Loathe being on benefits but can't work

Jimmy3838

Hi

I've been on disability benefits for years and hate it because I live in fear every day incase they stop, and because of my health problems find it almost impossible to get a job that fits around my health problems.

To cut a long story short, how can i survive without being on benefits and without working?

Playing Lotteries are a No No because the odds are too high. Could I perhaps Go on a game show or something?

Please note: 'i get plenty of money on benefits but the living in fear they will stop 'outways' the comfortable money, so I'm Not happy'.

Any advice would be appreciated

Im Not greedy, just want enough money to survive and slightly more without being on benefits or working. 

Cheers 

comeandgo

I think a visit to your doctor regarding the anxieties and worries should be a consideration.  Do you have any savings that could help lessen the fear of having nothing?  What do you regard as “ working”?  Would playing on line poker be working, doing a phone sex line?  

MattMattMattUK

Jimmy3838 said:

Hi

I've been on disability benefits for years and hate it because I live in fear every day incase they stop, and because of my health problems find it almost impossible to get a job that fits around my health problems.

Can you create your own job, something that uses your skills and allows you to work from home on a somewhat less pressured timescale? If you do not have any direct skills how about something like remote book keeping? You could train up, if you have been off work long term then the Jobcentre may well pay for the qualification. 

Jimmy3838 said:

To cut a long story short, how can i survive without being on benefits and without working?

The reality is that you almost certainly cannot.

Jimmy3838 said:

Playing Lotteries are a No No because the odds are too high. Could I perhaps Go on a game show or something?

The lottery is an idiot tax and I say that as someone who occasionally buys a lottery ticket. Going on a game show the best case scenario is probably a few thousand, the next series of Who Wants to be a Millionaire has already been filmed and they will not be filming any more until the end of next year, and again you might reasonably expect to come away with £20k if you get to the main game, but most people who go do not get past the fastest finger at the start. 

Jimmy3838 said:

Please note: 'i get plenty of money on benefits but the living in fear they will stop 'outways' the comfortable money, so I'm Not happy'.

Any advice would be appreciated

Im Not greedy, just want enough money to survive and slightly more without being on benefits or working. 

Cheers 

The idea that you can have enough to live on without working or being on benefits is unfortunately for the birds. However finding a job you can do around your disabilities is certainly something you can do, focus on what you can do, from being on here you can obviously use a computer to some degree, so potentially almost any job you could do from home. What skills do you have, what interests do you have that could be turned into employment, what prospect do you have of resolving or improving your health? You may find that even a slight improvement in your health opens up a lot of employment prospects for example. 

Spoonie_Turtle

MattMattMattUK said:

Jimmy3838 said:

Hi

I've been on disability benefits for years and hate it because I live in fear every day incase they stop, and because of my health problems find it almost impossible to get a job that fits around my health problems.

Jimmy3838 said:

Please note: 'i get plenty of money on benefits but the living in fear they will stop 'outways' the comfortable money, so I'm Not happy'.

Any advice would be appreciated

Im Not greedy, just want enough money to survive and slightly more without being on benefits or working. 

Cheers 

The idea that you can have enough to live on without working or being on benefits is unfortunately for the birds. However finding a job you can do around your disabilities is certainly something you can do, focus on what you can do, from being on here you can obviously use a computer to some degree, so potentially almost any job you could do from home. 

Far from certain.  Many disabled and chronically ill people do manage to work enough to be able to survive, but especially with chronic illness (and I don't know the OP's situation) it is difficult, stressful, and a lot of them freelance which means their income fluctuates unpredictably.  Not everyone can freelance, some people simply cannot develop the right skills/temperament for it.  And not everyone can engage in paid work.  One post on a forum does not mean they somebody could do paid work, and it may certainly does not mean they could work enough to survive without any benefits.

I don't want to be pessimistic, just realistic.  Encouragement is good, and you bring up good points about how to go about finding something that pays, but making absolute statements without knowing anything about the OP's situation is unwise - they could have that word 'certainly' ringing in their head and then if they try to work and it doesn't work out (or even makes them more ill), who knows the impact that could have, being told they 'certainly' should be able to?

