Living on £53 a week?

Pollycat

podperson wrote: »

Have just read the article and the man who's challenging him to do it lives on £53 a week after rent AND BILLS! That's more than I have left a week after paying them and I work full time :rotfl:

And I think (quite rightly) that is what the Govt is trying to address - people who work full time ending up worse off financially than someone who is on work-related benefits.

I'm not sure that some of the things they've come up with will work/have been well-thought through but at least they are doing something to address the unfair situation.

aloise

They don't actually live on £53 a week though do they?
They have housing and council tax paid so that money is mainly for food and clothes and energy bills.
Not much left i grant you but more than some low paid working people.

geoffky

aloise wrote: »

They don't actually live on £53 a week though do they?
They have housing and council tax paid so that money is mainly for food and clothes and energy bills.
Not much left i grant you but more than some low paid working people.

90% of new housing benefit claimants are working people..
86% of low paid working people also live on benefits such as tax credits..:cool:
And Working people get some of their council tax paid for if they claim.......People earning over 40k still claim benefits...:cool:

amcg100

They say they have good memories. But it was so hard. Like looking in on a world I could not be part of.

That was my experience as well - social exclusion.

rafhelp

its easy to say, sometimes you say things under heat but later regret. But it is worrying if an MP says this. it would be equivalent to someone on JSA walking down town past some homeless beggers saying, "oh get out of here I could live in a box if I had to'.

They should be taxing the rich not the poor. Increase the minimum wages, people have more money, they spend more money, more consumer spending means more demands on businesses which leads to them taking on more staff, which lowers unemployment, which means more people have money to spend which means people are spending more, etc... if you start taxing the poor they gonna spend less, businesses will start to go bust as no ones buying, they will start sacking people to compensate and thus lead to more unemployment. any one agree?

vroombroom

princesstippytoes wrote: »

How long has your OH been out of work? If you knew the state wouldn't provide for your family while neither of you worked would you be pregnant with another child? I can't remember if this is your 10th or 11th.

lol, notice this hasn't been answered! x

GW78

I was on income support in the 90's. I was in year 13 (second year of 6th form) aged 17/18. I received £37.90 per week and had free school meals. I didn't have to pay council tax and most of my housing association rent was paid for.
I paid £4 pw for my bedsit (which I think included water).
I had to use a prepay electric meter (they don't give you a choice), so it was quite expensive but can't remember how much per week. I don't think you should have to pay more for energy if you pay in advance. I could quite easily rant on about this but I wont!
I didn't have gas and didn't use heaters.
I had a TV licence (some people may think that's mad but that was my only entertainment and if I have a TV, I should have a licence). I had an old black and white TV so it was cheaper anyway.
I didn't have any insurance as I really didn't own much and nothing of value. All of my belongings were second hand, mostly gifts from friends or teachers. The bed/fridge/cooker came from furniture recycling.
I did laundry in the sink or saved up for the laundrette but I didn't really have enough clothes for a full load even if I'd worn them all!
I bought fruit and veg from the grocer or market, didn't eat much fish or chicken (no other meat) and used the Co-op for most other stuff as it was within walking distance. I didn't drink or smoke.
Non food items came from the market or cheap shop and were basic. I did nick the remains of a pink loo roll from school a few times when I was desperate and sometimes (sorry for tmi) had to use loo roll for sanitary wear
I didn't have a freezer so I couldn't buy cheap and freeze or make in bulk either which was a pain. Before I managed to get a cooker I only had a twin electric ring hob to cook everything on which is quite limiting.
I walked to school and everywhere else unless a friend gave me a lift. On the odd occasion I had to go to the next town I'd get the bus.
When you haven't got any money, you don't really need to go anywhere because you haven't got any money when you get there!
To keep warm and have something to do I'd go to school early and leave late or spend time in the library or wander round shops. I didn't live in a nice area so had to be in before dark and then I'd study, read or watch TV.
I managed ok though and was extremely grateful for the opportunity to finish school. It can be done!

monkeychops

After working for 40 years full time continuously I wasforced to give up work last year because of illhealth. My OH lost his job in August last year, againafter 40 years of continuous work .
ThinkingOH would find another job without too much trouble we managed until thebeginning of January using our meagre savings. Then we had no choice but to claim JSA. We also now get housing and council taxbenefit.
We had to wait 7 weeks to receive any money for JSA and 9weeks before we got any housing benefit. In this time we had to borrow money off family.

