Living on £53 a week?

Rosemary7391

paulineb wrote: »

Its a very easy argument to say that there are jobs out there for people who want them. And that people who are studying live on less money and get by, yes Im sure some people do, but Im also sure some people who are here studying get assistance from families. Also, when I did my last degree, I worked full time around that degree. I worked nightshifts, 8pm at night until 8am in the morning and some days I went straight off a nightshift to uni. I managed, you have to. And I passed my degree with no resits. I dont think you can do a straight comparison with people who are at uni and people who are on benefits. Lots of people who are at uni work part time.

Lots don't! I worked during the holidays for the first three years; during term time there simply isn't time. Especially in final year - I haven't worked any 'holiday' this year.

Musical Instrument Insurance: £47/year
Contents Insurance: £52/year
Gas/Electric: £24/Month
Water: £9/Month
Landline/Broadband: £10/Month
Mobile: £32/Month (Dropping to £11/month once I've paid for the phone!)
Food/Entertainment: £30/Week

I walk everywhere except obviously getting the train to visit my family. If I was that skint, they'd come and see me instead! That all comes to a little under £50 a week. I'll have another fiver a week free once I've paid for my phone, but those are my actual living costs. I'm in a house share, so my monthly bills are all split between 3 which helps. I guess that's why older folk get more, as they're less likely to be in a houseshare.

It is possible, but I can see it'd be tricky having got used to having more. Things like phone contracts can't just be cancelled. And I've chosen to live within walking distance of everything I need to get to, which helps. That's something else you can't change easily. It's liveable if you plan to live like that!

turtlemoose

To the OP - try your council to see if you can get money for using cloth nappies.

My council, for example, will give you £30 to spend on cloth nappies - if you go for plain ones then that would be enough to get you started, then with the money you save each week on disposables you could save that and build your stash bit by bit.

chirpychick

turtlemoose wrote: »

To the OP - try your council to see if you can get money for using cloth nappies.

My council, for example, will give you £30 to spend on cloth nappies - if you go for plain ones then that would be enough to get you started, then with the money you save each week on disposables you could save that and build your stash bit by bit.

Thanks, I did try the council but they aren't doing any schemes at the moment.

adindas

paulineb wrote: »

Its a very easy argument to say that there are jobs out there for people who want them. And that people who are studying live on less money and get by, yes Im sure some people do, but Im also sure some people who are here studying get assistance from families.

I agree some are but some do not, Here I am referring to those who can not get support from their family. Students who get scholarships from their governments and come from least developed countries will most likely do not get support from family. In the opposite I have heard a lot of stories that they need to send money back home to support their close relatives, families. This why you see there are a lot of western union making a lot of money from these people who send quick cash back home.

paulineb wrote: »

Also, when I did my last degree, I worked full time around that degree. I worked nightshifts, 8pm at night until 8am in the morning and some days I went straight off a nightshift to uni. I managed, you have to. And I passed my degree with no resits. I dont think you can do a straight comparison with people who are at uni and people who are on benefits. Lots of people who are at uni work part time.

I fully agree. While a lot of them some are not. This is especially true if they are studying in the subjects where they need to stay for long hours at the uni because of Laboratory works, writing a lot of reports. Take for instance students who are studying medicine, dentistry. It is only students who are not serious, students who do not want to work hard and choose to study a Micky mouse degrees because it is an easy subject will have a lot of spare time for partying and to get drunk.

If we are referring to students from least developed countries studying full time here I agree many of them are working part time. But do not forget they also send money back home. So they net effect of their living expense could be less than £53 a week.

As many international students are working, this is also to support the argument that it is not true to say there are not enough jobs. If this was true how come so many EU nationals, foreign students are working here on menial jobs. Are they better than UK workforces ? Keep in mind that UK workforces already gain several advantages due to native to this country. This could be transformed into superiority to language, territory and possible assistance from relatives, families, etc.

The question is only "do you want to work on minimum wage doing menial jobs if the other alternatives e.g. not working and earn almost the same amount ?? It does not take a genius to make this decision.

I fully agree some are genuinely want to work but there are not any job offer. But how many, we do not know ?? One way of knowing this is to remove incentive of not working in comparison to being in employment. For instance making the dole pay "significantly "less than those who are in employment doing a menial job on minimum wage.

steelframedhouse

After being in a massive amount of debt many years ago I learned to live on very little whilst paying it back. I now save, save, save and am still very frugal but when my place of work was going through redundancies I worked out an 'emergency' budget - I think at the time JSA was £65 so that's what I worked to. I am single so nobody to help shoulder the expenses of utilities etc

My budget included an allowance for pets which worked out to £59 a month or £13.61 a week which is obviously a large chunk of the potential weekly £65 but was non-negotiable - that even included saving each month towards their annual boosters which I guess I could have knocked on the head and hoped to be in work by the time the vaccination boosters came up. I kept internet but via dongle and kept my mobile which includes free texts/calls.

Whilst it wouldn't have been fun it seems it is do-able as long as you have no debts and SORN the car so there are no travel related expenses and start walking/cycling everywhere.

