You can starve on benefits in this country
It's hard to say to a nation that hates benefit claimants: 'Your perception is wrong. The system is flawed,' says Jack Monroe in the first of a new series called Austerity Bites
How can anyone possibly "starve on benefits"? "Something doesn't add up." Responses to my blog and comment pieces about life on the breadline are filled with these kinds of musings. After all, everyone has an anecdote about a mate or a neighbour who has all the latest gadgets and designer sportswear for their children, "and they've been on benefits since, like, for ever".
Yet you don't know to look at someone whether their trainers came from JD Sports or Oxfam, or if they wash their hair in Charles Worthington or Sainsbury's baby shampoo. You don't know whether the young man in the town centre with a takeaway in the middle of the day is a night-shift worker or a student or, heaven forbid, has the day off work. Not everyone works Monday to Friday, 9-5. Someone needs to staff the checkouts at night so the 9-5ers can pick up a bottle of Bolly after work. The 999 control room staff work day and night shifts across all of the emergency services. And someone needs to clean those supermarkets and those offices.
You don't know whether the young woman walking down the street with a black baby and a lanky blond nine-year-old on her arm is a foster carer or a "slut". I was that young woman taking the kids to the shops to give my parents, who were foster carers, five minutes' peace. I was always met with whispers and stares, because people judge and people assume. One woman told me that I "should have kept my legs shut". I told her that I was a virgin, and, funnily enough, she didn't have a comeback.
So, in an attempt to explain again and again that life is not as black and white, and the "free money" is not as easy to come by as certain newspapers would have you believe, I find myself a stuck record, plastering my personal circumstances across the media in an effort to make people understand.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/18/jack-monroe-starve-benefits-england?CMP=twt_fd
yes i live it.for us not to go hungry at end of month i have to use a hundred cash to supplement our grocery bill.
its the running joke on the simpsons for like six or more years now.at the beginning of the show in the intro.a grocery clerk totals up the groceries and the total is $486.25 for groceries.this is what the gov says a family of five should be able to survive on for a month.and that number hasnt changed in a long time.thats why simpsons does it.when inflation is added in it should be about 7$ a day per person but right now it is $4.40.
If the 1965 minimum wage was adjusted for inflation HONESTLY, it would be about $20 an hour.
i agree amy.800$ a week is not alot of money.to live a decent life free of most worries.a wage of $10,000 a month.
I remember when living in the states, my wife and i both lost our jobs within a matter of weeks of each other. Now we had no fallback solution, no family with money to help etc. We were bloody terrified. The benefits we found out were pretty much non existant and the criteria to be elligable to claim them were ridiculus.
luckily we got sorted with work quickly, but had we not we would have been homeless within weeks.
Its absolutley no wonder the USA is crime infested. Some folk literally will have to steal to eat.
The UK is somewhat different. We have a benefit culture here and an underclass that it has spawned. I say that infering no judgement whatsoever, because i reckon most working families here are no more than 2 paychecks from being in exactly the same situation.
When i think of how much income tax i pay on a monthly basis, and national insurance and council tax and value added tax on my purchases, and 80% tax on my fuel etc etc etc.
Id rather take the whole lot and give it to a family that needs it than pay it into this thieving murdering system.
there are a lot more in work than out.
Now that would be sharing dont you think.
elvis.
Quote from: Amaterasu on September 19, 2013, 05:38:14 AM
If the 1965 minimum wage was adjusted for inflation HONESTLY, it would be about $20 an hour.
Gold for that!
Not sure where you're posting from Astro - Austerity indicates the UK maybe?
I don't think I'd go so far as to say how social system makes people starve - struggle and eat crap yes, but not starve.
In regards to Welfare over all, there are two varying arguments:
Job seekers are paid pennies, they get enough to survive - that's about it.
Having said that, I discovered just a few days ago that a friend of mine is recieveing more in benefits (with few out goings to pay), than I am currently *earning* in a respectable, full time, above min wage job. When my out goings are accounted for - I'm no better off than a job seeker any way.
That fellows benefit is disabilty related and not job seeker related by the way.
The guy is not disabled. ::)
Anyway, I was disgruntled to learn I'm practically working for nothing, whilst others are getting paid for nothing - however, I sharn't loose sight of the bigger picture - that being our Plutocrisy.
The MP's over here are known for spending £40 tax payers cash on breakfast - let alone the hundreds of thousands they CLAIM for everything else, on top of there FULL wage for PART TIME duties, on top of their SECOND incomes...lmafo!!
11 Billion in welfare cuts here in the UK - 42 Billion spent on a new railway line ::)
Trillions spent on war.......... Forgot where I'm going with this... blehhhhh.
Quote from: robomont on September 19, 2013, 06:58:04 AM
i agree amy.800$ a week is not alot of money.to live a decent life free of most worries.a wage of $10,000 a month.
