Facing unemployment - just over £1100 in benefits

[BringBackCatsEyes]

I've just put my figures in a calculator and think I will receive just over £1100

UC £ 362.73 per month
(standard + child, then take away JSA )

117.22 per month child benefit

Council Tax Support
£ 71.07 per month

Support for Mortgage Interest loan
£ 152.49 per month

New-style Jobseekers Allowance
£ 414.05 per month

Are people actually living on this or do they end up selling their home to move into rented?

I am trying my hardest to find work. My contract ends at the end of this year.
I am not asking for advice on finding work, I want to hear from those who have experienced moving to UC and how they manage?

I suppose what is most pertinent here OP is - is this enough to cover your monthly expenses, and do you have any savings?

It is absolutely not. My mortgage and utilities/food are nearly all of that. I live in a 2 bed terrace. I know I can get a mortgage 'holiday'.
The figure is for when my modest savings are gone.

People cut their cloth and do manage to live on it. To listen to some on here you would think they were rolling in it like.

I mean thats pretty good. Ive been self employed for over a decade and would apparently get fuck all

Do you think 'cut my cloth' means selling my home? Is that the expectation?

Most people would take a mortgage holiday whilst looking for work and then manage with what they have

Well many people switch their mortgage to interest only until they're out of the tight spot.

Why do you keep mentioning selling?

You and one child?

can you give us your current budget

food
gas and electric
council tax
water
bb&phone
Essential car - assume you use it much less if not commuting for example

I understand. The job market is very bad at the moment. I think my lender allows 6 months holiday.
We would just about manage, but god it would be miserable and I really feel for my son.

Sounds about right to me. Life on benefits is just about covering the basics and hoping there are no costly emergencies. You learn to get thrifty. Hopefully it won’t be for too long.

It's subsistence. You wouldn't expect to run a car on it. But of course you don't change your whole lifestyle and sell house and car for what should be a temporary situation. Good luck with your job hunt.

Because I am not feeling very optimistic.
I was made redundant this time last year. Found work, but only a 12 month contract which ends in Dec.
I am looking medium term when my savings and mortgage holiday time is up.

Have you checked thar your mortgage deal allows a ‘holiday’. Ours didn’t.

Cost of living is insane, largely due to housing costs. I worked out our set bills ( mortgage, utilities, council tax, house insurance etc) takes up nearly all of my salary, leaving very little for food never mind anything else.

We live rurally, it would be pretty impossible to claim I am actively looking for work w/o a car or public transport.

Yes. 6 months.

@BringBackCatsEyes your options on the surface of it appear to be:

1. Get another contract. You don't say why this is not likely. I know the job market sucks at the moment, but is there really nothing you could get that pays more than benefits?
2. If the benefits don't cover your outgoings, and you are unable to get alternative employment, then yes, selling and either renting or downsizing are two possible options.
3. Be careful about the mortgage holiday. This usually means that you get three months off, but the term remains the same so your payments will increase when they restart to cover the missing payments. Don't ask me how I know, I just know.

The property market is fairly dire at the moment, so selling is not necessarily as quick an option as you might like either.

I've been there, it sucks. I changed career entirely.

Most people just keep going - one job to the next

we lived like that as a child and to be honest it has not scared me for life. It has helped me as I appreciate having money but also can go without when needed. I am cheap to run!

Don’t pass your anxiety onto your son / take it in your stride as best you can and good luck

So from now to when your potential for a mortgage holiday period were to expire is approximately a year then?
I understand how stressful job hunting and its financial impact can be but assuming I’ve read right, you really are worrying a bit too early!

What job do you do, how old is your son, could you find extra work now until your contract us up so you could save a bit.

It's OK, I've done my sums and did all the jigging about last year.
I'm more wondering whether people do actually manage to support a modest home and a dependent teenager on £1100/month.

You would need to bear in mind that the SMI loan only kicks in after 3 months of Universal Credit. So you would have 3 months with no SMI.

Yes when I became too ill to work at one point, I worked out that I would have to sell the house if I hadn’t found an alternative job that would allow some accommodations. It’s dreadful isn’t it - fingers crossed you find something quickly.

If you get even a nmw job after tax you would take home nearly £1800 per month plus the child benefit so obviously loads better off than benefits. Is that not something you could consider?

The other thing to realise really early on is that any job is better than no job. You will be better off on minimum wage + UC than no job + UC while you look for a job you prefer.

People manage, because if you have bills to pay you have to, usually by cloth cutting. As you can see, there is not much help available for mortgage payers. Having been made redundant twice, I would start cloth cutting now to aim for 6-8 months worth of essential expenses.