To , just once ,ask is anyone else fed up of being the squeezed middle?

[Wildandallthatjazz]

Thats it really. !

Yes , on mn , its seen as a privilege to have a mortgage, a job etc .

But sometimes it feels hard and you just wish that you got a break . Recognition of the hard slog maybe .

I am not begrudging those on benefits who got the extra payment support, its more about just wanting to have a treat / a bonus/ etc .. a spare bit of money.. a boost .. the heating on … or maybe recognition that the middle can struggle too ?

I totally accept that people can struggle and need help , sort of also feel the struggling middle are invisible ? ( and not seen to have the’ right ‘to have a little moan as it does you good sometimes )

I do think we are incredibly lucky to live in a county with a welfare state, nhs, free gp care I really do .
But sometimes, it just would be nice not to feel you are paying taxes , working as much as possible, and to be able not to feel squeezed all the time and the need to just have a grump about it .

sometimes it is good to let of steam .. when you cant IRL

and then you move on in a more positive fashion .

Sorry, but I am not going to "cut my dog out". She is not a luxury, she is family and was a member of it long before I was on benefits.
My smartphone is an old hand-me-down from a relative. Or am I meant flog it to CEX and use the cash to buy a ready meal before I would be allowed to use a food bank?

Was brought up to pay rent,bills and food and put a bit away
Any spending is after these things are paid
Have always stuck to that through good times and bad

I don’t think anyone means pre existing dogs, but buying puppies (which aren’t cheap these days) while on benefits is totally irresponsible.

Xeno didn’t specify.

Some unspeakable scumbag just slightly upthread was “joking” about a near destitute man eating his pet dog.

Hopefully someone so genuinely in need will qualify for some other benefits via PIP? Often those who have always been self sufficient haven’t a clue about what benefits they could be entitled to.

You would be entitled to Child Benefit of approx £50 p/wk and Universal Credit of around £100 every four weeks (more if you have child care costs or if your rent is particularly high).

I'd recommend looking at www.entitledto.co.uk and doing a calculation to get accurate figures.

Agree, but PIP is not meant to be for day to day things like bills and food. It is for the extra costs that come with living with a disability. Otherwise anyone in poverty would try to claim it. If that makes sense?
Also, if the person Babyroobs is looking after is new to being on benefits, they may not even be able to apply to PIP yet anyway.

PIP is an arduous process designed to push people off disability benefits despite genuine need. There is currently a backlog of claims so can take six months or more to process and the assessors are notorious for outright lying in their reports. Amputee friend received a report staying they have no mobility issues despite only having one leg, family member with neurological disability received a report saying they are articulate and able to communicate when they have several impaired cognitive function including physical issues with speech.

You can apply for PIP at any time, you don't have to be on other benefits so there would be no block on them applying due to not being on benefits for long enough. PIP is not means tested, it's needs based so employed people can also apply for it nor do you need a formal diagnosis.

The best plan when applying is to have as much evidence ready in advance - medical reports, letters from doctors, statements from professionals/carers/other relevant people, and so on. Speak to one of the many charities out there who can advise on helping with completing the form, particularly charities and support groups associated with your main reason for claiming. Use written guides too which are available online. Keep a photocopy of the form and copies of the written evidence you have included, send rhe form recorded delivery. When going to the assessment, take someone with you for support and to act as a witness (write on the form that you will be doing this), also notify them that you will be recording the assessment. Be prepared to be turned down and to have to appeal, the majority of claimants win on appeal.

@Endwalker @XenoBitch Dreadful situation, as without health issues a single adult shouldn’t be unemployed for long. They usually have the most to gain by finding work. Especially appalling when you hear of cases of abuse of benefits, like those parents who have been sent to prison for neglect. £7k a month, and the children were seeing little of it.

@ndwalker, it's kindly meant I am sure. I get you want people to receive what they are entitled to, but what happens when that outpaces the taxpayers ability to fund it all? We are very very close to that point. It might become quite tense when the people who work all the hours stop wanting to fund the rest who cant, wont and don't.

PIP doesn’t “passport” on to many extra entitlements these days. UC largely stopped that. Under the old system, people getting higher rate DLA would get uplifts on other payments they qualifies for. Not on UC.

PIP really is in a mess. I don’t think people realise how long it takes at each stage even when there aren’t the current backlogs. Quite often people have to appeal, as per your examples of ludicrous assessments.

Of course in practice, people do dip into their PIP for good and hear of their health is keeping them out of work, but It would be very easy to die of starvation while you waited for a PIP claim to go through.

FFS, how many people in the UK have died of starvation recently?!

"Can't, won't, or dont"!? In talking about disability benefits, no one chooses to be disabled and many people receiving disability benefits are in work. As a PP said, PIP and DLA are there to help meet some of the additional costs associated with being disabled.

Broadly speaking we have the opposite problem with the obesity crisis.

Omg this thread.
Genuinely felt like I was going mad and desperately trying to stay afloat and not being seen to be struggling.

Both DH and I work full time and every time they talk about raising prices of something my heart sinks as it means yet another thing we're going to have to go without.

Currently we have heating on for 1 hr a day (sometimes 2 if we really feel the bite), cancelled all cancellable subscriptions, have to choose between paying for parking or lunch at work so obviously its parking, sold the tumble dryer as can't afford to run it so clothes are all stinking (just can't dry them properly on the clothes horses so they go foisty) and racking up credit card bills to ensure we have food on the table and petrol in the car.

We don't live in a big, fancy house, we have 1 car, never been abroad (camping holidays are the best we can do and borrowing friends caravan), never buy new clothes really (MIL knits DS a lot and I even tried my hand at making clothes out of our old ones...they're shite).

Honestly were not far off using a food bank. But no, no top ups, no offer of help. Our monthly outgoings has more than doubled due to mortgage and energy pricing yet salaries haven't moved. In fact, I'm at risk of losing my job thanks to the CoL crisis so... Wonderful eh?

Malnutrition is the cause of around 60-70 deaths each year and named as a contributing factor in around 300-400.

Around 90,000 people a year die in poverty.

www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2022/may/90,000-british-people-die-each-year-in-poverty/

And delays in benefit payments, sanctions, etc have been a contributing factor in many deaths.

novaramedia.com/2020/01/31/people-keep-starving-to-death-in-tory-britain/

It might become quite tense when the people who work all the hours stop wanting to fund the rest

I’m pretty close to that point already.
I’ve never felt like this before

I'm nearly there too.

If they keep upping the bills I'm going to need to start claiming as it won't be worth working.

You will be worse off claiming. No one is better off claiming benefits.

I know that logically.

But at least I'd get to be at home with my son and not working all day and night and farming him off to grandparents.

I think you missed off working PT from your list given the comments of some on this thread.

Funny how people seem to be able to decide what is ok for them but not anyone else.

I am beyond fed up. I start a new job next month but am yet to work out how to pay for my train fare. Once I'm a month in it'll be a lot better but I work to pay bills nothing more. Its unbelievable really

“Won’t be worth working”

This is a massive red flag statement.