We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

MSE News: Millions struggling to pay basic household bills

Former_MSE_Karl
Former_MSE_Karl Posts: 175 Forumite
10 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Newshound!
in Budgeting & bank accounts
More than three million people in the UK fell behind on their household bills last year, according to new research from a leading debt charity
...
Read the full story:
'Millions struggling to pay basic household bills'
OfficialStamp.gif
Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.
«1

Comments

  • robin58
    robin58 Posts: 2,802 Forumite
    Still struggling to find out in the article which 'millions' you are talking about,
    The more I live, the more I learn.
    The more I learn, the more I grow.
    The more I grow, the more I see.
    The more I see, the more I know.
    The more I know, the more I see,
    How little I know.!! ;)
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 28,372 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    LOL I thought this was another article about TSB for a moment.
  • Wizard_of_Id
    Wizard_of_Id Posts: 5,512 Forumite
    What kind of income do these people have?
  • binaryuniverse
    binaryuniverse Posts: 912 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts
    Wizard_of_Id wrote: »
    What kind of income do these people have?

    Even 39 hours on minimum wage isn't enough to live happily. It's about just enough to survive. But barely save or plan for any kind of future.
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 28,372 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    binaryuniverse wrote: »
    Even 39 hours on minimum wage isn't enough to live happily. It's about just enough to survive. But barely save or plan for any kind of future.
    It depends where in the UK you live. In some areas that would be difficult to survive on, primarily due to housing costs. Elsewhere, not so much. My annual spending is about 2/3 of that figure.
  • Neil_Jones
    Neil_Jones Posts: 9,694 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I suppose it depends on your personal circumstances as to whether 39hrs a week on minimum wage is enough. If you live by yourself, then yes it can be if you live in a one bedroom flat, maybe not so if you're in a multi bedroom house. If you have children to feed, it almost certainly won't be enough.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 38,683 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    robin58 wrote: »
    Still struggling to find out in the article which 'millions' you are talking about,
    Not sure if you're being serious or not but the MSE article prominently cites a StepChange report in which that organisation is "estimating more than three million people across the UK failed to pay at least one of their key bills on time" in 2017.

    The StepChange report itself makes it clear that the 3m is an extrapolation from a YouGov online survey of 5,052 adults last December.
  • robin58
    robin58 Posts: 2,802 Forumite
    eskbanker wrote: »
    Not sure if you're being serious or not but the MSE article prominently cites a StepChange report in which that organisation is "estimating more than three million people across the UK failed to pay at least one of their key bills on time" in 2017.

    The StepChange report itself makes it clear that the 3m is an extrapolation from a YouGov online survey of 5,052 adults last December.

    Estimating 3 million is different from there actually being 3 million.

    Extrapolation from a very small data set is fraught with problems if you know about data statics.
    The more I live, the more I learn.
    The more I learn, the more I grow.
    The more I grow, the more I see.
    The more I see, the more I know.
    The more I know, the more I see,
    How little I know.!! ;)
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 38,683 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    robin58 wrote: »
    Estimating 3 million is different from there actually being 3 million.

    Extrapolation from a very small data set is fraught with problems if you know about data statics.
    It's not exactly an unusual or invalid technique though, is it, was your beef that the reference to estimating was only in the body of the article rather than the headline or are you challenging the estimation itself? How many do you feel should have been in the sample for statistical significance?
  • FredaJones
    FredaJones Posts: 30 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Neil_Jones wrote: »
    I suppose it depends on your personal circumstances as to whether 39hrs a week on minimum wage is enough. If you live by yourself, then yes it can be if you live in a one bedroom flat, maybe not so if you're in a multi bedroom house. If you have children to feed, it almost certainly won't be enough.


    If you have kids then there are benefits to be had as well and unless you have been widowed the possibility from an income from the other parent too.
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 601.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.7K Life & Family
  • 259.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.
Update Your Picture