necessary things you need but can't afford?

Much earlier on someone quotes what I had written - did they add anything? If so it's not showing up for me. I hope I'm not ignoring someone!

Our local area has a school uniform bank. Free school clothes, shoes, coats and anything your child might require for school or an out of school club. All second hand and donated. All the logo uniforms are covered as are their generic ones. They also sell other clothes donated at a really small cost (pay as you feel it literally pennies). I’d recommend asking in your local area if there’s anything similar near to you. They also give out free baby items and loan some bigger baby items such as furniture and prams etc.

I was lucky having 2 girls a few years apart in that I stored all clothes in the loft and bring it down as the younger one reaches the age. Getting to the ages where the older child had growth spurts and skipped a few sizes but the youngest loves getting the new bags down and sifting though. Really helped with school uniform until recently when the primary school changed uniform colours entirely and 3 years worth of uniform had to donated to the clothing bank and I had to re buy. I don’t think schools think about this added cost to families when they make changes.

Prescriptions are a nightmare though. One minute you’re exempt from paying due to tax credits and income but then you work a day overtime once in the year and suddenly you’re £20 over the limit for exemption and have to start paying for the many prescriptions. The overtime was requested by the company.

I’m worried about the inevitable change from tax credits to universal credits. I’ve not been forced over yet but I’ve done the calculations and I’ll be worse off changing.

Im mostly ok at the moment for general things as I’ve a tiny mortgage compared to a lot I’ve read on here and much cheaper than renting the same house on my street. But I’ve no savings and couldn’t cover an expensive repairs on my car or house that were urgent - would need to go onto a credit card. I don’t drink or smoke and don’t really have any hobbies but that does mean I’ve nothing to cut back on. My gas and electric went up from £100 per month to £220 at the last increase and the next increase does worry me . I’ve had the help from the government and stashed that away. I’ve bought a cheap air fryer to keep from using the oven. I’ve. Cut back massively on how much the heating is on - usually from October it’s on all evening after work and mornings before work, and often knocked on during my days off and weekends. But I’ve now gone for an hour in the morning and an hour on an evening to keep the house from getting damp (very old house). Some days the thermostat hasn’t clicked on though so it’s only some days it’s come on.

But nothing is free, we have a system that we all pay into so it's like bulk buying as a nation. Free at the point of use but paid for over our lifetimes. That is the point of it and why it used to be the envy of the world (when it wasn't being sold off to private companies here and abroad, was properly staffed and resourced).

Have a look at turn2us if you are genuinely really struggling or you know someone who is . Particularly with things like a much needed glasses prescription or.piece of medical equipment or similar.

I am a trustee of a charity on there and we can give grants for things like school dinners, wheelchairs etc and am sure would consider a grant for specialised glasses.

Ours is a very geographically limited charity but there is quite a range on there.

We need a referral (eg from doctor) and details of finances. But it isn't an unduly arduous process.

I have had a chronic very painful bladder condition for over 12 months now ….even Urgent referrals mean long agonising delays -and I’m still waiting .
Private care would be within days. I can’t afford that so the pain continues.
This is government policy in action. And I paid in for over 40 years ..the NHS is now in a desperate situation and it cannot help everyone. I do think that there might need to be a rule where people need to contribute to be beneficiaries but I understand that is controversial
Thank you all you naïve Tory profit seeking voters - you will be older one day !

@Lara9891

I posted about funding for students on another thread, I'll link to it here, it might be worth others having a look for funding for things like children's braces and glasses.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mature_students/4622441-dont-know-what-to-do-whether-to-go-to-uni-or-not-with-zero-funding?reply=120746604

my post at 31/08/2022 01:43

Try H&M home! They sell 2 pairs of blackout curtains (150x300cm) for £120. I got them and the quality is great 🙂

No of course you can't go on holiday or do anything fun ever. And you definitely shouldn't smile because you should have nothing to smile about. You're supposed to be very visibly poor and downtrodden. Then the working people can look down on you with pity and feel better about their own shit lives by comparison.

Or else you're supposed to work all hours despite your disability and never mention it and never complain, no matter what struggles you may have or how ill you may feel or how much pain you're in. You should smile and be a beacon of positivity at all times even if you feel like you're dying. Then the non-disabled can look on you as "fine" and don't have to trouble themselves with thoughts of how hard your life may be, because, you know, such thoughts are depressing.

Sarcasm, obviously, before a million posters lynch me.

if you need carbisamol for thyroid, also to stop you dying, it’s not free and you pay for all your prescriptions 🤷‍♀️

But you don't take carbimazole for life. It's usually for 18 months or less. Levothyroxine for hypothyroidism is life-long.

The criterion isn't whether a condition is life-threatening. The list of conditions conferring medical exemption does seem a bit arbitrary, as so many chronic conditions that do require life-long medication aren't included.

The prescription issue is absurd. I have had a thyroid condition since my late 20s. A pp is correct in that carbimazole is not covered in the event of graves. Once my thyroid was removed and I became thyroxine dependent I was entitled to free prescriptions for ALL medicines. I am over 60 now so also get free eye tests and flu jabs.

I appreciate the thyroxine shoukd have been free. I don't understand why everything else was free because of it.

If it weren't for being on thyroxine, all prescriptions would be free in any event now I am over 60. I still work full-time and both dh and Inare high earners.

The system is an arse.

Everything else is free because needing thyroxine impacts on other things. You might need a higher dose of something or need it for longer.

