The recession, benefits, the safety net, and the learning curve

Max_Headroom_3

needahome wrote: »

personally i think anyone who owns their own home and claiming benefit, should be made to sell it and live off the money until it uns out and then claim benefit.

If you ever come to own a house, my guess is you may change that particular belief...

michaels

I agree, OP should sell his house, blow 150k on blow and then claim for housing benefit as well. Sounds fair to me.

Meanwhile anyone else who has saved for an asset should sell it and spend the money so that they can claim benefits if need be. It definetely sends out the right signals to deny benefits to those who try to save and look out for themselves whilst showering them on those who make sure they spend everythign they earn.

needahome wrote: »

personally i think anyone who owns their own home and claiming benefit, should be made to sell it and live off the money until it uns out and then claim benefit.

if you own your home, and are an "average" homeowner then you have about £150k of equity and the tax payer is paying for you to live!

if someone had £150k in the bank, they wouldn't be entitled to benefit till they had spent it, so why should you keep your money just because it tied up in your home?

as for a lot of people who over the years who have slagged off benefit claimants fo being lazy and not taking the minimun wage jobs out there,these people are going to face reality when they are forced with the fact that these are the only jobs available to them now.

its a lot different story when they work out their own budget and realise you cannot live on these jobs.

PasturesNew

fc123 wrote: »

Whilst I don't think it would be very practical to 'make'Max H sell his house and live off the cash...I can see your point.
A regular poster has her 'house' currently in the bank.
It looks like cash and feels like cash but, it is actaully her 'house to be', her only security for the future.
Because the 'house' is temporarily cash, she can claim nothing at all.

That's me that is. The cash is the sum total of a life spent trying to get my own place, then struggling to keep it against all the odds, before finally shifting it (never liked it anyway)

But yes, I can't spend a penny of it because that's my future house, when I finally get a job. So ekeing out a (dwindling) online income to cover the basics. I don't mind living on beans/dry bread because I've spent most of my life doing that. I am really, really lucky to be me - and I know it.

I also am speshul, but would never pull out the speshul card to get any money, help or leapfrog some job queue because some numpty has to fulfill a quota. I get by on my wits and cunning (hence not eating that well).

Generally I have always lived as if I were on the dole, because I know we are just one 10 minute meeting with a boss away from being there.

PasturesNew

I can see in your postings, OP, you are having the same problem I often have here ... in presenting a situation, it's turned on you as if you made a personal whine statement. You didn't. You weren't saying you're stuck or in trouble. You simply pointed out some facts from the viewpoint of a single person.

I'm in the loop ... I know what you meant when you posted.

fc123

PasturesNew wrote: »

That's me that is. The cash is the sum total of a life spent trying to get my own place, then struggling to keep it against all the odds, before finally shifting it (never liked it anyway)

But yes, I can't spend a penny of it because that's my future house, when I finally get a job. So ekeing out a (dwindling) online income to cover the basics. I don't mind living on beans/dry bread because I've spent most of my life doing that. I am really, really lucky to be me - and I know it.

I also am speshul, but would never pull out the speshul card to get any money, help or leapfrog some job queue because some numpty has to fulfill a quota. I get by on my wits and cunning (hence not eating that well).

Generally I have always lived as if I were on the dole, because I know we are just one 10 minute meeting with a boss away from being there.

Wellll...I didn't want to name names YKWIM?

You don't eat that bad....a sort of speshul diet involving tasty savoury cake....which I am going to try and cook over the weekend as it sounds so, well, tasty.

Just to hijack Max H's thread, I have found out a lot about BR and stuff recently and some of the tales I have read just makes me get so upset.

If you are on JSA. don't you get free council tax?

PasturesNew

fc123 wrote: »

If you are on JSA. don't you get free council tax?

I thought so. Maybe he is getting Income Based JSA (because he had solid NI payments over the last 2 tax years), but his savings are a smidge over some magical threshold, after which they reduce how much you get.

Max_Headroom_3

Thank you PN.

You're right, it's not a whine or a complaint as such, I just find it an incredible situation, and I think many others will have their eyes opened in the same way as time goes on.

And to be fair, reading the replies I think most people get that. Some (like Dopester) have challenged some of my points, and that's quite right, it's what a discussion should be about.

But you'll always get one or two that try and turn it into something else.

fc123

Max_Headroom wrote: »

I agree that's unfair, although I can see the logic to it.

It's ironic really, I've been furiously overpaying my mortgage rather than saving simply because it's financially the best way forward, no point having savings earning interest whilst you're paying more interest elsewhere on debt (especially since that interest earned will be taxed).

However had I saved that money instead and still got my mortgage I wouldn't even be entitled to the tiny amount I am due.

It all spins toward the same point though. The harder you try and provide for yourself, the worse off you'll be if you encounter a problem like job loss.

To sidetrack a bit, what do you honestly feel about your chances of getting a new job soon? Not digging, just thinking aloud really, like how long will you need to rely on JSA?

Just to add, I made myself scarily redundant from something recently but had made a new job in the meantime....it's been a stressy year, still is.

Max_Headroom_3

PasturesNew wrote: »

I thought so. Maybe he is getting Income Based JSA (because he had solid NI payments over the last 2 tax years), but his savings are a smidge over some magical threshold, after which they reduce how much you get.

I do get a contribution toward council tax it's true. No one seems to be able to tell me how much yet, as I am indeed just over some magical threshold, but I'm hoping it'll be most of it, if not all.

Non the less that doesn't change the fact that the total amount I get just covers my basics, not including food.

And I certainly won't be in a position to buy anyone any £140 Nikes for their birthday!

fc123

Max_Headroom wrote: »

But you'll always get one or two that try and turn it into something else.

You don't say?:rolleyes:;) It's been hotting up on this board for a while...lots of great people are having a rest or just left.