Chesterfield Online Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: simondjuk on April 02, 2013, 01:30:10 PM

Title: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: simondjuk on April 02, 2013, 01:30:10 PM
If you really had to?  It works out to £7.57 per day.

Bear in mind that according to the article on this link below, thats after rent and bills

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9966305/MPs-would-struggle-to-live-on-53-a-week-like-benefit-claimants-says-Treasury-minister.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9966305/MPs-would-struggle-to-live-on-53-a-week-like-benefit-claimants-says-Treasury-minister.html)

My guess would be yes you could but you would have to make sacrifices.

I might get some harsh comments back about this but my message to the £53 per week claimant 'get off your fat arse and get a job'
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Big Dave on April 02, 2013, 02:35:10 PM
After rent and bills? I could survive indefinitely on £7.57 a day if that's the case!
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: simondjuk on April 02, 2013, 03:28:36 PM
After rent and bills? I could survive indefinitely on £7.57 a day if that's the case!

Thats what it says

"The minister in charge of cutting billions from Britain's welfare bill had claimed he could live on £53 per week - the same amount as one benefit claimant said he survives on after rent and bills"

Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Old Cruser on April 02, 2013, 04:09:01 PM
It's the unexpected monies we need say over 12 months which will bring hardship plus the extra's which are NOT bills.
Bus fares to shop,  (or do people on benefits get this paid via some sort of card?) medication when needed, the iron, washing machine, fridge, vacuum needs replacing or repairing. Do we put our pets to sleep as I doubt we would afford to keep them in food and vets bills if needed.
I am sure you can think of more unexpected monies that we need to pay out of the £7.57 per day.
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Big Dave on April 02, 2013, 05:05:31 PM
But all bills are paid - to me that includes food bills and if you have pets, vet's bills too.
Until it's explained which bills are paid and which are to be paid out of the £7.57 a day it's a totally meaningless question.
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Old Cruser on April 02, 2013, 05:38:43 PM
Agreed Dave - are they meaning just on food? and I am taking it that is for one person
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Slacker on April 02, 2013, 06:27:08 PM
The cost of transport to go looking for a job is likely to be more than that much a day
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Slacker on April 02, 2013, 06:30:07 PM
So let IDS put his money where his mouth is

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week (https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/iain-duncan-smith-iain-duncan-smith-to-live-on-53-a-week)
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Fly on April 02, 2013, 06:44:49 PM
One things for sure. You wouldn't be having foreign holidays. Agree with BigDave though, what bills are paid ?
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: simondjuk on April 02, 2013, 09:30:04 PM
ok lets assume that rent and bills were just paid, that covers rent, electric, gas and water.

so £7.57 per day on food etc.  Could you if you had to?
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Big Dave on April 02, 2013, 09:55:58 PM
£7.57 a day on food. I could manage that, the weight loss would do me good!
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: emmz on April 02, 2013, 10:30:31 PM
if everything else was paid for? Im sure then that £7.57 would do ok for a day, it would mean though that you would shop for the cheapest of things at the shop..that would be ok for me bar one thing Has to be heinz baked beans ;)
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Old Cruser on April 03, 2013, 10:13:07 AM
This is an unclear statement and none of us knows which 'bills' are included so pretty difficult to give an answer to as what one may perceive as 'bills' another may perceive differently.
Food alone would probably be easy enough as I was brought up to economise and can cook nutritious meals and for anyone who can't there are plenty of £1.00 deals in packaged foods although I don't think long term they are good for anyone.

So - what 'bills' are we looking at that a person would need to find?
I would look at

rent
council tax
gas
electricity
TV Licence
home insurance
washing machine insurance
telephone

I haven't counted a car as on £53.00 a week doubt if anyone could have one - or the cat's bills as now ours is getting older vets bills are increasing - or do we just have him put down? If so how much would that cost - could we afford it?

The above are probably the main ones I can think of but can anyone think of any I may have missed that we maybe all need to pay?

@ Dave - I will join you in losing that weight  ;)
@ Emmz agree with you there i only like Heinz baked beans some of the other brands are like bullets  ;)
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: emmz on April 03, 2013, 02:33:14 PM
Water bills too, thats a pain when it comes in £115 that we have had to find in 2 weeks...the other half of that will come out before october.
What i havnt taken into account is Daughter goes dancing once a week, which is an added extra of £4 a week plus other halfs waist wise group at now £2.50 a week since it has just increased the prices.
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: therealjr on April 04, 2013, 09:44:29 AM
Presumably the 'bills' we are talking about are those that get paid to those on benefits.
So that includes rent, council tax possibly water rates.
Pretty sure it doesn't include electricity and gas.
Certainly won't include food.
But equally (and this is where a lot of benefit claiments leave themselves wide open when the Daily Mail come calling) it doesn't include beer, cigs and watching Sky Sports on a 60" plasma tv.

Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Old Cruser on April 04, 2013, 10:00:11 AM
ok lets assume that rent and bills were just paid, that covers rent, electric, gas and water.

so £7.57 per day on food etc.  Could you if you had to?

I don't think it's possible Simon there are too many other things such as like Slacker said bus fares. It's unrealistic to expect anyone to survive on that amount realistically. he should give it a go and be made to have a second hand iron etc which is bound to break down!
JR we will never get rid of the cultured families who spend money as you say but not all people on benefits are like that
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: therealjr on April 04, 2013, 10:36:05 AM
OC: I didn't say they were but amazingly they are the ones that the Daily Mail always seems to find.

Has this been posted on here?

Daybreak interview with benefits claimant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ_W6loKc88#ws)
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Old Cruser on April 04, 2013, 01:00:55 PM
Tracey said it herself --- 'it's way I have been brought up!'
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Pete on April 04, 2013, 02:02:05 PM
*Speechless*  :-X
Title: Re: Could you live on £53 per week?
Post by: Slacker on April 04, 2013, 11:20:01 PM
Saw on the TV today (recorded from this morning) a debate with a Sun journalist and a very young Independent journalist about the remarks in the Mail. the bloke from the indie won hands down for talking common sense (no surprise there.) Comment I have heard several times today is it's like blaming medical schools for Shipman.