Not really much help to you, but for your interest… My wife & I used to rent a house that was owned by a RAAF employee. The RAAF “took care” of renting it out on his behalf, but had passed the management of all their houses in this area to normal real estates agents…

We were supposed to get a water usage bill every quarter (I think it was). We were there three years. We paid two, maybe three water bills in that entire time. I was always chasing the real estate for the bill, because I was afraid of getting lumped with one large water bill when we left (from the real estate estimating the water meter, all the way back from the last bill we’d received).

I’d get the real estate to phone Defence, who would say they’d lost the bill. This happened many times. Often, by the time the real estate *did* receive a bill, they would tell us there was some law about receiving bills within a certain amount of time and that we weren’t required to pay most it after that set time period anyway.

Then we moved out – you guessed it – a large water bill, because Defence had finally got their act together. (Not the entire 3 years worth of usage thank goodness, but it *was* more than we were expecting.)

My point? Don’t expect any results in a hurry (if ever), if you go chasing them for what you’re owed. They don’t seem to have anyone who could be bothered with the paperwork.

Allan.

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Is there anyone else with health problems on the forum and how does it affect your efforts to pursue wealth?

Philippa

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Philippa – I have chronic fatigue also – at least that’s what the doctor thinks it is, since as you know by now, there’s no specific test for it as many doctors still think it’s in our minds and so won’t allocate research to it. But don’t get me started on doctors – especially since I know two…

You mentioned you have a house and some cash set aside. See! It’s true – there’s always someone worse off than you… Now if I can only find someone worse off than *me*… (Nope, wouldn’t wish that on anyone.)

How does it affect me? How *doesn’t* it, might be an easier question to answer. : ) I can’t even READ for long, as I just don’t absorb the information. Reading and trying to comprehend what’s being said is a mammoth effort.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing is, I know we can $ave, I know I have the determination and intelligence to make investing work for us, and I have all the desire possible to break free from government benefits and support ourselves. But without the physical strength, I just can’t do it alone. At least, not before I die of old age… : (

I am thankful tho’ that it isn’t at its worst point ever. Just one suggestion that might help you – I found that the *food* we eat, at the very least – amplifies the illness. We were on the Atkins Diet until recently, for a few months (the *correct* version of it – not just the first two weeks as described on Today Tonight). I slowly (very slowly) began to feel better than I had in years.

For instance – skip ham. It gives me headaches, depression, brain fog, I feel like bursting into tears (or alternatively a rage)… It amplifies the arthritis-like pain in my joints. I’m certain the chemicals in today’s food are the cause of chronic fatigue. We eat these things for years, they build up in our system, then we get a particular illness that alters our metabolism and it all comes crashing down, triggering chronic fatigue. We then spend decades fighting to get our lives back. (All for the sake of extending the shelf life of food that gets eaten in a couple of days anyway.)

I think more and more people will get sick until the adding of all these unnecessary chemicals stops. (After all, who needs a leg of ham to last over 12 months?)

I’d really like to offer you some encouragement – but I genuinely have none, as there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for me either yet. All I can say is, I understand – and you *are* worthwhile.

Allan.

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Guys, love the site, but its getting really slow to navigate, and it crashing a lot. I think you need a faster cable. Getting a bit frustrating thats all.

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Methinks you might need a new computer – or to slap Bill Gates – HARD. (It’s working fine for me.)

Allan.

If I can just say, that we have had a budget for a few years now. I’m on a disability pension, my wife receives parenting payment and we have two children…

We have more free money than all the people we know – most are couples – with both working full time. One of these families consists of a doctor and a registered nurse. A second family is a doctor and nursing home assistant. A locksmith, carpenter, mechanic… All of them marvel at our ability to save. All because of a budget.

Of course there’s more to it… We turn of lights when not using them. (The myth about leaving lights on saves money is – er… a myth. It only applies to florescents – and only if you switch back on witin 15 minutes.) The computer screen goes off when I leave the desk. When out, we don’t buy softdrink, ice-cream, takeaway – we wait 20 minutes til we get home. We never part-fill the car fuel tank, buy meat/canned in bulk (NOT from woolworths or coles – too expensive), use generic brand of most things…

Without a budget, you don’t realise where your money goes – or where your family members’ money goes. Once you do, you have a choice which things to stop buying – and the next time you go to buy them, it makes you think… “Do I really need that bottle of water right now, or can I wait til I get home from the supermarket in 12 minutes?”

It’s easier to save a dollar than work to make another one to replace it.

By the way… When we finally DID a budget and then STUCK to it… I was kicking myself HARD that we didn’t do it years ago.

Allan.

Edit: And I venture a guess – so would everyone else once they did the same.