when you reach breaking point

Rummer

I worked my whole way through uni both in the holidays and during term time and it was certainly character building. It gave me excellent time management skills and made me realise how important an education was to me.

ScarletRaven

Certainly feeling this right now. I actually sat down last night to work out some figures as I know things are about to get even more dire for our household.

I lost my job in Feb, have been on JSA since then and still having no luck in landing a job. Not entitled to any housing benefit, and council tax benefit is so minimal it's laughable (about £1.50). My partner is working, but his contract is only 30 hours a week and there is hardly ever any overtime as the company doesn't want to pay it. He's on a very low wage, but can't claim working tax credits as he is only 23.

I sat and worked out that come next month the little bit of savings we did have to help tie us over will have finally run out after our next rent payment. From then, we will have enough income monthly between us to cover the rent, all bills, council tax, and child maintentance (partner has a young son and pays £60 a month maintenance to his mother). It's great knowing all that will be covered on such a low income. However, there is one small problem. That leaves us with just £50 a month to get food/household bits - for two adults and my partner's 2 year old son who is with us 3 days a week.

Scary times ahead for us; I'm not sure how we're going to manage on such a small monthly shopping budget, but I'm gonna try my darn best! Not been hanging around the OS board all this time to learn nothing after all It's going to be challenging, but I'm sure we'll find a way.

Rainy-Days

ScarletRaven - go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau and ask them how to get on one of those food bank lists. There should be one in your area and I think you will qualify for receiving free food. It won't be vast amounts but sure enough it will be just enough to get you by.

To be honest I just don't know how you are going to be able to live on £50.00 a month for a food shop for three of you!

sleepless_saver

Rainy-Days wrote: »

ScarletRaven - go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau and ask them how to get on one of those food bank lists. There should be one in your area and I think you will qualify for receiving free food. It won't be vast amounts but sure enough it will be just enough to get you by.

To be honest I just don't know how you are going to be able to live on £50.00 a month for a food shop for three of you!

Hope this helps. http://www.trusselltrust.org/how-it-works

mrsrwallace

It is unbelievably tight-going for the majority of folk at the moment and I can totally agree with a lot of things posted here. I for one have cut back on the amount of meat purchased too as it is so expensive and have resorted to buying the most disgusting processed "sausages" to try and make it feel as if I am at least tasting some meat! Fresh fruit and veg is really expensive so I try and get the reduced stuff in shops but even then it still adds up. My parents have been arriving here each week with bags of shopping to feed my teenagers - this is ridiculous! They should be keeping that money for their retirement yet they are basicaly ensuring my children are fed. I am so grateful for their help but they should not have to provide for us as they have already raised me and my siblings and now they are basically raising their grandkids too!

prepareathome

Cooltrickerchick thank you for starting this thread its nice to have a place where you can just vent not just discuss managing this or that, just stating how bad it is can help so much.

I think a big problem here is there are no official figures bandied about as to how many families are at starvation level with next to no money for food and people here unlike Greece and other countries( mainly 3rd world - I hate that name as most of those countries have plenty of billionaires) you don't get people selling their belongings at markets or street corners or even yard sales like the states, instead they sell on ebay and similar on-line places. So no one really realises that in some ways some people in Britian live a similar life to third world people. This is why food banks are booming because those people have in some cases even less money coming in that someone in a third world country.

To many people today say but the UK is doing ok plenty worse off in third world countries but its not true any more. Its just it doesn't get on the news as no-one wants to go on camera and say yes we are starving I have sold off everything we can to buy food. The British stiff upper lip is still stiff and where as people will come to forums like this and offload they will not embarrass themselves by doing so in public so all the suffering is hidden.

