Candles for heat

[mitchymo]

Members of Parliament are never slow in claiming what is due to them.

Well that's damn true lol, but i like to think i am more honorable than they are.

Isn't there going to be another tax threshold increase (courtesy of Lib Dem's) coming up soon enough?

[bankside]

There are none as yet. For an unskilled worker, my employer actually pays one of the better rates around. And they make you feel appreciated, especially at xmas. The store i work in is not large enough to take a step up the ladder either, i could only consider that if my immediate boss left, but i don't want her to, she's cool.

That's alright then. Any training schemes available?

[mitchymo]

That's alright then. Any training schemes available?

Yeah, there is a training and development academy (my employer is a huge employer lol). Training takes place at work mostly and the academy for exams. I find it all a bit daunting actually, like being back at school. I decided that if my employer expands the business in my town, to support the kind of workplace they have elsewhere, then i would have room to move up without my current manager having to step aside. I could be a supervisor you see. There is only room for a manager and moi in the department i work atm.

[JohannBessler]

Don't be a mug Mitch. If you're entitled to Tax Credits, claim 'em. Those poorer than you will be claiming for everything under the sun and you shouldn't feel that you have to hold back so they can have even more.

In other threads you've argued that your rent should be free, leaving the taxpayer to pick up the bill. As soon as there's something you can actually claim, you turn arse about face and say that you don't want to be subsidised by the taxpayer after all.

Free rent is pie in the sky. Claim what you're entitled to man.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/TAXCREDITS/

Mitchy, claim what you are due. Government departments are given a yearly budget. Each department will make sure they use that budget, otherwise it gets cut the following year. If people are not claiming what is due to them, government will make sure that it spends it for them. Members of Parliament are never slow in claiming what is due to them.

Mitchy, I have to concur.

Those tax credits were invented for a reason, Mitchy--to help those people like you, who support the system but don't get much back.

Don't act so stubborn, Mitch. I think it silly that you'd allow yourself to freeze to death out of pride.

[mitchymo]

Don't act so stubborn, Mitch. I think it silly that you'd allow yourself to freeze to death out of pride.

Hmmm, probably the deadly sin i am most guilty of. I look back at the times i HAVE took help (or asked), and feel shame. That can't be a good thing.

[unloadonme]

Hmmm, probably the deadly sin i am most guilty of. I look back at the times i HAVE took help (or asked), and feel shame. That can't be a good thing.

Tax Credits aren't help in that sense and certainly aren't shameful. They're part of the mechanism the state has set up to determine your tax liability and mine. Don't look on them any differently to your Personal Allowance.

[ChickenGuy]

Hmmm, probably the deadly sin i am most guilty of. I look back at the times i HAVE took help (or asked), and feel shame. That can't be a good thing.

Slightly off-topic - I was realising earlier that if I ever met you in person, I'd also feel an odd emotion.... guilt.

Reading this thread, I feel you're a far more hard-working and 'honourable' person, and a much more deserving one to have been given a certain degree of wealth, than me.

[Harke the Boeotarch]

My basis of comparison is that American and England had comparable standards of living.

England's standard of living is a lot lower than for people in, say, the Netherlands or Germany.
I don't know America well, but a friends mother had traveled there from her home in NY in the eighties and said she was appalled at the poor living conditions she encountered there.

Is it safe to assume that you have free Internet?

Internet is not a luxury in 2012's crisis-stricken Europe.

I should have a wage that matches the cost of basic living. Either employers are made to pay more, or government brings down the cost of housing to an affordable level. The rent is the killer in the wage packet, almost 45% of gross income.

That's the evilness inherent in this particular kind of capitalism.

Normal wages do not give you enough money to rent decent housing space at market prices. You have to rent council housing which is presented as some sort of charity towards people with low incomes, when it could just as easily be seen as government sponsoring of stingy employers.

[bendted]

I'm trying to wrap my mind around on how a dozen candles could possibly make any difference as far as warmth goes.

[Harke the Boeotarch]

I'm trying to wrap my mind around on how a dozen candles could possibly make any difference as far as warmth goes.

For some it's an easier to understand concept than for others...

[bendted]

For some it's an easier to understand concept than for others...

So then explain it to the great unwashed. I mean, I have central heating so I can't relate.

[Harke the Boeotarch]

So then explain it to the great unwashed. I mean, I have central heating so I can't relate.

Take a candle, light it, put your finger over it...

[bankside]

The point is, Harke, a candle seems inapt for home heating and better suited only to decorating and creating ambiance, due to the smallness of the flame and the relative vastness of the space to be heated.

[sixthson]

Just out of curiosity, Mitch, how much do you spend on cigarettes each month?

[mitchymo]

Just out of curiosity, Mitch, how much do you spend on cigarettes each month?

About £60. I plan on buying an electric cigarette tho. The nicotine refills cost £8 and last two weeks!!! Also, it cuts out all the other chemicals.

[seven2go]

^ That's only about $95 a month U.S.........either you don't smoke very much, cigs are really cheap over there or you're rolling your own.

