To think having £211/week each after housing costs isn't poverty?

[PianoThirty]

It is according to the Social Metrics Commission.

They say the poverty line is £203/week for a single parent with one child, £422/week for a couple with two children. All figures are after** housing costs and childcare costs (if applicable).

I'd be over the moon if we had £422/week to spend, and I don't think we're anywhere near poor.

I’m confused by these figures.
A family of 4 could easily be spending 1500 plus on childcare & rent/mortgage. So to have £422 a week after that you need an income of 55k minimum?

I also wonder if some of the threads on here are posted by vested interests, and I suspect so. We know for sure, anyway, that the whole Brexit debate benefited from Cambridge Analytica et al, and now they're in charge.

@fancynancyclancy

Exactly! That’s the point. To be able to live outside of poverty you need to be earning enough to give you that figure AFTER your housing
I saw a post on here the other day when someone was worrying about spending 28% of their income on their mortgage and people were telling them to be cautious. I don’t think that is the norm for a hell of a lot of people at all is it? my rent in social housing is well over 40% of my income and in the past has been a lot more in private rental, probably 60% at times

PookieDo yes most people I know spend 2k plus on housing & childcare costs. Housing is far too expensive in this country & far too much of a burden on the young imo.

So does that mean most families in the UK are in poverty?

I guess the problem will always be how you define poverty. There's a technical definition the government uses for it's figures, and that may or may not marry up with what people think. The circumstances one person might consider 'poverty', another person might not. It's relative and people use their own circumstances to evaluate where the line lies.

Does that include food, Bill's, petrol, car maintenance ? If not, it's not really much at all.

@BarbaraofSeville

But what you describe is quite a comfortable standard of living I disagree with this.

an expensive car second hand Ford Focus which I need for work

Plenty of money for clothes and food £250 to feed a family of 4 is hardly plenty. It's about £15 a week per person. It was actually a typo, we spend more than that. £50 per person for clothes is not tons either IMO, especially when the kids rip/stain/ruin/grow out of stuff at a rate of knots.

above average council tax and utilities Not where I live.

suggesting you are putting the heating on and covering these costs Does this make someone 'comfortable'? Affording heating?? We live on the North West coast, gets pretty cold here in winter.

being able to afford insurance Legally required for mortgage and car, not a luxury.

public transport costs in addition to a decent car To allow myself and my DH to get to work. Again, not what I'd consider a luxury.

And as I stated in my last post, I don't think the money left over would be enough to cover everything that's left. Poverty? Maybe not. Things could be cut. Comfortable? Definitely not in my opinion. I'd describe it as 'barely managing' and 'one minor financial issue away from disaster'.

Like I say though, it's subjective. I know some people will consider they very fact that people can afford to buy their own house means that they are 'well off' but it shouldn't be a race to the bottom.

Very often you see threads on here where a poster with a household income of say 70k is told they are rich & should not moan about anything. But a young family with that could easily have £460 a week when you take into account housing/childcare/pension/student loan/debt repayments.

Understood OP,
I think the report is wrong because it’s clearly riddled with mistakes and conflicting statements. I can barely make head nor tail of it so unfortunately would not take the claims seriously.

@Trickyteens - I’m not some Brexit-causing Russian spy, nor a vested interest (other than as a normal member of the public).

Reports like this one devalue the term “poverty”; people become desensitised to the word, and the real poor get ignored or even abused.

We have around £1.5-2k every month after ALL bills are paid. I think that's well off but I'm sure someone on a six figure income would think it peanuts.

We have around £1.5-2k every month after ALL bills are paid. I think that's well off but I'm sure someone on a six figure income would think it peanuts.

I don't know - someone on 100k takes home about £5.5k.

Mortgage of 2k a month, bills at 1k ish (inc. food), childcare say another £1k easily. Your 2k would look good rather than peanuts!

I don't live inn poverty. I consider my self to have everything I need. I have about £30 a week left after all bills etc.

After all outgoings then no that isn't poverty and a little less then the surplus I get to myself each month after bills (£980)

But as other posters have said if things go wrong then yea need more, but I also believe in working for my money and not hand outs so I cant really comment.

So for 200 a week is a lot, ive got no kids and don't pay towards BM kids so I think that's not a bad amount for snacks, drinks botox and holidays lol.

We have £460 a week after childcare and mortgage, which is just above the poverty line for a family of four.

It feels like enough tbh, but then we aren't big spenders. Hand me down clothes, not many days or meals out, cheap camping holidays, no new furniture. Luckily we've had savings to pay for car problems and a new boiler and washing machine recently.

I imagine if we were in rented and didn't have any savings we'd feel quite insecure. But because our mortgage is paying for a nice house we'll own, and our childcare is high quality, I feel quite well off.

I imagine if we were in rented and didn't have any savings we'd feel quite insecure. But because our mortgage is paying for a nice house we'll own, and our childcare is high quality, I feel quite well off.

That's assuming you won't have to sell yourself in order to receive old age care?

To me many home owners, even those who are middle class, seem smug about their position in life. I wonder how many will and do afford to leave an inheritance AND pay for elderly social care.

Sell your house not yourself 😂

Surprised by the number of people on this thread thinking that somehow people’s financial positions are the fault of ‘the Tories’ rather than their own. It’s no surprise that many people are struggling to get by whenmost seem to refuse to take financial responsibility choosing to blame politicians instead (as if they can magic wealth out of thin air). The result is that many walk themselves into bad financial positions through a complete failure to take responsibility for themselves and making poor life choices as a result meanwhile those of us who do the right thing are facing an ever increasing tax bill to support the reckless mob.

The Tories seem to be magicking wealth out of thin air pretty successfully right now. And the tax bill is decreasing every year as the threshold is raised but don’t let the facts get in the way of a far right wing diatribe @BogglesGoggles.

Oh yes @BogglesGoggles, blame the poor people. Lazy bastards that they are, not doing anything at all to help themselves

You clearly have been drinking the kool-aid so there’s no point in reasoning with you. But you are exactly what is wrong with this country.

I've never understood how the working poor got demonised as lazy and reckless. Sure, they're not lawyers or Drs. They didn't push themselves through education but society would cease to function without them.

I'm part of the reckless mob who didn't make the right choices and got stuck in poverty. I spent twelve hours last night holding the hand of a lady with dementia and calming her after her night terrors. I toileted her, cleaned shit off her legs, fed her, sang to her and did it all with a smile.

Explain to me how that is lazy or reckless or how without NMW carers that lady would live?

If I had £203 a week after housing costs by the time I'd taken all other bills off I'd be left with £56 a week for food for me & DD and fuel to get to work - just now I have around £85

Oh @Frequency, thank goodness for people like you. If only we paid you better. 💐

I'm part of the reckless mob who didn't make the right choices and got stuck in poverty.

Me too.
My life was once well paid, managerial, mortgage, rental property etc etc.
It's now universal credit and social housing after relationship went to hell. But maybe I should have just allowed cheating and ignored it?

Boggles I hope either you or your family need caring for when you're older. All those feckless, stupid care workers on minimum wage who let themselves down in life by not becoming a doctor or lawyer.

You do know right that not everyone can have these professions? I mean if everyone did then we'd all be hungry and quite literally in the shit at some point. But as said above, don't let those pesky facts get in the way.

I'll let my nurse know that she's been reckless though according to you, living in her rented house that she returns to after long shifts. After all she should've just worked harder for the wage she earns. Wazzock.