AIBU to think that people earning £960 per week don't really need Child Benefit?

[OldGreyWiffleTest]

Well, am I?

"food and heat are luxuries"

Without food and heat we would all die. I think it is pretty fair to say that food and heating are not luxuries.

Alemic I live just outside greater London in home counties and my income is a lot lot less

And have 4dc

And before people say oh well life on bemfirs this is also people that work in minm wage jobs that get ctc/wtc top ups affected to

To me they are luxuries. The poor are are overly entitled expecting that.

Oh really I had no idea that people on minimum wage needed transport. Thanks for letting me know.

Don't be so silly. Look up the definition of luxury. If you don't eat you will die.

To me luxury is something I can't afford enough of so it's a luxury.

A luxury is something that is enjoyable but not essential.

Food is an essential. Don't kid yourself that you are going without luxuries. If you cannot afford enough food you are going without essentials.

a luxury is something you cant aford. So decent heating and being warm is a luxury. Cos we have to keep the heating off.

What I meant is bela's lifestyle sounds like luxury to me.. She has so much we will never have. If food is an essential then why do people accuse people like me get called entitled for wanting enough money for food.

Exactly what kal says.

It's only a luxury if it's not essential.

We have an income of just over 60k and will lose child benefit. Fair enough we can live without it.
However, what annoys me is the sweeping generalisations on here. So many people think that we must be living a luxary lifestyle. We are not.
We haven't been overseas on holiday since before having dc. We both drive cars which are now 6 years old and will run them into ground. DH's won't be long as he drives 500 miles per week just to get to work. Petrol costs a fortune. Yes , we own a property but we have been truly shafted with the mortgage. We are effecticvely paying £900 per month for a full repayment mortgage at 5.99% fixed plus £180 in enownments as the endownments wolud not cover the interest only part of our mortgage. Add on pension contributions and the money doesn't seem quite so generous for a family of 5 to live off.

Hecuba - I don't think anyone has called you entitled.

What people have said to you though, on many, many threads is that you should be claiming tax credits and that you need to chase up and sort it out.

Did you ever make that CAB appointment that everyone was urging you to a few weeks ago?

I tried calling and arguing with them again.

Methe I don't know if that was to me or not. If it was, I say again that we do have a decent life, we do and we are comfortable. But again it doesn't mean we are wealthy.

To me:
poor/struggling = not being able to make ends meet, struggling to get by paycheck to paycheck, an unexpected large bill coming in causes serious hardship

comfortable = being regularly able to meet all monthly costs, being able to put a little in savings to help towards unexpected bills when they come in, being able to have treats like eating out or the odd takeaway, not crying when you realise you need to buy new shoes.

wealthy = All monthly bills are met with surplus disposable income each month to spend on extras such as private dental, private schools, foreign holidays, new cars, designer clothing etc.

We have been poor and struggling, now we but are comfortable (due to a mixture of hard work and good luck).

Not everyone on a high salary has savings and can eat out etc. It depends on lots of factors. I know people on half our income who have a better lifestyle because they are older and live close to work.

We do have a mortgage though and I recognise that a mortgage is a luxury because it will give us options when we retire. We are lucky in that respect. Private renting is more expensive.

I think the clear message from the government is that if your dh earns £60k and you are a SAHM then if the family is struggling for money the SAHM should get a job.

The bella some of us will never be comfortable only struggle more and more.. We have no future, we can't offer our dc a future.. Doesn't matter if they are smart because uni will never be an option. We will never be able to help them if they need money. So to us being comfortable is a luxury.

Probably right EFA but where are all these jobs?

I was just surpised bella as we have sky, 2 new mobiles, wii, 360 etc without getting in to any debt and we have the same mortgage as you and we have no debts and on less income. I was just surprised you couldnt afford those things that was all.

Well good point we are not awash with jobs although a good cleaner will always get work

Essentialfattyacids- you're right. And however much I dislike many aspects of this govt, I agree with them over this one

Put simply, if you are a SAHP with a partner earning at a HT level, then either you don't actually need CB - ie, it makes life pleasanter but you can cut back a bit and live without it. OR- you do actually depend on it, you can't cover your monthly outgoing without CB- in which case, you are only being put into the same position as tens of thousands of other families and having to actually have two earners in the household.

I don't think having a HR tax payer in the house means you're living in the lap of luxury. Life is expensive these days. But that applies to all of us. I can understand how people are pissed off if they have several children and are used to staying at home and having CB, but tbh if you're in that situation you are relatively well off compared to many working couples who probably have childcare bills bigger than mortgages.

The problem is the Conservative party tried to say before the election that being a SAHP was something they believed was desirable they criticised Labour for encouraging both partners to work. The other issue is childcare. In September my childcare costs will be more than my earnings so it isn't as simple as telling people to find a job. (my dh doesn't earn 60k and I'm not a SAHM).

Many people find that for a while, their childcare costs more than they earn. Though to be fair, it must be far fewer than in yesteryear because now, if you are on a low income, you get WTC and Subsidised childcare. Even so, you can still take the financial hit in the short term, for the sake of being better off long term. (I speak as someone who spent my entire salary on childcare for a couple of years, because my kids were small before WTC existed and before free nursery hours for 3 years
olds. ) I completely appreciate that it's very tough having young children and having all the costs associated with working- but frankly, with the economy up shit creek then savings need to be made.

I understand that, it's just that a lot of people are saying that people should get a job to make up for the benefits they will, whether that's CB or tax credits for those on lower incomes. A lot of people will not be able to afford to go out to work to make up the difference.