It would be too complicated to say this one is free but this one isn't.....I had breast cancer so all my meds are now free ( as is anyone who has had cancer) you couldn't expect the pharmacy staff to work out which of my meds are related to the side effects of my treatment....which are medications to reduce the risk of future recurrence and which are non cancer related....I get around 15 meds a month....just too complicated ...so far easier to have a blanket approach and say they are all free

I know it takes effort but please take time to look at what your local area offers ... I live in a very small town but we have 'free food' available six days a week (donated by supermarkets etc), free tea and coffee mornings, various charitable grants available, a great local 'Freecycle' FB ... nearly anything can be found if you post on the local board (often delivered for free), a community support scheme for people who don't have access to the internet or need help with it. There is also a 'Talk Hub' to direct people to the different support agencies available.

I understand it's difficult to ask for help but often we end up taking perfectly serviceable clothing, household items etc to be recycled (or tipped ) because they just can't be given away,

My apologies, the sarcasm has been lost on me with this thread.
I actually feel really guilty about getting the higher rate DLA. Its non means tested so I'm still working, so at the moment we are ok financially, but its a terminal illness so I know that bubble will burst one day. Swings and roundabouts. I'd give all my money away if it meant things would change for me. I hate reading all these posts about families not affording to eat, I give to food banks, but its not really helping the root of the problem 😔

I had to go on UC after finding out my husband was having an affair and filled for divorce. I have scraped until now where I’ve managed to start my own business and now can leave UC. I agree with you post completely

😂 I get UC (lots of) and a “free” council house. 🙄 I also work FT for the LA in children’s services. I’m also a single mum with MS.

On curtains, they can make a difference. My house has the curtains put in 32 years ago when the house was built which are floor to ceiling, thick and lined. I also think having carpet in most of the house (again it was put down in 1990 when the house was built) helps. I am not sure all these blinds and no carpets people go for these days really do keep people warmer. However most people are stuck with what is there and is expensive to replace.

Everything else is free because hypothyrodism is a condition that can affect other areas of the body, very common with that condition is vitamin absorbtion problems, (iron,vitamin d,b12)diabetes or pre diabetes is a big one,hormonal imbalances etc. List is endless, if you are unaffected you are one of the rare patients.

The root canals and crowns I need (I have a parathyroid problem which drains my bones and teeth of calcium).

A working washing machine

Holidays (obviously)

Christmas

To get the old, damp, peeling flooring replaced in my house.

And my partner is on really good money wage is slightly below average 🤔 I can't tell if we are just rubbish with money or everything is fucked. We were fine until the past 2 years or so, when childcare went up, food bills went up, every frickin thing went up.

I've bought specs from glasses direct.co.uk for a few years now all you need is an up to date prescription, they even send frames for you to try. First pairs I got cost £25 for 2 pairs. They do loads of offers 2 for 1. I leave things in my basket and they send different deals then l play about with the offer codes until I can get the best deal. Lens can be the costliest but again they give different deals too.

You act like this sort of thing is a new thing that has just suddenly happened under a Tory government.

There might be issues with the NHS caused by the Tory government but as someone who has witnessed how the NHS operates over the years a lot of the mess we are in now comes from years of stupid money wasting practices and the arrogance of Doctors not listening to patients and sending them for wasteful test after test when the patient is telling them what is wrong and their refusal to test for that particular thing first. Or dismissing them with prescriptions for otc treatments until what would have been a simple and over night stay in hospital turns into something that has turned sinister and requires several operations and months in hospital.

The NHS has the money, it chooses to waste it on “money saving systems”
It doesn’t cost the NHS anything for a doctor to listen to you and would probably save the NHS huge money if they tested for what the patient thinks they have first

the arrogance of Doctors not listening to patients and sending them for wasteful test after test when the patient is telling them what is wrong and their refusal to test for that particular thing first.

That isn't arrogance of doctors. It's doctors following clinical guidelines so they can justify their decisions. Medical practice is heavily audited, and patients and ambulance-chasing lawyers are very keen to sue them, so doctors are more & more constrained to do exactly what the guidelines say.

You are given that money because you need it. Don't feel guilty. It's the people with the attitude problem who should feel guilty. If wages are insufficient that's no reason to be jealous of people on benefits, their jealousy harms themselves because it points their anger towards the wrong people instead of directing it at the government. Their jealousy also makes people in receipt of these benefits feel like crap. You should not be considered a second class citizen because you're disabled. You're entitled to quality of life too, that's written into law. Disabled people and those who can't work aren't just supposed to exist, they're supposed to have quality of life too. If some people's wages don't allow them to have quality of life, that's not disabled people's fault. It doesn't matter how much you earn, your life will be more difficult due to your disability. The disability payment is both a recognition of that and a help towards the additional expenses you'll be incurring, or your ability to work being impacted, as a result of being disabled.

@Kennykenkencat I know some anecdotal evidence is not really evidence but I concur with some of what you have mentioned. I have been attending hospital for a few tests recently. I went this week and my appointment was 1:30. The radiologist came to shout me but when I followed her she said "oh, I wasn't expecting to see you as no one has turned up at all for their appointments today" she said she thought there must have been an issue in the mail room when the appointments had gone out (which apparently happens?).
Apart from this, the waiting room area was like a sauna. I had to remove my coat and my jumper. I have UAT and I am always usually cold. Everyone in the waiting area had removed their outer layers. This is in an open plan waiting area.
Given the cost of heating I was really surprised at this. It was an Outpatient Area.
I was also sent for other tests (investigations) CT Scan etc. which I cancelled because I know what the issue is and a CT Scan will not show it. I don't want to waste time or money if the NHS is struggling. I rang to cancel the scan when I received the appointment and the central appointments line seemed shocked I had actually cancelled it. Apparently they just expect no-shows if you don't want to attend and people only usually call if they need to re-arrange an appointment? Its madness.
I think we all have a contribution to make if we want to keep the NHS and not just blame it all on the Government however, maybe the Government could implement some changes to try to solve some of the issues.