How are people surviving

[Truthseeker456]

I don't get it. One income and I am on a what was a good wage 53,000. My mortgage is likely to double next year I have nursery fees and 3000 take home and always in my overdraft. How are people surviving, we don't hear anything in the media. Rents are also though the roof

I thought it was obvious is was a generalised ‘you’. But more to the point no kid needs chocolate cereal, it should be banned.

Yes. No treats for anyone. Ever.
Every last penny on tax and the mortgage. As it should be.

Given one in three children in primary are obese I don’t think we need to worry about that

That’s an interesting statistic. Do you have the source for that please?

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03336/#:~:text=Childhood%20obesity%20in%20England,and%20published%20by%20NHS%20Digital.

Thank you for this link but that report doesn’t confirm one in three primary school children being obese. It’s depressing reading certainly, but no need for exaggeration.

10.1% of reception age children (age 4-5) were obese in 2021/22, with a further 12.1% were overweight. At age 10-11 (year 6), 23.4% were obese and 14.3% overweight.

That’s very depressing

Cutting coat according to the cloth.
Or going without.

When you're used to a certain amount of money you get used to the stuff it buys. For most people some of the stuff you think is necessary and ordinary is someone else's luxury.

Sadly there will be a whole new chunk of people at the bottom of the income scale that are now going to have to go without real necessities, like food and heating.

I'm dreading winter fuel bills, I can't cut anything else
I know min wage has gone up but it's hard on a single wage and I can't work more hours due to chronic health issues. Currently do 40hrs and it's tough

As for children being obese... healthy eating is expensive! Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is great I'm theory but cheap food is usually starchy and filling. Not everyone has the luxury of making good food choices.

I don't even think it's food that's the issue.
The days of free range kids are long gone, and 2 working parents don't have the time to facilitate the amount of exercise that kids need.

My husband and I are in our 60s, have worked all our lives, paid our way, never claimed anything. Now, I can't work because of having a severe illness 2 years ago. He's got health problems and is off sick. He gets £109 a week SSP. I get the lower rate of PIP. He gets a very small private pension -
our monthy income is £1060. We're not eligible for UC, and not old enough for state pensions. Don't talk to me about not having enough money to live on.............

A single parent would receive £730 for three people assuming 2 children. Sit down

They'd also get support with housing costs and council tax- rightly so but let's not be disingenuous about this. Plenty of people are struggling and fall between the gaps, they're important too.

How very unpleasant of you @3BSHKATS It’s not a competition.

It’s not a competition, but I think equally some people need to get some perspective.

People’s expenses reduce later in life. I don’t need another stitch of clothing between now, and the day I die. Young children need shoes replacing every six months usually two pairs.

They need mental and physical stimulation which costs money they need experiences. They need healthy food to develop their bones, immune system and their brains.
At 60. You’ve had every opportunity if you’ve worked hard all your life to save and put yourself in a good position. I’ll be taking my pension at 55 because I have actually worked hard and saved.

Actually I found the opposite and I've been a single unemployed parent. I couldn't afford to buy as much food when I didn't have a job. Now I work I can afford more food and treats and I'm heavier than I was when I was unemployed!

I'm using crude figures here, but when I was taking home 3.5k, spending looked a bit like this:

£1.5k into joint account for bills
£1.3k into savings and pension
£2-300 on lifestyle stuff within reason
£500 on stupid fucking crap I didn't need

Not always, not every month. But I'd be buying plenty of £50 things I had no need of for no fucking reason but that I had an Etsy scrolling addiction.

I took a PT job to recover from burnout and retrain. Takehome £1600. Radically revised my spending habits.

Takehome is back up again - but I'm glad I've kicked the silly spends.

Which gets deducted from the money they recieve

Precisely

Yup. I cut it back this week by shopping at Ocado, which is madness. Aldi is horrendous for value; their products have shrunk and their fresh produce never lasts past a couple of days. I went there to try and save. I won't bother again.

TBF £150 per week on grocery shopping (food alone) is about the average for 2 adults and 3 children.

For sure it can be done cheaper, but it's not such an abnormal mount to spend.

I thought mine was high so I feel better seeing that! Single and allocate £240pm for food including toilet roll, cleaning stuff
Doesn't include laundry powder or pet food

That's a great graphic to refer to, and very reassuring! We don't eat out, except birthdays, and get takeaway once a month so probably come in under 'average' overall.

This week we spent less than last Aldi shop, as mentioned. We have a (full price) Gousto box and an Ocado order filled with M&S produce, which will last longer, for £130 total. We could definitely have brought that down further.

It doesn't include cleaning products/toiletries/dog food. Combined, those probably come to around £70 per month on top.

We spend between £120 and £140 a week. Two adults (me and 18 year old ds).