How do people survive on UC?

poppy12345

Numberwang_2 said:

JonVarnas said:

kimwp said:

Not a rhetoric question, genuinely how does a single person live on £400 ish a month? I think I could squeeze bills, food and annual expenses down to £400 a month, but that leaves nothing for rent/mortgage!

Is there something I'm missing?

It depends on your lifestyle. Outside of life's two biggest costs, privately renting and running a car, the cost of living is pretty cheap. For example, my expenses are:

• Gas + Electric £50-60 p/m
• Water £15-20 p/m
• Council Tax £18 p/m
• Mobile + Broadband £55 p/m

That's a total of £138-£153 p/m, leaving £164-179 p/m for food and the rest, which personally I don't think isn't bad for a single person. And with food there's no takeaways, I just usually eat stews, casseroles, porridge, i.e. stuff that is cheap and easy. I don't smoke or have Sky TV, rarely drink and get my goods and furniture secondhand from Facebook/Gumtree, etc. Clothes I miainly get in a sale from Matalan or Primark. I live in a Housing Association flat with a lifetime tenancy so I don't have to worry about being evicted. It's a no-frills lifestyle and certainly not everybody's cup of tea, but I've been homeless in the past so as long as I've got a roof over my head, food in my belly and an internet connection I'm content.

Is that council tax correct? I pay £170 month.

Since April 2020 i haven't paid any council tax at all. Before this i was paying about £11 per month. I do claim Income Related ESA with an SDP addition and also PIP both parts.

Numberwang_2

JonVarnas said:

kimwp said:

Not a rhetoric question, genuinely how does a single person live on £400 ish a month? I think I could squeeze bills, food and annual expenses down to £400 a month, but that leaves nothing for rent/mortgage!

Is there something I'm missing?

It depends on your lifestyle. Outside of life's two biggest costs, privately renting and running a car, the cost of living is pretty cheap. For example, my expenses are:

• Gas + Electric £50-60 p/m
• Water £15-20 p/m
• Council Tax £18 p/m
• Mobile + Broadband £55 p/m

That's a total of £138-£153 p/m, leaving £164-179 p/m for food and the rest, which personally I don't think isn't bad for a single person. 

Since April 2020 i haven't paid any council tax at all. Before this i was paying about £11 per month. I do claim Income Related ESA with an SDP addition and also PIP both parts.

But even if I lived the basic lifestyle of JonVarnas with my council tax, I would be left with about £16 a month, which I think even they may struggle to survive on?

JonVarnas

Numberwang_2 said:

JonVarnas said:

kimwp said:

Not a rhetoric question, genuinely how does a single person live on £400 ish a month? I think I could squeeze bills, food and annual expenses down to £400 a month, but that leaves nothing for rent/mortgage!

Is there something I'm missing?

It depends on your lifestyle. Outside of life's two biggest costs, privately renting and running a car, the cost of living is pretty cheap. For example, my expenses are:

• Gas + Electric £50-60 p/m
• Water £15-20 p/m
• Council Tax £18 p/m
• Mobile + Broadband £55 p/m

That's a total of £138-£153 p/m, leaving £164-179 p/m for food and the rest, which personally I don't think isn't bad for a single person. And with food there's no takeaways, I just usually eat stews, casseroles, porridge, i.e. stuff that is cheap and easy. I don't smoke or have Sky TV, rarely drink and get my goods and furniture secondhand from Facebook/Gumtree, etc. Clothes I miainly get in a sale from Matalan or Primark. I live in a Housing Association flat with a lifetime tenancy so I don't have to worry about being evicted. It's a no-frills lifestyle and certainly not everybody's cup of tea, but I've been homeless in the past so as long as I've got a roof over my head, food in my belly and an internet connection I'm content.

Is that council tax correct? I pay £170 month.

On UC I get Council Tax Reduction, which is a discount of 80% of my normal council tax bill. The amount of discount varies by local authortity but I believe it's usually around the 80% mark. Contact your local authority. If you're on Universal Credit, you'll probably be eligible.

poppy12345

Numberwang_2 said:

JonVarnas said:

kimwp said:

Not a rhetoric question, genuinely how does a single person live on £400 ish a month? I think I could squeeze bills, food and annual expenses down to £400 a month, but that leaves nothing for rent/mortgage!

Is there something I'm missing?

