AIBU to think that if you earn £22k+ you shouldnt need to use foodbanks?

[beardymcbeardy]

Or am I in denial, or just lucky? I earn less than that and admittedly I have to be frugal, live a fairly boring lifestyle (no fancy holidays and shitty old car) but I've never had to rely on a foodbank. I can't get my head around earning £22k and still needing to use a foodbank.

I'm not in the UK but I used to volunteer for food banks and it is very depressing and shocking just how thin the line is between doing fine and needing support to even be able to eat.

Nobody truly knows anyone else's situation, if you haven't ever had to use food banks feel grateful for that mercy and leave it there. As the saying goes, judgement is for God and small children.

I think food banks are mainly used by people earning a lot less than this, 0 hour contracts, people on out of work benefits etc.

But some people on 22k could also burn through that pretty fast if they have a big mortgage or rent, plus childcare, plus car, plus a debt, plus an expensive habit or hobby.

I earn 13k and don't claim tax credits etc and support my child on my pittance, no problems, no need for help or assistance, still able to save (a little bit) and go on holiday. Some people can manage on a little, some people need a lot. Everyone's circumstances are different.

But the nurse didnt blame a delay in benefits (which i have already said I thought was a valid reason for resorting to foodbanks) but because as a nurse her wage wasn't enough, and laid the blame at the door of the SG for not increasing her wage. My gripe is that myself and lots of other people live on less (and in some cases much less) and are expected to, and do, manage.

things could be fine when you book a holiday
Things could be fine after the holiday

Next month your car breaks down, repairs cost more than the car is worth, and you can't get much for it and you still got to get to work. Your kids all lose their school jumpers… all in the same fortnight…and a delayed payment last month means you're getting charged through the nose this month for unarranged borrowing.

"has been on holiday in the last 12 months" isn't some sort of line in the sand, IMO.

But the nurse didnt blame a delay in benefits (which i have already said I thought was a valid reason for resorting to foodbanks) but because as a nurse her wage wasn't enough

but it's the same thing
The nurse thinks she should pay enough to be able to buffer such bumps in the road.

only on mn would £22k be considered a low wage when most people earn less than this and are expected to live within their means

I advise, then, that you don't post on here if you can't listen to other (well reasoned) opinions.

But some people on 22k could also burn through that pretty fast if they have a big mortgage or rent, plus childcare, plus car, plus a debt, plus an expensive habit or hobby. Bar the childcare (and from what i can tell the nurse in question children are of uni age so childcare costs are irrelevant) every thing in that list is a lifestyle choice, and foodbanks shouldnt be used to supplement those decisions.

Honestly, it's easy for things to go wrong for anyone, and not everyone has savings. If she's paying rent/for a car (lots of nurses are expected to drive)/childcare and then something goes wrong - car blows up and needs repairs, oven door cracks and you can't cook unless you get a new one, ex fails to pay maintenance one month, kids need new shoes - and you've suddenly got a horrific hole in your budget that it isn't easy to fill.

And yeah, I get that in an ideal world everyone would have 6 months savings in the bank, and never make mistakes, and your kids would never have birthdays etc but that isn't the real world.

Most nurses earn more than 22k, the average is probably more like 30k, so they probably shouldn't plead poverty too much. More than half the country lives on less than this. Most of the graduates I know earn less than 22k.

a delay in benefits is not the same thing as living outwith your means. If you cant make ends meet regularly on £22k when more than half the country is expected to manage on less than that, then clearly that is what you are doing.

and foodbanks shouldnt be used to supplement those decisions

Food banks are there for families who can't feed themselves for any reeason.

It might be bad choices, it might be bad luck, but thank god they're there and families don't starve!

Nobody plans to use a food bank, you don't sit down and number crunch and say "hey, if we us food banks for 3 months out of the year, little timmy can have Cello lessons!" That's not how food banks work, thats not how food bank referrals work. And it's undignified to not even be able to chose your own meals!

You should surely have enough savings, or access to money, to pay for groceries before you go on holidays abroad, and not sending your child to private school certainly helps too.
I think she over egged it - comment on NHS workers and difficulties resulting from the pay freeze all well and good, but the "nurse has to use foodbanks" was bound to make people investigate further.

I agree tinseltwins it's the same thing.

22k isn't a pittance don't get me wrong, but I can see how it might not be enough depending on circumstances.

I'd imagine nurses are especially vulnerable to tax credit overpayment and reclaim shenanigans due to shift allowances making it hard to predict the next year's income too

Haliez, I agree that not everyone has 6 months savings, myself included. But I dont lay the blame for that on the government of the day.

I doubt she's paying any edinburgh private school fees on a nurses salary tbh - I'd suggest either the other parent or full bursary/scholarship.

Boring fact: average wage in UK in 2015 £27,600

I would not be judging anyone who had to use a food bank. Lucky us that we don't need to.

If you were married with a normal mortgage and bills and both earned 22k fair comment but what happens if the relationship breaks down?

I think sometimes people use nurse meaning Care Assistant who earn considerably less than 22k

The average is only that high because there are some people earning stupid amounts. Half the country earns less than 16k.

namechanger22 if you only earn 13k, why on earth would you not claim what you are entitled to??

Other number of people needing food banks has tripled since 2012, we should certainly blame the government.

I don't claim for lots of reasons - I don't need it, I like to be self-sufficient, I don't want to take money from someone that really does need it, I don't want the worry or stress of an over payment, I don't want the worry or stress of being falsely accused of fraud, I would just buy things I don't need with the extra money. There are more reasons, but I won't bore you to sleep.

naked, I blame the government when it comes to dicking people's benefit around, having an 80% refusal rate on dla, changing the pip guideline so less people qualify, having an unfair and harsh sanction regime and the victims of these policy makers have to resort to foodbanks. I wholeheartedly agree with you. But I cant blame the goverment because someone who earns a more than other people who are expected to manage, overspent and lived outwith their means.

If you are a low earner isn't that a reason to be more supportive of and empathetic to other low earners ?

Surely it's the rich freeloaders ( earning the stupid amounts) that avoid or evade tax that should be highlighted rather than a nurse that had a few free tins of baked beans?

so, only people who don't earn more than anyone else have reason to complain? is that it?