Cost of living. I'm having a meltdown tonight.

[TwentyTwenty20]

I put my heating on for an hour or so this morning because I forgot to dry my son's school uniform, and my landlord won't let me install a tumble dryer. It cost me an extra £2. I didn't put my heating on until January last year. We lived under the duvet until then. I got my son changed under the covers. I used to just get in the bath and stay there in the evening to keep warm. I'm a lone parent, I take home £2100 a month and get £140 UC, £96 child benefit. My rent is £1000 a month. Council tax £150 with SP discount. Electric, gas, petrol, car insurance, Internet, school uniform, food, life insurance, water bills, £130 on before and after school clubs so I can work, then there's failed MOT which I had to put on a credit card which I'm paying off, tv license, phone bill etc. Then there's life and scraping by so my son can continue his gymnastics hes been doing since he was 2. Council is awful and you can't apply for any of the cost of living stuff unless they have 'identified you'. I've done income and expenditure with a professional and they've said I've pretty much cut back as far as I can. They fine tooth combed my bank statements. How is the amount I make not enough? I have applied for 6 cheaper houses in the last month and none will rent to me. I'm 400 and something on the list for council housing. 10 years ago I was on 18k a year and comfortable and saving.

Will this ever get better? That's a genuine question because I can do all the cutting back I can but if I keep getting knocked back for cheaper housing and higher paid jobs I just don't know how I will go on. It is no life and I don't enjoy getting out of bed in the morning anymore.

@anotherside So when in doubt blame the Tories eh?

The number of new households is not growing as fast because of declining birth rates, slower growth in life expectancy, less migration than expected and the cost of living crisis encouraging young people to live with parents – something known as suppressed household formation.

In England, there are 640,000 empty homes. More than a quarter of a million for more than six months. The worst areas for empty homes are in central London, with investors speculating on rising prices. Nearly 1 in 3 homes in the City of London were classified as empty.

None of these factors are the fault of the Tories.

Actually they are because the Tories could bring in land value tax, which would deter property speculation, but haven't done so.

I'd absolutely love to think that justice would be served - but as it's been years, and it won't be long before the kids are too old for child support anyway, I won't hold my breath.

I feel for you, OP. It's a no win situation and you're someone with a healthy income, sensible spending, and only one child. Absolutely bloody depressing to think that doesn't equate to financial security anymore.

It's a long shot, but I've seen people on my local FB page asking for rental opportunities whilst expanding on their circumstances. Many of these posts get replies from landlords who are happy to cut out the agent whilst helping someone in need. Worth a try?

I totally get that what you need right now is empathy and not so much advice, as it sounds like you've tried/thought of everything.

OP I feel you, life as a single parent is tough right now. There is a Facebook group called Universal Credit and Legacy Benefit Advice, if you post your UC statement there (omitting any personal details) they will check you are receiving the correct amount.

Definitely apply to your council for discretionary funding to top up your rent. Although it is temporary it may free up something to reduce your debt.

Download the “Olio” and “TooGoodToGo” apps and see what is available in your area. Food from Olio if free, you just need to collect it. I usually time it with dropping or picking up the kids to avoid extra journeys. They also have non food things. TooGoodToGo is food items left from shops. You pay £3/£4 generally and collect a bag or box. It’s a bit hit or miss but I’ve had some fantastic bargains.

Also check for local food pantries who give away food free or for a small charge. None of these are particularly aimed at those with a low income but to save food waste. Also reduced to clear items in the supermarkets at the end of the day.

Use Facebook market place or Gumtree for Birthday and Christmas gifts. There are often toys being given free or to buy for a very small amount. At the age of 4 he’s not going to be bothered where it came from. These, and Vinted or EBay, are also good places to get a bundle of next size clothes. My 17 year old has started buying from Vinted and ?Bepop (I’m not familiar with it but might be worth a look)

Every penny saved is something towards your debt or savings.

The same company can have (and do) different unit rates per area of the country, my electric rates are more per unit than the same company in West Yorkshire. That’s public knowledge available on their website. It’s not a standard rate across the country, even on the same tariff and the same company.

@saffy2 well you learn something new every day!

OP I'm sorry things are so tough. It's utterly shit.

Everyone else, please, please vote the Tories out!

So many things in the OP's budget are the result or Tory policies or mis-management.

The lack of affordable social housing or rent caps, the cutting back of legal aid, the high energy prices, prices rising after Brexit, low wages.

I'm not a huge fan of Kier Starmer tbh but he's got to be a zillion times better than this shower of shite.

We've had continual austerity followed by the Cost of Living crisis, while those in power profit off crises by handing lucrative contracts to their mates. It's utterly corrupt and it's people like the OP and me and you and our DC who suffer.

Sorry to derail, but it just struck me that this is an example of how the personal really is political, and it really doesn't have to be like this.

@whatdoidoaboutit I agree. There is also the issue of health- I know so many people who are now paying for stuff- blood tests, MRIs , dental stuff simply because they cannot wait the ludicrous amounts of time to be seen.this impacts on peoples budgets too.

It's like a reverse of when we lived in Scandinavia, high wages, high tax, high services- lots for your tax- very cheap childcare (even for babies) no council tax, no national insurance, high pensions, lots of good social housing

Here we have relatively low tax for many but pretty high for others, a lot of low wages, low services, high childcare costs, low pensions and a load of add ins in national insurance, council tax etc - plus very high house prices in large swathes of the country and overpriced private renting in vast swathes too.

If the gvt actually invested good money in building large amounts of good quality mixed social housing then they would be paying far less out in UC rental payments and top ups- plus actually have an asset- and stop the right to buy too in my opinion.

