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

Can you look at reducing your fixed costs? A newer property will have lower utility costs

@DontStopMeNow7 The government stopped child tax credits in 2018. Now you get 20% of your childcare costs paid through an archaic convoluted online portal. It is frustrating and only just provides enough to help.

Life is awful for people at the moment. Really crap. This is why when I see liz Truss trying to slither back I feel so angry. For anyone already on the breadline, there really is no where else to run, it’s about clinging on in there.
sending you hugs OP.

Check if your entitled to any benefits I couldn't afford to live as soon as I was paid it all went on bills absolutely nothing left but now I claim benefits im comfortable. My whole wage still goes on the bills but the benefits is the extra

Not everyone’s council tax is paid over 10 months and the amount sounds fine to me.

Can you post all your income / outgoings so posters can see if there are any suggestions to balance them?

Sorry, got one at uni at the moment and it’s currently costing us over a grand a month to keep her there! Plus 2 others who are much more expensive now but then I didn’t work when they were tiny so no childcare fees, hadn’t factored that in!
Now it’s all school trips, football boots constantly outgrown, see also coats, clothes in general just cost more, equipment for hobbies etc.
Anyway, I did say that MY kids cost me more now that they’re older, wasn’t speaking for everyone else. Just an observation that I have not found it to be true that they’re cheaper when they get older, although one day maybe!!

If your a single adult you can also get 25% of your council tax

@Inkdrinker please ensure you're claiming all the tax credits, discounts and benefits you're entitled to. Maybe pop along to Citizen's Advice so they can look at this for you. Could you apply for social housing?

Op's council tax is the same as mine and I deffo don't live in a mansion! Just unfortunately live in an area with the highest council tax in the country.

Take up meditation - I mean it. You still have all the same problems but somehow they shrink a bit and they don't overwhelm you.

Interesting and shocking.

What about the working tax element? That used to be quite a lot.

I think some posters are thinking of university aged children. I think £900 is likely less than what they pay for the hall fees, food and other maintenance cost.

Ours are a lot cheaper now we don't pay for any childcare. Their food and clothes get a lot more expensive, but you don't need to a new pair of shoes every month.

Can I add my thoughts as a "Boomer" please?

I lived alone from being 15 years old in the early 70's, had 16% interest on our mortgage in the early 80's, lived through power cuts, 3 day weeks, several recessions etc. and yet can honestly say I have never known things so bad. Makes my blood boil hearing of people having to live like this in 2023 FFS.

Yes, our first house had no CH, ice inside the windows etc. but we hadn't had years of conditioning of just putting the heating on iñ every room and not giving it a second thought. If I had to turn the heating off now it would hit me much harder than the old days when we just had a gas fire in the sitting room and a small electric fan heater in the bedroom for when we got up in the morning. Everyone lived like that in those days.

I know many older mnetters are saying about high interest rates previously etc. but I can't ever remember things being so bad in my lifetime. And why the hell should you need an effing referral to a food bank.🤬 If you're in need you are in need FFS.

I know I'm incredibly lucky and probably don't belong on this thread but just wanted you to know IMO it is the worst it has ever been. Don't let others convince you differently! Mortgage rates doubling, no social housing, food jumping up by 30/40/50p per item every time you go shopping, utility bill so high that people are terrified of putting the heating on, doing the laundry, relying on bloody meters again. When is this going to end??

On a positive note, Rishi understands how tough it is! 🤬🤬🤬Of course he does! 🤬🤬🤬 Rant over!

But generally, they cost a lot more for many people as they grow older. Mine was in full time nursery so it's hard to beat that. Not many uses full time childcare however.

Give up some hours so you can get help

If you work only 16 hours you will get help with rent and council tax.

@MariaDingbat @DontStopMeNow7

UC pays up to 85% of childcare costs. I couldn’t go to work without that help!

We have 3, I used to work part time and DH had average national wage when they were little. We weren't rolling in it but we could get by, own a house, heat a house, go on holiday abroad (cheap and cheerful), go out for meals etc. Thanks to the government fucking us over and the joy of Brexit we now both work full-time and DH has had a promotion yet we feel skint. We have the heating off, less holidays, budget for everything. It's shit Fuck you very much Tory bastards.

Doesn’t universal credit cover more than 20%?

@Inkdrinker
can you pay council tax over 12 months?
that is very high.

Nope. We actively decided we could not afford a third 17 years ago. And I bet we were not the only people to do so. Having children has always been expensive and people have always needed to cut their cloth…

You are not alone.

It is really tough for lots of us. I understand exactly how you feel!

Have you done a benefits check to see if you are entitled to anything? Even a bit off your council tax would help. That is a huge whack! Do you have arrears or live in a massive property?

Life has changed for a lot of us and I think we need to face the fact it's not going to get easier any time soon.

Is there a money saving tips, mutual (emotional) support and advice thread on here? It would be nice to have a thread where we can just talk about how tough it is without being accused of begging.

You are absolutely not alone. Please moan all you want. It's shit.

Is there any way you can cut your food bills? I don't think you have mentioned your diet.

Teens are expensive - transport to college alone is over £200 a term here. Clothes, petrol to ferry them around to jobs and friends, driving lessons, Uni and other costs associated with that. Plus you lose any tax credits etc once they finish further education so often you are needing to support a young adult while they get a job that pays enough for them to be self sufficient.

It's so hard at the moment. And if I think about it potentially continuing to be hard it makes me feel very down!
Are you paying your council tax over 10 or 12 months? We pay ours over 12 so it costs us less each month but of course we don't get the 2 months 'off' like most people.
It's difficult to cut the budget any more when each pound seems to be accounted for. Is working any more hours an option? I know it's not ideal but even temporarily?

You are not alone, I feel like we are drowning with no way out.