to expect to have more disposable income than single mums claiming benefits

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i no longer know why me and dh bother, he works full time and i work part time so that i can juggle the child care.

i know of 3 single mums who stay near me who seem to have more money than i can dream of, out every weekend, always shopping and 2 of them manage to run cars.

i know the benefit system is needed by some people but it seems to be a complete joke these days, the wasters in this country are leading the life of reilly while the rest of us are left to slog our guts out to pay for there existence.

no doubt i will get flamed for this post but i have been out xmas shopping today trying to work to a budget then i stand next to these people at the school gates and hear about all the grants they are entitled to so they can buy xmas presents, one of them has even cut back the last 2 months and managed to save £800, it would take me bloody months to save that up.

ok rant over, deep down i am glad i am not one of these people and i do actually work for what i have but it still pisses me of.

I'd sooner have the money, Expat! lol

Dont want to post my income but I'm a single parent of 1. The benefit side of it is WTC and CTC it equates to £46 per week which if I earned up to £50,000 per year would still be £10 per week so not a fortune. But saying that its a lifeline. Would have to work lots more hours to make it worthwhile and currently work about 32 per week. Suppose I'm still a benefit claimant but the system is there to help. Means I can have some time for appointments etc for my child.

There is, of course, one benefit to being a single mum. You don't have to continually stop a partner frittering money on unnecessary food etc. and cause arguments (although that said he is much better than he used to be).

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Twinkle, but its lonely. I did live with someone for a couple of years but it wasnt quite right, still I miss the relationship that could have been. But that's a different thread. I guess that's why us single mums are dressed up and out on the town regardless of income we are all looking and hoping.

What I want to know is what all those people do for a living who you see on those property programmes buying £400 or £500k houses. Obviously they're riding the property price rises to an extent, but almost without exception they all seem really really thick. Whereas we all seem pretty intelligent - it doesn't equate at all.

I have to admit, by the way, that we are on the housing ladder because we scraped together to buy a place before the market rocketed. So when we've sold our old place we will be attempting to buy again. But then the mortgage will work out more than the rent, and with the way prices are I doubt we can borrow enough for a shoebox. But just wanted to be honest with you all and I know we're very lucky in that respect. It doesn't change the figures though for someone who doesn't own a house.

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Oh, btw, the figures I quote DO only account for the rent payments. The mortgage payments at the moment = very kind parents lending money. Certainly not expecting any sympathy as I know we're very fortunate, just setting facts straight.

I own my house but only cos I bought years ago. In quite a pricy area but its a shoebox really. DD (13) turned round to me last night and said if you won the lottery she wouldnt want to move cos she likes this house. Bless. I'd give it away.

Well harman, I try not to be choosy but carnt do it.

think income support is around £55 for yourself and around £35 for each child. plus child benefit. out of that comes your water, electricity, gas, phone bill, tv licence, contents ins, whatever other bills you have, weekly shop etc. its not a fortune.

Agreed. And for anyone living in a rural area, who can't afford to run any sort of car, it must be a complete and utter nightmare.

My problem is that I have to go back to work when my baby will be 4 months old as I can't afford to survive / pay my bills on the maternity allowance...so because I am married and we both work and pay taxes, I am not able to be a stay at home mum...I am NOT happy that I am working AND paying taxes so that I can afford others the privelege of being at home with their own child(ren) all day!!

that's unfair. one day you may be glad you paid that tax if you ever end up in a position where you too are on your own, claiming benefit. better than being homeless.

As an answer to that, my problem is not with genuine, deserving cases and I sympathise with those people who are in such a dreadful situation. However, I know lots of cases that are not genuine and that's the sad thing. People who lie and say their partner isn't living with them so that their rent, bills and council tax is paid for them. I have looked into the financial situation and would genuinely have more disposable income if claimed to be a single mum!! To quote my mother's (allegedly single mum) neighbour who was sunbathing as I was leaving for work...."Only mugs like you work" her partner who "doesn't officially live with her" scoffed. I find that infuriating, as I'm working to keep people like that in the lifestyle they currently enjoy, and believe me, they want for nothing....neither do their 4 kids. My pride wouldn't let me live on benefits if I didn't genuinely needed them.

0800 854 440 - Benefit Fraud Hotline

everyone knows someone who is screwing the state. noone knows a genuine claimant? how is that so? no sarcasm. honest question.

Ahhh have thought of that, but my mum has to live there, if they even suspected that someone had reported them, life for the neighbours would be nightmarish!

...and sadly, yes. I do know genuine claimants. The people who are genuine could have and should have LOTS more help if the fraudsters weren't using up all the funding.

but can you see that to some of us who have had no choice but to claim, certain comments on this thread are incredibly hurtful?

