Single mum 45k a year in south east but just scraping by?

[Plantball]

There was a time I once thought a household income after tax of 45k meant a comfortable life. I am a single mum of two young kids in the south east. Rent alone is 18k of the money gone. I feel like I’m merely existing. Running a car, council tax, gas, electricity, food, kids clothes, shoes, clubs…

The money just doesn't go far. I know I am fortunate compared so many and I’m not pleading poverty. Just feeling very flat at never being able to better our life.

She just said she gets £1,200 in universal credit, which is nearly as much as he leaves and more than the dad pays for maintenance...so tax payer footing a third of her expenses basically, how much do you think people should qualify for? I sympathise a stones are tough but what is the solution? We can't all be expecting the taxpayer to pay for 33% of expenses for every household PLUS all public services.....

What would happen if the government got rid of top up benefits for working people? The top ups seem to be primarily to support private landlords charging extortionate "market rate" rents.

Do we move everyone "Up North" and are there enough rental properties available for all the shop assistants, cleaners, support workers, teachers, nurses, social workers, etc?

What then happens to "Down South" and their services? Do southerners not need teachers and nurses? I can't imagine the classic MN Darling Husband Brian who earns six figures putting in extra shifts as a bin man. Or Darling Son Tobias mopping up piss in the shopping centre toilets. Maybe that's exactly what would happen, everyone would have to pitch in.
Darling Wife Claire trying to fit in teaching phonics to a class of Year 1 children around her Big Important Meetings in her fancy Magic Circle Top 4 Wotsit job.

Interestingly, I do live in the magical North and my rent is still fucking extortionate! Where do I go? Further North? Bradford? Sunderland?

Do we all keep moving North until we can go no further? Then what? Do we club our Universal Credit together and get a boat?!

We can't all be expecting the taxpayer to pay for 33% of expenses for every household PLUS all public services.....

Just as well we don’t then. Of the 34 million people in paid work in this country around 2 million claim top up benefits - that’s around 6% for context.

@Blossomtoes yes always good to have context
for the people who are venting their misplaced anger,
at the people who are low incomes, single parents, pensioners who claim pension credit etc, everything that is wrong in the uk, it’s all their fault! It’s like a blinking witch hunt!

Ok.

Being pedantic.

If she was earning 45k from a salary without the benefits she would need around 60k pretax.

🙄

This top up isn’t going to help her long term. She will be poorer in retirement as she is paying less pension. Women are being screwed, left right and centre.

She won’t need or get it long term, she needs it while she has small children.

Do you understand pensions?

Yes.

Yes, l know🙄

OP is earning approx £20k, the rest is untaxed CM and UC. She’s getting almost as much UC in a month as she pays tax in a year, and is complaining how expensive everything is. Perhaps she’d have more money if she worked full time?

OP is effectively a dual income household - she earns approx £20k, then gets £25k (equivalent of over £30k salary) in CM and UC.

@usernamealreadytaken It’s only because she’s a single parent with 2 young children.

I pay £14k a year in rent for a one bedroom house. I didn't even know they built houses that small.

South East is crazy money.