The items in bold are the expenditures which would have remained.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Emergency monthly expenditure plan[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Rent 520>>>>>[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Housing benefit[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]House Ins 13 [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Council Tax 92>>>>> Council tax benefit [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Gas/Elec 50 [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Water 14 [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]BT 13>>>>> Cancel [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Mobile 10[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Dongle 15 (instead of BT & Sky broadband) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Sky 23>>>>>[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Cancel[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Car Ins 30>>>>> [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]SORN [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Car Tax/MOT 22>>>>> [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]SORN [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Car Maintainence 20>>>>> SORN [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Pet vaccination Boosters 5 (£60 per year) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Petrol 60>>>>> SORN [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Food 115 [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Clean/toil 20>>>>>> Nil [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Prescription pre-payment card 9 (£104 per year)>>>>>>> Free on Benefits [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Hair 7 (£21 every 3 months) [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]TV License 13>>>>> Cancel [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Spending money 30>>>>>>[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Nil[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Pet Insurance 14[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Lotto syndicate 5>>>>>>[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] Cancel[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Greenthumb gardening 5>>>>>> [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Cancel[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Charity 4>>>>>> [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Cancel[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Gym 19.95>>>>[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Cancel[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Cat [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]food, litter, flea 40 [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]

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[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] 283 per month[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]

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[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]£65.45 x 52 / 12 months = 283.61 [/FONT]

pigpen

Where is the figure £53 a week from? we get £58 for just the 2 of us!!! Money for the children aside.

Out of that I pay everything apart from a percentage of the council tax and 5 of the children get free school meals.. We get by, no one is starved or naked so I don't feel I want or need more. My older ones at college get nothing.

emweaver

skintchick wrote: »

I always wonder this too. I assume housing costs are paid but not bills.

Yes that is correct his comment was to a father of 2 who had £53 a week left after rent etc. So the £53 is to include all living expenses after rent and council tax such as elec, gas, water, tv licence, travel costs, food and clothing for the children.

chirpychick

pigpen wrote: »

Where is the figure £53 a week from? we get £58 for just the 2 of us!!! Money for the children aside.

Out of that I pay everything apart from a percentage of the council tax and 5 of the children get free school meals.. We get by, no one is starved or naked so I don't feel I want or need more. My older ones at college get nothing.

£53 is what IDS said was easy to live off. This is what a man said he had left each week after rent/council tax.

I admire you for living off that!

amcg100

I endured 4 years of unemployment during the thatcher years, and lived as a single person on unemployment benefit. During this period my water was disconnected because I could not pay the water rates, and I would have electricity/ gas for only part of the fortnight. Not only did I not have a car, I never used a bus - just walked /ran everywhere. I smoked at the time, and collected cigarette ends from pubs and cafes to take the tobacco out of them and fill my tobacco tin. There was central heating in my council house, but it was never on. During cold weather I slept in many layers of clothes. Occasionally I lit a small fire in the back garden to cook if the gas and electricity had run out. I even cooked on an upturned electric barred fire because I had a little electricity but no gas. There were numerous court appearances for non payment of poll tax, water rate, and many other debts. Although I had an old tv, I did not have a license and had to hide behind thick curtains ( which were actually old blankets ) if I wanted to watch TV. I walked six miles to the nearest farm to buy potatoes in a 56lb bag and walked home with them on my shoulder. Cheap meat such as liver and kidney and making sure not a morsel of food was wasted - using old clothing as cloths/ towels - swapping a potato for half a tin of beans - circuit training for entertainment ( no gym required, just used the local footpaths/ bridges etc )- getting on my bike to look for a job ( except I had sold my bike ) - dealing mentally with social exclusion - being forced to commit criminal offences ( by working illegally) in order to buy food - etc etc etc.

It amazes me even today the depths of poverty I was forced in to to back then, but 'every adversity carries the seed of a far greater benefit' ( William Clement Stone ) and the benefit to me of this experience is that i became a survivor. During my visit to abstract poverty I learned how to cook from very basic ingredients and without gas/ electricity - learned how to keep myself warm and entertained - learned how to defend myself in court and fend of creditors - learned how to reconnect a water supply without anyone knowing - learned how to deal with social injustice, and many other lessons.

So, to come back to the original question - could I live on £53/ £71 per week - of course I could. I have done it before and I could do it again.

Many things such as central heating are considered a necessity by benefit claimants, but they are not - there was one recent post where the poster did not want to switch off the central heating in his bathroom - unbelievable, 24 hour heating in a room so that you don't feel a little cold when you go for a pee!!

£71 is adequate to live on , it wont be pleasant, but you can survive easily. £53 will be very tough indeed, but it is certainly achievable.

hunters

pigpen wrote: »

Where is the figure £53 a week from? we get £58 for just the 2 of us!!! Money for the children aside.

Out of that I pay everything apart from a percentage of the council tax and 5 of the children get free school meals.. We get by, no one is starved or naked so I don't feel I want or need more. My older ones at college get nothing.

I don't understand how you can say money for the children aside when you surely have to add the total amount of money coming into the house unless you shop and eat separately from the
kids?