OP, whatever your health conditions, you are allowed to try some work without losing your benefits.  Maybe try asking a charity that specialises in supporting people with your health condition(s)/disability if they can help?  If you are able to use social media, connecting with others in a similar situation could be useful, to find out how they manage to work.  But I will say most of the disabled people I know who work, very successfully, also still claim PIP because they are entitled to it, it's not a benefit to do with work.

You definitely need some personal advice, better than we can give through an anonymous forum.  And I'm really sorry the culture of degrading people on benefits this government has perpetuated is affecting you like this, it's not fair and you most certainly should not feel you need to do anything beyond what you can manage just to escape the fear or them being arbitrarily stopped.

And if trying to work will make you more ill, please don't push yourself.  

Muttleythefrog

Find someone rich (easier for young females!) or crime (not a serious recommendation)... frankly working or benefits.. or both.. otherwise is the only reality. Game shows... hmmm possibly... long shot though... not as long as lottery!

It is damning of this government's treatment of the disabled and sick (and total disregard for and disengagement with official criticisms of such)... that leaves claimants like you in your situation of trying to navigate surviving through a torturous system to survive. 

MattMattMattUK I agree with much of what you say but you need to recognise that getting and keeping the benefits likely in play here can be very difficult and extremely debilitating... and the risk of trying work is that you could end up destroying that fall back situation... the pressure to retain work would be significant and quite possibly come from 3rd parties. Working may not always be the way out and the system is geared up to keep disabled people dysfunctional. I think working can be very effective to help improve health generally speaking.. but it can also be high risk to some others and many of those some others are in that sub section of society on these benefits. "focus on what you can do" is of course something disabled people will often hear and it is central to the mantra coming from government with reforms.. but it can be a huge error... it assumes that someone doing something they can do is sensible and beneficial but it is not the reality for some claimants... I might be a good example.. I have quite a varied working background including running small businesses... even designing game shows for TV and scratch card type format games to stay on topic... I've worked in computing, admin and IT including in a  professional services environment and NHS.... in every one of those jobs I left because my health had deteriorated to the point of facing terminal decline or I put others at risk of facing terminal decline... I only actually left one job formally because of health reasons.. the last job which I tried to leave via the window of the 4th floor. For all the others I manipulated situations to end my employment including convincing an employer the entire department I worked for was obsolete and should be closed (this left many talented people redundant in a business that a few months later then collapsed due to the loss of the department and the boss lost her licence to practice while her marriage also collapsed and her own health). These were all jobs 'that I could do'. None of my life or work experiences prepared me for claiming sickness/disability benefits or indeed dealing with the healthcare professionals involved in my treatment, evaluation or assessment and I know if I ever left benefits it would be if I knew I would never return to them... or of course I was assessed as not entitled. Ultimately every case is unique... perhaps the Op should take advice from those well placed to give tailored work related advice.

thara1996

Heya. This is my advice. I strongly recommend contacting one of the following charities for advice- CAB UK, Scope or Carers UK in order to start with. They will definitely have useful tips and advice regarding career application forms and so on as well. Good luck. Either ring them or send them a quick politely worded email to start the ball rolling. You can do a form of permitted work instead. You can find their phone numbers on their sites. 

Jimmy3838

Poker is a good idea, the problem is, is that all poker is now online which means we can't guarantee the websites are fixed or the people in charge of the website cant see your cards and cheat, therefore alot of online poker will be rigged.    Cheers anyway 

Jimmy3838

Guys !, just out of curiosity, why do millions and millions of mugs play online poker when they have no verification it's not rigged ?, at least the old fashioned way offline your almost guaranteed only you can see your cards 

Muttleythefrog

Jimmy3838 said:

Poker is a good idea, the problem is, is that all poker is now online which means we can't guarantee the websites are fixed or the people in charge of the website cant see your cards and cheat, therefore alot of online poker will be rigged.    Cheers anyway 

Is this something you're particularly good at or are you just passing random thoughts through mind? I used to play table football for money until it became too hard to actually find anyone willing to play against us... it paid for me to have a decent life as a student but I forgot I was at Uni to study. 

