How are people managing to pay the bills in this shit show

[Allthenameshavegone1972]

My daughter, fiance & dgs moved into their small, rented house nearly 3 years ago. Finding it a big struggle every month with the rent being £860. We, & her in-laws are guarantors for their rent.
I've found out her fiance has asked to borrow money for rent from his mum & for the second time my daughter has asked to borrow as he has not had the overtime. They obviously can't afford it. Both trying to get pay rises but it's hard in this day & age.
At the grand old age of 60 I was hoping to take a break from my office job, which I hate, for a few months and then go temping or work part time. We can afford for me to do that. If, on the other hand, I'm working full time then we can afford to be guarantors for their rent. Cant win either way!
She wishes theyd never rented now. They were living with her inlaws who have the space for them. She wishes she'd saved that rental money for a deposit instead. Their only option is to go back living with them, or all us parents carry-on working til we drop to pay for their rent. At 60 years old we should not have the pressure of working til we drop to pay for our adult dc's rent. We're not going to be in the best of health to work forever as we get older.
My dd is despairing, saying that she can't see life getting any better. I agree, unless us parents die relatively young without needing a care home and they inherit from us.
This shit show of a housing & col crisis is at breaking point, something had to be done, but I don't know what! 😡😡

medical bills We still have the NHS?

Well if it's less than NMW, then it's a whole other thread.

The OP says they work full time. Therefore, they have an absolute minimum of around £3200 pm including CB and accounting for 5% pension contributions.

Unless the OP reveals their income, everyone is making the assumption that the couple are working FT on minimum wage. Since the OP clearly doesn't want to disclose actual numbers, it's hard to sympathise when the rent isn't excessive. DS(21) is on £25K and pays £700 pcm for a room in a 2 bed flatshare excluding bills (in the north!) and apparently is still able to save a few hundred pounds every month whilst running his car (10 yr old Fiesta).

And given how cagey the op is about their income

I suspect we would realise there’s more to this ie they’re shit with money

Op if they are above min wage, even just a bit, then they are prob bringing in 4 grand a month or more, plus child benefit, then any overtime,

which means they are blowing through a grand a week, at least, or 142 pounds every single day, to be able to get to a position where they are asking parents for money to pay the rent,

it’s a lot. So unless one has a significant gambling problem or debt, then something significant in terms of managing money and reckless spending is happening here.

What frustrates me about all this is that they can claim UC as "low earners" while having 2 shiny new cars but a single person bringing in just under their combined income can't and has to struggle because they're a "high earner". Boils my piss.

@Lighterlilly ”its close
to minimum wage” I read as meaning slightly above not both of their employers breaking the law by paying both of them less than minimum wage

Something doesn’t add up. Also why is the OP bailing them out all the time. They need to get on with it on their own and grow up

@Dror you can? How? If you earn £12/hour and even in a 35hr/week (which must be more than you are working if part time) then take home after tax is about £1350. Take away the £860 rent you are left with £484. Council tax? Say £100. Utilities? Say £80. Now you're down to £304. Phone? £25. TV license (let's say no subscription services) £10. Food? Maybe for one careful person it's £40/week so about £160/month. You've got £109 left. Transport to job? You really saying in a part time job you could easily pay that rent and live? No clothes? No going out?
Plus they have a kid. God forbid they might give their kid a toy? And childcare - yikes.
As for this couple they'd be earning double and should be able to cover it unless they have car payments and credit card debt etc. But it would still require tight budgeting especially if paying for any childcare.

@mondaytosunday op said no childcare

@mondaytosunday , a fair breakdown I think. How on earth do people afford holidays?

@LittlePotOfCress

I don't think UC should be there to 'top up' full time salaries if I'm honest and the funds should be diverted elsewhere, to others in need.

I appreciate all circumstances are different but this couple clearly are managing ok and shouldn't need benefits.

This isn't actually accurate. UC doesn't have a salary threshold. You can be a "high earner" and still receive UC depending on which elements of it you are entitled to and then how much someone earns from employment is then deducted from the total UC award at the rate of 55p in every £1. Many people make very incorrect assumptions about UC which they would find aren't true if they did some research. UC isn't a one size fits all type deal. It's basically tailored to each individual claim and circumstances.

In this situation, assuming the 2 people are bringing home around £1600 per month, have one child and received the housing element for the full £860 per month which isn't guaranteed because different factors come into it, they could be entitled to a very small amount of UC. They would receive more if they also claimed back childcare costs too. But without exact figures for their income and some other details regarding their rent and potential childcare costs, nobody can tell the OP if they would be entitled to anything or how much.

You’re right. It is a shit show.

The answer is investing in good quality council homes, let at rents people can afford. So people who can’t afford to buy don’t have to rely on the overheated market. Then, people will have more chance to save to buy.

And they need to regulate annual rent increases, which are ridiculously steep compared to wage rises.

this is 2 working adults
1 of whom working 6 days a week
and both slightly above minimum wage (presuming the op didn’t mean the employers were breaking the law when she says close to minimum wage)

Where I am from ( Scotland) that's quite a substantial rent, we now own and it's a small place do low mortgage payment. Granted we didn't live in fancy areas even when we rented, the most we paid in rent was I think 600 odds a month for a small 2 bedroom flat. Maybe I'm out of touch with modern rent prices ? Or it's the area ?

If they're lucky enough to. W able to live rent free with the in laws then they should go for it. And save like mad. What an opportunity

You're out of touch. A 2 bed flat in Fife is £700+ a month now to rent

Suppose, the last place I lived was Paisley. Guess the areas are a factor too.

£860 while small in some parts of the country would really hurt us even though we have a £4000 a month combined income. Our outgoing are huge. We'd manage it but with 3 small children it would be tight. Living costs are insane right now

People on this thread are missing the point. Cost of living is ridiculously high. It's very hard for young people to save.

Unless you inherit or have wealthy parents/you have very high wages, I think this is the last generation who will make it on the property ladder. Everything goes up, whilst wages just stagnate.

It doesn't sound like that though, it sounds like they're bad with money

It is ridiculously high but most people who struggle don't have brand new cars and then expect their parents to sub their rent.

@Lighterlilly where do you get bringing in over £4k a month, plus overtime & other benefits from? She works 37.5 hours a week & him 40 on just a few pence more than nmw. That doesn't equate to a net pay of £4k a month plus overtime! Get your calculator out! And the only benefit they get is child benefit, they don't claim UC.

So what is a rough breakdown of what looks like a healthy income or do you have exorbitant child care costs that the OPs daughter does not?