We get £111 a week JSA, £120 a week housing and£20 a week council tax. This soundsquite a lot but the housing benefit and council tax benefit do not cover ourrent and council tax. We live in a small2 bed house which costs £650 a month. Inthe 9 years we have lived here our rent has not gone up so now is cheap in comparison to similar houseswhere the rent ranges from about £800 to £1,000 a month. Our local council rate for a 1 bed propertywhich is what they say we should have as there is only the two of us is £120 aweek. The trouble is there is nothing inmy area or anywhere within miles that cheap. Even a studio flat is £140 a week. It seems ridiculous to set the rate lowerthan actual rents. If OH does not manageto find work we will have no choice but to move to a cheaper property but itwon’t be easy to find one and a lot of landlords will not take tenants onhousing benefit (believe me I have made tons of phone calls asking).

So ignoring the council tax we get about £1,000a month. £660 goes on rent leaving £340. Our gas and electric is £120 a month. We have prepayment meters and our landlordwon’t let us change them. We have theheating on for 1 hour in the morning and about 2 hours in the evening. We have it fairly low and sit with blanketsround us in the evening. We use aslittle electric as possible. We onlyhave 1 lamp on in the living room in the evening, only use the washing machineabout 2 maybe 3 times a week, never use the dishwasher anymore, don’t leaveanything on standby, use the microwave or slow cooking to save having the ovenon for ages. Also we try and go out forwalks during the day partly to save on electric (no tv on orcomputer) and partly because it has been so cold indoors.

Our water rates – we have a meter and we use as little aspossible, used to shower every day now only every other day, only do washing upwhen we have a lot (usually once a day) – are £48 a month. We pay 2 differentcompanies, one for water and one for sewerage. There is no way we can cut this down.
If my maths are right that leaves £172 a monthout of which we have to pay contents insurance of £10, life insurance of £55for both of us, OH’s mobile of £10 (I have given up my mobile but we feel OHmay need his to help with finding work and as we have given up our landlinebecause of the cost we need a phone), broadband of £10 (we may have to givethis up but again need it to help with finding work. If we were to go to nearest library to use itthe return bus fare for one of us is £4), tv licence£12 (will probably have no choice but to give this up but considering it is ouronly entertainment are reluctant to do so), £16 a month for both of us to getthe bus into town to sign on. It’s quitea distance and I am not able to walk it because of my health. OH could walk but I suffer badly from panicattacks and prefer him to be with me. Itwould be cheaper to drive but although we have a car the tax and insurance haverun out and we cannot afford to renew them . It’s not worth selling the car as it is old and tatty and,again, OH will probably need it if he finds a job.

We spend very very little on food. Luckily we have always been frugal when itcomes to food and we both love cooking and cook literally everything fromscratch. We are having to eat somevery cheap and boring things and quiteoften feel hungry.
Neither of us have ever spent much on clothes, buying at markets, charity shops etc and keeping clothes for years. We haven't bought any clothes since about June last year. OH though now only has one pair of shoes which let in water.
We buy the absolute cheapest shampoo, washing up liquid, soap etc. Our washing machine is on it's last legs (it was secondhand when we got it 7 years ago) and there is no way we can afford to replace it.
I think that after both of us working full time with no break for 40 years and paying tax and national insurance it is unfair to not get enough to keep warm or have enough to eat. We will be better off when we get our pension but, of course the age has been raised so instead of getting mine next year I have to wait until 2018 and my husband until 2021.
People say that on JSA and housing benefit you get as much if not more than someone on minimum wage but everyone I know who earns minimum wage also gets some housing benefit and working tax credit or family tax credit. We are not entitled to anything else.
I have suffered from depression for years and now feel like ending it all. OH has applied for tons of jobs but the fact that there is little work and he is late 50's do not help.

chirpychick

monkeychops wouldn't you be better off getting rid of your life insurance? My husband has just had to do this.

RAS

monkeychops wrote: »

Our gas and electric is £120 a month. We have prepayment meters and our landlordwon’t let us change them.

This is actually illegal; tenants are allowed to choose their own supplier and method of payment.