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?

They pay up to the LHA anyway. Where I live, that falls £200pm short.

I think one friend has to pay £100 a month. The others it’s all paid for

I earn that per month and think that’s a very good amount

Do you pay all your bills (including mortgage) on just over £1000?

Yes I do , i do also get child benefit for 1 child and my eldest son pays me dig money of £100 per month so these are my other incomes

Contact your local employability team. There is TONNES of help for parents to find employment just now. Especially rural ones

Well done.
So you are supporting 3 people on about £1200 and think it’s plenty.
Do you mind giving me a break down of your expenses because it simply doesn’t add up for me.

Benefits are not designed to pay mortgages. If you were renting you would probably get housing benefit which would cover most if not all of your rent. But if you have a mortgage you don’t qualify for that, which is fair enough I suppose.

You could speak to your lender about a mortgage holiday or other options such as lengthening your mortgage to bring the monthly repayments down.

@BringBackCatsEyes

Firstly, sending you nothing but support.

Sorry, if you have answered this elsewhere in the thread but may I recommend

1. Irrespective of the fixed holiday your mortgage lender provides, stay engaged with them, because they naturally have dispensation to extend beyond xx months, premised on an interest roll-up, of course. Providing that you continue to communicate and you make some payments, they will not do anything.
2. If you have a private pension and are 55 or over, you can take 25% of the total tax free.

I am thinking of other options for you.

I’ve never heard a the local employability team. I just googled and see there is something on my are for 16-18 year olds and some services in Scotland.

A couple of thoughts - sixth form bursary for your son? These can be several hundreds of pounds for low income families. Can use it for transport costs, costs of lunches etc. Worth investigating now.

Also, encourage him to get a little job - my sixth former works in Costa, has a little cleaning job and she's the is bit of babysitting, skittles sticking up where necessary. Whilst he doesn't contribute to the household build. He's happy to buy his own trainers, going out spends etc

Also look into it there is an educational trust in your area to support young people. He might be able to get help with driving lessons, a moped or equipment costs etc.

For you, I'm sure you will find some work but maybe see if there is any bar work shifts you could pick up a couple of eves a week?

What line of work are you in? I’m wondering if you could work from home & it would open up more opportunities.

DS needs to work so he can cover paying for his own clothes & fun things. Not to cover rent or bills, but he will need to find a way to help. I heard under 22s get free travel in Scotland. That would help him.

It would not make sense to sell your home. How much longer do you have to pay? I think the only thing that would help would be to perhaps move to a city where there are more jobs.

It sounds like a very low amount to live off. Do you not get any maintenance from his father? I think this makes a big difference. It’s not taken into account & so you get some single parents scraping by while others get an extra income on top via maintenance from the other parent.

Do you have parents who would help you out at all?

I already work from home.
I am a scientist and my last 3 roles have been with international companies that work remotely.
My son has a part time job. We do not live in Scotland.
I have another 10 years on my mortgage. 50K left.
I get a small amount from DS's father in line with CMS.
My parents are both dead.

There will be 6th form support when/if I am in receipt of UC.
DS has a part time job.
I can look into lump sum trusts.
I spend my evenings either looking and applying for jobs or looking after myself and my son atm. If I don't find a new proper role then yes I will look into getting any sort of work.

@BringBackCatsEyes sorry I saw you comment about services in Scotland so assumed you were up there!

I don’t think it’s enough to live off. I don’t know if some science jobs are being overtaken by AI. Or whether it’s an area companies can make cut backs so just don’t prioritise it.

I assume you have looked at civil service jobs? Have you thought about science teaching? You get more than £1200/month to train. It’s saying here it’s £31,000 tax free. Most schools struggle to get science teachers.

https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-parent-or-carer

Can you afford to save over the next few months? I’m not sure if you currently earn well.

Sorry to hear it’s so difficult. We always assumed science subjects would equal a stable career.

Thank you.
I don't know how the Scotland thing has slipped in!
Science - mostly it's funding cuts. Trump decimating science funding has had a massive impact. UK funding as well.
The large science campus I used to work at has nearly 2000 employees. They have had made many redundancies in recent years and currently have 4 open positions.

I have looked at civil service jobs. I am pretty rural and there are not so many round here, and the available ones are very unsociable hours. Obviously I would need to consider this, but not quite yet.

I looked into teaching when I was made redundant last year. Honestly....teaching is not for me. It's a vocation and I do not have it. The large bursaries are generally not in my area (biology). Just the thought of planning a lesson brings me out in a sweat. I don't think 'you should do anything' applies to teaching - it wouldn't be fair on the students.

I am spending as little as I can at the moment.

My son is looking into learning a trade rather than Uni. If he wanted to go to Uni I'd support him, but I'm not going to encourage him like I would have done with my older son. For a whole load of debt and then no guarantee of employment afterwards?

It’s coming into the Xmas season and shops will be hiring extra staff …worth a look.

I know I have many posts on this thread, but I have already said that my current contract ends in Dec. I will not leave my current job for casual Xmas work.

You could do part-time shifts to build up your savings buffer.

But if a renter receives housing benefit then benefits are paying a mortgage. It’s not the renter’s mortgage, granted, but the property owner is indirectly getting their mortgage paid by tax-payers.

That being the case, why is so unfair for homeowners in the OP’s position to receive temporary help to keep a roof over their head?

Wouldn’t it make sense for her to receive help to keep her home as this in turn means she will not be joining the overcrowded rental market?

Yes I get that but you could supplement your current income in the meantime doing an evening/weekend shift to have a bit more cash coming in.

oh I see. Yes, I guess that could ease things a little bit, not a long term solution though.

@BringBackCatsEyeswhy not long term? Work
is work.

What I’m trying to say is that I do not need to seek full time seasonal work at the moment - I am employed until the end of the year.
PP suggested I apply for seasonal work. I have explained I am employed. They suggested I do seasonal work part time to boost savings. I agreed with caveat it (seasonal work) is not a long term solution.
I hope it’s quite clear that I very much want and need to find long term full time employment.

@BringBackCatsEyes that’s tricky as you are obviously well qualified & have had a great career.

I can understand not wanting to retrain in teaching. It’s a tough gig.

Good news your son is thinking about going into apprenticeship & uni fees not needed. That’s one less worry.

Are you on LinkedIn? I suppose you have thought of that.

You might need to consider driving into nearest town. DD has been waitressing & only does 2-3 shifts & often gets £6-700/month. I’m not suggesting you do hospitality work, but a min wage job would be more than £1100/month. So something like Waterstones book shop for example.