So what are people going to do for money?

[DoubleAction]

Already DS has seen his shifts cut because they've been so quiet. As this progresses, financial hardship is going to become very real for huge sections of the population. I understand people saying we need to put the nation's health first and protect lives but what do you expect will happen to help these people pay their bills?

SSP isn't going to cut it and in any case it's not about people needing time off ill, it's about jobs and businesses actually disappearing.

Even when you think about very minimal constraints that have been implemented, that's a lot of people affected. No football games = less footfall at nearby cafes, pubs etc, programme printers, merchandise that may have already been made but might be out of date next season, people that work at stadiums, security etc. That's a lot of people already affected, many of whom might be on minimum wage. Repeat for theatres, restaurants, music concerts, cinemas and even the minimal "social distancing" starts to have an impact.
I work for a very non essential industry and am barely sleeping at the moment at the idea of a lockdown. My savings which might have sustained a couple of months of bills were in a stocks and shares isa so cant rely on that.

I should be fine although I work in a role where my bonus will definitely not be happening with all of this so I’ll be losing about £20k this year although my basic salary is quite high anyway so it doesn’t really matter.
DP on the other hand is a self employed sports coach and wouldn’t be earning anything if we went into lockdown. There’s a lot of savings between us so we won’t struggle but those have been accumulated over the last couple of years with the intention of buying a house next year

I’m really lucky. I work for a company that has made everyone work from home, acknowledges that a lot of people are doing this around childcare, and pays full sick benefit for up to a year. DH’s company also fine with WFH and sick pay.

Our jobs are both very secure, and we have long tenure, if it the worst came to the worst.

Nobody else in my family is as lucky, though. They’re all either self-employed or on low hourly salary with low-hour contracts and/or no sick pay. I’m planning on needing to be on a position to support them, which I will happily do.

what will happen to people who work in jobs that rely on footfall? cinemas/cafes/ soft play etc. And school cleaners/canteen staff ?

We're fortunate that DH is frontline emergency services and I work for the kind of big private company that allows working from home and has the resources to keep paying us for a long time. I feel enormously grateful for that right now (if worried about DH's work). I feel so sorry and worried for people who are going to face such financial hardship if this goes on for long.

We've already agreed with our two wonderful childminders that as long as we are getting paid, we will continue to pay them even if the kids can't be with them. They are incredible people who we rely on so much, we don't want them to suffer or have to close. Plus I can't abide the thought that we could end up making money through reduced outgoings during this, it's not fair.

@Callistone & @ProfessorLayton1 that's really lovely to hear both of you saying you will still pay your cleaner, childminder etc. I'm a self employed childminder (& DH self employed electrician already feeling the impact) and I dread being shut down as they did in Ireland or have to self isolate as it means no income. I've had one family confirm they will pay regardless which is lovely but sadly I only have their dc for 2 hour a a week which isn't going to pay the mortgage .

Love the idea that we all have so much spare cash sloshing around we can squirrel away 6 months worth of salary for a rainy day .

@Frouby
If you are thinking about selling a car, might be worth doing so before the value drops. Cars are likely to be non required assets for many people I expect.

Wow imagine saving hundreds of pounds every month, if this mess has shown anything it's that people are arseholes. Many people live pay packet to pay packet due to the greedy country we live in hence the shelves being bare and a nation of obese people.

DH is an electrician, people aren’t going to want some bloke just poking about in their house so
Imagine all non essential work (extensions etc) will be put on hold.

I’m encouraging him to look for industrial work and also building sites.

To be fair he isn’t proud he would do pretty much anything.

I will try and claim if I can we are a low income family as it is.

I’ve cancelled everything I had planned for the summer to save some money. And will start cutting down to bare minimum with what we have at home.

I’m starting to spiral to be honest as I have no idea what we will do.

The will live off the fruits of all the magical baked beans I've planted in my garden.

In all seriousness, I have no idea.

But there are genuinely people on this site asking why people are carrying on as normal.

@Beebers111

We're in the same boat. Dp is a painter and decorator, things have been very slow since before Xmas (as usual but things usually pick up around March / April). We have nothing left. I don't know what we're gonna do.

It’s a huge concern, we will be fucked as well.

