I honestly cannot afford to live

[Inkdrinker]

I work 40 hour weeks, yet I was paid 6 days ago and I'm already completely out of money. My rent is more than half of my pay, council tax is a further 250 pounds, my energy bills are ridiculous despite trying to cut down on using so much.

I have 3 kids to look after. How are people going survive this? This is by no means a ploy to ask others for money, I do not want anyone's money. I just want to know I'm not alone in this situation

I am not paying council tax and they can arrest me or whatever it is they do

I think they put you in prison. You'd lose your job I expect and even if you don't you'd lose the wages for the period of incarceration, if it's longer than your annual leave allowance. Then you'd lose your home because rent/mortgage wouldn't get paid. How does that help improve your life?

Don't default on Council Tax, the public sector are very very aggressive when it comes to debt collection. You will end up in court.

You would be better off seeking payment plans with your energy and water providers.

Wrt council tax, it’s one of the few “fines” you can actually be imprisoned for. Get a payment plan in place even if it’s £5/week and comes nowhere close to your ACTUAL liability.

It’s not a “faceless” crime (CT). It funds schools, care homes, libraries blah blah.

Fuck the energy companies by all means, but look after your own communities.

They won't! They'll get a court order, then either instruct baillifs or an attachment of earnings order will be made and the debt taken from OPs salary at source. The OP will end up paying it plus costs, and will have a poor credit record, but its fairly certain she'll not end up in a cell.

So these people are your DC not your DP, but aside from that they're basically cocklodgers!

There's: You, DH, DS18 + GF + baby, DC27 and DC28? 6 adults? Split the bills 6 ways then and all pays a proper share. It'll be cheaper for them than moving out. As you can't afford the mortgage that needs to be included into the bills before they're split, as it's a cost you wouldn't have if you downsized. If they don't pay up I'd change the locks and say only the baby can stay as long as you can claim the CB for it.

Don't let them take the piss. Stop doing all their chores. Make a chores rota. They should help clean the house not just do their own laundry and washing up.

Speak to GF and make it clear she's a guest in your house, not a tenant, and doesn't get to say when you can/can't carry out repairs and decorating to your own home. Change the way you say things, tell them, don't ask permission. Don't ask "is it ok if I'm in the room to fix/decorate xyz this week?". Say "you'll need to go to another room in half hour because I'll be in this one for 3hrs fixing/decorating xyz".You own the house, all these people need to fit around you.

At the moment they're all taking you and the home for granted, it needs to stop. If they refuse your new rules or ignore them, give them one month notice to leave in writing, which they will hopefully see is serious and change their ways. If not, when the month is up change the locks. That will get through to them when they're sleeping on a friend's sofa!

Of course if you want them gone and to downsize, just give notice to leave in writing and then when it's up change the locks. They don't have squatters rights or anything, you can legally do that. It's highly unlikely they'll be on the streets, they'll have friends they can stay with short term until they've sorted themselves out. Plus they'd have had the notice period you gave to get started on finding somewhere/claiming benefits/getting a job and whatever else they need to do.

You could offer to store their possessions for a while longer if you want to be helpful but I'd put a time limit on that too eg 6 months max. Otherwise you'll still have their things in your home years later.

You could offer to have the baby only live with you to make things easier for them short term. Long term it won't help them if they go after council housing, the baby being homeless too would give them higher priority. If you keep the baby, claim the CB too, it's only fair and you've funded them all long enough.

My parents died and I'm using the money I inherited to reduce the mortgage payments. If I wasn't able to do that, I'd be fucked tbh.

I'd rather have my parents back. Next best would be using the money they left me to enjoy my life with the kids rather than just stay afloat. The situation is so shit for so many people

I’m disabled and (shock) have three children. I’m not going into the whole situation of why/ what happened.
Mly disabilities mean I can’t work.
we get £1650 per month UC l. Two adults and the three children. We are worse off on UC. We are in a two bed tiny property that does not accommodate my wheelchair. Rent is£650 pcm, council tax £150p/mI’ve only had the heating on three times this year for an hour
I’ve now got pneumonia for the second time this winter, seventh time overall. My asthmatic son is poorly too.
currently I eat breakfast then an evening meal every other day as we we can't afford my gluten-free food.
I have 23 items on prescription every month- thankfully they are covered.

