Can´t survive on salary without benefits. Doesn´t seem right.

[Fashionesta]

Just wondered if anyone else was in the same boat as feeling a bit miserable. Recently started new job, 31K a year, felt happy with that, potential to grow. Having done all my calculations and bills, if it were not for getting some money towards housing, I would be 300 pounds a month short :(

After pension I get around 1800 per month. Rent is 950 and I have one of the cheaper properties in my area so no ability to find anything cheaper - its me and DD in a 2 bed. No luxuries at all. Basic mobile phone on giff gaff 8 per month, no SKY etc, old car although paying off car loan of 150 month which bumps outgoings up. By the time I have paid all my bills, council tax, loan, after school club for DD and swimming lessons for her which I feel is essential, if it weren´t for the fact that I get some help towards rent, I would be -300 per month.

I generally feel like I earn a decent wage and panicking a bit about the situation. Not asking for a solution really as I think I am quite frugal, also sensible so pay for life insurance, car insurance, pet insurance and house insurance. Pay TV licence and so on. Shop at Tesco.

Anyone else don´t feel like they are getting by on what I actually consider a decent wage (although I realise in MN terms I am probably not earning much at all).'

Argh I just hate feeling poor all the time and I shouldn´t have to rely on benefits when on 31K surely!

@adrianmolesmole I completely agree. I lived in London for ages and the only people who could buy were professionals with combined income of about 80,000 or more and those with help from their parents.

Tories aren’t the only problem. Labour has been taken over by woke social justice warriors who only care about fashionable left wing issues. People need a viable alternative to tories but can’t bring themselves to vote in labour.

Use your vote I keep reading, who so I vote for. Conservative not for working class, labour pretend but dont give a damn about working class. Liberal Democrats really! We need a party that looks after every class

@Ddot it's not about the working class.It's about whether or not public money is transferred into private hands and whether or not every crisis/opportunity is used to throw even more money into the hands of the rich a la Tory. It's been a while but living standards under Labour were a lot higher than now

In an ideal world their would be no little brown envelopes. Labour council let rotherham child rape carry on unhindered so nope can't and will never vote for labour again

@Ddot wow.......so the Tories will let the whole country sink but you are annoyed about one council. well good luck with that

If we all moved up North then house prices would rise there too. There have been threads about Londoners moving out of London due to Covid working patterns and house prices rising in the North.

[quote Someonetookmyname]@adrianmolesmole I completely agree. I lived in London for ages and the only people who could buy were professionals with combined income of about 80,000 or more and those with help from their parents.

Tories aren’t the only problem. Labour has been taken over by woke social justice warriors who only care about fashionable left wing issues. People need a viable alternative to tories but can’t bring themselves to vote in labour.[/quote]
I agree, I don't know what Labour is all about any more. You never hear from them, they never seem to say anything about anything. Where is the opposition?! At least with jeremy Corbyn we were gaining a strong opposition, all that's been decimated now, thanks to the Tories.

The trouble is, the left is too complicated, it forces people to think and question and that is too complicated for some people. Even if things are crap some voters will still prefer the sort of (perceived) certainty that the conservatives give: "You do what I want and turn a blind eye, and I will take care of you". That's what a lot of voters want - to be told what to think and what to do and trust (misguidedly) in those in power. That's why they ignore things like Boris's racism, his lying, etc etc.

It's happening all over the world - Modi, trump, putin etc - the right wing give consistent, simplistic messages that appeal to the majority demographic of a country and make them feel good and safe, and stuff everyone else. And in the mean time they get away with so much corruption and lying because the majority don't challenge them or look beyond their messages and continue to vote them in. Most seem to have the media in their pockets too, which is so hard to fight against.

Labour needs to get back to its socialist roots, but there's too much infighting and "discussion" going on that the tories are just laughing.

Anyway just my two cents, don't mean to hijack this thread!

Can any of the posters who have stated that benefits aren’t for pets and clubs and comments of that ilk answer the following for me please:
Why is it that sally and steven’s child can afford to have swimming and piano lessons and own a pet spaniel while sue and Simon’s child cannot?
Both sets of parents work full time in the south east - 20 to 40 hours a week each adult. However, Sue’s job is in an office and pays just above minimum wage and Simon was made redundant in 2019 and is just beginning to see success as a painter and decorator working 40 plus hours a week. He earns a typical wage alongside Sue and they both get UC to top up.
Sally works 20 hours within the private health sector and Steve started out running car sales premises. He now has several high end vehicle related businesses in 2 counties in the south east. He works a full day but his good fortune after leaving technical college means his businesses run themselves pretty much so he only has to theoretically pop his head in the door a few times a week although he chooses to put in a solid 30 plus hours a week.

Just somebody tell me why it is that one hard working, gcse holding couple can feel smug and deserving about their puppy and swimming lessons while the other should feel ashamed! What did Simon and Sue do so wrong that they should have to live dependent upon grudgingly given tax payer funded benefits. Why can’t they love life in similar ways?

I used to work at a council dealing with housing benefits.

Being a landlord that accepts housing benefits is actually not all that appealing for many landlords!

@Itsabeautifulday81

I used to work at a council dealing with housing benefits.

Being a landlord that accepts housing benefits is actually not all that appealing for many landlords!

Yes there is definitely a bias against tenants claiming benefits, but in our current pandemic situation these people are actually now more reliable in terms of paying rent. Many people have lost their jobs and have found themselves at the sharp end of our broken benefits system. Unfortunately this has not yet resulted in any sympathy for the plight of many low-paid and disabled people who have been struggling for years as many comments on this thread show.

In more simple terms, 20, 30 or 40 hours of hard work is 20, 30 or 40 hours of hard work.

So, those that are awarding themselves the badge of ‘worthiness to society’ due to the fact they are being paid £20 plus per hour for that work as opposed to £8 might want to question themselves a little as to how much selfish greed they are happy with in themselves as a person. Or, indeed, exactly where such levels of self satisfied greed and selfishness might lead us as a society in general.

@Ahardyfool

In more simple terms, 20, 30 or 40 hours of hard work is 20, 30 or 40 hours of hard work.

So, those that are awarding themselves the badge of ‘worthiness to society’ due to the fact they are being paid £20 plus per hour for that work as opposed to £8 might want to question themselves a little as to how much selfish greed they are happy with in themselves as a person. Or, indeed, exactly where such levels of self satisfied greed and selfishness might lead us as a society in general.

Absolutely agree. We need these low-paid jobs to be done and people doing them need to be paid a living wage that will at least allow for swimming lessons, a pet or even a small holiday in the UK each year. Otherwise, what kind of society are people happy to live in?

@randomsabreuse

My mortgage may be low but that's because I bought 20 years ago in Birmingham. Even so, if you double my £500 mortgage, with a salary and benefits totalling over £34k that should still be easily doable.

I agree that childcare isn't a luxury but imo swim lessons are, I couldn't afford them for my son, his gran 'treated' him to them, she paid for lessons instead of giving him birthday and xmas gifts but if she hadn't done this, he wouldn't have had the lessons as they weren't more important than other things in our budget.

And pets, as much as I believe that every child should have a pet of some sort to teach them about responsibility and the cycle of life, they can be extremely expensive, not only to buy (especially over this past year with unscrupulous breeders taking advantage - but that's for another thread), there is feeding, life enrichment and healthcare to consider, so yes, pets are a luxury, their health insurance maybe not so much but there are t those of us who had our pets at a time when we could afford insurance but are now (through no fault of our own) unable to afford it, so insurance can fall into either the 'necessary' or 'luxury' category.

@Ahardyfool

Can any of the posters who have stated that benefits aren’t for pets and clubs and comments of that ilk answer the following for me please: Why is it that sally and steven’s child can afford to have swimming and piano lessons and own a pet spaniel while sue and Simon’s child cannot? Both sets of parents work full time in the south east - 20 to 40 hours a week each adult. However, Sue’s job is in an office and pays just above minimum wage and Simon was made redundant in 2019 and is just beginning to see success as a painter and decorator working 40 plus hours a week. He earns a typical wage alongside Sue and they both get UC to top up. Sally works 20 hours within the private health sector and Steve started out running car sales premises. He now has several high end vehicle related businesses in 2 counties in the south east. He works a full day but his good fortune after leaving technical college means his businesses run themselves pretty much so he only has to theoretically pop his head in the door a few times a week although he chooses to put in a solid 30 plus hours a week.

Just somebody tell me why it is that one hard working, gcse holding couple can feel smug and deserving about their puppy and swimming lessons while the other should feel ashamed! What did Simon and Sue do so wrong that they should have to live dependent upon grudgingly given tax payer funded benefits. Why can’t they love life in similar ways?

You lost me at Simon, Sue Steve and Sally!

@Itsabeautifulday81

@adrianmolesmole - I know. Tbh it all makes me not want to vote for anyone - which is shocking really as women died to get the vote.

Even if you count swimming lessons as a luxury (which I don’t), why shouldn’t someone earning near to the average wage be able to afford a couple of luxuries.

Are luxuries like learning to swim or having a pet now only for the wealthy?

[quote Harmonypuss]@randomsabreuse

My mortgage may be low but that's because I bought 20 years ago in Birmingham. Even so, if you double my £500 mortgage, with a salary and benefits totalling over £34k that should still be easily doable.

I agree that childcare isn't a luxury but imo swim lessons are, I couldn't afford them for my son, his gran 'treated' him to them, she paid for lessons instead of giving him birthday and xmas gifts but if she hadn't done this, he wouldn't have had the lessons as they weren't more important than other things in our budget.

And pets, as much as I believe that every child should have a pet of some sort to teach them about responsibility and the cycle of life, they can be extremely expensive, not only to buy (especially over this past year with unscrupulous breeders taking advantage - but that's for another thread), there is feeding, life enrichment and healthcare to consider, so yes, pets are a luxury, their health insurance maybe not so much but there are t those of us who had our pets at a time when we could afford insurance but are now (through no fault of our own) unable to afford it, so insurance can fall into either the 'necessary' or 'luxury' category.[/quote]
You bought your property 20 years ago
Your child has grown up and flown the nest
You don’t work

You bought your property and raised your child in a very very different time

[quote Harmonypuss]@randomsabreuse

My mortgage may be low but that's because I bought 20 years ago in Birmingham. Even so, if you double my £500 mortgage, with a salary and benefits totalling over £34k that should still be easily doable.

I agree that childcare isn't a luxury but imo swim lessons are, I couldn't afford them for my son, his gran 'treated' him to them, she paid for lessons instead of giving him birthday and xmas gifts but if she hadn't done this, he wouldn't have had the lessons as they weren't more important than other things in our budget.

And pets, as much as I believe that every child should have a pet of some sort to teach them about responsibility and the cycle of life, they can be extremely expensive, not only to buy (especially over this past year with unscrupulous breeders taking advantage - but that's for another thread), there is feeding, life enrichment and healthcare to consider, so yes, pets are a luxury, their health insurance maybe not so much but there are t those of us who had our pets at a time when we could afford insurance but are now (through no fault of our own) unable to afford it, so insurance can fall into either the 'necessary' or 'luxury' category.[/quote]
Just because you couldn't afford them does not mean that they are a luxury. It is an important life skill. You were lucky to have that financial support from his gran. I can't afford them for my kids either and rarely have any extra at the end of the month for trips to the pool or the seaside. School swimming lessons are no longer offered. They were when I was younger and at school in the 80s/90s. My point is that these lessons shouldn't be out of reach for this many people.

[quote Someonetookmyname]@adrianmolesmole - I know. Tbh it all makes me not want to vote for anyone - which is shocking really as women died to get the vote.

Even if you count swimming lessons as a luxury (which I don’t), why shouldn’t someone earning near to the average wage be able to afford a couple of luxuries.

Are luxuries like learning to swim or having a pet now only for the wealthy?[/quote]
I've read enough of these threads to realise that most things are only for the wealthy. Pets, insurance, mobile phones, alcohol, hair dye, coffee, whatever. You're not even supposed to have a child unless relatively wealthy.

People are missing the point. The government thinks that 31k is not enough to live on in the South East (say we don't actually know where OP lives). The question is if the government recognizes that 31k is not enough to live on (because they give you benefits) then why are they paying people those salaries.

Plus we are not talking about the working class....we are talking abut lots of jobs that require a degree and would be classified as professional jobs.

I think this seems to be the gist of a lot of the responses here. Just because they may have struggled in the past, it's OK for others to have a crap time now. In any case, the situation now is completely crazy in terms of housing costs and a lot of people forget this

@raskolnikova

I mean a single mother working all week, earning the average wage and wanting to teach her little girl how to swim. How dare she!!

Forestcat
still happening still ignoring it and it's not just one town or one city

Lots of ignorant people in this thread. Benefits look at your take home pay, 1800 per month is not a great deal of money these days even if you add child benefit in top. I consider myself doing OK (not struggling, but not in a position to save a great deal of money or go on holiday) as a single person with about 1300 take home. I live in a deprived area of the South East btw. But my rent is less than half of yours and I don't have a child to worry about. If I had to move from my long term tenancy, with the way rents have gone up I would be looking at paying half my take home pay straight back out in rent. I think it is a reflection of the lack of regulation of buy to let, as well as how low wages have, making it incredibly hard to be able to afford to raise a family without help from benefits.

That is indeed bonkers that you are scraping by on 31k. Especially with only one child.

House prices in the SE are mental.