@Statice - Not a landlord but our mortgage has gone up by £600. So it is quite possible that landlords have to increase rent to pay the mortgage.

@Happilyobtuse, fair point, if landlord was coming off a v low fixed rate deal and mortgage £150,000 or more, so I stand corrected. Knew

Agree. I note the wealthiest with lots of assets have done brilliantly and govt not willing to tax them more to distribute some of it to the majority of the population. We are experiencing rentier capitalism.

“Rentier capitalism describes the economic practice of gaining large profits without contributing to society. A rentier is someone who earns income from capital without working. This is generally done through ownership of assets that generate yield (cash generated by assets), such as rental properties, shares in dividend paying companies, or bonds that pay interest.”

I live in a northern city that's considered cheap and the cheapest 2 bed in the city is currently £700 (flat, not even a house).
It's not your fault, private renters are truly screwed, the only way out is to get social housing or to manage to buy.
A single friend of mine who's on a similar income to you (no kids though) has bought a shared ownership house and pays around £800pm (about an hour from London), I can't remember what her deposit was but it was under 5k.
I know that's still a lot if you're unable to save, but if there's any way to get that money I'd do everything possible to buy, even if it's a flat rather than a house.
Don't wait for the government, it's everyone for themselves nowadays, sad but true.

My advice is to get a really good dehumidifier. It doesn't help if you forgot to dry the uniform where putting it on the radiator was the only solution. And if doing this, use the smallest radiator or the radiator in the room you most want to be warmer anyway and turn the rest down. If you haven't got thermostats on your radiators, look at getting this done whether or not the landlord will pay for it.

But with regard to drying clothes generally, a good dehumidifier is better than a tumble dryer. I paid about £200 for mine, it filters the air as well, has a large water tank and different settings. Just pop it near to clothes you are drying. A tumble dryer will cost more to buy, and much more to run for the same amount of clothes drying as the dehumidifier and the latter will help to regulate the humidity and deal with any damp in the property all the time.

If you still want a tumble dryer then your landlord can prevent you from making permanent alterations to the home but you landlord cannot prevent you from having one that doesn't require any changes to be made. You can either get one where the hose will have to go out of the window or patio doors OR you can get a condenser dryer which you can place anywhere. In a previous home I had a Beko one which was very good and one of the cheaper ones. You can situate those pretty much anywhere you like, keeping safety in mind.

I once had a chest freezer in my living room in a rental for a similar reason and I've had a dryer and microwave in a dining room before. Needs must.😉

I agree about the Cost of Living aspect of the OP too; it's being well covered on the thread so I have nothing to add about it.

Also, you can get tumble driers that don't need to be plumbed in. We have one that collects the water in a little tray and you just empty it. All you have to do is plug it into the socket. The landlord shouldn't have a problem with that!

our internet is £15 a month fibre

Would also like to know which provider this is, have been looking to change and we don't even use the landline component any more.

Sounds really low and must have been under some sort of offer. I have been searching everywhere about a month ago when I moved and got the cheapest offer from Hyperoptic for £20/month for 12 months.

@Chocolatehobnobs2948 yes that is a Condenser Dryer, maybe we cross- posted.

This is the rough equivalent of the one I bought about ten years ago. It was still working fine when I moved house 6 years later, and sold it on. £249.00 from AO. It was great, particularly liked how the towels came out, our towels are currently drying well with the dehumidifier, but not so fluffy and soft.

I'm a big believer that buy to let mortgages should be outlawed- but of course this only works if there's a decent supply of social housing . Far too many chancers purchased them and constantly wanting to put rent up to cover off their mortgage rises or (as is now) falls in value.

My own view is that longer term private rentals need to be either the situation where owner no longer needs to live there OR property built by pension funds/ insurance companies purely for rental and in addition there should be strict (but realistic) rental caps pertinent to size of property and area. I think insurance companies/pension funds should be given heavy incentives to invest in this area.

I don’t think @TwentyTwenty20 rent is that unusual, I live in Greater Manchester and apparently the north is cheap😂 and 3 bed houses round my way can be creeping towards £1400/1500. Flats are £800 if not 1k and over. . ..

I agree with you @TwentyTwenty20 its shit when you work hard and can’t even have small treats in life. I’m not talking lavish luxuries but a hobby once a week or a cheap one week holiday is not much to ask for.

I’m sure you’ve received some useful advice.

@VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia "Actually they are because the Tories could bring in land value tax, which would deter property speculation, but haven't done so."

The implementation of such a tax falls under the Baliwick of the Mayor of London.

It was recommended in 2016 in the report "Tax Trail - Land Value Tax for London" (produced by the Planning Committee 3 Labour, 2 Tory) that the next Mayor of London (who turned out to be Saddiq Khan) look at the issue to identify what further devolved powers might be needed to make a Land Value Tax a reality, and then explore the potential of a Land Value Tax through a feasibility study and pilot scheme.

One can only speculate why Khan has not implemented the Pilot Study....

@whatdoidoaboutit I don't see how you can blame the Tories for rising energy prices?

As countries began to recover from the pandemic, demand for gas started to increase again and could not be met due to a shortage in supply, causing gas prices to increase in 2021. The problem was made worse by renewable sources like wind and solar producing less power and cold weather during the winter months forcing more people to turn their heating up.

This increase in gas prices forced some energy suppliers in Great Britain out of business. By the end of December 2021, a total of 28 energy companies went bust including bigger companies like Bulb, affecting over two million customers.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatened supplies and drove up prices further. Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of oil and gas,supplying the EU with 40% of it's gas in 2021.

Yes, it is:

https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/the-average-cost-of-living-in-the-uk/