There is no end in sight. People will be living in tents by the road side soon.

That is brilliant advise thankyou I actually gave them all a month notice last night the 27 year old has taken it ok but the 18 year old not so good. I think the girlfriend is going back to stay with her mum for a while so we can get on with the decorating and get it on the market

Oh God, how terrible and then you have those goady threads "it's just the media whipping up frenzy and exaggerating, I don't know anyone in real life who is suffering, local restaurants are full" crap. Every time I see the right wing newspapers' headlines it's either something about immigrants, celebrity or other shit. And Liz Truss complaining in the Telegraph how the "establishment" didn't let her screw up the country even more.

I'm sorry you're in this position, it can't possibly be helping your health to only eat breakfast and then an evening meal every other day. I understand that gluten free foods are expensive but what about naturally gluten free cheap foods like:

•	most dairy products, such as cheese, butter and milk
•	fruits and vegetables
•	meat and fish (although not breaded or battered)
•	potatoes
•	rice and rice noodles

Baked potato with cheese
Cauliflower cheese
Rice with veg
Soup bulked up with some rice or potatoes

There are very cheap meals that could give you a quick hot meal that's filling and gives your body the nutrients it needs to fight illness.

Are there any community food shops/pantries you could use or do you have a Lidl/Morrisons nearby as they do the wonky veg boxes which are remarkably cheap and can be prepped and frozen if the mix is a bit odd and doesn't work with any meals you want there and then.

@Merryweather80 please try and access help to get a benefits check run. You should be able to access more funds than that, eg disability premium/UC LWX, council tax credit and perhaps DHP.

Did you know the government is providing free sanitary products for.... girls/women? So no period poverty there. Seems to me that the Scots are getting sorted in women's rights!

I don’t think sorting period poverty is the same as sorting out women’s rights. I do think it’s a good thing but it’s not the only thing.

Exactly this, no woman would experience period poverty if they weren't first experiencing poverty.

• feckless men leaving women with the children and no financial support
• high childcare costs or lack of childcare options to enable work
• the roles that women are more likely to take due to flexibility of hours being minimum wage as default

There's lots that U.K. and Scots govt could be addressing that would combat poverty

Exactly this. My local authority goes to court every month with council tax arrears. It’s not a tax to default on. We have sent serious defaulters to prison.

www.mygov.scot/free-period-products

Providing sanitary towels but take away the rights to safe women only spaces...🤷‍♀️

18 years old is still so young to pull the rug from under him so to speak even if he has fathered a child. Hopefully you will still be guiding him. For context I have 50k put aside after downsizing to support my 18 year old for the next 6 years at University. This support will come with conditions but I am not just going to let him flounder at 18 years old. 27 year old definitely I would expect to have taken it better and be able to cope more.

Have you applied for pip ?

Single parent to a primary age child and I have cut back on everything. I cried in the Asda aisle the other day because the price jumps in just a week just got to me that next week how am I going to even do a basic shop. It’s absolutely diar for the majority of people xx

Its horrendously hard. I'm working to pay rent, a couple of bills and hardly have anything left. Really disheartening.

@CoorieInByTheFire thank you, I could not figure how to add a link x

Well said @CriticalAlert x

What are you talking about? My tall 12 year old is in primark adult size 4 jeans because the children’s sizes aren’t long enough. She is no way the biggest in her year. It’s perfectly normal to be in small adult sizes by that age.

I have a client through work currently who has huge council tax arrears and the LA have done nothing much to make her pay. Not sure whether it is because she is caring for elderly parents who live with her ? She also owns rental properties which she refuses to sell and nothing has happened to make her pay !