to think benefits are pretty LOW actually. How much do you get?

[ItsGraceActually]

I'm on ESA (used to be 'sick benefit'). I get £90 a week, plus my rent (£400/month) and council tax (£100/month).

With my £90 a week, I pay for heating - it's an all-electric house on a pre-pay meter; water rates; phone, internet, mobile, etc; TV licence; everything else.

I can't afford to run a car or, indeed, use public transport. I smoke, which I pay for with 'permitted work' (about £20/week) from home. I NEVER go out, except for one coffee a fortnight. I don't know how I'm going to afford heating in the winter.

I am extremely grateful for the welfare system, don't get me wrong! I feel fine about claiming: I paid in for 30 years, in the belief that anyone who needs it can get it.
Just now and again, there's one thread too many in here about people on a "welfare lifestyle" , living it up on benefits. Chance'd be a fine thing ...

I think a lot of the ones living it up are either committing fraud or getting into debt, Grace.

I think it's if you have kids that you end up getting quite a bit more.

and I agree with mumblechum...

Some people who claim also work for cash and buy everything on store cards and on credit.

YANBU My mother is in a very similar situation to you. Except she can't work at all ATM. It's a constant struggle and I'm sure it makes her depression and anxiety worse.

I wouldn't say you would be able to live it up on that but its over a grand more than I used to earn when I was working full time so even with the cost of living having gone up I consider it enough. I do think longterm sick should get fuel allowances though especially as they are unable to work.
Maybe I think its enough for people who are able to work but dont (which was us recently before anyone says anything)

The current climate of "benefit bashing" is being fueled partly by the usual Daily Hate nonsense and a deliberately socially devisive policy of the current government.

The government and big business do not want us to start blaiming them for the state of the country. They want us to fight amoungst ourselves, to blame the largely voiceless poor, to snoop on each other over possible benefit fraud, blame immigrants...anything to distract us from holding those in power to account over how thoroughly they have shafted us.

actually Ive just had a really odd thought. When were tax credits brought in?

Fraudulant claiments are the problem and people who use the benefits system as a career choice

£960 pm isn't a lot of money but if you have children then there are tax credits added on, isn't there? Plus child benefit. And the free prescriptions, school dinners etc

I think sometimes, genuine claiments can end up with more ready cash than some people who work fulltime and I have to be honest, that is sometimes hard to take

I take home around £2kpm, comprising of wages, tax credits, child benefit, DLA and maintenance. I could prob have the same amount by giving up work, that isn't right.

You'd NEED a lot more if you had kids! Can't imagine feeding DCs my endless lentil & pasta concoctions, or putting them in the same clothes year after year.

I'd probably be up for a bit of fraud meself, if I had the chance At this level, an extra £20 makes me feel well off!

£100 a week JSA
£20 a week Child Benefit
£60 a week Rent
£52 a week Child Tax credits
£25 a week Council Tax.

This is what we get. Yes having kids means more benefits but Kids cost more.

Oh should of said 2 adults one child ^

Now that is a lot tougher

10,320 a year iNET is more than the national min wage for a full time job.

Middle, I agree about Greater Powers at work - trouble is, it's successful! Don't think we ever got over Maggie's pronouncement "The weak shall go to the wall" :(

Good points, bronze, especially about the benefits trap. It's horrible to think there are people working (usually in the nastiest jobs) & having even less than this to live on.
I'm sure the Working Tax Credit was supposed to overcome that, but it's not -er, working.

Blimey, SLIQ. I can't even imagine putting lentils with the pasta on that ...

YANBU

I do think a lot of those who get angsty though (not all) are people who are juggling 2 hateful jobs with their dh's, exhausted, hardly seeing kids. have been there too adn it's horrible so can understand a bit ewhy they are upset.

But.

We have an OK lifestyle as long as we stick to second hand mainly, etc. That's with DH working PT and student financxe package, as well as enhanced benefits due to 2 X sn kids.

Without that life would be very, very hard indeed.

But- some advice from my psych that i cant follow but you might.

Don't go there.

You paid in, you deseve the ESA. But the people who argue- many will have memories of people who were fraudu;lent etc and you wont even factorr in, and the abuse you can receive can be quite damaging.

Its not about you on here, its about someone they met once, or horrible problems in their own life.

Very, very few people are anti welfare just anti fraud but lack the nouse to classify the differences when posting. Some are anti welfare mind- was once told on her to go to a workhouse (fwiw I am a care, dh was worrking iirc at time aswell- ft managerial post)

Pull away from these threads of it satrts to harm you. I had a full on nervous breakdown at ds1's psychologust last week, cried for 3 hours. not good.

amother yes but someone on minimum wage would also get topped up with TCs and HB and possible CTB as well.

Whereas that is complete income.

Oh, SMA :( I'm so sorry to hear that.
Stop reading this thread!!

And be gentle with yourself - you've enough stress as it is.

AH no LOL, I am past help.

but be warned! It always go tits up!

The worst thing about benefits is the debt, it all goes in an unending circle. The kids need something or something breaks you can't afford to replace it even second hand on that amount of money so you get depressed, then the depression feeds off the stress so the only way to fix it is to get a subprime loan.
You get a subprime loan buy a cheap second hand sofa because you'll only of been able to borrow £200 you end up repaying £380 at £20 a week. Feeding back into your depression and stress. Then you realise you're stuck on a tiny little council estate with no jobs for people without experiance and no one wants to hire you because you're on benefits. Theres no escape sometimes.

This thread has made me wonder if when I was earning whether there were in fact tax credits I should have been claiming.
I don't know when they started.
At the time though I didnt realise they were available if they were.
I wonder if there are other people just earnig a shoddy wage not realising

Very true. Being poor is more expensive. Same as you with the work, too - as there's so little around, I'd need to travel to find it. But I live in Nowhere, coz of the low rents, and can't afford to travel. Catch 22.

{robably Bronze

tehy came in a biit by stealth; family credit and a tax allowance, then discontinued and tehre was tax crediuts but they were quite low and paid via wages system rather than direct

Then some employers kicked off about being unpaid benefits staff and so they started to introduce the system as it is now, although it's still evolving

I only got to know as I was supposed to tell my clinets to sign up

Bronze: £4,000,000,000!