To think life shouldn’t be easier for those on benefits than those who work?

[Alwaysoverdrawn]

obviously not including the disabled, elderly etc in this

I am so fed up of being poor so I looked into doing an access course to increase my earning potential. My sister is doing one and is currently on benefits, she gets it for free with her childcare paid.

Having spoken to them, we earn too much to be considered for help. Having looked into mine and my sisters finances I think this is frankly bloody ridiculous. We are worse off than her ffs.

We make around £2,500 NET p/m, £1000 rent, £900 childcare -2 adults, 2 kids. So £600 ‘disposable’ pm with a lot of debts to pay.

She gets £670pm plus her full rent paid and a council tax reduction for her and one child.

AIBU to think life shouldn’t be ‘easier’ for those on benefits than those who work?

DP hasn’t been to the dentist despite needing to for years as he can’t afford treatment, I’m really down today. Seriously considering moving out so that I can claim benefits and get out of this horrible rut.

I don't think I did? I rarely post on MN and don't remember posting three pages of anything.

Do you get tax credits and child benefit as well frequency or is £1000 it?

And of course it all depends on out goings and how much your morgage/rent is , for some £2.5k may be absolutley fine but there are so many variables

That's including child tax credit/working tax credit/child benefit and a small amount of HB but excluding child maintenance as my ex isn't reliable at paying it so I don't rely on getting it/count it in my budget.

Yes, it was you. I was the Antichrist apparently for stating that families of 4 needed £120 a week minimum in food money to comfortably live healthy lives.

You and many others ripped me apart. It was one of my first posts (good times)
Glad to see you’ve not changed

I guess that's why this thread threw me so much. To me £2.5k per month is a life changing amount of money. It's what I have for my goal of 'right now, I can slow down a bit and take some time off'.

You think having £150 a week to cover gas, electric, food and entertainment is ‘life changing’?

I don’t know where you live but the OP has every right to be miffed at her current situation. She has not deserved nearly the abuse she’s gotten, neither did I actually. Nobody is torturing cats here, just wishing things were easier for their families
(And everyone else’s)

Do you have a link Cantankerous? I don't remember that thread at all. I do remember posting on a thread where someone posted budgeting advice on food by including £££ worth of food they already had and wondering why everyone else couldn't do it.

I can't think I would post anything other than £120 is a lot to spend on food in a week.

Eh? I know my maths isn't too good but how does £150 per week equate to 2.5K per month?

"I can wholeheartedly assure you that the child is NOT sick" how ON EARTH could you know that unless you're their GP? There's any number of invisible conditions that could be the issue.

Re mh issues as I've said repeatedly I'm aware there are people working with them - I was one myself at one point - but surely as a sufferer yourself you must know they are not all the same in nature or severity.

CantankerousCamel - sorry you went through all that with them wrongly messing up your money, but similar issues happen to non working benefit claimants too. It's why we're so fearful of change - because IME they ALWAYS cock it up, always in their favour and it can take MONTHS to get it rectified. I've a friend who thought taking a temp Christmas position in retail would be a good idea - bit extra money for Christmas, recent work experience for her Cv to aid in her search for a permanent position PLUS the employers claimed it might lead to a permanent position (they lied they didn't take anyone on permanently from the temp staff). It royally messed up her money and took 2 YEARS for it to be properly resolved - which made it harder to get to interviews for some permanent roles too. It was such a stupendous cock up (all the temp staff she was working with were affected, they think though never found out for sure that the employer gave wrong info to hmrc) that they even got an apology from the then Secretary of State in charge. I now feel physically sick when I hear the postman deliver ANYTHING. I agree with you this absolutely should NOT be the case and even IF mistakes are made they should be quickly investigated and resolved.

UC was supposed to be a system that coped better with such issues yet from all I've read (not just on here) and heard (from people in real life) it's WORSE.

"A simple AIBU to think working families should not be struggling to pay for dental treatment and education would have gotten her very different replies." Exactly

I worked full time starting aged 16, while also at what was then called 6th form college. Until my mid 30's when I became too disabled/sick to work outside the home (that's a whole other thread - I honestly believe more sick/disabled could be working, earning and contributing to society if employers were more open to different working methods and times, but then we also need job creation) the only other times I wasn't working were when I was doing my nursing degree (where even though unpaid as its 'training' you are essentially working when doing the practical parts of the degree on placements), and when I had dd.

