To wonder how poor I am??

[Imustbemad00]

I know there will be varied responses from really well off, or ridiculously poor. I sort of class myself as low paid but not in poverty but would like opinions.

I have around 1000pcm after paying rent. 2 children. Out of this 1000 by the time I pay bills (council tax, car insurance, broadband, tv, car tax, parking permit, gas and electric) I probably have around 600 left.

That 600 is then for food, after school clubs, day to day stuff, clothes, shoes, and anything else that might come up such as school trips. Also obviously the odd luxury, cinema trips, days out, treats for the kids, birthdays, Xmas, maybe a holiday.

Do I sound really poor? I get by, pay the bills ect. But I really struggle with clothes and stuff, obviously prioritise kids, struggle to get all their bits and then end up never getting anything for myself. Going for a meal or a day out always has to be planned and saved for and obviously I have no savings.

I guess a lot of people are in the same boat.

former but she can afford that.

OP you have a hard time on this thread, had you included food in your list and said you have 70 for all the others. As a working person supporting your family you are poor. If you were on benefits you would have less but you're not. You are out working. Yes OP it is shit, especially this time of year, I got some tax back this year so I was lucky, otherwise I would be under serious pressure for Christmas on a similar income.
I hope things get easier for you and your family.

lucky or maybe people just have a different perception to you?

It's ok to have different viewpoints, but acting like people are being horrible when they're just pointing out that it could be far far worse is just silly.

Why is it that a person can’t say they are struggling, without being told they are being ungrateful because there are people worse off?? I’m not denying that. But I am talking about my own situation. Do people honestly think that if you can afford the basics you should jist accept that you wear 10 year old Birkenstock’s every summer because some people have shoes.
I just wanted opinions on people in similar situations, on similar wages, or people better or worse off. Not comparisons to homeless people or people in third world countries.
I think a high percentage of people commenting have not been in my situation. Saying “well you are not poor if you can afford food and have Internet, and you can just buy clothes from the charity shop” is ridiculous. Having to shop in charity shops is surely considered poor and not “comfortable”.
I studied hard, I work hard but anything other than second hand clothes or staying indoors eating toast wrapped in blankets is apparently considered a luxury to some!

I don't think the suggestion was that you have to shop in charity shops, just that if you did then you would save money.

If hearing the word “harridan” upsets you, you should consider all the people in the third world who hear so much worse every day. You don’t hear them complaining and they’d dearly love to have some random person on the Internet saying they’re a misery.

imustbe TONS of people shop in charity shops, it's better for the environment, it's cheaper and you can get better quality stuff than new in Primark. I go there before going anywhere else, even when I have the cash for new.

If you only wanted people to say 'there there poor you', then maybe reword your OP to say that.

I think it's the talk of poverty and being poor that got people's backs up.

A lot of us have been in your situation. Nothing wrong with wanting a moan, but when you are able to feed and clothe and shelter you and your children, you may still be struggling, no doubt, and that sucks, but it's not the same as being poor.

Always interesting these threads.

You're not poor, you can afford the essentials like hearing, housing etc. But you are squeezed, you're part of that bit in the middle where you're earning a decent wage but it's still not quite enough to make ends meet, and you're not entitled to benefits.

I think you might fare better if you actually budget for food. Your disposable income is not £600/m, food is a necessity and should be counted in the same category as housing.

It might help you to use an app that helps you record everything you spend on - I use Fudget and record everything. I started doing this at the start of this month so I can see where I'm frittering away money unnecessarily. I split my disposable income into what I thought I spend on different areas, the app lets you create different budgets, and at the end of this month I will review my expenditure and use it to inform my budget going forward.

I have more disposable income than you but it's easy to spend without thinking about it. I did have about the same as you for quite a while, and strangely I felt like I had more cash! No idea how that worked.

holdme wow, pat yourself on the back, what a witty comeback. I know I lolled.

I never once mentioned poverty. I asked how poor I am? Not compared to a homeless person, by compared to MN. Or to working families.

@Imustbemad00 I don't think you are well off by any means in your position.
I think you have enough to get by. I can't imagine you can afford to put much aside for savings on what you've said you have left each month. So what would happen for example if your washing machine broke down? Or you had a big unexpected house hold bill (broken boiler, car repairs etc)? I imagine that would be a struggle?
It's perfectly fine to say you struggle financially sometimes, that doesn't mean you don't care or have any empathy for those that are worse off than you. I wouldn't take all the back lash you get on here too personally. You go to work and earn a living. You earn enough to get by. You don't have to apologise for not struggling with being able to provide and put food on your table.

Whoops should have rtft! I see you are in min wage and do get some benefits. My advice still stands though, regardless of the source of your income.

If your kids are teens, could they get a job to help give them a bit of extra cash to buy new clothes plus show them the value of money? I washed pots on a Saturday in a local cafe, delivered newspapers and swept hair in a salon. Earned a few quid and felt like an adult (in a good way!) at the same time. Even £50 a month all to themselves would take the pressure off you.
Also, don’t be fooled by the insta world we live in, I know people who’s lives look amazing with terrifying amounts of debt behind it all.