I'm living on about $600 a MONTH! LOL!
$300 rent, $100 util, $200 food.
You've got an easy life Amy!
(Dry humour alert...)
I survive on £97per week income and my rent is about £7 more than that sum.
Every day is an exciting challenge...
Strangely enough I consider myself far more fortunate and live more in abundance than those who have a regular income and work.
Mainly, I swap what I have directly for what I need, and try and keep money out of it. Money is THEIR tool.
( Of course I can't name "them" but I know their game, and I'm not wanting to be playing it, anymore, it's the antithesis of enjoying ones life.)
I'm looking at certain members of the inventors group and seeing how strapped for resources some of them are, (including money) and how generous with their time and resouces some are, that I think some sort of organised fund raising and distribution scheme needs to be set up.
Of course, that will require a strategy for deciding "who gets what", and since none of us are God, I'm wondering exactly how such resources even if it is possible to rais some, could be "fairly" allocated...
Who would decide and on what grounds?
(Sorry, I went a bit off topic there, please accept my apology.)
Fruitbat.
Hi Sinny...
I posted this thread from something David Icke had referred to..
I had not actually got around to fully studying what was said as yet :)
forgive me if it don't make sense...
I can only assume maybe some peoples situation may put them in such a situation the way things are going...
From reading some of the comments..no doubt in the UK at the moment we are lucky to have a benefits system to fall back on..when comparing elsewhere around the world...But opportunities are disappearing..
We are loosing jobs abroad and flooded with competition...life as we once new it ( at laest those older ones who experienced better times) is slowly erroding..
With ref to what the likes of David Icke and Alex Jones claim...we have been sold out and are being made to be more and more relient on the system...when really it does not need to be this way.
It may be that they even cut things much tighter and if there is some more to the plan that A.J claims we may see the whole benefit system shut down.. I hope he is wrong !
QuoteNot sure where you're posting from Astro - Austerity indicates the UK maybe?
I don't think I'd go so far as to say how social system makes people starve - struggle and eat crap yes, but not starve.
Quote from: robomont on September 19, 2013, 06:58:04 AM
i agree amy.800$ a week is not alot of money.to live a decent life free of most worries.a wage of $10,000 a month.
I do not presume to know how it is in the UK or what the laws/rules are over there.. but if I was making $800 a week (that being $3,200.00 a month) I could easily cover all my bills on my own and have money left over.
Back in January when both my wife and I were out of work our savings were down to below $1,000.00 total... That was after paying our bills current at the end of December with the last of our reserves.
I have tried to show people here many ways to make money that do work and can turn things around. I know you cannot make that horse drink by sticking his head into A LAKE :P
But let me use my case as an example.... Back when things were good and I had that union convention worker job we bought this house for 142,000.... payments were about 1258.00 a month That is now down to 1046.00 a month because we took an FHA mortgage. For those that don't know... an FHA mortgage (Federal Housing Authority) adds a little extra to the monthly payment, kinda like an insurance of which you get back a large portion later. What it does do is protect you for at least a year of non payment (had one friend who went 18 months)
So our current payment is 1046.00 and 114,000 left on the house. Since currently property values have dropped we might get 85,000 if we sold today. It will swing back already starting to now... but that is the way it is.
Add to that the gas bill (not to high as winter here is mild and I use our wood stove now) the water bill ($40.00 in winter months $200.00 in summer to keep my jungle alive :P) and the power bill ( we pay yearly averaged flat rate of $344.00.. the AC is the killer) Taxes, Home Insurance and Sewer is paid out of escrow, Garbage pickup is 19.00 a month
So:
Mortgage: $1046.00
Gas: Av $35.00
Water: Av $120.00
Garbage: 19.00
Power: $344.00
CableTV/Phone/High Speed Internet: $154.00
Total: $1718.00
So now we sold the old Toyota for $1500.00 and I had collected $680.00 from friends chipping in to Gofundme. That was enough for a down payment on a Nissan $2000.00 and $160.00 for insurance.
This will now add $160.00 a month for insurance and $244.00 a month for car payment to the above total. However my wife did get a full time job at a collection agency so that will work out.