"I think the answer is higher wages/ lower taxation to properly reward work. I would fund this by making Amazon, Starbucks, the super rich etc pay fair taxation" agree with this. Unfortunately will never happen under a Tory govt because their primary contributors are business owners who don't want to pay higher wages.

Romany

The OP has written her outgoings and has £600 left for food, fuel and entertainment.

Which is £150 a week.

And fuck all.

Graphista
That was a very thoughtful post. Shame you couldn’t have produced that when the OP was at her lowest and instead stuck the knife in. Well done.

I didn't "stick the knife in" at all I challenged her argument. As did others. And she had NO problem responding - with personal attacks!

You haven’t challenged ‘an argument’ you’vr ‘challenged’ someone going through a really, super shit time in their lives.

Cantankerous

That's about the same as us, it's really not fuck all. We eat well, I get to save bits to take dd to the opera a few times a year, we aren't cold and i manage to cook great meals for the family, all from scratch though, as can't afford packets, jars and frozen food, well except for peas.

Its all relative isnt it for some £2 5k is loads for others it reallly isnt, apart gas and electric, theres water, council tax , house insurance , food , clothes, school dinners , we have a var (an old one ) we need it as dh works shifts his placr pf work is abour 7 miles away so road tax, carr insurance , petrol , not to mention tjings gping wrong with the car, than theres internet connection now i suppose we dont technically nered it but ds1 j
Has started high school some of his jomework they have to do online, and debts, people get into debts for all kinds of reasons and they need paying back. You can see how 2.5k might not stretch far .

More than one PP has stated that "no one on benefits should have a better quality of life than someone working."

Do you believe this of people who were born disabled and will never be able to work?

As a couple life on benefits is really really tough. I think as a single parent you are entitled to more help (obviously). I don’t work but my OH does. With his wage and benefits we live off about £1600 per month. Our rent is £1k and then £600 goes on all bills, food and travel costs. There is nothing left for any fun extras. And there is no way of knowing exactly what you will get until you apply. There are calculators online but they estimated much more for us than we actually receive. Life can be very miserable when you can only cover the basics and I certainly wouldn’t choose to be in this position.

I think the barriers to adult education hurt many people and it's quite reasonable to be frustrated with that. YANBU to think we need a better system to help people than the current oversimplified tickbox of whether or not they get X benefit.

I don't think that putting the issues for many in terms of us vs them will help much. I agree that the working poor often gets ignored as are many others, but I think putting two working parents at odd with parents that have never worked is also an oversimplification.

The idea one should automatically not struggle more than the other makes sense but is unrealistic with how complicated life gets - no matter how many working adults are in a home, there are more things that can sadly make daily life harder - debts, disabilities, fees, legal issues, kids' needs, and so on. My house has all of those currently and the three adults here are struggling to figure it all out and make progress at times.

Everyone has their struggles and frustrations, pointing fingers at who has it 'easier' or playing who can get by with the least and so everyone else should doesn't really help anyone. It's different for everyone.

That amount of rent is staggering, it really is.

I do think people in the south should get more help towards housing costs or rents should be capped to a realistic amount. £1k a month on rent is eye watering. I would literally cry if I had to pay almost two thirds of my income on rent. Foreign investors who park money in London in the form of houses they have no intention of ever visiting need to be forced out with extra taxes and empty property charges.

Oh and also if my OH earns a bonus, it basically all gets taken as it results in an overpayment it benefits that month. It’s very frustrating. OH gets a pay rise and people say “oh good you’ll be able to do more now” but it doesn’t work that way. The benefits get cut and we still struggle (although it’s much nicer to be living from early money rather than benefits of course). I had an incorrect preconception that those on benefits have it easy. They really don’t.

@Frequency it is very frustrating. We have paid our landlord almost £40k in the last 3 and a half years (around £8k of that had been paid by housing benefits). And we are by no means living in a mansion. We live in a modest 2 bedroom semi detached house in Kent.

flowercrow

I would frame that question a different way,

People on disability benefits are entitled to what the government consider the minimum required for that person and their family to live a good life with money for rent, food, fuel and entertainment.

So what you are actually asking is if people believe that by working you should also be entitled to a life that is relatively comfortable with enough money for food, fuel and entertainment.

The answer is, of course, yes. Even the NMW should cover this.

Cantankerous Camel I see what you are saying. I absolutely believe that the national minimum wage should cover all that.
As should pension credit. My mum didn't have a pension. So she was expected to live on £125 a week.

Agreed.