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

The two boys could share. More appealing for a landlord to know there's two wages coming in, less chance of them defaulting on the rent. Only one set of while goods and living room furniture to acquire between them. Renting a two bed flat is cheaper than renting two one beds. Utility bills and council tax halved. Possibly more appealing to them than flat sharing with strangers to keep costs down, if they get along. It would give the younger one time to work out how to organise things so that he can live with his girlfriend and baby.

DS1 knows than when he heads to uni he will have to live at home. Fortunately in Australia that is far more common than it seems to be in the UK. Any earnings from part time work can go towards his his car, uni books (very expensive in Australia), sporting equipment, and just having some fun, and no need to work ridiculous hours and risk bad grades.

I think moving to a different city just to study at university might need to become a thing of the past.

Not trying to cause an argument here but just maybe exes can't afford to raise their contributions. My DP of many years pays to support his 3 DC, and rightly so, but his ex wife always complains its not enough. His initial offer was rejected for more so she went to CMS and was 'awarded' less for insight. If he hadn't moved in with me over 10 years ago he certainly couldn't afford to live like he does with what he's left with after paying CM and I financially support him which means I am unable to retire early although I have many health issues and nearly 62. It seriously is shit times for us all 😞

I pay it when I can and what I can and that’s what I have did for the last 7 years. One wage coming in (on my own) and most of it going out and we don’t have baliffs in Scotland.

Scotland has a very low population compared to England. It is literally not financially sound for them to charge people for prescriptions etc . As for a few sanitary towels? I expect Nicola's trans women will be in that queue too! Nicola would use her Granny for Scottish Independence.

Utter joke. If you're a working family with a mortgage, you're earning less than £3k a month and entitled to nothing.

And this is what's wrong with this country. Pays to be on benefits (and ensure you have a few kids without a father in the picture apparently!)

@bellswithwhistles .
And this is what's wrong with this country. Pays to be on benefits (and ensure you have a few kids without a father in the picture apparently!)

Totally untrue and completely ignorant. If you read my post above you'll see it's actually pretty hideous living on benefits. My life and finances now are the complete opposite of how it used to be. I had a great career, we didn't worry about money, had lots of holidays etc. Now I eat only one meal a day some days. So my children can eat. We have been poorly because we can't heat the house. Yep, real luxury being on benefits.

Too fucking right it pays to be a single mum! I’ve just had my annual CMS review and child maintenance is going up! Yep, I’m getting an extra £7 week (for 2 kids). Absolutely fucking raking it in and the kids now have to choose between Disney and quad bikes this summer.

Ah, if it’s so great on benefits why not quit your jobs and go on benefits? You won’t because life on benefits is shit and you know it.

Also, that advice was to someone who is actually working and may be eligible for a top up because their wages are shit. As are yours BTW if two of you are taking home less than £3k. Instead of trying to kick down, get some class consciousness, join a union and fight for better pay for everyone.

It’s an utter joke the lack of affordable housing for rent in this country. If this mother who is working full time was living in a HA property paying reasonable rent she’d probably be entitled to a low amount/ nothing.

The government has created a shitty system where they pay for a landlords asset rather than investing in homes. It’s a short term solution but they have no long term plans to improve so we have £12k per annum rents going to be paid for 20 years plus.

I own so no skin in the rental game but do you not have compassion for the children who will suffer if their mother doesn’t get help to pay her ludicrously high rent?

Well to be fair you don’t have to queue for sanitary products. I worked on our councils roll out of them and we stocked up all publicly accessible toilets so you can grab free stuff from public toilets, schools, leisure centres, libraries type places. Posters instructing you to take what you need for now and later and where you can pick up extra supplies if needed. Cleaners restock as necessary.

It was of those things that I thought was really successful at targeting a need and addressing it in an accessible fashion especially for girls who might be embarrassed at having to ask.

We bought lots of product from Hey girls which donates a box of pads for every one sold to a young woman or girl as well to help girls who live further afield too.

because 50% is for the house and 50% is for amenities you receive a discount of 50% for amenities the house you pay 100% for.

Exactly this! Well said 👏

Does that mean 50% of expenditure is somehow related to the house, bins etc? I thought a lot was adult social care, which I would expect to be funded by individuals not households.

I think the most council tax goes on the people who pay least or no council tax - that is the problem and why it is so unfair a tax.

By that logic I would assume you think all taxation is unjust?

I thought a v large chunk went on gold-plated pensions, followed by social care, schools, social services, leisure and recreation (libraries, parks, dog shit bin collections).

I think the 25% discount needs to be reviewed. I think single adult occupants should pay 100% of CT that goes to things relating to a household as a whole like bin collections, and 50% of CT that relates to the wider community, like social care. I don't think it's right that single adult occupants pay more towards social care than an adult living with other adults. I mean if we have to have CT, I don't know why social care doesn't come out of general taxation really, then have a smaller payment for services like bins and libraries locally.

Social care, schools, road maintenance, street lighting, bin collections, leisure and recreation, plus a % to police and fire brigade, and pensions for retired employees... once you start to add in all the little bits, there's a lot that is funded from council tax. I KNOW the riots happened, but I still think poll tax is fairer.

Obviously, only charged to adults.

This is roughly where council tax goes.

Do you know where they got the only 25% discount idea? As I don't see how 50% of that relates to my house/household and 50% to me as an individual.

The simple fact is we should ALL pay for everything.
Each & every single one of us gives & takes to our communities and societies.
Some use some services more, others different ones. At different times in life more than other times
We all Mostly take.
We use the roads
We have bin collections
We need public transport
We need street lighting

We need staff to maintain all these

Some of us have kids at nursery
Some have kids at primary
Some have kids at secondary

Some have parents in elderly care facilities
Others have care at the home
Some of us value libraries
Some value play parks
Some use swimming pools or community centres.

These needs and wants will ebb and flow through life.

If people start nit picking what they don't want to pay for it will quickly become a shit show. No one should be able to opt out.
Of course there should be discounts for elderly and students & disabled etc

Look at the big chunks @tornadoinsideoutfig . Do you have a child in school, or an elderly parent? Social services absorb a lot of local authority spends. I don't have a child in school now, live in socially provided housing, or a parent being cared for by the local authority either, but I still accept that these things need paying for. And yes, I grumble a bit too, but I do prefer to live in a world where some of the inequalities of wealth and ability are smoothed out by me paying towards the community I live in.

I'm looking at the big chunks. I'm wondering why I pay 50% more as a lone parent than a person in a couple when most of the expenditure doesn't relate to my house/household. I think per adult would be much fairer. I think the current system creates more inequality.