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.

Also get a heated airer, cost less than heating on and will warm the room as well as dry clothes x

@Thegreatprocrastinator001 as someone who lived in Copenhagen for 20 months and also went to Sweden a lot- we could learn a great deal- The problem is most of the over 40s here (and I'm 61) simply wouldn't agree with the mind set change it requires- these countries have a reverse psychology to Thatchers 'no such thing as society'- and yet they do still encourage entrepreneurial people and making money.

@kamboozled
https://www.webmd.com/beauty/shower-how-often

medical advice differed to your guardian article.

What a bizarre thing to say batch cooking is in no way revolting. Also it saves time that's literally the point.

I think a lot of well meaning posters on this thread are royally missing the point. People in this situation know all these helpful tips you're posting. We aren't going to Harrods for our weekly shop, we aren't buying the uniform from the school supplier we're already getting the generic supermarket or second hand kit. We aren't running expensive gadgets and gizmos. Our rents and mortgages are as low as humanly possible for the areas we live in. Many live in flats and don't have gardens or balconies to air their laundry. There is NO HELP for middle earners. It's fine if you're in a couple but absolutely impossible as a single parent.

Our pride, and please allow us to retain that, means we work in jobs we have spent years qualifying for. We don't take holidays in far flung locations. We don't even take holidays actually. If you wear glasses, break a tooth, get an infection, get a puncture, all one off costs if you're healthy (and don't require a prescription prepayment certificate) it tips you into debt. We shouldn't be on the breadline or worse off by working yet here we are.

Landlords and estate agents pitch rents to EXCLUDE UC claimants and low income households. Why? Because they think these are flight risks, they think they have no pride in their homes so don't want to rent to them. I know they do this after a frank conversation with an estate agent when I was renting and looking to move areas. Rents are high ON PURPOSE.

It doesn't save time though. My weekends are a precious resource to me.

I’m so sorry OP x and sorry you have to read ridiculous answers from out of touch people that basically boil down to “just earn more money” or “work harder so your landlord doesn’t have to” or “sacrifice everything in your life to ensure the rich still make a profit off you.”

We SHOULD be on the streets screaming about this. The government are getting away with murder and landlords have the country by the balls. The problem is that working class and middle class people that have escaped the worst of the COL crisis (so far) seem to think they are in the rich camp and untouchable and that anyone struggling must’ve brought it on themselves.

There are things the government could do, but won’t. They should immediately stop BTL mortgages going forward. They should put a cap on the amount of rent that can be charged- none of this bleating about market rates BS. And for businesses too- look at any high street in the UK and all the businesses that have been shut down and empty units because of the utter greed of landlords.
They should stop people from abroad buying up British property.
They could compulsory purchase some of the vast amounts of empty properties and convert them to social housing.
They could limit the amount of properties that portfolio w@nkers own.
They would be quids in because of the reduced need to shovel huge amounts of taxpayers money into the pockets of greedy landlords as Housing Benefit.
But they won’t do any of that.

Also- all the people saying that OP’s rent is unusually high- there are social housing properties in the south, in crappy areas going for £1200 pm (a BUNGALOW), £1500 a 3 bed house.

TV Licence is one area you could reduce if you only watch streaming services and not live TV or terrestrial TV.

Broadband can you lower the speeds and get a cheaper package

Shh we aren't allowed to rest. I must spend my whole Sunday in the kitchen batch cooking for the week ahead when I really don't need to because I've got weekday meals sorted. Silly me.

@TwentyTwenty20 it makes my blood boil OP that your ex partner doesn't contribute- my middle son who is 38 pays £280 a month and yet earns slightly less than you AND he has his daughter most weekends all weekend and has a new partner and a toddler son to look after as well- he doesn't moan- - he adores his daughter.

No, I’m saying they should not have shoved lots of people into poverty, totally selfish decision

Fuck off with your racism it's got no place here.

"My kitchen is tiny and I would have to have it plummed in and remove cupboards or drawers." OP.

You can buy a small condenser dryer (I had one that sat on top of my washing machine). No plumbing required, just plug it in and go. The water collects in a container and you just tip it down the sink. I know it's another outlay, but you might be able to get a second hand one.

@Dadhardlifer haven't you got a national front forum to post on? Many of the 'take, take' ' people out there causing mayhem and trouble are British white, born and bred

🤣

This is totally untrue and I don't know why people believe it🤦🏼‍♀️ I'm a single mum and my entitlement per month is something like £1350. That won't even cover my rent and bills. But as I work full time, I get double that amount of money in wages plus UC. So yeah.. I'd totally be better off not working 😆

Similar situation. Can you apply for discretionary housing payments from your local council? And probably will have to cut back on car and use public transport or walk

No one is saying you must do it, it's just a suggestion.

It's tough nowadays, I never complained about money until ...this year and I was never short on money until now .
I hear from my friends same.Its becoming really tight .x

OP, apologies if someone has already suggested this but could you do homestay airbnb if you have a spare room you could use? I've just started doing it for the same reasons. Renting a room in a shared house is popular on airbnb. You can limit it to whatever days work for you and set rules like 'solo females only' or 'max stay 2 nights' if you want. Its tax free up to £7500 per year under the rent a room scheme. See what others are charging in your area for similar?

It really is a shit show this country and i see so many of my friends/family struggling.
It's disgusting the way things are at the moment. People really need to stop conforming and paying things like, i dunno, council tax, TV license, and things that are non-tangiable, Instead prioritising money for food and energy as long as they remain extortionate. It's just not on resorting to laying in a warm bath and under a duvet!! Where do they think we are getting the money from?? They'll soon stop taking the piss if enough of the poulation did this and made a stand, sadly though we are all too scared. But it's safety in numbers if we all stand together against this blatant corruption. My business has failed, the work I am qualified for and had to recently go back to has just had the rules / qualifications greatly relaxed making my requirement value & wage go down, thanks to brexit, I have rented out my house and just bought an old motorhome needing some work to live in. That'll be 'fun' this winter! Definately get onto the citizens advice bureau and find out everything you could get as a single parent and contact the DWP as well.

You're doing a fantastic job though, and you'll muddle through, it's what committed parents do, so be proud of yourself and I wish you both well 😊👍