2016 Budget

Sorry @Anthony Rogers, but I have to disagree at least partially with you there - my computer and broadband connection IS a necessity as I use them both for work. We have Virgin TV as it came bundled with the broadband and phone, but heaved the Sports and Movies a long time ago when we had to tighten our belts.

I work long hours, some of those at home and unpaid; I often work long stretches without a day off (anything up to three or four months at a stint wasn't unusual until fairly recently) and have never been on a plane or out of this country on holiday in my life (I am 40 now) simply because we cannot afford it. In fact, following a rather unfortunate turn of events a few years back (fire in our landlords property which turned out to be uninsured), we have been pretty heavily financially crippled ever since. This should start to east thankfully by June of this year.

My only real pleasures in life are my garden, the odd TV program and the odd alcoholic beverage at home at a weekend. I don't go clubbing/pubbing, and I gave up smoking 15 years ago. I am fairly recently diagnosed with sero-negative rheumatoid arthritis and possibly psoriatic arthritis, and yes I do have a TV in the bedroom - the main reason being that when I am in pain, I can retire to bed to stay warm and get a bit of comfort.

So, some of these things may not be as essential to life as water or food, but given that I work an average of 70-75 hours a week, and see £1200 a month disappear into the hands of a private landlord, I absolutely refuse to be made to feel bad because I have some comforts in my life; indeed, if I didn't have those comforts, there would be absolutely no benefit to me knocking my pan in week-in and week-out.

And before anyone mentions the rent/house - no, it is not a palace nor is it even large; it is a modest two bedroom semi with a concrete postage stamp for a front garden and a half reasonable sized back garden that we choose to make the most of.

 

PS - it appears that (thankfully) the planned changes to benefits are going to be shelved -BBC article

 

Not offended in the least @Anthony Rogers - it does wind me up, however, when I see working people being criticised for treating themselves to a nice TV or a nice car. On balance, it also winds me up when people levy the same criticisms at people who are on benefits - - along the lines of "can't work, but can manage to have a 40" flat TV...." - - you know the sort of thing. It is amazing how people conveniently forget that ALL TV's are now flat, and are generally as cheap as chips. My daughter's 40" TV for example cost me £25 and some time; I picked it up as a scrapper, fixed it and it has been in reliable service ever since.

I also get wound up by the wider view of London and the South East - - yes, there are some very rich people around here, and yes wages are generally higher than they would be elsewhere in the country; but, the costs are also much, much higher. My salary (£35k) is a hell of a lot of money to many people, and I am sure that you would feel quite rich if you had that coming in. But, that equates to a take home wage of £2100 (give or take a few pennies), my rent is £1200, Council tax £170, water £45, Gas and Electric £130, Diesel to get to and from work £100 - as you can see, there isn't much left at the end of the month. I am currently due an eye test, and lost a filling in a tooth two weeks ago - and as it stands today (pay day) I cannot even contemplate getting either sorted as I simply cannot afford it at the moment. The truth of the matter is that I need to do at least four days paid overtime (bearing in mind the work I do most evenings is unpaid) every four weeks to be able to get by and have maybe £60-£80 left for a take away or a bottle of Bacardi to relax on a weekend.

And the whole lot, as far as I am concerned boils down to one single thing - Maggie's decision to do away with council housing, and houses not being replaced when they were sold through right to buy. My brother in law is in a housing association (so, council by any other name) property and his rent is around the £500 a month mark at a semi-educated guess. If I were to have that sort of rent, I would be able to save and potentially would even save a deposit to buy a house of my own; alternatively, I would have and easy £600 - £700 a month more disposable income that even if I spent a small proportion of, would be more money going into the economy.

To add insult to injury, anyone that does get 'social' housing around here is invariably put in a property owned by a private landlord who then has the local authority paying through the nose at top prices, and there is naff all they can do but pay; moreover around here, a vast majority of the social housing is given to those who are new into the country, yet I as a lifelong UK taxpayer can get absolutely no help at all - not a jot. When our landlords property went up in smoke, they promptly did a runner for about three weeks leaving us (in the flat above) with a hell of a mess, stench and a lot of ruined stuff - and with a four year old child in a one bedroom flat (sharing a bedroom because that was all we could afford), and when I approached the local council for help I was turned down flat. The guy was honest enough to say (and I quote) "you are white, heterosexual with no serious disability, you work and your missus works - you have no chance"