Do people on here wonder how someone like me copes? I earn £12K/year.

[hekissedmybottom]

I grew up poor, single parent on benefits, partied through uni, worked all my life but never got paid much. My highest salary was 28K/year in London as a single woman. Felt absolutely minted.

Now I'm on benefits with a child as a single parent and still feel well off compared to how I grew up.

I think this kind of life is unfathomable to some people on here.

You can get FSM if on UC as long as your total household income is below 17k,if my memory serves me right!

It depends on what you mean by earning £12k. If you earn £12k on top of having the majority of your house and council tax paid and top up of tax credits then I would consider you to be richer than the majority of people, so therefore not struggling.

Google said 7, unless I read it wrong ! (Entirely possible I didn't have my glasses on)

I understand the natural instinct that someone working full time shouldn't need to claim benefits.

But to put it another way, if every single person working full time on a minimum wage job had to be paid enough to comfortably house, feed and clothe a household of four (two young children and SAHP) anywhere in the UK, then that would distort the UK economy hugely. Young single people, or DINKY couples would be absolutely rolling in it.

I think that a single person with no disabilities should be able to lead a modest but comfortable life on full time minimum wage, but it seems reasonable for the state to top up that wage to some extent (normally temporarily) where the worker has additional dependents.

Why should the state top up? The companies should be paying a living wage - this is all wrong.

Oh!,I stand corrected!😀

Yes you are right!,I had to check as curiosity got the better of me! 🧐,it's 7k earned income,not including any benefit top ups.I remember years ago it was 16k on WTC for FSM but that was the threshold for earned income and tax credits combined x

"Living" for how many people though? Should the minimum wage be able to support a family of six? Eight? Ten?

Completely agree with You.
When I worked back in 1990, full time (9.00 to 5.00; Hour lunch and 2 breaks (morning and afternoon)) I was on around £19K.
Jobs I see advertised now for my line of work are offering about 2 or 3K more but this is 33 years on.

I blame the employers too. They pay an obvious pittance.

@hekissedmybottom I remember on another thread recently you talking about your wine subscription so yes, it baffles me how you can afford to be on £12k a year and still enjoy things like that. Maybe you're v good at budgeting

No-one should be having 8 or 10 children for many different reasons and very very few people do as you know, but leaving that to one side - companies have a social responsibility to pay their workers a living wage and workers have a responsibility to live within their means. The benefit system was never meant to shore up low wages to the extent they are.

My kids get FSM and I’m on significantly more than figures quoted here. Not all LAs are created equal.

I feel a little bit like that. I had a very trash childhood but we had money yet I was miserable because parents were always fighting and my father was very abusive. Now I have no money but a kind sensitive loving husband and a sweet DD. I’m much happier now. Despite having money dad would always piss it away on his weird projects that he never finished. His feelings always came first. So they were both in terrible debt. Even though we’re not well off we have no debts because we always pay everything off!

Try £6k a year on ESA! Live alone.

I managed to get a successful claim for PIP last summer which has bumped it to £8k a year. Until then, I was surviving on ESA only for 4yrs.

No UC or housing benefit. No other income.

Really? I've never heard of that, the rates are set by the government not the LAs so its nice to know some places have extended the criteria!

Why are you not entitled to any UC? If you rent they should definitely be paying something towards your housing costs.

It’s lives like yours that wind me up when I see people on MN taking home £2800 a month and complaining life is getting too hard because they can’t get their nails done. Like, seriously? Learn a skill or get s friend if your nails are soo important to you.

I grew up poor, my dad worked away a lot, and I’m older than you. I never went to uni, and I’m a stay at home mum and we live off DHs income. We earn enough to not be entitled to benefits, and we rent. It’s my dream to have a house and a garden that actually belongs to us. So we live like we’re poor, don’t buy clothes unless we have to, no hair or makeup or holidays or anything, and we save everything we can to try to get a big enough deposit for a house.

Buy yes, most people here have no idea how rich they are. There is a active thread right now where someone is worried because they only have £2400 spare in their budget each month after all their food and bills are taken care of. They are literally a top 2% richest families in the world and they are posting for validation.

They have no idea mothers like you exist on MN. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t know minimum wage workers exist at all. They probably think minimum wage is for teenagers and the likes.

Kudos for posting. I think you’re a fighter and won’t roll over when life’s a bitch. I wish you and your kids much happiness and and good health.💐

She's not on 12k a year. That's what she earns. It will be topped up by UC

Is UC taxable?

No

If you want to earn more I think an important part of that is mindset. Your post seems to suggest haven't you done well from where you've come, you're doing fine etc. I know several low earning women who seem to take a perverse pride in their ability to manage and not be grabby. If you want to earn more be assertive, know you're worth and go after it. You're self employed, as a first step how could you increase you're prices? Or reduce time spent etc to increase your profit.

I grew up very poor and as a teenager had a part time job in a very posh hotel. I saw the other side and I wanted in. I've subsequently always, aimed for the top in everything I've done.

I thought you had to earn under £7k ish to get fsm.

Since you ask, OP, I absolutely wonder how "people like you" cope.
Reading forums like this gives some insight since I don't know anyone IRL that's poor and I have no idea what life must be like surviving below the poverty line.

Which LA is this as the rates are set by central government, not local. It would be nice if more would extend the criteria. There are lots of hungry children who could benefit from FSM despite working parents.

No as you'd earn that then get benefits and I've earned that and claimed them as a single parent so know it's definitely doable.