I had a lot less money a couple of years ago so I think when my money increased so did my spending. I am grateful that I’m here instead of where I was a few years ago. I’m going to have a quick look at my bank statement but I’m 100% going to track ALL spending for a month.

imustbe but poverty is the same thing as being poor?

Why can you only be compared to working families? Are homeless people not people too? Can't they go on mn? Trust me, it's all too easy to get into that position and there are far more people precariously housed in the UK than most people imagine.

Why do these threads all turn into a fight? I posted the link because it is based on what a cross section of the population think. You know that thing, democracy? You might think it's generous in some areas, mean in some others or whatever, but it's what people, on average, think is a decent standard of living (they don't use the word poor). I agree with Have, I don't understand why there has to be competitive poverty or a race to the bottom.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it, but You Need A Budget (YNAB) is an excellent software for budgeting

I didn't read the OP saying they lived in poverty. As I said I am in a similar position, A better position than lots but worse than most.
In comparison to my siblings, friends I definitely am poorer, much poorer. I can't join them for meals, they'll go on holiday a few times a year. I haven't had a holiday in 6 years. If they want something they can buy it. A new washing machine would half our food budget for a few months. So by some standards I am poor not destitute but poor.

@Hisaishi Goady much?
Or deliberately missing the meaning of what I was asking? I clearly wasn’t calling myself “poor” literally. It was jist a figure of speech, the first word that jumped to mind for the purposes of a title. As it’s a mn post and not a novel I really didn’t put that much thought itnto it. Maybe if I reworded it to “Is it normal or how does it compare to a majority of working families to struggle to buy what I view as necessities in a developed country in 2018 on my budget?”

there are far more people precariously housed in the UK than most people imagine. Well yes but if they dare post about it I've no doubt they too will be told how lucky they are because somebody else is living under a bridge or worse.

The OP said I class myself as low paid but not in poverty ffs, she doesn't need to be patronized and harangued for wishing life was a bit easier. She's getting by but she's just getting by and even that requires a lot of budgeting and going without. She's likely well aware that an increase in rent or travel costs or food prices or some unexpected cost could be the thing that pushes her under. Oh but god forbid she'd dare to post about how she's feeling a bit ground down by it all.

OP, I think you have had bit of a tough time from some posters.

I don’t think £600 a month to clothe and feed yourself and dc is a great deal at all, especially as the price of food is continually rising. In your shoes I would worry about not having some savings to help in a time of emergency so would I’m to try to save something each week/month.

I don’t know what the answer is for you but I don’t think you are wrong to feel squeezed financially.

I understand where you are coming from, was in similar position years ago. I feel sorry for you, it doesn't help you right now to be told things will get better but they will.

The only thing I didn't understand was 'toast in blankets'. Is that anything like pigs in blankets without the pigs? :-) ;-)

I'm literally waiting for the bailiffs to show up, as my LL is evicting me, as wants to sell and I have nowhere to go. LLs don't accept people on HB at all any more. The council has said I'm extremely unlikely to get council housing. So, when the bailiffs do show up, My young DDs and I will literally be out on the street. For christmas I'm buying them each a warm cardigan, as that's all I can afford. I go hungry so they can eat.

@uniquack Been in same position myself. Council have a duty to house you as you have dependent children even if temporarily in B&B, assuming they don't class you as intentionally homeless (doesn't sound like it from what you've posted)

You have the same as me only I'm saving £200 pm out of that. To put the amount in to perspective, I'm on income support, tax credits and child benefit. I get pupil premium for my children. The money I save is child maintenance. So you're just above basic benefit level for 1 adult and 2 children.

I don't feel poor, I'm not on the bones of my arse, but that's due to the choices I make. Same as it is for you I'd guess.

@herja You also get other benefits such as free prescriptions, dental, eye test, school meals, healthy start vouchers. These can add up to a lot and the OP won't be entitled to any of them.

The first year my earnings got too high for free prescriptions etc I was actually worse off

Well I've ate a lot of gravel and lived in shoeboxes, but really?!

When they invented the welfare state they said poverty is relative, not absolute. There is abject poverty, not enough to sustain life, yes in other countries, but increasingly here too. Benefit level can reasonably be the marker below which you should not fall.
Relative poverty is when you can't reliably afford a reasonable standard of living compared to your peers. An old banger to get to work, or a nice tv to keep the kids entertained cheaply does not make you well off. I'm not talking Starbucks and lunch out every day, more can we afford a treat for a birthday, or to cover a crisis

Benefits were not intended for long term, it was a safety net. Capitalism requires an underclass as well as a working class, almost any of us can end up there through no fault of our own, and it gets harder to climb out. Low wages are a scandal.
Op is around or just above the poverty line, but still living with a very limited income. In the long term it will affect her health, and possibly her children's aspirations. She, like many others is struggling and doing well under difficult circumstances. She's not feckless, spending all her money on fags, she's doing her best. Relatively poor, Google it