What would you do if you won a million pounds/dollars ?

Thanks Plastic.  Yes, I can imagine how they might have messed you up and, as you're no doubt aware, it's not a step to be taken lightly.  I wish all parts were guaranteed to last a lifetime but it seems not all bodies are made that way. 

50/50 feels quite scary to me and of course there's a strong feeling that we shouldn't be in this position, especially when we have family responsibilities.  I'm trying to avoid the slab too because, even if this disease does turn out to be my exit visa from this world, I'd prefer to die in my own bed and not have a bunch of masked medics as the last people I see!  

Generally, though, I think I'd feel less worried if the Care Act was sorted out.  As it stands, I just think that everything we've planned for could be lost if, say, one of us had stroke or heart attack, to say nothing of a flare up of the conditions we already have.  

I wish I had a solution  - I would readily share it - but instead I combine various strategies with a good dollop of hoping for the best!   

oh i know the urge to look after the kids. I hope to put my house and properties in there name soon. DO u think that is wise ?

So sorry to hear you're in such a poor medical state - I've been on immunosuppressants in the past and the really messed me up,

They've offered me a surgical option too - a 24hr operation, 50% chance of dying on the slab - maybe to gain another year.

My family need me too - I shouldn't be in this position either - I really feel for you.

I hope you get the solution that works for you.

Best wishes.

I hope so, but I'm also aware that I'm chucking many of my principles overboard.  Ideologically I feel opposed to rentierism and private healthcare.  But I need to square that with the need to provide for the people I've brought into this (often less than caring) world.  :(

That'd be my concern.  You see it happening quite often in such cases.  And I feel so sad for them having had it and then lost it.  

I'd probably just have a little in the way of what I wanted (cake and cannabis?) then I'd be back to doing my spreadsheet budgeting and planning because I might, after all, outlive any expectations.  In this regard I'm reminded of the quote attributed to Peter O-Toole:

"If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!" 

if was a billionaire i would post u a million  u sound a magnificent mum

Nah, I'm hoping they'll last as long as I do.  But I'm mindful that around 50% of people with my diagnosis reach kidney failure by age 60 (I'm 58) and the risks then go up as each year passes.  My liver is a total mess and I look heavily pregnant all the time.  However, it functions so I'm not going to get to the top of the transplant list that easily, if I even wanted to.   They did offer to put me on it, and some of that would depend on finding a good enough match, but I'm also extremely averse to having my liver removed, replaced with someone else's and then having to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of my life.  If my liver was actually failing, I'd have to go through it, but the surgery is not without its risks (incl. a 1% chance of dying on the slab and a 20% chance of some quite significant post operative complications).  And my family really, really needs me.      

So the current position is one of feathering this little nest we have as best we can, whilst trying to provide for the future but being all too aware that care costs could wipe it all out and leave our adult offspring at the mercy of the DWP (which I'm keen to avoid after various negative experiences with them over the years).  I also tread a fine line between saving and buying in therapy, courses and webinars to try to plug the gap left by inadequate services. 

I suppose I'm saying that it'd be all very well getting £1m, but keeping it and passing it on might prove tricky.       

I knew a guy who got a load of money from industrial accident. He bought a big house and had one constant party for a year. I missed the whole thing i was out of the country for a while

He blew 100,000 quid and had to sell the house.

His neighbours where very pleased

blimey you worry about things i dont think about. 

are you on the waiting list for a new kidney ?

In no particular order, booze, coke and hookers.  Don't see myself living a long life, have nobody to leave anything to so investing would be pretty pointless.

Sadly not much of a traveller these days - liver and kidneys too bad and I expect the insurance required would be prohibitive for me (like, it might have to cover dialysis for the duration of my stays, for a pre-existing condition that could deteriorate at any time).  So I'm grounded in this country for both my and my family's sakes. 

Overall, I don't mind staying here and paying a reasonable amount of tax, I just need to know there'll be enough left in the pot for my family, especially if (as seems likely), they're not able to work.  So I'd need to think about such things as inheritance tax limits and making sure any property didn't need to be sold just to pay it.     

how about a holiday home somewhere ? 

you would end up a multi-millionaire :)

A boat outside would do just fine.

I do also have a dream of buying a field or two and having a small orchard and a meadow, alongside my garden with raised beds for fruit and veg.  It's just be nice not to have to break myself getting the money together to do this. 

Trouble is, all of this could be wiped out with care costs and I'm not sure I can do anything to insure against this.     

Well, I could probably get something decent here in the North East for much less so I guess it depends quite heavily on location. 

Here as well, I could get 3 - 4 small houses to rent out @around £80 - £100k each and bring in a decent stream of passive income, even after paying agents, maintenance and tax.  It might not sit well with my socialist principles, but since my back's against the wall in terms of planning for my family's future, needs must.     

I'm fortunate to live in the countryside. The new bungalow I will move to has a greenhouse; and I could learn to grow vegetables and Spuds. Whenever I was a kid,  we were self-sufficient for milk. Then my father was killed in the Troubles. Now, I'm dependent on the Food Bank. It has made me teachable.

Yes, zero interest rates are an issue. But it's only the tip of the iceberg. Central Banks, such as the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve, print money out willy-nilly. That increases the price of goods and services. If things go the way they are, local shops won't survive.

People talk about Elites and 'The 1%'. (more like 0.03%) However, it's the Middle Class who face the cull. British people have too much Romantic Connotations about their Working Class upbringing. The poor can survive in cities, as they can take Public Transport. The Middle Class need cars, which are taxed and insured too much.

A million doesn't go far any more.      Most properties are in the £500k area which only leaves £500k left to live on - and with almost zero interest rates, that's £25k annually for only 20 years.

A better bet might be buying a couple of flats to rent out for income and then live in a camper van and see the world.

Ditto Dublin.

Mortgage-based economies always create boom-and-bust.

it wont get u into heaven but you can buy a boat just outside :) 

 i do like your house and garden idea

u could buy a village in Spain for that money. 

Yeah, a basic central London flat OR maybe a small Scottish castle (I actually saw one for less than this not so long ago).  :)  

I'd maybe hedge my bets and use half for a decent home further north and invest the rest.