We even have the extra burden of having to stay warm in winter which most third world countries don't have to bother about so any money they have can at least go on food and not used for heat. If everyone who is really struggling stood up to be counted I think many, government included would be surprised. We are so used to 'carrying on' and not making a fuss and that is one of the reasons our government is getting away with all the cuts as yes partly they don't care but also I do not think they really, really believe people are struggling and starving as for all the food banks cropping up the government can say to themselves its bad money management by that family no that they don't actually have enough income. I am not trying to excuse our government just cannot get this out in the correct way.

I don't mean people should be rioting in the streets am not sure how we can get it across how bad things are. Maybe as time passes and shops are taking in less and less, it will be realised although at first it will, I am sure be thought that people are holding on to their money rather than they don't have any to spend.

rising_from_the_ashes

Popperwell wrote: »

I'm buying now to try and survive when income gets worse or prices rise.

Thank you ..... you've just helped me make a decision!:D

I have a £10 off 10kg bag of cat food which needs to be used by the end of the month. It's around a 20% saving on the cost of it which is pretty good but they've only just started the current bag (lasts 5 months) so I'd been having a debate about whether I should buy it or not.

Think I will now - yes, I may get another voucher but at the same time, I have the money spare in their budget just now & the prices may well go up by the time I need it and it will mean that I'll not need to worry about their food until around May next year

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

I am really glad i am not on my own, worrying about when that financial breaking point is/comes...

It can be scarey being on your own & worrying about money (I can get a bit obsessed with it:o) but thanks to MSE at least there's others to talk to :T

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

We have a coal central heating fire in the living room, and over the last few years, we have been burning more and more wood, to try and save money... It looks like coal prices will go up again this winter, so we will be buying less coal, and burning more wood..

Have you tried making paper bricks?

They don't last as long as wood but it can help - and if you can source your paper free then it's worthwhile. If you don't read papers yourself, try asking colleagues, neighbours etc - after all, they'll only end up (hopefully) in the recycling bin!

You can get a brickette maker something like this
http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/251127010458?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla (not checked the cheapest price just wanted a pic) and basically soak the paper and then pack in and leave to dry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR4Wpe7DtvY

They can take a while to dry out (have seen me leaving a couple on the hearth during winter when I've run out) but ideal time of year to give it a try. HTH

Spirit_2

mrsrwallace wrote: »

It is unbelievably tight-going for the majority of folk at the moment and I can totally agree with a lot of things posted here. I for one have cut back on the amount of meat purchased too as it is so expensive and have resorted to buying the most disgusting processed "sausages" to try and make it feel as if I am at least tasting some meat! Fresh fruit and veg is really expensive so I try and get the reduced stuff in shops but even then it still adds up. My parents have been arriving here each week with bags of shopping to feed my teenagers - this is ridiculous! They should be keeping that money for their retirement yet they are basicaly ensuring my children are fed. I am so grateful for their help but they should not have to provide for us as they have already raised me and my siblings and now they are basically raising their grandkids too!

That is quite hard on yourself. If up until recently you have not needed help, but at this time you do, then your parents are probably glad to help you now times are hard.

In years to come, when life is easier for you , if one of your children need shopping and you were able, you would want to help them too.

bluebag

Travel is a big cost for us, I really don't know how you get around that. You can't subsitute anything for petrol and don't get me started on public transport costs. Since deregulation it's gone into orbit!

I suppose there will be a full stop point where it isn't economic to work anymore for a lot of people. It's kinda getting near there now. Working people have insufficient income to live decently.

That day will be a world of hurt.

rising_from_the_ashes

bluebag wrote: »

You can't subsitute anything for petrol and don't get me started on public transport costs. Since deregulation it's gone into orbit!

Around here they're always trying to encourage people to use public transport ..... it costs me £2 in fuel to get to work & back - the same on the bus would be £7.80!:eek:

It's 7 miles and £3.90 each way but from the next town down (which is a journey of 15 miles), it's only 20p more ...... and if you live a few miles up the road, and fall within the "city" routes - you can go all the way to town (around 20 miles) for £1.30 ...... talk about penalising rural communities!:mad: