How do I survive when the £80 stops...

[barryclarry]

Hi In February I had to make a UC claim as I had to leave my full time job due to my deteriorating mental health.
I have no kids and I live alone.
I have been providing fit notes to the job centre but still haven't had a medical.

During the 5 week wait I had to take out a advance.
They are taking £65 from my money a month to pay this off.
My payment next month will be £553
£330 is my rent
£60 is my gas /electric
£25 is my broadband
£40 other debts including my water rates
That is £455
I will have £98 to last the month for food and anything else.
(Sorry if my calculations are slightly out )

I'm panicking.
I don't know how I'm going to manage tbh
Is anyone else gonna struggle ?

We have just had a "local pantry" set up near us. You pay £3.50 and get about £15 worth of food so worth looking to see if any similar near you. We also have a really good zero waste group that collects end of date food from the big supermarkets and distributes it out. It's free and if you are happy to freeze/ batch cook whatever you get it's an excellent way of saving food money/ reducing waste too. Check out your local Facebook pages to see if anything like this is available locally.

I hope they sort your medical out soon. It's harrowing how this govt is forcing people into poverty. X

Is there a reason why you don't have a water meter? It should be much cheaper than water rates for a single person. Your landlord can't refuse permission to have one. If there is a structural reason why you can't have one, the water company has to offer you a reduced rate called an assessed charge that is usually a fraction of the cost of water rates.

I can't have one and the assessed charge is about a quarter of what I was paying in water rates.

Have a look at the "make £10 a day threads here" for ideas about how to make some extra money.

Get yourself to or phone Salvation Army/a church or similar- they will tell you of local food banks, and may be able to offer food themselves.
Spend as little on food as possible, as that is your ‘squeezable’ saving.
Porridge oats, milk and cheap veg/staples.- it can be done, but it is miserable.
Try to keep £3 back for the last week to treat yourself as an incentive.
It is so so hard, I have been there.
Rice is cheaper than pasta, bread will last longer in the freezer. Beans are very cheap and will fill you up.
It is also lonely, so get yourself to free coffee mornings (church/mosques usually run these, and will ply you with free biscuits and teas)

I got £19.99 broadband from Vodafone, it's not a lot but may help, also on outfox the market for gas & lecky, which again seems cheaper than market average

Also (and I hope this doesn’t sound patronising - I’ve got £5 to last until next Thursday myself) are you on any local FB groups?

We often get people with gluts of fruit giving it away. Last year someone was giving away bags of walnuts from their tree and I asked for a few and they dropped off a carrier bag full! We were still eating those at Christmas. I’ve had other fruit this way but there is also fruit literally lying around at the moment as people don’t think to gather it up. It goes a long way with a cheap tin of rice pudding or a bit of yoghurt or custard.

I also order 50 of those tin “take away” trays online (they’re pricey from supermarkets) and almost everything I cook I do a bit too much then put a serving into a tray and into the freezer.

Anything that needs using up in the fridge gets “processed” and put into the freezer. So I chop up onions, peppers and part boil veg and bag it all up. You can freeze all sorts of things like that plus chilli peppers, stewed fruit and herbs.

The local library has been incredibly useful to us over the years with books (obviously), computer use when we couldn’t afford to have ours fixed and a magazine swap box. They’ve also given us information on educational grants which helped with my son’s bus pass. They also have info and leaflets on stuff locally and have free courses, story time etc.

@MatildaIThink I guess if your priority is protecting your estate when you die that's fair enough but you're chatting about it on a thread started by a woman who is alive now and living off £50 so you can do that.

[quote AmericanTie]@MatildaIThink I guess if your priority is protecting your estate when you die that's fair enough but you're chatting about it on a thread started by a woman who is alive now and living off £50 so you can do that.[/quote]
I was asked about/replied to another post where someone said to me about increasing inheritance tax. So I do not see the point of your post. I had also already (on the first page) about making sure the OP was getting what she was actually entitled to, and how do to that, as UC is often not set up properly in the first place.

People offer advice, discussions widen, that is the nature of communication.

Certainly widened here.

I'm in a similar situation OP. My rent went up significantly but I can't afford to move and my water bill more than doubled for some reason. I honestly don't know how I'm going to manage.

It's criminal that the government is allowed to get away with it. They should hang their heads in shame. I hope things get better for you,and for all of us in this situation.

@PandorasMailbox
Are you on a water meter or standing charge? If doubled I would suspect a meter, but worth checking why, eg. had they been under billing and did an actual read or some other reason.

If you are on a standing charge then you can use the link below to estimate if you would be better off on a meter or not.
www.ccwater.org.uk/watermetercalculator/

@chesirecat99

Is there a reason why you don't have a water meter? It should be much cheaper than water rates for a single person. Your landlord can't refuse permission to have one. If there is a structural reason why you can't have one, the water company has to offer you a reduced rate called an assessed charge that is usually a fraction of the cost of water rates.

I can't have one and the assessed charge is about a quarter of what I was paying in water rates.

Have a look at the "make £10 a day threads here" for ideas about how to make some extra money.

@PandorasMailbox, see my previous post about water meters. Unless you are a huge family or have a swimming pool or pond, it's usually cheaper to have a water meter. If you can't have a water meter for structural reasons, you should be moved onto a lower assessed charge based on the average usage for the number of occupants. Water rates are set to be very high to encourage people to get a water meter.

My water bill is loads more now I'm on a meter - it jumped immediately. I'd be careful with that because you can't go back.

I helped my niece apply for ESA As she was not able to work due to a very serious on going illness
I filled out the forms in February and she was put in support group without a interview in End of June and her money went up
After 14 weeks I think you can start pushing for an assessment but depending on where you are in the county the wait can be longer .
Where I am they seem to be pretty good at handling the case load

I also did her PIP forms in April and she got awarded both high rate care and mobility in September with just a phone call assessment
But even I was shocked at how king the wait was

@AmericanTie

My water bill is loads more now I'm on a meter - it jumped immediately. I'd be careful with that because you can't go back.

That depends on exactly where you are, you might be able to change back, but you can also work out your costs first.

If you choose to switch to a water meter you will usually have a trial period of 24 months during which time you can switch back to your old fixed charges. This option is not available in areas of England where compulsory metering is being introduced.

www.ccwater.org.uk/watermetercalculator/

I am no expert on this but surely a welfare system is broken when those who are a part of it can't afford to survive or deal with their basic needs?

Why bother having a system that assists people in an effort to prevent poverty if they still cannot afford to live after receiving it?

Some wonderful help on this thread, but it is so sad that anyone should have to be advised to have to sell stuff to afford fuel, and seek food via charity in a wealthy country with so-called progressive values.

There's living beyond our means - and as a culture we certainly do that - but the benefits system strikes me as a form of punishment as opposed to assistance. But then from what I hear it has been this way since 2010.
I recall not a small amount of people lost their lives or committed suicide during this period of unnecessary austerity; via sanctions and having gather livelihoods removed whilst ill or disabled - a subject which has had little light shone upon it since. I believe it was supposed to be investigated, but if I remember correctly they simply knighted to cunt who organised it instead.

Maybe some useful sites / information:
www.turn2us.org.uk/
Ask about Food Pantrys in your area or google;
Social tariffs for water and in some places help - meters are not always cheaper and do not be afraid to challenge high readings, as leaks, especially to and from meters are common;
Broadband tariffs for those on UC - www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/broadband/help/broadband-on-benefits
Challenge any other subscriptions and tariffs by talking to providers, who often will help
Many housing associations have teams that can help with employment, money advice and benefits, so if struggling for help do ask what they offer (often have some surprising ways to help including help with completion of forms for PIP etc);
Insurances - check if these are the best available;
Mentioned previously www.approvedfood.co.uk
www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/already-claimed/extra-support-you-may-be-entitled-to/
Job Centres have access to Flexible Funds, so can help with some costs towards employment, including basic phones
Local charities / DI charities can help with access to refurbed laptops to help with children's schooling / job applications
Remember that Council Tax discounts / exemptions have to be applied for separately to UC / also Council Tax disregards www.entitledto.co.uk/help/council-tax-disregarded
Some local authorities have school uniform funding, not all though.

I hope some of this is useful

Also, it is worth considering the 'poor tax', which the likes of 'spread out payments' and pre-payment meters exploit.

The less one is able to pay their way, the more they will pay or have extracted from them in the longer term. I wouldn't advise any of these ideas, although I have no idea what to suggest as an alternative.

I wish you the best of luck OP, no one should have to panic like this in a country that is supposed to support and care for those suffering from ill health.

You should ring universal credit loans people and ask to pay the minimum payment possible for your advances or budgeting loans I was paying £95 and really struggling, they brought it down to £10 a month for me effective straight away

@Plumtree391

I feel sorry for you op but if you post about your meagre finances on here, you'll be making people who are better off feel awkward and that really isn't fair.

At least you only have yourself to feed on £98 per month. That's about £24 a week, roughly £3.50 a day. If you are careful, you will manage on that. Buy some cheese, tomatoes and baking potatoes.

Good luck and - be discreet; it's not cool to flaunt your poverty.

Please let this be a joke?

I am no expert on this but surely a welfare system is broken when those who are a part of it can't afford to survive or deal with their basic needs?

Why bother having a system that assists people in an effort to prevent poverty if they still cannot afford to live after receiving it?

Some wonderful help on this thread, but it is so sad that anyone should have to be advised to have to sell stuff to afford fuel, and seek food via charity in a wealthy country with so-called progressive values.

There's living beyond our means - and as a culture we certainly do that - but the benefits system strikes me as a form of punishment as opposed to assistance. But then from what I hear it has been this way since 2010.
I recall not a small amount of people lost their lives or committed suicide during this period of unnecessary austerity; via sanctions and having gather livelihoods removed whilst ill or disabled - a subject which has had little light shone upon it since. I believe it was supposed to be investigated, but if I remember correctly they simply knighted to cunt who organised it instead

Everything you said.

Have you thought of changing to a water meter,it is amazing how much you can save,
I only pay just less than £3 a week, i am in a 3 bedroomed house, but only me and 2 cats and dog, but still use quite a lot of water,

Increases in benifits will benifit all of society
Being pragmatic, a £20 monthly increase will only benefit the families receiving it. I’m not saying it shouldn’t increase, just that saying all of society will benefit is idealistic.

@Plumtree391

I feel sorry for you op but if you post about your meagre finances on here, you'll be making people who are better off feel awkward and that really isn't fair.

At least you only have yourself to feed on £98 per month. That's about £24 a week, roughly £3.50 a day. If you are careful, you will manage on that. Buy some cheese, tomatoes and baking potatoes.

Good luck and - be discreet; it's not cool to flaunt your poverty.

As a direct result of this thread I have just been googling about making a food bank donation.

I really hope this comment isn't genuine.

• I feel sorry for you op but if you post about your meagre finances on here, you'll be making people who are better off feel awkward and that really isn't fair.

At least you only have yourself to feed on £98 per month. That's about £24 a week, roughly £3.50 a day. If you are careful, you will manage on that. Buy some cheese, tomatoes and baking potatoes.

Good luck and - be discreet; it's not cool to flaunt your poverty.

What a horrible post!