To feel depressed about this?

[Stressful00]

I work at a nursery. Not through choice but not having much luck finding nanny work. I live quite rurally and before anyone says move, I'm not in a financial position to do that.
I feel really down tonight. On my FB feed there are people on benefits who are off on yet another mini break or who have bought a new car etc. I'm just living day to day. Working, going to appointments ( I have chronic conditions) and just being careful with money due to COL.
I sometimes wish I could pack it all in and go on the dole.

*carer

A lot of what people post on social media is bullshit. People are financing cars they can’t afford, they buy clothes and overpriced trainers through Very, holidays go on multiple credit cards. I know people who are desperate to be perceived as well off and living a life of luxury, but it’s all crap. They’ll be in debt the rest of their lives.

Most of my friends are on benefits, as am I. Not one of us has a new car or goes on regular holidays. The ones that do go on holiday go with people that are paying for them (I go away with my mum and she pays).
We all live frugally, and none are playing the system.

YABU OP, go on the dole if you think it will afford you the life of luxury.

I am sorry I don't to know anything about your situation and I am sure you'll have your reasons to be on benefits. You are saying those amounts like it's not much....over £1000 a month that are coming from taxpayer pockets it's a lot...imagine how many people on benefits in the whole country? It's not sustainable... Imagine people working full time only get after tax around 1.5 times what you are getting "for free"....I just think benefits should be temporary, maybe capped to a year or so (we all can fall I to hard times after all and should be allowed some time to recover) or for people that can not work due to disability...

Its a lot? PP has £1000 to live off for everything. They are also on the sickness element, which means they have been assessed and considered too poorly to work. I am sure they wish they could work, and that there was proper support out there to help them do so.

I am not sure of the exact figures but a very large percentage of people claiming UC do actually work. Blame shit wages, zero hours contracts, and the cost of living for the need fo people that work to be topped up by taxpayers (which we all are).,

I have seen often people pretending not to be married or living together so they can keep claiming benefits separately, people cutting hours so they don't lose on benefits, and of course people working cash in hand and keeping quiet about it ...people are not very shy about it and unfortunately social media shows a lot, families that you know are in receipt of benefits yet the parents have money to go out drinking and to concerts, but the kids have to be subsidized for school meals, uniforms, school trips? To me that is wrong. I would feel awful using tax payer money for my kids but yet spending on myself.

You don’t know the ins and outs of their lives. But you must surely know that you can’t claim long term dole?

If they are long term not working then maybe that’s for a good reason eg illness/disability/carer/single parent with child under 4. I think a car or mini break to make those people’s lives happier/easier is very much what they deserve!

@Moreorlessmentallystable and @XenoBitch to clarify in total I get over a thousand per month because I get about a £270 child element/Child benefits but those really do all go on my son, especially needing to pay £140 per month on his travelling expenses. I don’t think it’s a very low income and I am fairly ok financially, but before I claimed the sickness element I did really struggle. I still don’t have a cooker or freezer. I would love to work but I just can’t see a way forward until I get my health issues sorted out better

It's not a lot to live on but it's a lot if so many are on benefits! I absolutely agree with you shit wages are to blame. Benefits and min wage went up 10% yet most companies would not dream of increasing mid tier wages by 10%! I don't know the solution I just know the current situation is not sustainable...I believe someon on musmnet quoted that 40% of people of working age in the UK take more off the system (in benefits) that they contribute so no wonder why there is not enough in the budget for quality healthcare ,education, etc

£1000 a month is nothing compared to what some will be getting in places where rents are sky high and those claiming lot in childcare costs. For most this money is just going straight out again to pay for these things. However I do agree, I absolutely don't see how the amounts being paid are sustainable in the longer term as more and more people become reliant on them. The number of people making claims for PIP ( disability benefit for people under state pension age) has also massively increased since covid, maybe due to mental health issues, long covid etc. It isn't sustainable unless tax revenue increases a lot. Add into this an ageing population and all the benefits that go with that and I do think we have a ticking time bomb. The government needs to start thinking of workable solutions like more social housing, better mental health care and intervention etc to address this ticking time bomb. I sometimes feel I am biased as I work in helping people to access benefits but some of the amounts people are getting are huge. I frequently help older people to claim benefits and one recent example of a case is where an older couple were both granted a disability benefit which then entitled them to claim pension credit with various premiums added on. By the time their benefits were sorted they were getting an extra £1600 a month on top of state pensions. This is a regular thing in my line of work and yes you can argue that they qualify for that amount because they are both disabled and more likely to need to pay for care but it is still a huge amount just for one couple and replicated thousands of times over.

There is someone unthread stating that they have no financial worries and holiday in the canaries. Other posts from social workers saying their claimants drive better cars than they do so....

The person who says it is not sustainable is right. Guess who will be paying more in tax? That will be basic rate taxpayers because you cannot get anything near the amounts from the 10 percent of people who actually contribute tax (ie those who actually pay more in tax than they will get back).

OP is right to be angry. Her wages are kept low by part timers on UC and UC claims. Employers rely on it.

Sorry, but I claim UC (LCWRA), and what OP earns has absolute fuck all to do with the amount I claim.

Blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make yours shine any brighter.

Bollocks. It means one pays for the other, and the other does nowt

What about people who work full time who have housing costs to pay for out of all this?
Who have rent/mortgages, have to pay for healthcare/glasses because they do not qualify for it being 'free'

The whole system needs a complete overhaul.

Yes there are genuine people on benefits, but if you're not entitled to anything it can seem like some people are 'better off' on benefits.

I don't think you are BU to feel that way at all OP! And I actually also think some of the other posters have been quite harsh.
We often have these thoughts as it feels like an injustice (the way the system can work that is); it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to quit, but you're allowed to be frustrated that some people (it sounds like just a couple though?!) are -as you say- going on luxury holidays and generally appear to have more cash but not working.
The system is a bit crap in all honesty. When my youngest was a baby and I didn't work, I'm sure I had more money than when I went back to work part time when she was about 1, then by the time I was full time when she turned 3, it felt like I had even less!

That said, we didn't have expensive holidays back then and I've only just applied for a passport for DD and she's 5.

If you don't qualify for the "free" stuff, or any benefits, then blame the system. Bashing people who rightfully claim benefits wont help you at all. It just makes you look like a Daily Mail reading asshole.

My rent isn’t free I pay it with UC

🙄

Which is why the system needs a complete overhaul.

Why should people who work and do not qualify for anything, who are getting not much more than people who are on benefits have to pay for everything, prescriptions, eye tests/glasses etc... List goes on.

The whole system needs a complete overhaul and needs to be reviewed.

When claiming UC, the claimant is always financially better off working.

The point is if you are on UC you don't contribute to society financially for tax. OP is right to be annoyed.

They can be annoyed but I can’t help it

Many people on Uc do pay tax but yes they are likely to be net contributors .

41% of UC claimants are in work.