To be scared of getting a job in case I'm worse off?

[BenefitScrounger]

NC and prepared for a flaming.

I've been claiming JSA for over two years now and am on the Work Programme. I have no qualifications and all I could get (I think) is a minimum wage job. I have been lying about my attempts to get work because I think I am better off out of work.

At the moment I get full housing benefit plus council tax, free dental care/prescriptions (if I need them) and £71 a week to live on. My bills aren't covered obviously, but they're not huge, and I have lots of free time to indulge hobbies etc.. I don't feel the need to buy stuff very often as I'm not into fashion/beauty and I eat cheaply. I can afford to eat out once a week with a TasteCard. The only thing I miss is holidays abroad but I'm not sure I would be able to afford them if I got a job anyway.

If I got a full time minimum wage job, would I be worse off? Just thinking of travel expenses, student loan repayment and time lost - not sure if I would still get any council tax benefit?

Has anyone had experience of this? By the way, I'm childless and live alone.

I thought Black Widow was Russian, but played by an American actress...

oh i stand corrected

plumber is back

DD is not happy they are pulling up carpets

she's got aspergers, there are a lot of similarities between cats and humans with aspergers

Creepy: so how do I get it then if not from doctor?

We have six cats. They know that they have us outnumbered. It is scary...

It's the false widow that is native to the UK www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17123737 - they are poisonous though

Starfish: it wasn't that I didn't bother to finish my degree - I couldn't finish it. But you're right about not bothering to get a job though. I can't find something that makes it worthwhile.

I am sorry for the tax payers that think I am scrounging (title is tic) but I haven't found good advice irl so I thought I'd try here.

Sorry for wasting your time.

here

Get a form, complete it. Over forty pages IIRC. The DWP will write to your medical people, get evidence, evaluate it according to their guidelines and make a decision.

Then you start the lengthy appeals and tribunal process. Easy.

Thanks Creepy x

Or was that sarcasm? Don't know how to tell.

DLA is notoriously difficult to claim...the form is off putting on its own. I get it for DS and claimed it both in and out of work. It allows me to meet his needs by worki g part time of by simply beig his Carer...as he is getting older so it is getting harder for him to cope with day to day life...the differences are becoming more apparent.

Yet claiming DLA is a nightmare...I think that's what is meant by that post. It often leads to appeals etc.

So I should stay on JSA? Or get a job that lets me go weird every now and again.

Where are they?? :)

And these disbelieving/mean posts are helpful because, as I said, my irl friends are very kind obviously!

So would some people trying to claim DLA be better off claiming JSA?

OP don't work if you don't want to. by better off do you mean financially? From your posts and life description it seems to me you are quite well off. I'm sure you contribute to society in other ways

OP, you'd be far better off calling the CAB

I did talk to the CAB about claiming tax by doing street art. They didn't really know how I would prove my earnings.

What do you mean by "claiming tax by doing street art"??

Did you mean paying tax?

You'd register with the tax department as self-employed, and keep accounts, then file an annual tax return. Take a look at the freelance section on here if you want to know more about it.

Alternatively, you could sell your work through a site like Etsy or Ebay, and every sale you make will be documented.

Yes, paying tax, sorry. I do try to sell with Etsy (some success, not alot) but I can get money through pavement art. People throw money at it so I'm not sure how to claim by just doing that.

How would I file a tax return with no invoices etc.?

Not sure - but I know some people work as professional buskers so there must be a way around it. Why don't you give your local tax office a ring and ask them? You won't be the first person in that situation, they must have some procedure for it.

make them up? like the rest of your posts on this thread

disclaimer UnChartered* may not be qualified to give financial advice

but she has nice new bouncy central heating thermostat and proper hot water for the 1st time in 7yrs

Also, before I became self-employed I dropped in to the tax office to ask about what I needed to do, and not only did they help me with, they also arranged for me to go on a couple of free courses specially for people moving into self-employment. The bil I mentioned up thread is now also working for himself, and he went on similar courses set up by the job centre.

Yay for UnChartered and her functioning plumbing