Income Support and the running of a car

Skint89_2

I have previously, and recently had to go back onto claiming Income Support. My question is though....how do you afford the running of a car on this? I know a few people who claim this, nothing more, but feel it would be rude to ask. Can anyone enlighten me as I don't see how this is possible! Thanks

Marisco

How much is income support per week? You'd also need to find out how much their tax and insurance was (I haven't included maintenance as they could be getting a mechanic mate to do that) Also do they drink, smoke, go out a lot etc? There are so many variables it's difficult to give an answer. Also they might be getting income from somewhere else that you don't know about.

FBaby

If they are on income support for having young kids, they could be getting much child maintenance from the father to top it up. They might also be getting DLA for themselves/kids.

allen35

Income Support is only paid to single parents with young children and used to top up other benefits in premiums for disability or caring.

Everyones entitlement to benefits is so different.

For example a single parent with 4 children would be receiving a minimum of £1700 pcm as well as their rent and council tax being paid.

If one of the children or parent has a disability this could rise to well over £2000 pcm on top of rent and CTAX.

This is without any maintenance the absent parent pays which is disregarded.

chrisbythesea

There is a benefit breeder family who live near me and they have a £20k people carrier. The more you breed the more welfare you get. Crazy world.

sammyjammy

Someones ability to run a car isn't based on whether they receive any type of benefits at all. I earn a good wage but running a car is not a priority for me, other things come before that so as much as I would like to I can't afford to run and maintain a car at present.

pinkypoopydoo

I was on income support after my husband left, and the simple answer is, it is impossible. I kept a car, but never ran it - it was taxed, MOT'd and insured (thanks to my parents) and was used once a fortnight, to keep it running, but, for the majority of the time, it sat mocking me from the drive. I kept minimal petrol in it (I was spending maybe £10 every 6-8 weeks)

If I lived in a less rural area, with better transport, I'd have sold it, but the thought of being stuck in the sticks, with no transport in case of an emergency was terrifying.

WantToBeSE

Skint89 wrote: »

I have previously, and recently had to go back onto claiming Income Support. My question is though....how do you afford the running of a car on this? I know a few people who claim this, nothing more, but feel it would be rude to ask. Can anyone enlighten me as I don't see how this is possible! Thanks

When i was on income support, i managed to run a car (i had to, i lived very rurally). I had no maintenance, DLA or other income.

The most crucial thing for me was having no debt at all. I could not have afforded it if i had debt.

Apart from that, i gave myself a £10 petrol allowance per week, which did 1 (maybe 2) trip into town, and i'd get everything i needed for the week, in that 1 trip.

I budgeted for everything weekly (tax, insurance, MOT, plus a bit extra for maintenance and/or repairs), so that i always had enough money to cover everything.

I only had a 1.1, so it wasn't too expensive to run/insure.

I only ever used the car when i really needed it (normally only that 1 trip into town).

I asked for my family to pay for car related things as presents for Christmas. For example, my Dad paid for my yearly tax (as a late Christmas present) and my mum paid for my yearly MOT (as an early Birthday present).

~Chameleon~

How long is a piece of string? A small family sized car could easily be maintained for approx £1K per annum, to include fuel, MOT, insurance and basic maintenance costs. A family's travel costs on public transport could easily cost far than more £20 per week and the degree of flexibility and freedom is far less.

pmlindyloo

Skint89 wrote: »

I have previously, and recently had to go back onto claiming Income Support. My question is though....how do you afford the running of a car on this? I know a few people who claim this, nothing more, but feel it would be rude to ask. Can anyone enlighten me as I don't see how this is possible! Thanks

As already said it is not about how much Income Support is - it is about the circumstances for which it is awarded.

income Support is a means tested benefit so any other income/savings would be taken into account.

It is also a benefit which gives you automatic entitlement to HB and CT support and health benefits.

I do not know these people that you talk about but if they are single parents claiming Income Support then they would be receiving HB(or housing costs), CT support, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credits plus any Child Support from the father.

The sad thing is that when you ask people what benefits they are receiving they are not always truthful. 'Just' Income Support, is unlikely to be correct.

Also many people do not consider Child Tax Credits and Child Benefit as benefits but they are.

Have a play around with the benefit calculators and you will see that the amount of benefits that single parents (in particular) get. I think you will be surprised.

GwylimT

It depends on your situation, when I was on it as a single parent of one I was lucky I was able to take a 12 month break on my mortgage which freed up a lot of money each month so I could afford to still do the food shopping, go into town when needed etc. I also had zero debt and while I wouldn't consider myself tight, I don't splurge either so I did have a small amount of savings to fall back on for a rainy day.