...absolutely, and I realise just how lucky I am that I have not had to claim benefits. You can understand why people get frustrated though. It is the Government's fault for not allocating funding appropriately and not being more thorough when people are means tested. We should NOT live in a society where people have more money when they don't work than they would if they did! It promotes laziness and again, the genuine cases are the ones who ultimately lose out because they don't recieve as much financial assistance as they deserve!

this is interesting

"Figures from the Department for Work & Pensions showed that there was between £4.8billion and £8billion of unclaimed income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit, job-seeker's allowance and pension credit in 2004/05.
Earlier this year, HM Revenue & Customs revealed that around £5bn of working tax credit and child tax credit goes unclaimed annually, bringing the total of money that fails to reach those in need to £13bn.

Kate Green chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said: 'These figures suggest that the Government is failing to make progress on take-up rates for means-tested benefits. On the best estimate around a quarter of entitled people are still missing out. By contrast, Child Benefit, which is not means-tested, has a take-up rate of around 98%.'

Compared to this: Benefit fraud and errors cost government £2.7bn

"Fraud losses have fallen from around £2bn in 2001 to an estimated £0.8bn in 2005/6. A counter-fraud strategy was introduced last year, designed to build further on this progress."

Not that the amount of unclaimed benefit justifies any cases of fraud but the difference between the amounts is interesting.

i felt much the same before it happened to me i admit. once every week as we went past the post office on our way to work i sneered at them all waiting for their handouts. i never gave a thought as to why they might need the money. obviously i know better now!

i was a single mum for five years

i had no home of my own

dh had made us homeless

i moved in with my my parents unaware of an impending divorce
too long astory to bore you with

i worked long hours
but i had the backing of my parents who were amazing

to go through life with no support is scary

good luck to all single mums

I've only speed-read this thread but i have to say that I am appalled at the attitude and ignorance of some. Luckily there are also many sensible posts and opinions too.

I've heard many bigoted comments from people in my time, but usually from the older generation. Things like "Hmm they only get pregnant so that they can get a house" "Hmm she's on benefit but can afford new boots?" "We paid our taxes to keep them in a life of luxury"

I'm shocked to read such tosh on here.

Some people and their precious taxes? I once posted on here about the saga of my new door. Someone posted that it was their taxes that would be paying for it. Excuse me but I think you may find it is actually my rent that pays for that

Eleven years ago I found myself with a newborn and moving to a new place due to domestic violence. I had no job as the ex had managed to get rid of that for me (long story) So, I was a single mum on benefits. Thinking about it, the fact that i had worked in a very high paid job for the previous 12 years probably means that I could have stayed on benefits for many years and still only claiming back what I had put in. BUT to the 'observant' working mum I was living off their taxes wasn't I?

I don't know for sure but isn't benefit for one person plus one child still under £100 a week? So you pay for gas, electric, water, tv licence, insurance, phone bill, transport, clothes, food, school contributions, club/activity fees, birthdays etc.... not much left for this 'life of luxury' eh?

Having digs at the single mum isn't really on either. Do we point the finger at the absent parent and tut tut that they are living the good life and running a car?
Do parents with a dh or dp stop to think before they post about whinges that their dh/dp only does a small amount of housework/cooking/shopping? Oh what I'd give to have another person in this house to do anything, anything at all! call for milk on the way home from work....make me a coffee.....put the rubbish out - now 'that' would be luxury to me.

I bought a car when I was on benefits. Here's how I did that. I went for long walks daily with ds in his pram. On those walks I picked up the coins from the pavement. I discovered the best places for finding money and planned my walks. I banked this money and if I could spare an extra 50p or a £1 I put that in the bank too. Eventually I had £300 so i went to a second hand car place, explained what I wanted and how much I had. I bought a car. A car that most people would smirk at but it was a car. Thank god I managed that because running a car (sensibly) is far cheaper than getting the bus.

Reading this thread it seems everyone knows loads of single mums who are screwing the state. I live on the edge of an estate where there are many single mums, and you know what? I can't think of any who don't work. There are some that have to keep returning to benefits as the reality of going back to work usually means you end up with less income which results in debt and the possibility of losing your home. No amount of this so called pride mentioned here is worth losing your family's home - is it?

If anyone is lucky enough to have have a dh/dp and both are in work then thank your lucky stars and stop begrudging others any semblance of quality of life. Be grateful you have each others company, be grateful you can share the childcare, be grateful you can do overtime to cover any financial crisis - all these are luxuries the single mum on benefit doesn't have.