But honestly.... if you are looking to replace the relatively stable income of benefits you need to find something that likewise will give a stable income... I can't think of anything less stable than gambling for that no matter how good or bad you are at it. The last thing you need if struggling with fear of losing benefits is replacing it with the fear of losing a gamble every day. It would be reckless and irrational to the point I begin to query your suitability to be managing your own financial affairs. Everything you've mentioned in this thread are fanciful and rely on longshots or good luck... it's no more credible than getting a nose job to become a Barry Manilow tribute act.

MattMattMattUK

Spoonie_Turtle said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Jimmy3838 said:

Hi

I've been on disability benefits for years and hate it because I live in fear every day incase they stop, and because of my health problems find it almost impossible to get a job that fits around my health problems.

Jimmy3838 said:

Please note: 'i get plenty of money on benefits but the living in fear they will stop 'outways' the comfortable money, so I'm Not happy'.

Any advice would be appreciated

Im Not greedy, just want enough money to survive and slightly more without being on benefits or working. 

Cheers 

The idea that you can have enough to live on without working or being on benefits is unfortunately for the birds. However finding a job you can do around your disabilities is certainly something you can do, focus on what you can do, from being on here you can obviously use a computer to some degree, so potentially almost any job you could do from home. 

Far from certain.  Many disabled and chronically ill people do manage to work enough to be able to survive, but especially with chronic illness (and I don't know the OP's situation) it is difficult, stressful, and a lot of them freelance which means their income fluctuates unpredictably.  Not everyone can freelance, some people simply cannot develop the right skills/temperament for it.  And not everyone can engage in paid work.  One post on a forum does not mean they somebody could do paid work, and it may certainly does not mean they could work enough to survive without any benefits.

I don't want to be pessimistic, just realistic.  Encouragement is good, and you bring up good points about how to go about finding something that pays, but making absolute statements without knowing anything about the OP's situation is unwise - they could have that word 'certainly' ringing in their head and then if they try to work and it doesn't work out (or even makes them more ill), who knows the impact that could have, being told they 'certainly' should be able to?

OP, whatever your health conditions, you are allowed to try some work without losing your benefits.  Maybe try asking a charity that specialises in supporting people with your health condition(s)/disability if they can help?  If you are able to use social media, connecting with others in a similar situation could be useful, to find out how they manage to work.  But I will say most of the disabled people I know who work, very successfully, also still claim PIP because they are entitled to it, it's not a benefit to do with work.

You definitely need some personal advice, better than we can give through an anonymous forum.  And I'm really sorry the culture of degrading people on benefits this government has perpetuated is affecting you like this, it's not fair and you most certainly should not feel you need to do anything beyond what you can manage just to escape the fear or them being arbitrarily stopped.

And if trying to work will make you more ill, please don't push yourself.  

I suspect you are correct, I am generally a realist, far from an optimist or a pessimist, but I also tend to somewhat overestimate people's ability to mentally brute force their way though situations. I have a friend who lost the use of both legs in a car accident, he was a carpenter, he ended up retraining as a software developer and now makes guitars and surfboards in a workshop in his garden as well as a side job. Personally I am in my late thirties and have had effectively three different careers, some transferable skills but a lot of that has involved me taking on a completely different skill set for most of the job tasks, so I tend to retrain as required and that might mean I overestimate others ability to do the same. 

I agree with all you have said though, you are right that the OP should explore options, do not risk making themself more ill etc. 

Muttleythefrog

MattMattMattUK said:

I suspect you are correct, I am generally a realist, far from an optimist or a pessimist, but I also tend to somewhat overestimate people's ability to mentally brute force their way though situations. 

The reason I gave myself as an example is that it's often going to be far more complicated route to working for a sub section of claimants of the likes of LCW or LCWRA (for ESA/E-C) or PIP. I am someone with severe mental health problems but with a strong history of working in quite varying roles and environments.. including very challenging ones where I faced a daily threat of death abroad and was shot at (events which didn't stop me doing my job for more than a few minutes). Issues can go beyond doing what one is apparently capable of or adapt to through re-training etc. There are even claimants who think there is nothing wrong with them yet are in receipt of significant psychiatric treatment or observation. It's true working environment options are increasing such that some previously significant risks and barriers may become less so... things like home working can avoid a lot of in person interaction as example if that poses difficulties or risks. But I think you need to have flexible mind to grasp the range of potential problems someone like the Op could have... we just do not know.