1 in 5 brit house holds borrowed money to eat

[shrooma]

QUOTE-

.

a stunning one-in-five

households borrowed money or

used savings to cover the costs

of food in April. This is the

equivalent of five million

households unable to fund their

food via income alone.

.

out of a country of 63m, 5m isn't 1-in-5.

but it's a shame that ANYONE has to borrow money for food, regardless of where they live.

[shrooma]

20k is not a bad wage, now that many companies are doing the "minimum wage" thing to many new employees,

.

the introduction of the minimum wage was one of the worse things to ever happen to this country freet.

[Mr Right Wing]

Who thinks up these crap statements ?..I live quite happily on about 12k per year,have a car,have sky t.v. pay all my bills including council tax on time,eat a cooked meal every night and have enough change to go to the Movies twice a month,so these people must be gambling or chucking money at the pub,for which I have no sympathy.If you cant afford it,dont buy it.

Snort, snort, glug, glug, glug, glug, more like lol

If you cant live on £12k per year theres something wrong with your lifestyle.

[Mr Right Wing]

.

the introduction of the minimum wage was one of the worse things to ever happen to this country freet.

It drove the cost of living up making our exports more expensive.

[shrooma]

It drove the cost of living up making our exports more expensive.

.

it also meant that a lot of companies only pay minimum wage, or thereabouts. why should they pay a tenner an hour when they can pay you six pound twenty?

I was earning almost double what I am now ten years ago.

[Jackofalltrades]

There is no council tax benefit now I believe, but if a person lives alone, they should be entitled for 25% off the total council tax - at least they do here in Leeds, I'd assumed all councils would offer the same but might be worth checking.

Get a 25% discount off the total of council tax for sole occupancy, in the West Midlands too

.

[Mr Right Wing]

.

it also meant that a lot of companies only pay minimum wage, or thereabouts. why should they pay a tenner an hour when they can pay you six pound twenty?

I was earning almost double what I am now ten years ago.

What profession?

[freetoroam]

.

it also meant that a lot of companies only pay minimum wage, or thereabouts. why should they pay a tenner an hour when they can pay you six pound twenty?

I was earning almost double what I am now ten years ago.

this is exactly what happened. When the minimum wage came in, many companies took it as a good excuse to pay less. it makes me laugh (sick laugh) when they advertise a job saying "we pay above the minimum wage" Yeah right, like 5p above, and yet years earlier they would have been paying 5 pounds more!

Fuel costs have crippled this country too, every time the fuel goes up, so does every thing else because it affects all those who have to use transport to delivery their goods, be it lorries delivering to warehouses etc etc etc , and there are not many who do not.

Fuel is not only used in transporting, it is also to produce things, so again, prices will increase to cover the extra costs in the fuels.

The rising cost of living is not taken into account when the employers employ someone on a minimum wage salary.

[freetoroam]

What profession?

My husband is an HGV driver and if he went to work for a company now the wages they are offering are basically the same as ten years ago. ....But its ok, cos its above the minimum wage!!

[shrooma]

What profession?

.

i'm an engineer B.

10yrs ago I was a crane driver, earning £55Kpa, now i'm a steel fabricator/welder, earning £32Kpa.

I make ammunition crates for the MoD, which is about the best paying employer in engineering these days if you don't include oil rig workers, but it's still only just half over what I was earning as a crane driver. kinda my own fault really, as I enjoy building things and found crane driving too much like sitting in a chair all day!

not complaining though, the money's irrelevant, it's enjoying what you do that counts!

:-)

Edited May 8, 2013 by shrooma

[Moon Gazer]

Just another thing for anyone out there who might be struggling, if you get certain benefits such as tax credits, income support or job seekers and you have a young child, you might be entitled to Healthy Start vouchers which can be used for milk, fruit and vegetables. It's not a fortune but if anyone knows people who are genuinely struggling maybe pass the details on as they might not be aware they exist.

http://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthy-start-vouchers/do-i-qualify/

[freetoroam]

We know times are hard for many today, but I would say they are 'harder" because of the increase in household costs which has affected the lifestyle many have become accustomed to.. With many, even stopping or slowing down on the luxuries would still not put them into poverty or in a position where they have to borrow money for food.

Today many people see mobile phones, t.v`s and fridge freezer as essentials, so if you ask them if they class themselves as struggling, they will say yes because they can`t afford the electric or mobile bills......there is a solution, its whether they are prepared to recognize the real priorities over the "luxuries" which is the problem.

[stevewinn]

We know times are hard for many today, but I would say they are 'harder" because of the increase in household costs which has affected the lifestyle many have become accustomed to.. With many, even stopping or slowing down on the luxuries would still not put them into poverty or in a position where they have to borrow money for food.

Today many people see mobile phones, t.v`s and fridge freezer as essentials, so if you ask them if they class themselves as struggling, they will say yes because they can`t afford the electric or mobile bills......there is a solution, its whether they are prepared to recognize the real priorities over the "luxuries" which is the problem.

hit the nail on the head.

[+ouija ouija]

There's so much I want to say about this subject but it just depresses me to even think about it, never mind writing. In a nutshell: don't criticise a person's lifestyle until you have walked in their shoes for a year or more.

This link has different people's stories about living on very little:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22345958