To think my universal credit feels generous.

[MoonBaby1]

I got to my early 40s without ever needing to claim but circumstances find me single and paying the lions share of child related outgoings.

I work full time on£31,000 and have found out this year thanks to applying that I get on average about £800 from UC. It has been an absolute life changer and will hopefully be able to afford a modest uk holiday actually during the summer holidays and pay the school back some debt im in for after school care.

So many benefits bashing threads so I just wanted to present another side that as a cash strapped mum of two who works full time, UC is making a positive difference to our life. I didn't even think id qualify!

I highly doubt your tax is paying for this specific poster to take her kids on holiday its probably going towards the politicians bar bill

And these thousands of people can choose to prioritise a holiday if thats what they want to do but they would rather expensive mobile phone contracts, cars on finance or wli

Well, OP looked and could not find anything she could afford anyway.

If the Sun still do the £9 holidays, then who in their right mind would begrudge anyone going on that?

Not just this specific poster but the thousands who claim 800 quid in UC while earning 31K a year. As a nurse, there's also a nice pension if she didn't opt out.

Sorry, but there are many people on benefits having holidays, which begs the question of whether they are actually entitled to benefits to begin with 😂

Uc is based on individual circumstances

Or poor people are just better at managing money

There is something very wrong if someone working for the NHS, so paid by the Gov, needs top ups also provided by them. If she was not entitled to that £800, she would not get it. But the computer said yes.

If that were the case, as has been repeatedly said, they wouldn't need top ups.

So anyone on benefits who goes on holiday is a fraud now?

Agree.

A myth, perhaps? How did you come to this hypothesis?

No matter how good you are at managing money if you have more going out then coming in you can't pay your bills or childcare and more people on the streets. If people are topped up to a liveable amount and they want to put £20 a month in a holiday fund then I don't see anything wrong with that. I haven't been on holiday for over 10 years as im to disabled to but if I wasn't I would absolutely prioritise this over other shit people waste their money on

Well i think this thread alone proves it by everyone saying they can't afford a holiday yet someone getting benefits can.

I never said anyone on benefits is a fraud; however, if a claimant can have repeated holidays on benefits during a cost-of-living crisis, I would highly suspect there is fraud.

Or they are good at budgeting?

Who is talking about repeated holidays the op has just gone on uc

Gone are the days where you'd sit in a job centre and be forced to take positions or you wouldn't receive benefits. It seems to have got out of hand now with no middle ground.

So, with utilities, groceries, and general day-to-day expenses on the increase, we have claimants who genuinely need benefits to survive. Do you believe a holiday is essential?

Clearly, the OP is not struggling enough.

Don't be so obtuse FFS

Isn’t that down to how they manage their money? Perhaps they don’t smoke, drink , spend lots on themselves or have expensive subscriptions.

Quite.

The fact half of mumsnet threads are about people on wli. Or people paying for their adult children. Or someone the other week thinking £200 at the hairdressers is average. And people who take their kids for big days out to zoos and theme parks every weekend. And have their children in 4 or 5 different clubs. Poor people don't do these things thats the difference

No, some people are really good with money. When you have so little, you learn to count every penny, spot bargains etc.

I know someone on benefits who is amazing when it comes to grocery shopping in terms of shopping around, getting good deals etc. She is also not shy at all when it comes to getting things she needs off freecycle and similar. She rarely buys anything full price. So she manages to save up money to go to see her favourite bands.

I echo this.

The benefits system is far too LOOSE.