Are other full-time working families finding there is nothing left?

[fatface001]

Alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, then an hour stood on a packed train into London for the commute. We are a normal family: one child and two full-time jobs. I’ve always enjoyed working and have always worked hard, and I don’t mind that at all — but I do expect that full-time work should still mean there’s something left at the end of the month for a normal life.

But that really doesn’t feel like the case anymore.

There’s nothing left at the end of the month. Everything has been stripped back, all non-essentials have gone, and even basic things around the house are being put off or done ourselves because there isn’t spare money for trades. It’s just constant cutting back.

What’s hard is that we’re both working really long hours and doing everything we’re “supposed” to do, but it still feels like we’re going backwards rather than getting ahead.

When I hear talk about “those with the broadest shoulders” contributing more, I honestly don’t recognise it anymore in real life. It doesn’t feel like anyone in our position has anything left to give — it feels like the pressure is entirely on ordinary working households just to stand still.

I’m not looking for luxuries — just the sense that working still gives you a bit of breathing room. Right now it doesn’t feel like that at all.

Is anyone else feeling the same?

Sorry, the figures are so wrong again. Only one third of people who are working age on UC is not a majority working.

And you have said upthread that people working on low incomes would need to earn £24k to make it worth it. Well that is a full time minimum wage salary.

I suppose from the piont of view of the working parents, who struggle financially but are also rarely around to see their children and permanently knackered, they feel they are at a similar income level, but working flat out to meet it.

I'm sorry but this is not true. There is a big growing group of people, it's billionaires! We have an ever increasing number of billionaires while everyday people are experiencing a cost of living crisis, it's clear what the issue is.

I agree some taxation has a direct impact on employment, like increasing NI contributions of employers. But taxing businesses and ultra wealthy on their money to manage inequality is the only way forward. Dividends are just a sjar of pure profit, taxing them more doesn't reduce the profit. We need to address the imbalance.

Tbh, i think it's this sort of thing that is the root of the problem with a lot of young families today.
When my kids were young (they are 19. 22 and 33 now), i budgeted literally nothing extra for school holidays. We had NT membership and used that, then used parks and play areas, always taking a picnic. The only extra cost was a bit more petrol and very occasionally parking.
If you want to spend £300-400 on school holiday activities that's up to you, but you can't then complain you have no money left.
So many things that used to be treats havev entered everyday life in the last couple of decades. There was someone on here recently who was spending £600 - £600! - a month on baby activities.
There is a lot spoken about parents whi 'have' to work to afford high housing costs. But i think housing is just one part of the equation.

I have more than that in the bank, but I am entitled to 6 months contributions based JSA.

The £6000 - £16000 savings limits are for means tested benefits.

If I needed PIP, it’s again not means tested so could have as much savings as I want.

People forget that PIP isn’t means tested.

One of our teens has football training £50 a month, that’s for 4 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, so £3 an hour, That’s not so bad.

We pay extra for his grassroots team.

These are all non-compulsory costs I mean he can and does take a ball to the park as well, that’s free. Not sure why trained coaches shouldn’t be paid quite well.

My DH had a small pension and could not claim. As i said, we were a bit put out that paying tax for 40 years counted for nothing.
The whole benefits system needs a top-to-bottom reform to iron out anomolies like that.

Whilst I do think some of the spends on here are ridiculous, I'm 35 and remember going to theme parks, zoos etc in the school holidays and my friends talked about doing the same. Every day out I have taken my kids on this year existed in the 90s and I visited with my parents much more regularly than I do with my own DC.

Do you really just swallow anything Labour or the Greens say of who the baddy is? We don’t have an ever growing group of billionaires in the U.K., we have an ever shrinking number of billionaires and are down from 173 to 145 in the last two years. Strangely enough, taxes have gone up, unemployment has gone up and out of work benefits have gone up.

A jar of pure profit? Like wages? Dividends are not a jar of pure profit, it’s capital at risk, it’s pension funds and for small businesses it’s how they support their family. It reduces the profit to the investor and thus reduces investment. All taxes shrink the taxable activity.
You need to stop being so easily manipulated, the benefit and tax situation is out of hand and simply can’t hold up much longer. It’s mass poverty after that.

Unfortunately I think I'm not the one being manipulated here. Who does it benefit to have everyone infighting, complaining about those on benefits instead of looking up? Who hold power and influence in this country?

But oh yes it's those darn lazy poor people!

At least your kids are not disabled though?

it’s across the board with working people as well, at scale this leads to theme parks, zoos closing etc and then further job losses. It’s a vicious cycle. The argument is ‘oh my heart bleeds you can’t take your kids to the zoo whilst there’s people at food banks, give me half your wages’ but it actually increases the number of people needing food banks.

You think the argument is poor people want to take their kids at the zoo so need half your wages? My lord

That is an outdated figure. More than that are working on UC.
The whole point of UC topping up a wage is that people usually CANT work fulltime, as just one example a single parent who has no support and is solely responsible for the children.

Point being, they could be working in a school as a support worker and dinner lady, but those wages are very low. The are trapped, as to come off UC theyd need a much higher paid job which they cannot access.

I see this all the time in my line of work

Why would I have shame or feel
inadequate?

Are we living under the same Government? Have taxes not just gone up 36 billion from business owners and working people and benefits budget been massively increased? You are not the victim here, the people grafting are.

I'm a working person, why would you think I'm saying I'm the victim? I have this thing called empathy for others

Why should a family day out not cost £100, what do you think it should cost? 10yrs ago, it cost almost £100 to take my DH and two kids to the zoo, and today its around perhaps £10 more? And that is for a nationally rated zoo that does a lot of conservation work. Granted, food and housing costs are a lot. But other things have not changed a great deal. I looked at the cost of flights from a holiday we took 10yrs ago and they were only £100 cheaper than what I have booked this year (and 1 of my dc is now classed as an adult).

On another note to what everyone else has said.

Why are they giving huge grants for councils to offer green bin collections at this time when normal people are struggling so much?

Its very nice that we’re trying to be better with our waste but why spend the money now, I don’t understand their priorities?

Virtue signalling posters around tax are often not net tax payers.

Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they are virtue signalling 🙄

True, it’s inflation but the problem is that tax bands haven’t moved with inflation. The 100k cliff edge would be £140k if it had.

@OneShyQuail it’s not an outdated figure, it’s last years figure!

And with subsidised childcare why can’t people work more? There was a PP on this thread saying she ‘gets away’ with working one day a week because with her partner working also they are just over the AET threshold to claim without being hassled. How is that fair when two full time working parents are having more and more tax taken to pay for this.

I have a good pension. Everyone who has worked is entitled to 6 months JSA no matter your income or savings. Speak to a benefits advisor.

Ridiculous comment. Mortgage/rent are usually people’s biggest outgoing. If someone paid my mortgage, I could easy work part time and still have money leftover.