Nellie K on 13 November 2020
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Q. Do you have deductions taken from your benefits?
No
Q. Are you in other forms of debt and how do you handle budgeting?
Yes. Our UC payment barely meets all our outgoings. Rent takes a huge portion of it (£700) followed by debt repayments of approx. £200. Then it’s utilities, which I’m constantly finding the best deal on, but can’t be eliminated completely - we need gas, electricity, water, council tax, broadband, phones. What’s left is spent on extra payments for my 2yr olds nursery place (snacks and lunches) and food. If we have to buy clothes or shoes for the children it’s a struggle, most of their things are hand me downs or from charity shops. Other things that most people take for granted don’t factor into our budget - clothes/shoes for the adults, haircuts, opticians, eating out/takeaways, holidays. Our monthly budget is extremely tight. If we didn’t have debt payments (and I think our debt is actually pretty low - less than £9000) things would be £200 a month easier. As soon as the minimum income floor is reinstated we will have huge deductions, and we will not be able to manage financially.
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