My income now that I am out of work? $185.00 a month from Canada Pension taken early (I never paid in to that as I was self employed so I regret that now :P. $595.00 a month Teamsters early retirement pension. Not bad as I was only in there 10 years. I can take US pension early at 62 but that only gets me $590.00. If I wait till 65 it will be close to $900.00
So after all that... we are squeaking by ... month to month
okay so now that you have the situation disclosure... on to SOLUTIONS
Clothing
We don't have a big need for the latest fashions :P And as my wife and daughter (and me) can make our own costumes we have some pretty fancy dubs literally fit for a king :D
But we also hit the THRIFT STORES and YARD SALES
My daughter just yesterday picked up three LEATHER jackets, modern style that fit her perfectly at a yard sale. She paid $3.00 each. She is keeping 2 and already listed the third on Ebay for $85.00
There are many thrift stores here in Vegas where the rich donate stuff... What you can find is amazing IF you learn to recognize stuff
Do NOT be afraid to use second hand goods :P Second hand goods also have terms like "Vintage" and "Antiques" which makes them valuable
Here is one example... I picked this up for $5.00
Listed it (after research on the net for ball park value) $250.00. Had 2 offers but it was too small for the gal in Australia so I sold it to a dealer fro $150.00
Vintage Beaded Mini Dress circa 1950's-60's - VCW-002 - Gene Shelly Label
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Vintage-Beaded-Mini-Dress-circa-1950s-60s-VCW-002-Gene-Shelly-Label-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMDc2/z/FDUAAOxydl5SHrkT/$(KGrHqN,!oMFILF)TiwqBSHrkTKU4g~~60_57.JPG)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111167796451
This is one example... turned $5.00 into $150.00 in a few days. I could have waited but the secret is not to get greedy. You need to be lower than the others out there and it WILL sell
Ebay and Paypal do ALL the work for a % fee Post office picks up at your door and gives you FREE boxes plus I get 35% discount on postage now
All I have to do is go to yard sales and thrift store on weekends and sit at home and research the value on the net... box and ship
So the point is since we had nothing left in the bank in January, between sales on Ebay, Etsy and Amazon... I am back up to having a couple months reserve. With the wheels I can now go find more stuff to sell
ANYONE can do this especially if you have free time. Do not worry about knowledge You can get that just browsing what sells and learn on the fly... If you buy something for a buck at a yard sale it is hard to lose. Just need to develop an eye for the good stuff
Yes it requires a camera to snap a picture but most people have a cell phone camera these days. You can also at the start snag pics of the same item online.
To those in the UK... I just watched a treasure show where this guy found a hoard of Saxon gold on a farm... Seems in the UK you are allowed to keep such finds. Seems he made 3 million pounds on that find. Sure that is a once in a lifetime find, but the UK has shops all over that are wanting to get rid of stuff. A friend found me some nice castle skeleton keys on the Isle of Skye real cheap
I know shipping FROM the UK is insane but collectors don't mind that so much
I list just about anything these days Had a bunch of fuses and resistors from the alarm system days Fuses sell at $2.50 a 5 pack Small stuff but I post and forget... and it adds up
The secret is to have a lot of stuf posted. This week Ebay has 1 million FREE listings again. They do this at least once a month. This is great when you have expired listings that didn't sell... you just hit the relist function :D I avoid all ebay listing fees (they could kill you) by waiting for these free listing times (and you get 50 free per month anyway)
Etsy has a 20 cent listing fee but you can list multiple items on one listing. They are limited to certain items thogh... hand made, craft supplies and vintage (20 years old)
Amazon has NO listing fees and it stays listed till it sells. But you have to find items that are already listed on Amazon and sell one like it. However you get higher value there on many items (not books :P )
Just bought some Avon Beer Steins at a yard sale $3.00 each
Here they are on Amazon... All I have to do is say I have one for sale and set my price below the lowest one there and mine will sell next in line
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=avon+beer+stein&sprefix=avon+be%2Caps%2C203
These are a few examples... So far I have not crated a store (costs money) on Ebay or Amazon
Food
Food is an issue we all need to eat
But there are ways to eat well on a very limited budget. Not all these tips will apply to everyone but hopefully some will :D
1) Farmers
If you have a car and can visit a farm, you can ask the farmer if you can glean the field after a harvest. Most farmers will say yes. In fact one bif farm out east runs a public gleaning week and people can come and collect what the harvesting machines leave behind. It's actually fun and great for kids to learn where food comes from.
Farmers also have food stands where you can but cheap and can the food
2) Canning
A lost art these days but easy to learn and even apartment dwellers can make jars of jam, pickles etc that have a long shelf life. If you are out of work, you have no excuse to say "no time' :P
3) A PANTRY
This is the number one thing that will help you. If you have a house, its easy to add a pantry. We have no basement but had a small porch off the kitchen. I simply added two walls and now have an 8x10 pantry
For an apartment... you can convert kitchen cabinets to a small pantry. Most people have all sorts of clutter and useless stuff in their cupboards.
4) Freezer
I had a full size chest freezer I bought over 30 years ago... still going. My mother had a small chest freezer she used in her apartment She no longer needed that as she lives with my sister now. Then I found an upright commercial freezer for $300.00 at a thrift store. So we have three freezers that do not take much power.
