Its a wonderful life... Want to try.....?? A Single parents View.. !!xx!

Becles

I have wondered how they have been found too. Sadly due to media attention I find people think this is the norm for all single parents etc.

They're not single parents, but a neighbours sons have never worked and claimed benefits since 16. I don't know what benefits they get, but their mother is always bragging about the latest things they have been buying. They are currently on away their second long haul holiday this year. I know it's none of my business, but I'd love to know how they do it!

elisebutt65

I still don't get how come I only get 30pw IS and everyone elses here seems to get loads more??? I still have 2 boys to feed and clothe, I know I only get it for 3 months of the year but still weird how they work it out.

Anyway - back to the programme and the girl trying on the 'expensive' coat - lol. I have a real addiction that I feed maybe every 4-5 months or so.
Confession time - Deep breath I go to Selfridges at the Bullring and try on loads of designer shoes and clothes - RAFLMAO!!!!!

Couple of years ago I tried on an Alexander MacQueen Dress -Then checked the price label - over £2000.00!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: OMFG!!!! For a dress!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: Was a very nice dress but !!!!:eek: !!!!!

I love trying on the Jimmy Choos and Mui Mui sandals as well - even though I could never afford a pair - lol.

Then I go back down to the food hall and treat myself to a couple of plates at Yo Sushi - more my price level really;) And then get some of the giant bubble gums and jellybelly beans for the kids.:rotfl:

iwanttosave_2

Becles wrote:

Just to put another spin on it - the cases of benefit claimants featured in the media often show people with wide screen LCD TV's, designer clothes and other expensive goods.

It's fair to assume that there are people out there who will spend their benefits on living costs, and maybe able to save some to buy the odd luxury now and again. At the other end of the scale it's fair to assume there are claimants who spend the lot on luxuries, then complain because they don't have enough money for food, heating etc.

Brighthouse

They paint out pretty homes at affordable prices (!) aimed at those with a limited income.

looby75

iwanttosave wrote:

Brighthouse

They paint out pretty homes at affordable prices (!) aimed at those with a limited income.

oooh forgot about good old crazy George. My parents bought a lot of stuff from them....In the worst case it took them 3 yrs at around £3 a week to pay for a dvd player you could buy for less than £100 cash in argos. It cost them over £400 :eek:

Becles

Going off at a tangent, those shops make me cross. They'll lend to anyone regardless of their circumstances. Also doorstep lenders like Provident, and being offered credit in shops by them trying to sign you up for store cards every time you buy anything.

I just think it's bizarre that if you already have some money that you wish to invest, you have to sit down and have a full financial review with a specialised person. Even some bog standard branch savings accounts make you have a chat with an advisor before opening them.

Yet if you want to borrow money, any muppet in a shop or on your doorstep will offer you as much as you like, without having to explain it properly to you or check your circumstances. Often I've found with storecards, they don't even really know what they are selling to you.

The world has gone mad - lol.

seven-day-weekend

looby75 wrote:

oooh forgot about good old crazy George. My parents bought a lot of stuff from them....In the worst case it took them 3 yrs at around £3 a week to pay for a dvd player you could buy for less than £100 cash in argos. It cost them over £400 :eek:

An ex-colleague at work used to buy furniture from Crazy George. I told him he must be mad paying all that interest, but he said as he had six children it was the only way he could get anything as no-one else would do such low weekly payments (except they went on for evermore), or do credit on one chair.

I told him he'd be better saving his fiver a week up and buying second-hand, but he wouldn't even consider it.

He and his wife both smoked like chimneys though.

jack_and_chester

Hooray for some positives about being a single parent. I have been a single mum to my 8 year old boy since he was 15 months old - no maintenance but hey ho, no contact either - have to take the bad with the good. Before he was born I had a good full time job but gave that up to look after him. So I had income support for a while. Retrained as a teacher when he was 2 1/2 - he was in nursery full time as I have no family close by and all my friends work. Even with WFTC I was better off on income support that year but it was well worth it....now I am head of department and we get to spend all our holidays together! Money will always be tight with one income - I allow myself £5 spending money a week in term time. I get child benefit and £10 for tax credit. We manage........boot sales, ebay, Aldi for food. I don;t smoke or have a wild social life.....any social life really!

So, let's hear it for us single parents that are managing!!! I too am sick of the negative image that single parents get.

krisskross

69liz wrote:

Hooray for some positives about being a single parent. I have been a single mum to my 8 year old boy since he was 15 months old - no maintenance but hey ho, no contact either - have to take the bad with the good. Before he was born I had a good full time job but gave that up to look after him. So I had income support for a while. Retrained as a teacher when he was 2 1/2 - he was in nursery full time as I have no family close by and all my friends work. Even with WFTC I was better off on income support that year but it was well worth it....now I am head of department and we get to spend all our holidays together! Money will always be tight with one income - I allow myself £5 spending money a week in term time. I get child benefit and £10 for tax credit. We manage........boot sales, ebay, Aldi for food. I don;t smoke or have a wild social life.....any social life really!

So, let's hear it for us single parents that are managing!!! I too am sick of the negative image that single parents get.

I agree wholeheartedly that lone parents have a tough job, often thrust upon them rather than by their own choice. I envy them not one jot.

However the OP was suggesting that benefit levels to lone parents were such that no life was possible. I think that during the occasionally acrimonious course of this thread that this has been disproved.

black-saturn

Becles wrote:

I have wondered how they have been found too. Sadly due to media attention I find people think this is the norm for all single parents etc.

They're not single parents, but a neighbours sons have never worked and claimed benefits since 16. I don't know what benefits they get, but their mother is always bragging about the latest things they have been buying. They are currently on away their second long haul holiday this year. I know it's none of my business, but I'd love to know how they do it!

They do it by saving. I might be on an income of around £600 a month but I've still managed to save up for 2 years to take my whole family to Egypt for a week. Took me ages though :rolleyes:

black-saturn

krisskross wrote:

However the OP was suggesting that benefit levels to lone parents were such that no life was possible. I think that during the occasionally acrimonious course of this thread that this has been disproved.

It depends on what your lifestyle choices are. If you want to run an expensive car, shop in designer shops, eat food from M&S and eat out, smoke 40 a day, drink alcohol every night and go out socialising several times a month you won't be able to afford it. But if your willing to have a cheap car (or no car as my case is), shop for clothes on ebay and charity shops, eat food from Lidl's and hardly ever eat out (only on your birthday when someone else is paying), don't smoke, don't drink (last alcoholic drink I had was xmas) and never go out socialising you will have enough money to do that. I used to run the local Gingerbread group and there were about 30 lone parents there working and non working and not once did I find that the ones on benefit had a disposable income of £500 a month and neither did they fritter their money away either.