It depends on your lifestyle. Outside of life's two biggest costs, privately renting and running a car, the cost of living is pretty cheap. For example, my expenses are:

• Gas + Electric £50-60 p/m
• Water £15-20 p/m
• Council Tax £18 p/m
• Mobile + Broadband £55 p/m

That's a total of £138-£153 p/m, leaving £164-179 p/m for food and the rest, which personally I don't think isn't bad for a single person. 

Since April 2020 i haven't paid any council tax at all. Before this i was paying about £11 per month. I do claim Income Related ESA with an SDP addition and also PIP both parts.

But even if I lived the basic lifestyle of JonVarnas with my council tax, I would be left with about £16 a month, which I think even they may struggle to survive on?

https://www.gov.uk/apply-council-tax-reduction

jimpwarsop

kimwp said:

My council tax is £124, so while otherwise my life and expanses are pretty comparable to yours apart from food and takeaways (currently £200 - which I could cut down to a Lidl over a third from Sainsbury organic and no takeaways), the council tax would take a big chunk of the UC payment (my council doesn't do reductions), barely leaving enough to cover that cut down food bill.

If bolded is true, you have three choices :-

Get  a job

Move

Live very frugally.

kimwp

Cheers everyone, that link doesn't lead to information about council tax reduction for low income/benefits for my council, but some googling turned up a separate webpage which says they do provide it so I've messaged them to say there should be a link.

(It says one might not be eligible if not paying rent, but I'm obviously not going to waste their time to understand if paying a mortgage counts as not paying rent)

MovingForwards

Council tax reduction will apply if you pay CT eg named on the bill.
On a mortgaged home you will get CTR.
Rent is different to mortgage, and other people have already covered that side.

kimwp said:

Cheers everyone, that link doesn't lead to information about council tax reduction for low income/benefits for my council, but some googling turned up a separate webpage which says they do provide it so I've messaged them to say there should be a link.

(It says one might not be eligible if not paying rent, but I'm obviously not going to waste their time to understand if paying a mortgage counts as not paying rent)

pearl123

Live frugally. If you are young enough keep your heating and energy down. Put on layers, wear a hat indoors. Make all of you own food. Google extreme money saving and money saving ideas. 

calcotti

Numberwang_2 said:

JonVarnas said:

kimwp said:

Not a rhetoric question, genuinely how does a single person live on £400 ish a month? I think I could squeeze bills, food and annual expenses down to £400 a month, but that leaves nothing for rent/mortgage!

Is there something I'm missing?

It depends on your lifestyle. Outside of life's two biggest costs, privately renting and running a car, the cost of living is pretty cheap. For example, my expenses are:

• Gas + Electric £50-60 p/m
• Water £15-20 p/m
• Council Tax £18 p/m
• Mobile + Broadband £55 p/m

That's a total of £138-£153 p/m, leaving £164-179 p/m for food and the rest, which personally I don't think isn't bad for a single person. And with food there's no takeaways, I just usually eat stews, casseroles, porridge, i.e. stuff that is cheap and easy. I don't smoke or have Sky TV, rarely drink and get my goods and furniture secondhand from Facebook/Gumtree, etc. Clothes I miainly get in a sale from Matalan or Primark. I live in a Housing Association flat with a lifetime tenancy so I don't have to worry about being evicted. It's a no-frills lifestyle and certainly not everybody's cup of tea, but I've been homeless in the past so as long as I've got a roof over my head, food in my belly and an internet connection I'm content.

Is that council tax correct? I pay £170 month.

Council tax liability varies hugely depending on band of property and location in the country. The liability itself can then be reduced by Council Tax Reduction but the CTR help available varies between councils, it can, in a few councils, be 100% meaning no Council tax is payable,

Alice_Holt

  I think one group of people for whom the safety net is very threadbare are those who have been (post April 2017) assessed as not fit for work following a WCA and placed in the LCW group of UC.
Before then these ill / disabled claimants received a uplift of £30 pw - in recognition that their health conditions made it unlikely that they would be able to increase their income through work. Now, they receive exactly the same monies as those temporarily (hopefully) job-seeking. To survive financially for the long term on that amount (less the c. 20% CT contribution and possible LHA rent shortfall), must be very difficult and take a toll on their mental well-being. (Particularly if their illnesses / disability do not fit around the PIP criteria so as to enable a PIP award). 
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/29/employment-and-support-allowance-the-disability-benefit-cuts-you-have-not-heard-about
 
   The politicians who voted to strip long-term claimants of the Work Related Activity Group premium, seemed not to have understood the meaning of WRAG.  The government justified the legislation by explaining that it would “incentivise” people to find jobs.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/21/stephen-crabb-facts-disability-aid-cuts-benefit