Tower block of commons

bouche

MrsE wrote: »

That money is to give their kids a decent home, not have them living in squalor while they smoke & drink it:mad::mad::mad:

Maybe the kids are happy that Mum and Dad are off thier rocker on drink and smoking!! Could bring them the only comfort they've got, knowing the elders are to !!!!ed to beat them up and abuse them.

tomstickland

That women complaining about MPs costing "our taxes". Does she work or is it all benefits?

PasturesNew

If a single person over 25 finds themselves unfortunately between jobs and claims JSA, They'd get £64.30/week. So £276/month.

A sample cost of living, with existing commitments/contracts, might be:
£40 - gas/electricity
£20 - water
£10 - contents insurance
£12 - TV license
£65 - food
£10 - cleaning/household items
£10 - papers, stamps, copying, newspapers to apply for jobs
£5 - hair trims (ready for interviews)
£15 - landline
£17 - broadband
£10 - mobile phone
===
£214/month

Leaving them £62/month, or £14.50/week for other things that crop up, like having to get to an interview or two, socialising, holidays, Xmas, etc. £2/day that's "probably yours", meaning those luxury items will just be out of the question.

And if you own your own house, you might also be paying a service contract for a gas boiler (£12/month), buildings insurance (£20/month) and continuing to pay the insurance on your mortgage that will mean it eventually starts paying the mortgage (no mortgage rescue if you don't have kids, so you have to provide for yourself).

Now, that's what benefits is for single people and used to be across the board. "enough". So it's annoying to see them with their holidays, plasma TVs, gadgets, clothes, social lives ....

They also don't have to sign on and give proof of jobs applied for or anything, the money just turns up ... and will do for years.

Fire_Fox

I'm in much that position, Pastures, except mine goes:

£0 rent/ mortgage (own outright)
£95 service charge
£13 ground rent
£53 council tax (25% discount)
£7 buildings insurance
£9 contents insurance
£43 electricity (heating at 14C in the snow)
£10 water meter
£12 TV license
£12 landline
£6 broadband
£5 haircuts
£10 paper and stamps
£60 groceries (mainly vegetarian)
£40 cat stuff, cleaning, toiletries
£10 public transport (no supermarkets nearby)

£375 I think? :eek: JSA plus council tax benefit is about £330 per month, hence I do not actually have contents insurance or a TV license! Granted I have one major luxury, my cat, but I have left out the mobile phone and any heating. No leeway for any repairs or maintenance to the flat.

matbe

PasturesNew wrote: »

If a single person over 25 finds themselves unfortunately between jobs and claims JSA, They'd get £64.30/week. So £276/month.

A sample cost of living, with existing commitments/contracts, might be:
£40 - gas/electricity
£20 - water
£10 - contents insurance
£12 - TV license
£65 - food
£10 - cleaning/household items
£10 - papers, stamps, copying, newspapers to apply for jobs
£5 - hair trims (ready for interviews)
£15 - landline
£17 - broadband
£10 - mobile phone
===
£214/month

Leaving them £62/month, or £14.50/week for other things that crop up, like having to get to an interview or two, socialising, holidays, Xmas, etc. £2/day that's "probably yours", meaning those luxury items will just be out of the question.

And if you own your own house, you might also be paying a service contract for a gas boiler (£12/month), buildings insurance (£20/month) and continuing to pay the insurance on your mortgage that will mean it eventually starts paying the mortgage (no mortgage rescue if you don't have kids, so you have to provide for yourself).

Now, that's what benefits is for single people and used to be across the board. "enough". So it's annoying to see them with their holidays, plasma TVs, gadgets, clothes, social lives ....

They also don't have to sign on and give proof of jobs applied for or anything, the money just turns up ... and will do for years.

!!! Youre a woman and spend £5 on hair dos?

Can you have a word with my wife please.

In fact can you give me the address it costs me £6.50 and i thought i went to the cheapest around.

PasturesNew

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I'm in much that position, Pastures, except mine goes:

£95 service charge
£13 ground rent
...
£375 I think? :eek: JSA plus council tax benefit is about £330 per month, hence I do not actually have contents insurance or a TV license! Granted I have one major luxury, my cat, but I have left out the mobile phone and any heating. No leeway for any repairs or maintenance to the flat.

I always thought if you were in a flat that the service charge was paid by the dole because it wasn't something you could choose not to pay, iyswim. Worth checking that on the benefits board

Davesnave

bouche wrote: »

Maybe the kids are happy that Mum and Dad are off thier rocker on drink and smoking!! Could bring them the only comfort they've got, knowing the elders are to !!!!ed to beat them up and abuse them.

I have only seen the one episode, but from what I saw, the kids didn't look as if they'd been abused. They looked like normal kids; just a bit unkempt and rough at the edges.

As I understand it, the families were supposed to be broadly representative of their kind, and not selected for majoring in dysfunctionality.

PasturesNew

matbe wrote: »

!!! Youre a woman and spend £5 on hair dos?

Can you have a word with my wife please.

In fact can you give me the address it costs me £6.50 and i thought i went to the cheapest around.

Well, that's an "on the dole" type of budget. Although my earnings are not often more than the equivalent of dole, so personally I stretch it out as long as I can between cuts (I tend to leave it until I really DO need it to be trimmed for a special reason). I have my hair trimmed and other stuff women do to their hair. My yearly actual budget is about £120/year, so £10/month. Shampoo/conditioner for home hair washing during 2009 was £2.

It's not £5/month and cut every month. That's £5 saved per month, with a trim every 2-3 months ... for the dole budget.

PasturesNew

I did think that chef bloke in the programme was a really decent, intelligent sort. He's not worked for four years - seemed switched on. Wonder why he's not been lucky enough to find a job.

matbe

I live my life with an on the dole budget yet earn decent money some habits are hard to break but i do enjoy the odd luxury.