Retirement

These days, I seem to waste a vast amount of my time looking for the best options.
When we were ill, we used to go to the local hospital; now we are given ‘choices’. I just want to be made better.

Getting the best deal

Gone are the days when we got our water, gas and electricity from the various ‘Boards’. Now we are persuaded to keep checking the numerous utility companies to get the most favourable terms. Not an easy thing to do when there are so many of them and the goalposts keep changing. The same applies to a variety of other things that we all regularly need.

What happened to simple savings accounts?

Even savings have become a nuisance, as we are told we must track the latest interest rates and continually move our money about. Then there are all the various accounts and interest rates; ISAs; regular savers; variable; tracker; fixed and so many more. Meantime we must make sure that not a penny goes over the government’s compensation scheme.

As several banks and building societies hide together under the same parent company, this is not an easy task.

The wonders of the modern world

Technology is a wondrous thing, especially the Internet. I switch it on to look up a simple fact and two hours of being sidetracked later, I wonder what I was looking for in the first place.

Having no sense of direction and always forgetting to put a map in the car, you can imagine how many times I get lost. What fun, I used to tell the children. Having borrowed a SatNav a couple of times, I decided to treat myself to one. My man ‘Daniel’ must know all about me, as he tells me at least three times when I am approaching a junction or turn. Even then, I still sometimes manage to get it wrong, so he says, with great patience, “recalculating”.

Reading the instructions - not easy

Instructions for new purchases now either come on a disk, or on the Internet and no longer in a handy little booklet. These instructions always give you vast amounts of information on the simple things, like switching the new item on and off but can you find the one thing that you desperately need to know? Of course not.

A constant source of amusement

My daughter bought me an MP3 player one Christmas, and deliberately left the instructions out. Her idea of entertainment was to see how long I could last, without asking for help. This is where the Internet does come into its own, as I managed to work it out for myself and deprive her of the merriment at my expense.

Are you ready for digital?

The area I live in is going ‘digital’ in September and I am now confronted with all the choices of ‘switching over’ my television set. Should I choose Freeview, FreeSat, or one of the subscription packages? I will also have to get a new recorder to be able to watch one channel, while recording another. Will I need a new aerial? Perhaps I should just listen to the radio or read a book instead.

Will my mind cope?

My mind is permanently in ‘overload’ status and is constantly flitting from one thing to another and, at times, I find it hard to concentrate on that lovely new book from the library because my mind just won’t switch off.

They say that our brains will keep growing and developing if we use them regularly. My brain seems to get so much exercise these days, that I am sure it may need a new ‘housing’ before long to accommodate it. Do you think technology may be able to provide one?