What can't you afford?

[Marleymerm]

Last week at work my colleague told me her recent eye test showed she needed glasses, but she couldn't afford them, she's known she's needed them for a couple of years but said she doesn't have the money. We both work full time in office jobs and neither of us have expensive hobbies or social lives, we're both pretty boring.
I realised this morning I haven't bought new shoes for months despite the ones I have coming apart, because I can't afford them. I've picked up pairs but put them back down when I've thought of what else I need instead.
When I asked this question to my friend about what she couldn't afford she told me her monthly prescription! She hasn't got it for 3 months.
It's a weird time we're living in so everyone's doing without something. But do you have any necessary things you need but can't afford?

Biffacrafts Your friend is lucky to have you as a friend, remember what goes around comes around and I'm sure you'll be rewarded for your generosity 💙

and friendship!

Good for you. What proportion of your income went on housing? How high were the energy costs? Benefits used to be more generous in relation to basic costs.

I managed just fine when my dc were small and I claimed TC. We're really struggling now because UC isn't enough.

Things are very different now which surely you can imagine. People are getting the same amount of money but everything costs more. There is lots of help out there though so it's not enough to say your dc doesn't have a coat or a basic meal because you can't afford it. The dc need a coat and food so you have to be proactive, approach charities. There are loads currently dealing with things like warm clothing. Thankfully the people posting all still have access to internet so that makes it easier to do so. Harder for those who don't

@FrankTheThunderbird
my point is housing costs and benefits are different from child benefit. I was always broke but my point is if you get child benefit you should be able to afford a warm coat and gloves for your child even if it’s second hand . It was even harder back then as didn’t have eBay / Facebook pages etc with free and cheap items . We ate cheap food but a good variety not just live on bread and rice and cup a soups ! You could save a pound a week and buy a few cheap / secondhand Xmas presents?

The child benefit gets swallowed up by the housing/living costs though. It doesn't go in to a different account or have a force field around it to stop that payment getting swallowed in to the overdraft.

Are you not getting that that £20.70 a week is now, versus a few months ago, going on the electricity/gas bill, petrol to get to work, and an average mortgage increase of £273 a month (which is being passed on to renters)? It's no good having a separate account for CB if you can't pay your rent and you're going into bill arrears.

Yet some people on higher rate DLA are going on holidays

@DashboardConfessional
yes but I’d rather owe bills / credit card etc than let my child go cold or hungry. I’m only giving my opinion on my own experiences of being a broke single parent 🤷🏻‍♀️

Children on high rate dla have severe needs and often one parent has to give up work completely and give full time care.
I am certain any parent would wish for a healthy child with normal development and not have disability benefit. I can’t believe that this could be said it is not a race to the bottom.

Meal ingredients aren't much use if your gas and electric has run out. Your experience isn't relevant as it was pre huge well acknowledged cost of living crisis!

A couple of PP's have said they need new socks please DM me, I have new pairs you can have.

Just been looking for a second hand coat for my DC. Charity shop was charging £10 and the ones on Facebook in their size were £5/£10. They aren't always that cheap.

I find charity shops often have a tub of children's hats and gloves pretty cheap though.

Charity shops are getting expensive IMO. Rarely find a bargain now.

@Untamedfemale I've PM you :)

Charity shopping is a fun past time for the hipsters round here. Won't find yourself a bargain there. Local area Facebook groups are the one. Lots of people giving stuff away or you could do a wanted post. They also have good links to community groups and charities who help with winter clothing and food

@IhateHermioneGranger
yes i do agree charity shop prices have gone up . I was looking at a women’s coat in one on Friday and it was £20 😳 and it was actually really thin to . I get most of my daughters clothes on eBay bundles but you do have to look for the bargains . I tend to check everyday as some get no bids and you get lucky. Just takes abit of time shopping around .

@Threebutterflies I was chuffed to find a batman folding two wheel scooter for a fiver yesterday in good condition. 5 year old was happy. I am trying to not look in charity shops too often though. 😂

lol yes I agree ! Went on a charity shop shopping spree last week and spent more than I wanted to . You can find good bargains now and then just luck I suppose. Sometimes supermarket own clothes are cheaper to buy than a charity shop .

I’m studying to be a speech and language therapist actually, it’s my third degree, second at bachelors level, my third is a masters. My academic and professional work is exemplary when it comes to punctuation, but we’re on an internet forum. If you haven’t noticed, no one else is marking me on my punctuation and you don’t seem to care about anyone else’s punctuation either. Crawl back in your hole.

@Lara9891 well said! 😆

Yes it should be enough to cover that. But HB used to be enough to pay the rent in full. Now it's capped to LHA rates which are more often than not lower than actual rent costs.
When I was first a single parent I didn't have to pay any council tax at all. Now I do. We didn't have Facebook marketplace and such like then either. EBay existed and freecycle probably did too, but I couldn't afford a computer and Internet to access them.
In case you haven't noticed gas and electricity prices have recently rocketed.
Plus the benefits cap which never used to exist.

Any ftr my DC have never gone hungry/ cold/ without clothes or presents. It's only me that goes without.

Good on you Lara, hope it goes well for you 😀

I do get child benefits for him but as my husband is ill a lot of money goes towards his medical supplies etc we have enough to eat and pay bills but unfortunately that’s.

A good ideas thanks