(Not saying a C note a month is an insignificant amount of money)

[mitchymo]

^ I roll my own. Its half the price and twice the smokes.

[unloadonme]

Still, £60 a month is £720 a year. That should pay for a enough gas or electricity to heat your flat all winter long and reduce the risk of lung cancer into the bargain. A no brainer I'd say!

[mitchymo]

Quitting is god damn hard!!!!

[unloadonme]

Yes, but plenty of people do quit and your GP will always help.

[Harke the Boeotarch]

The point is, Harke, a candle seems inapt for home heating and better suited only to decorating and creating ambiance, due to the smallness of the flame and the relative vastness of the space to be heated.

The relative vastness of British council housing is vastly overrated by vast Americans with vast asses.

[JohannBessler]

^Your level of gravitas is vastly overrated too, Harke.

- - - Updated - - -

Quitting is god damn hard!!!!

I empathize, Mitchy. I'm an ex-smoker myself.

For some people, quitting smoking is as hard as quitting heroin. It depends upon the amount of nicotine receptors in the brain.

[mitchymo]

I empathize, Mitchy. I'm an ex-smoker myself.

For some people, quitting smoking is as hard as quitting heroin. It depends upon the amount of nicotine receptors in the brain.

I've tried at least a dozen times, and yet the best i've ever managed was 6 days. I've tried patches, gum (disgusting), and cold turkey. I want to try using an electric cigarette next. It obviously won't kick the nicotine habit, but it will get rid of the other nasty chemicals and work out much much cheaper. I can always got the option of going to the doc for a prescription drug to suppress the cravings, that Champix or whatever its called.

[Kahaih]

. . . . . .

I can always got the option of going to the doc for a prescription drug to suppress the cravings, that Champix or whatever its called.

Do it.

It will improve your circulation - which helps you stay warm.

[frankfrank]

Quitting is god damn hard!!!!

Yes, but plenty of people do quit and your GP will always help.

Do it.

It will improve your circulation - which helps you stay warm.

Not to mention, if it is any help to you in your drive and motivation to quit, that you will have UNCONDITIONAL best wishes and support from some people here - myself, and many others (including, in all probability, an unknown number of lurkers who you'll never see).

Then, you CAN do yourself the favour of no longer worrying about shivering through an entire winter. You're putting your own health at risk by using some of your own calories to fight off being too cold, rather than using those calories for proper metabolism without the physical stress.

I assume you put at least a small value on your TIME and, if the cold flat is costing you some chances to be more efficient in what you're doing, a "cost" must be assigned to that.

I'm worried about you.

[JohannBessler]

I've tried at least a dozen times, and yet the best i've ever managed was 6 days. I've tried patches, gum (disgusting), and cold turkey. I want to try using an electric cigarette next. It obviously won't kick the nicotine habit, but it will get rid of the other nasty chemicals and work out much much cheaper. I can always got the option of going to the doc for a prescription drug to suppress the cravings, that Champix or whatever its called.

My other half has tried two brands of electronic cigarettes; he didn't like either one.

The problem lies in the fact that the government doesn't regulate them, so some of them contain ingredients that may not enhance health. For example, they found that one brand contained small amounts of formaldehyde.

Having said that, though, I consider them infinitely better than cigarettes because at least you don't get the "tar" and all of the other junk. It might enable you to quit, so I see it as at least worth a try. Plus, as you have said, you'll save a lot of money.

You might want to look into the known side effects of Chantix before you try it. I think it important that one makes an informed decision.

[seven2go]

IF you really WANT to quit ask your doctor about a scrip for bupropion.
I'm taking it right now.......again.
I quit smoking for 2 1/2 years and like a dumbass started again.......
An unexpected side effect MAY be an increased libdo........ ....... http://www.bupropion.com/wonderwell/index.html
Outside of the above mentioned possible libido enhancing property of bupropion I experienced zero negative side effects.

[JohannBessler]

^Seven, buproprion has some contraindications that don't make it suitable for epileptics, for example, or any other person who has had a seizure. Plus, bipolar patients can develop hypomania.

A good doctor will discuss all of the possible side effects.

[armastus4all]

I keep my heat at about 65 and love my electric blanket

[freefall]

You should find someone to share body heat with.

That WOULD be lovely. No need for bedroom radiator then.

You can always hire me I am called 'the space heater' =P

[mitchymo]

You can always hire me I am called 'the space heater' =P

Don't be daft, people will think your my internet bride!



On a side note. You lot are a caring bunch aint ya! Two pages for my little whine about energy prices and we've moved on to my overall health. Bless your little cotton socks!

[seven2go]

^Seven, buproprion has some contraindications that don't make it suitable for epileptics, for example, or any other person who has had a seizure. Plus, bipolar patients can develop hypomania.

A good doctor will discuss all of the possible side effects.

So......who's epileptic?......
Any antidepressant will carry the same warnings.

[JohannBessler]

^Au contraire, Seven...

...we don't know Mitchy's medical history. If he has ever had any kind of a seizure--even one not related to epilepsy--the MD won't prescribe it for him. Also, if he has ever had a concussion, the MD won't prescribe.


I think it worth a try, however.