We freeze EVERYTHING... Use plastic food wrap to make it TIGHT (or vacuum seal) to get the air out. This will almost eliminate freezer burn
If you DO get freezer burn on meats, don't toss it out, put it on slow cook like a stew to rehydrate the meat. Freezer burn is the same as dried meat :P
A freezer also save money on cooking. We make big batches and bag portions... So we have a wide variety of prepared meals that just are ready to reheat
continued...
5) Shopping Wisely
Many people are afraid of that DATE on packages of food... that 'best before' date. Stores BY LAW have to sell it by those dates so as that date approaches they will drop the price on that food drastically
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT... those dates are not firm. Things in glass jars have a shelf life of YEARS if stores in a cool place. Canned food same thing. Only exception is foods with acid like fruits that will get a slight tinny taste (get fruits in glass jars)
Pasta has a shelf life of almost forever if stored dry and airtight to keep bugs out
There are many food items you can get at these reduced prices that will last a very long time. My daughter got some Velveta cheese blocks from K-Mart... They run 7.98 a 3lb block. K-mart marks them down to 50% but when it gets close to the date they drop it. In this case they went to 50 cents each !!!! She brought home 12 blocks... we still have some in the fridge. They are vacuum packed in foil... they will last for years
Vegetables Peppers are usually not cheap but here when the harvest in California come in they drop to 25 cents each. THAT is when we buy peppers. Then for a few days we cook peppers and freeze them... even make stuffed peppers to freeze
Potatoes same thing certain times of year they are cheap. We cannot store them in a root celler here so we have to cook and freeze...
5a) Store closeouts
Watch for stores going out of business. Happens a LOT if you watch the news. Rite Aid went bankrupt. On the last days they had BOOZE for $3.00 a bootle. I stocked up on Rum Brandy and Ameretto. This was years ago....
Stores will have sales on wine Usually a brand they stopped carrying 2.00 a bottle for good stuff :D
A Vons closed near us Peanut butter, Jam and Honey was going for 50 cents a jar Still have lots of those in the pantry
Watch for managers specials... these are clearance items end of lines and label errors (like Smyth's getting a shipment of Ralph's cans) It is cheaper for them to sell reduced than ship them back
6) DAY OLD BAKERY
Find out when you local baker or grocer puts out the day old bread and pasteries. 50% off and bread and pasteries freeze well ( Toss em in a toaster oven a few minutes and its like fresh backed :D ) Our Food 4 Less does it twice a day 11am and 5 pm
People are silly for not taking day olds because when they but stuff it sits at home a few days anyway :D Bread and cakes do not spoil over night... just keep them form going dry ( or in the fridge if it has creams
I will add more later but hopefully this is a start to help many
i agree zorgon.your access to thrift stores is a major benefit but you also have higher cost by living there.i recommend you look at every old book in the thrift store.thats how to make some "big" money.occasionally a high value book will pop up because most thrift workers can barely read and dont have a clue.
when i was a child .we too would gleen fields.great lesson for kids.
so far ive been lucky with folks helping me finance my experiment but ive been offered more money at certain times to help but iive turned it down.i dont want to abuse my situation.im very greatful.thats the other side of the picture.we could end up with inventors in the future who just take advantage and ruin it for the rest.
There are so many ways to make a buck... the biggest problem is picking one and making it work. My problem has always been too MANY projects and never focusing on one...
I don't need to be rich... though I suppose to many I would be considered so... it's all a matter of perspective.
To a homeless person my house is a castle... yet I currently owe more on it than I could sell it for if I had to.
We get daily flyers in the mail advertising the Great Obama's plan to ease mortgage payments but if you read them you find out quickly that all you gain is another 15 years of interest payments
Thanks for NOTHING :P
Renting a spare bedroom helped a LOT We are asking $400.00 a month but even a dorm room at the local schools goes for 620.00 a person with two to a room and the bathroom is down the hall. But that room pays the power and gas bill and we got lucky with a real quiet tenant that doesn't even want to use the kitchen
Somamech has been looking around the web at simple wooden furniture that any person with some shop access can make... They go for good bucks. Even if your skills are not so great :D
Treasure hunting like those old books is a lot of fun... you can find some really good stuff. I have one piece in auction now that I paid $10.00 for.... I sent a picture to an auction house as I suspected it would be worth something.... seems I was right :D I was thinking a few hundred... but right now that piece has been on display in three cities and the agent has high hopes. Not going to jinx it but will report back in Novemberr when it goes up for auction
My family has long been a family of scroungers and flew market sellers. My parents had to to survive the war in Germany... It just became habit and then fun.. and really it is all tax free money as it is used goods and cash sales
I guess I find it hard to understand why people that have free time and need a few extra bucks are not rushing out to do the same
Soon I will be able to return the favor to those that lent me a hand getting that car ;)
congrats on the car.