Affording to rent your own place.

rafhelp

Scully38 wrote: »

I'm on JSA own my own home ad am living on moldy bread to survive. As long as your life isn't being threatened I would suggest you stay where you are, housing benefit doesn't pay for your food.

As for housing benefit, I get zero, but looked into it, and you have to have at least two months rent up front and security deposit. LL may ask for 6 months rent in advance if you're on benefits.
Do you know what the costs of living on your own equate to? I would sit down and jot down eveything regarding running a house and then see how much you have left to eat.

My costs are;

Gas £80
Elec £30
Water £15
Phone/Internet to get a job £28
TV License £12
Mobile contract £35
Payment to get to JSA £25

Total = 225
JSA = £260

Left to spend per month £35

So if you have to go for job interviews, pay for food you'll have £8 per week for food.

So if you an afford all of that, go for it. Yeah benefits are great:cool: Plus if you're under 25 you'll get less. Doesn't that make you feel special?

£80 a month gas? what you cooking?
Hmm is it really that high on average. Dont get me wrong its just im use to seeing quarterly figures and i contribute what i can.

so if im 30 and got my own two bedroom house, i wouldnt get housing benefit? so if i paid the rent using my jsa then what would i use to buy my food. Even if i shopped at netto it woulnt be enough.

the feedback here suggests its not a good idea unless youre working. But even then it seems hard. Then the government wonders why there is so much frustration and tension. In reality the average person has to make do with so little but then we are constantly bombarded by people living it up on tv, advertisements, selling lifestyles.

Anyway thanks for the advice.

Yorkie1

You would get LHA (replaced HB) but from January it would only be the amount for a room in a shared house, not the amount for you on your own in a 2-bed house.

Scully38

martindow wrote: »

If you reduced your contract cost you would have almost twice as much to spend on food.

The only way I can reduce my contract is by defaulting, and ruining my credit, I spoke with them and that's what they lowered it to. I just have to ope for 1 week more until contracts are signed, then will be ok. Survived 5 months should cope for 1 week more. Thanks anyway.

rafhelp wrote: »

£80 a month gas? what you cooking?
Hmm is it really that high on average. Dont get me wrong its just im use to seeing quarterly figures and i contribute what i can.

so if im 30 and got my own two bedroom house, i wouldnt get housing benefit? so if i paid the rent using my jsa then what would i use to buy my food. Even if i shopped at netto it woulnt be enough.

the feedback here suggests its not a good idea unless youre working. But even then it seems hard. Then the government wonders why there is so much frustration and tension. In reality the average person has to make do with so little but then we are constantly bombarded by people living it up on tv, advertisements, selling lifestyles.

Anyway thanks for the advice.

The £80 was due to looking after my disabled mom, she was home all day and severely ill, so had to have heating on all the time, that and we had temps of -19 over xmas, but gas company won't reduce for 6 months until they see its gone down, which it is now.

When you get your own place they take it out of our DD, no room for maneuver. You may get shared accom, but everthing else you pay for including rent up front. I buy from poundland, even then it leaves me with nothing.

It is really bad at the moment, but if you're ok where you are at the moment, and can cope, stay where you are for a while until you get a job. Good luck

thegirlintheattic

Remember to check any tenancy - some preclude working from home.

janeybogs

Not getting into the running a flat on JSA (recently rather unfairly lost my self-employed job because I'm pregnant, found myself 20 weeks pregnant, pretty much unemployable and getting £53 a week to pay my bills while also waiting to apply for a 'discretionary' (told yes it is made for these situations but if the money isn't there...) payment for the time between my 13 week lha protection for my 2 bed flat running out and the 7 weeks where I'm entitled to shared room rate before baby's due date and being entitled to a 2 bed again!).

From what I know of it they review each case once a year so if you are awarded the current rate that's what you get for the year and then you'd go to being entitled to a shared room rate.

jamie11

janeybogs wrote: »

(recently rather unfairly lost my self-employed job because I'm pregnant, found myself 20 weeks pregnant,

Unfair? Self-employed?

Sorry I don't see the connection, pregnancy is one of those afflictions that people tend to catch from time to time (mostly girls). Why isn't 'pregnant' Dad helping you out?