How to live on 65 per week?

grumpyoldwoman41

It is all so new and confusing to me to be honest.

I have no savings, no partner but I did work for years and paid a lot in Tax and NI contributions, very humilating to have to now justify to get the mere £65 weekly handout.

Just hope to find another job very very soon.

Kimitatsu

grumpyoldwoman41 wrote: »

Not sure what THAT was about?

*********************

Thanks everyone for posting, very much appreciated.

My daughter does live off her student loan, I do not suppoert her financially and we have separate "budgets" which will of course needs to be looked into.

I do have PDSA and another charity vet in reasonable distance.

What makes me laugh is that my JSA is "contributions based" - to me , if it is contribution based, based on my working history and my real contributions - it should be much higher.

I do not understand why the 2 types only differ by name but not by amount, not very logical.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Gas £ 65.00
Electric £ 40.00
TV License £ 12.00
Water £ 27.00
SKY £ 60.00
BT £ 32.00
Mobile £ 35.00
Pet Insurance £ 65.00
Internet £ 12.18
Pet Food £ 100.00
£ 448.18

If you are in receipt of a means tested income (Housing benefit in many cases) then the PDSA will treat your pets for free. They ask for a small donation but in the main many PDSA vets are full time veterinary practices and so you recieve exactly the same treatment as you would if you were paying.

My vets is a PDSA vet and although I dont qualify I know that they get just the same treatment.

Sky and BT ring them and plead poverty - they WILL downgrade you from the moment you call them. Its not in their interests for you to default, and this may only be a temporary blip. Gas and electricity - have you checked Uswitch to see who is the cheapest in your area? If you are currently on the cheapest, then look at switching to a capped rate tarriff when you can (summer is usually the best time).

Ditch the pet insurance, if you can access the PDSA you wont need it.

Your pet food bill seems very high, I have 7 dogs, numerous cats, chickens, ducks and fish and my bill for all of them comes in at less than that. I go to a feed merchant and buy in bulk, they do their own versions of sensitive feeds and come in massively cheaper than the branded stuff. As an example, gluten free dog food is £15 for 20kilos as opposed to nearly £50 in the stores. If you cannot get to a feed merchant pets at home does an excellent own brand range of pet food, I feed my cats on their range and they all love it.

Can you downgrade your mobile to a cheaper tarriff? Dependant on the time you have had it, after 9 months I think it is you can go down a step on your contract, depending on who your provider is you can get down to about £10 a month for a contract.

Does your daughter chip in for the sky, phone and internet? If you could get them down to the minimum then if she contributed 50% then that would take it down even further.

Finally are you on a water meter or on rates? I have a water meter and I have been suprised how cheap it has been for a family of 4, if there are only two of you, you can probably cut it down further still.

If your daughter is living at home still, due to your change in circumstances then she will be able to access the hardship fund at uni to help with paying for books, transport etc. Your daughter also needs to get a job and help with the household costs, you have supported her all this time, she can now help you out a little.

Most of all, chin up, it wont last forever

Gleeful

This is why people should save money for a rainy day!

At £43k a year, a single person could have saved 20k of that. But they didn't, they got into debt.

It's probably not constructive for me to post, given the OP's predicament, but it has certainly opened my eyes, so thanks OP. I shall be saving even more money than I do now, so this never happens to me.

HappyMJ

Gleeful wrote: »

This is why people should save money for a rainy day!

At £43k a year, a single person could have saved 20k of that. But they didn't, they got into debt.

It's probably not constructive for me to post, given the OP's predicament, but it has certainly opened my eyes, so thanks OP. I shall be saving even more money than I do now, so this never happens to me.

Or someone on £43k should at least have some access to credit. I can't live on £65 per week it's near enough impossible but I can live on £100 per week which means I needed to borrow £35 per week on the credit card then use my cash management skills to make sure the minimum repayments are made on time.

JSA money is just barely enough to exist. There is zero allowance for debts, pets or any fun whatsoever.

OP, why do you pay for internet when it's free with Sky (or only £7.50 for unlimited)

The £165 per month you spend on pets must come from a different budget pot such as a credit card. The £65 you get is just for you only.

xnatalie81x

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2898936

Might help xxxxxx

xnatalie81x

Kimitatsu wrote: »

Gas £ 65.00


If you are in receipt of a means tested income (Housing benefit in many cases) then the PDSA will treat your pets for free. They ask for a small donation but in the main many PDSA vets are full time veterinary practices and so you recieve exactly the same treatment as you would if you were paying.

My vets is a PDSA vet and although I dont qualify I know that they get just the same treatment.

Sky and BT ring them and plead poverty - they WILL downgrade you from the moment you call them. Its not in their interests for you to default, and this may only be a temporary blip. Gas and electricity - have you checked Uswitch to see who is the cheapest in your area? If you are currently on the cheapest, then look at switching to a capped rate tarriff when you can (summer is usually the best time).

Ditch the pet insurance, if you can access the PDSA you wont need it.



Most of all, chin up, it wont last forever

Pet insurance is more than just insurance for illness!!!!!! It covers third party liability if your dog is involved in an accident etc. If your dog runs into the road and causes a car accident, or god forbid hurts someone..... I see it as essential for a pet owner. But check all deals and go through quidco/topcashback??

Have put link to challenge above where i mention the zooplus code for £6 off - i managed to get dog food for 99p (only 2kg but my dog is tiny) - you could get some food for kitties - it is £6 for free

valk_scot

It's ridiculous to say you're going to cut your own food to practically nothing while shelling out £100 per month on pet food. You'll get ill if you don't pay attention to your own nutritional needs and then who'll look after the pets? They may not like it but if you're going to eat Value, so should they.

But I still can't work out where the £100 comes in tbh. I've got two big cats that easily total 10kg between them for example and I spend about £5 per week on their food. They eat Once and Whiskas, which are hardly budget brands, plus a few treats of chicken scraps and odd tin of sardines. I could cut these costs down by half overnight if not more and they wouldn't suffer nutritionally. Dogs are less fussy than cats in general so get looking at the shelf edge tickets.

HappyMJ

xnatalie81x wrote: »

Pet insurance is more than just insurance for illness!!!!!! It covers third party liability if your dog is involved in an accident etc. If your dog runs into the road and causes a car accident, or god forbid hurts someone..... I see it as essential for a pet owner. But check all deals and go through quidco/topcashback??

Have put link to challenge above where i mention the zooplus code for £6 off - i managed to get dog food for 99p (only 2kg but my dog is tiny) - you could get some food for kitties - it is £6 for free

It is essential but only the minimum basic dog insurance is required. The insurance on the cats can be cancelled.

grumpyoldwoman41

Xnatalie - thanks

Gleeful, Happy MJ - no need for that. I have posted for advice not criticism and picking on me, have enough problems without strangers having a go at me.

No, I have no access to credit as I have debts - which I have mentioned earlier.

At £43k a year, a single person could have saved 20k of that. But they didn't, they got into debt.

You do not know MY circumstances so do not judge - good luck with saving half of whetever you earn but please get off your high horse with me as you just simply have no idea.

Savvybunny2009

Should you not be on income support rather than jobseekers?