Things aren’t that bad

[Hellin301]

If the last number of threads are anything to go by, a lot of people haven’t been financially impacted by the virus. In fact a lot of people have come on to say they are saving more than ever (saving on travel costs etc)

Where are all the people who have reduced incomes, lost jobs & financially struggling?
The news is constantly reporting on jobs losses yet that doesn’t seem to be reflected on these boards??!

They are all over on Facebook on the #excludeduk group, 3 million people have had zero since March.

Mumsnet isn't immune but I also agree maybe higher incomes and age groups? Mean less impact?

My best friend's business imploded over night (childminder) and has remained dead on its arse. Because she'd been operating under a year she was entitled to £500 quid for the whole of lockdown.
On the plus side, the tax credits she and her DH will receive shortly will pay as much as she earned, so she is unlikely to return to work even when she can.

Where are all the people who have reduced incomes, lost jobs & financially struggling?

I'm right here. I lost my business of over 10 years in September as the fight was too hard. I have never mentioned it on here though.

I agree OP, there was a long running thread the other day with only posters responding how better off they are. I was really surprised.

Single mum here who works in a travel related business...income down 20% due to furlough and no child maintenance from my ex either...supporting my eldest who has just graduated too...scary times.

Where are all the people who have reduced incomes, lost jobs & financially struggling?

... and an other one!
DH & I lost our jobs. There are very few jobs available in our area. None in the sector we where working back in March. I thought our future is bleak, but with this 2nd lockdown it looks like we are really going to be hit rock bottom. We will loose our home eventually as benefits don't cover all our outgoings. Unless we find jobs above NMW or child friendly working hours.
Happy Now?

I Bank of England study suggest that 28% of households have income dropped, 8% have seen income growth and the rest are stable

Guess that's one reason for variation

The furlough scheme has kept a huge number of people in jobs up to now. My business is down by about 60% and we have just had to make several redundancies as the furlough support ending at the end of October means we can no longer afford to keep all our employees on.

The latest lockdown means that the future for our industry (we supply the hospitality trade) is looking very bleak.

These boards are not representative of general society...unless you believe 2 in every 10 people earn £150k +, for instance.

This. Probably higher than every 2 though from how many claim it, more likely every 4-5 out of 10.

There are plenty of people struggling. Chances are that they want to use this board as a means of escape, to pretend they are still wealthy or just are if they never have been.

I thought the same, until my partner lost his job.

Single mum here. I've managed to save more than I ever could before. My jobs stayed the same but I had no school travel or clubs to pay for. Not been out. So managed to save alot. I know I'm lucky.

Same, although now everything is back I'm back to being totally skint but it was nice to have a few extra pennies. Also it's not possible for me to be any worse off income wise. I'm no better off working than I was on JSA so I live to the lowest income anyone can have all the time. Any loss of work would make no difference to me financially anyway. Wages go down or stop and I get more housing, wages go up I get less.

Perhaps some of those who have lost incomes have chosen to keep it to themselves or at least not to put it on any form of social media. Some people keep part or all of their lives within their home.

My industry - film and TV shut down for months during lockdown.
Fortunately my own business survived it, but here are some of the people I did not employ during that period.
Script editor.
Director. First AD. Second AD. Line producer. Make up artist. Actor. Set dresser. Camera crew (lots). Lighting technicians. Editor. Etc etc
I doubt though that many of those people float about in MN wondering if ‘we’ve forgotten what fat looks like’ or if they’re justified in going NC with their MIL.

Musician here. I know that 100s of my professional orchestral musician colleagues are really struggling at the moment. Things have never been so bad. Most orchestras employ freelancers, so there's no financial support they can claim to fall back on. Gigs are cancelled, and they can't teach (given the current circumstances). They're not on Mumsnet telling us how bad it is probably because their career choice is one that makes it difficult to have start family - concerts in four different cities each week, and orchestra tours every month, often married to a fellow musician doing the same. So Mumsnet simply isn't their go-to chat place. To say things people aren't really worse off, of not better, is incredibly hurtful to everyone working in the entertainment industry.

I've lost my job after being on furlough for 6 months of reduced pay so yes we've lost half our income.

Mumsneters have much higher average household incomes than the population as a whole. They’re generally better places to weather the storm.

We are lucky, we’re not wealthy, but as I work for the nhs and DPs company seems to have fared pretty well and he can work effectively from home, we haven’t seen our income fall. Also our kids are teens, so haven’t had to home school in the way you would with younger kids.

There are many people struggling out there in the real world.

We've been fine so far and saved. However my husband is in an industry where if this goes on for much longer then he wont have a job. And my sibling has been made redundant

Where are all the people who have reduced incomes

That would be me. Hours slashed by 40%. Contract only months not the 5 yrs I was expecting. Irony is that my job is helping to control the covid outbreak. I get asked to predict the next 3 weeks, help figure out priorities, what to do next & to explain the latest science. Yet my job is far from secure.

We are old so mortgage free & have savings is why no financial crisis for us (yet).

I'm here. I was made redundant at the start of July.

I'm in my fifties. No sign yet of anything suitable and with the new lockdown I've honestly given up looking for now.

Fortunately DH's job is OK although he is on a modest salary rather than a high one. So we will manage, which puts us in a better situation than many.

Where are all the people who have reduced incomes, lost jobs & financially struggling?

I'm one of them. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, wedged down the poverty gap.

I can't be furloughed because the previously thriving small business I work for still needs me for what little work there is.

It will continue to need me if the business survives.

I'm currently down to working 12 hours a week @ £10 per hour.

I live in a multi generational household, with my 85 year old pensioner Df and 18 year old Dd who has just had her apprenticeship canceled.

Because I live "with family" my Universal credit entitlement is £18.99 per week.

I live in London and my Universal Credit entitlement doesn't even cover my contribution to the Council Tax.

So, @Hellin301 I'm really glad you think things aren't that bad, can YOU live on £138.99 a week?

Both my adult DC have lost their jobs. Luckily they are both able to stay with me and my job pays decently (not high but decent). They claim UC and buy their own food etc. I pay for the running costs of the house. So while we’re not struggling, mainly because of my income, we have most definitely been affected. If they didn’t have me then I don’t know what situation they would be in. So I’m not worried for me but I am worried for them.

I lost my job
My SIL lost her job and can’t get another and now has Covid from the few shifts she picked up at a pub
My friend lost her job

Somebody was moaning that they will only have 30k a year, I'd have to work for 4 years to get that now 🙄

People do struggle, though them threads don't do as well, plus a lot of people are way too proud to admit it.

I work for a charity we have lost income as a result of COVID - we also have more people needing our help than usual
In the short term we can manage but I will be making some people redundant in April if things don’t improve
DP was made redundant in June, we don’t live together but I am helping him financially as he can’t afford rent top ups - not things like running a car
I’m also running around for elderly DM and elderly NDN so my car expenses have gone up noticeably