[Margaret Pilkington]

I actually would prefer not to have help.
It damages my independence...and anyone who knows me will tell you that I am fiercely independent.
I trust myself. I can rely on myself. I have planned my retirement with care......because I have seen those who haven't been able to do that and it is a miserable time if you have no money.
I have been fortunate in my life to be blessed with a working life which was long and had few interruptions(the only time I have ever been on the dole was during the miners strike and the three day week - we worked one week and played the next...the dole had to be claimed to get your stamps put on).
This isn't to say that I do not have empathy for those who find themselves(through no fault of their own) in tough financial times.

What grieves me is to hear people say that it doesn't pay them to go to work...that they would lose benefits...that it wouldn't be worth their while.
What grieves me is that some peole will find themsleves on benefits and it becomes easier than getting out of bed and going out to get the bus on a cold morning and putting in a days graft.
Work isn't just about earning a living, it is about being part of the fabric of society. It is about having aspirations,bettering yourself.
Life must be an awful burden if you have no esteem, no self worth, no aspirations.

I have worked at jobs I didn't much like - because they paid the bills.
I have got up and walked to Blackburn through snow because there were no buses...my job was important to me.
This is called a work ethic - and it is what is missing from the lives of many people today.

I have been poor, I have learned how to budget, I have learned that when the job situation isn't rosy you don't go into a debt that you cannot afford.

I can make do and mend, in short I know how to manage my money when there isn't much of it to spare.