But mention this at all and all the virtue signallers will be our telling you that you value money over lives. As if it’s got to be either or. But the economy going actually matters as well or more people will die

We absolutely have no choice but to carry on unless one of us gets sick.

I can get a mortgage holiday I’m sure but if this is still going on in 3 months then what? I will mortgage holiday as a last resort.

We have a corporation tax bill coming up as we are a small limited company that will empty the coffers completely so we can’t even ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ because I’m pretty sure HMRC won’t give a shit.

We are fortunate. I’m on mat leave living off savings and SMP until July then on full pay (holiday) until September when I go back.
DH has a job that is entirely WFH (but I am main earner) and gets full sick pay if ill. So our income should stay largely the same. We also have a lot of unused credit available in an emergency.

I have a BTL that becomes vacant in April. I may have problems letting it which will hurt but I can survive 6 months with it empty if required.

We are doing our best to support local businesses and for example will still pay our cleaner if we have to cancel her. But it myst be very worrying for a lot of people

Many people will not be able to pay their rent and will go into arrears. Nor can the government afford to help everyone with universal credit to pay rent and bills. However, if the banks enforce a 'freeze' on mortgages (read somewhere that this could be a possibility), landlords could be encouraged (hopefully forced) by the government to do the same for people that are renting privately. If they don't and expect people to pay their full rent when they're being forced to stay home and receive £94.50 statutory pay a week, there's going to be shit loads of people who fall in to arrears. Something tells me that if landlords try and sue/evict/challenge in the future, most judges with a brain cell would tell them to bugger off. This is a time where people's health is more important than bloody money.

I lost my main form of income on Friday, until we're over this..the takings are already down so they can't afford to pay me. Small independent shop.

My other job is 6 hours a week in hospitality, guests are already cancelling left right and centre.

I also supply 2 shops with things i make, but no-ones spending money...So basically i'm fucked already, barr £50 a week WTC

Thinking all i can do is borrow money from my DSs to live.

Me and DH both work in hospitality roles (management level so not zero hour contracts but I’m paid hourly still). I’ve been warned my place of work is looking to close from next week onwards-so I’ll have no income from next week for the foreseeable future. DH doesn’t earn enough to cover the rent and bills. I’ve had a huge drop in hours recently and we’re already struggling. If DH’s work shuts down I doubt he’ll get paid so we’ll be really screwed, our landlord will still expect rent and DC still need feeding. We’ve started buying extra pasta, tins etc for when the inevitable happens and we have no jobs just so DC can eat.

@treedragon I wish you’d have the balls to come back to this thread and explain why you thought that was a helpful/appropriate response to someone who as expressed a concern they’ll struggle.

Everyone knows the recommendation. Very few can afford to adhere. Try not to be a twat eh?!

Isn’t the general advice to have about 3-6 months of savings totalling your take home pay. So say you take home £1,000 that’s £6,000 squirrelled away for bad times.

Yes, that’s right. If only we’d realised that was the advice! We wouldn’t have spent it all on fags and sky TV and we’d have a cushion ‘squirrelled away’. Damn our reckless ways and lack of foresight!

Even Kirsty Allsopp appreciates how precarious many people's situations are right now, and she's a fully signed up Tory. Sheesh!

I am sorry i don't have an answer OP. I also do worry about those who rely on food banks as it is. From what i gather food banks are usually run by volunteers. If there is a lockdown would the food banks even be open and how can people even get to food banks if they have to self isolate? It's all a big mess. Hope the government has the answers !

treedragon, what sort of parallel universe do you inhabit where everyone can have savings? This is real life, many people are struggling day to day, savings would be a total luxury and way out of reach for many

I have to say; I’m very nervous

I work in the hair and beauty industry and we are generally always quiet in the new year after Christmas anyway but with this year having brexit causing a shift and now this virus causing an even more shift - I’m starting to worry.

Already my clientele is decreasing and my partners and colleagues have said if things don’t pick up in the next few weeks; we are going to be in serious trouble.

I’m self employed aswell so I’m dreading what will happen when everything’s on lockdown as for me - no work = no money coming in. I’m a single parent and the only breadwinner so I’m nervous.

I managed to save six weeks salary last year and was hoping to do the same this. Seems like I'll be using up my savings instead.

Oh and I'm self employed and currently in self isolation. I'll probably lose some clients but not all.