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

Prices won't go down but they'll stop going up quite so dramatically. They'll continue to outstrip wages though, which must always be held down so that wealth can continue to accrue to the minority it's been accruing to through the pandemic, war, CoL crisis etc, while everyone else has gotten poorer.

And then everyone will go out and vote for more of the same, and keep grumbling.

I’m in a band D property and my CT is £210 x 10 months, so could easily be £250 in band E, never mind F-H. It’s not unusual, particularly for northern metropolitan boroughs. If you’re in a London borough or something it’s often a lot lower.

It is utterly shit OP and sadly I don't think it's going to become easier any time soon. Both I and DH work full time 40-60 hours each a week. We are tired, snappy, struggling to avoid payments for rent for Ds at Uni (£900 month). We don't smoke, don't drink, don't have gym memberships, have a small car and modest home and worked really hard for 20 years, going to uni, getting a profession and living by the book. There must be more to life!

Universal Credit hasn’t been rolled out in all areas. I consider myself to be incredibly lucky to still be receiving them (although only till August). UC is less and i think you have to prove you’re looking for work. The working tax credits element is apparently virtually impossible to get if you’re self-employed. No-one seems particularly outraged about it on here but life on tax credits was far more pleasant.

History will look back at a rare time when someone on a low wage could pay for a house and kids, heating, food, childcare, the lot on that wage only.

Where is your children's father?

Some man has created 3 children and ought to be contributing (unless you are widowed and many apologies if so.)

My council tax is roughly like yours and that is Band E in the south east. You also qualify for 25% reduction as a single person.

Where do you live and in what size house?

What can you cut back on - phones? Subscription TV etc? Broadband?
Do you spend time looking for better deals?

Longer term, can you get more training or qualifications to enable you to be a higher earner?

From what I can tell the highest CT in the country is Rutland.

That is £3322 for Band F, which would be £2491 with 25% discount (single persons?), or £250 a month. Without the discount you'd be looking at midway between band D/E for the same area.

It’s utterly shit. I dont know why people are already rioting. Perhaps they will when the weather gets warmer.

Teens may not need childcare but if you have lads when they are teens they eat far more than a regular adult about double the amount. Mine did football so hardly a luxurious sport but meant travel every week, kit etc. They don’t cost as much but still expensive.

@lovem if there are any riots, apart from protests that becomes riots in London or other major cities they will be in the same places they always are. They tend to be in poor areas which means the people who are actually suffering the most then suffer more. In the very nice suburb I live in they will not happen. As a child I saw the aftermath of the riots in Brixton in think it was 1981. When there were riots in 2005 I was travelling to America and saw the papers when I landed and knew the areas before I even opened the paper I bought.

Hi all,

I'm just reading through all the comments now. Thank you for being so kind and putting up with me having a cry. It's been so difficult and I've recently gotten a promotion, yet the extra money is never seen.

I'm going to continue reading through these comments and will get back to you all. I'm currently writing out all my income and expenses. Life is hard.

Also, the council tax is so high because I got myself into arrears a few years back, and rightly so I'm paying the price now.

Not really - if things creeping up by around 10% has pushed anyone over the edge then they didn’t leave enough ‘headroom’ for unexpected events.

I might be in the minority, but I always cut my cloth leaving at least 20% room for manoeuvre if possible - including only having one DC

To the OP, could you move to a cheaper area or smaller house?
Council tax of £250 plus rent of over half your wage suggests a large house or expensive area

It's terrifying. The energy bills are going up AGAIN in April and yet I'm not seeing any promises by bosses and the Government to put people's salaries up so they can actually pay their bills. It amazes me how we just put up with this - if this was France, we'd have had their heads off in the guillotine by now! But here we're just blithely letting Tory shareholders swan off with millions of pounds of public money while people working 40 hour weeks can't afford to feed their kids.

I'm both furious and - as a single parent - really worried. What happens when we just can't pay for it all?!

Cool, but I don't think the OP can push DC3 back up where it came from

You are not alone. I'm our local foodbank coordinator, we're seeing so many people who are just blindsided that they (who up until recently were managing pretty well) have got to the stage when they need us - the cost of living crisis is hitting people (and I think it's important to say - from all walks of life) so hard.

Have you had a chat with your local Citizens Advice? They are great at looking at your current circumstances and guiding/advising you on what additional support may be available to you - whether that be a benefit review, debt review, grants or financial support from local charities or organisations etc. I really do recommend making an appointment with them.

From the perspective of putting food on the table. There is obviously your local Foodbank if you are struggling to put food on the table after the bills have been paid. Is there a community food share scheme in your area at all? These organisations are popping up around the country whose aim is to redistribute surplus food from supermarkets and local producers, usually for free, or at a very low cost. It may be worth searching on social media, or as above, Citizens Advice should know.

Download and keep an eye on the Too Good to Go and Olio apps for cheap or free food local to you.

And finally, do not feel ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help - we are in a crisis - we have to pull together to get us all through it.

I agree with Simulcra. And add the word 'smug'.

Please do apply for UC you may be eligible for a small amount due to renting, every little helps.

This time last year I was planning an abroad holiday this year I’m scrimping for money and looking for loose change around the house!

Definitely get a full benefits check from citizens advice or similar.

you may also be entitled to an income related reduction to your council tax (in addition to the 25% single discount) and a discretionary housing payment to help with rent (can be claimed as well as UC).

I hope you won't be too disappointed when Labour don't slash energy prices and give out lots of pay rises.

If you are paying debt back on the rates then ask them to reduce the payback . Explain your position , same if you have other debt . Approach step change ? Go through everything with a fine tooth comb

Lol, the last council area (in Notts) I lived in, Band D was £228. Areas like Dorset and Rutland are higher than that. Bandings in Wales are not really comparable with England. The average across England for Band D is £196.

Everything costs more. Teenage boys eat you out of house and home. They need new shoes every five minutes (that’s how it feels anyway). They do sport that needs expensive equipment. They want tech and games. The sweet spot financially is primary age.

Well fuck me and call me rosey - why didn't we all think of that?!!!🤔🙄