Home Home, Law & Money
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.

I have to move out, but how?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm a 22 year old single male and I live at home with my parents, I'v never lived on my own because I can't really afford to but the present situation at home is forcing me to think about finding my own place and I'm quite worried about the costs.
I work 39 hours per week and earn approx £750 per month after stoppages, most of the suitable properties I'v seen for rent in my area are going for around £450 to £550 per month so if I was to rent one of the said properties I'd have a maximum of £300 for essentials including council tax which I'm guessing will be about £100 a month, and costs me £80 per month to travel to work so that leaves me with £120 per month or £30 per week for necessities such as food, gas/electric, mobile top-ups, cleaning products, personal care, clothes, haircuts, one-off expenses etc....etc.
I really will be working a soul-destroying pysically demanding repetative job just to keep a roof over my head which is a depressing prospect to say the least.
Would I be better off if I just put my name down for a council house or housing association property and "lost" my job and got on the dole instead?
Most of my little brothers friends are on the dole, they seem to be doing alright, they get housing benifit of up to £110 per week, pay no council tax and pick up JSA of about 45 quid per week which amounts to £155 per week.
Why get up at 5am five days per week and work my guts out to keep a roof over my head when I can do it for free?
Any input is appreciated!

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why don't you get a house share, or you could be a lodger, the costs could be dramatically cut from 450 - 500 quid per month and you would also be able to share the cost of electric/gas, council tax, water, phone line etc!

    I think the idea of trying to get a council flat is maybe not the best idea, personally I would want to choose where I lived, rather than be housed if you see what I mean. Also, you earn a reasonable amount, so although you could go and claim JSA, why would you want to when you're lucky enough to have work and future career prospects.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have no experience in this matter, but from the general theme of other threads in the past, being on the dole is absolutely shit compared to working, and as a young healthy single male, you will be at the back of the queue for council houses, and will end up in the shittiest flat going. Your best bet is finding someone to share with, or find a group of people looking for an extra flatmate to share with. There are websites for that sort of thing. Where are you looking to live?

    On the job front, you'd be far better off looking for a new job while you have your existing one, rather than quitting to look. If you have your CV and covering letter typed up, it only takes a couple of alterations depending on the job, so it's not too time consuming. But if you quit, you might not get a job for a while, and employers will want to know what you've been doing in the meantime.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Look around for better jobs, either that are better paid or that have better conditions attached.

    My current job pays the same as my last one, but my travel costs are virtually nothing and I get free gym membership, so from my point of view it's a lot better.

    You could look at cutting your travel costs by looking for somewhere to live closer to work which would help. As a first step, why not look around for a house share?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    you can put your name down for a council/association house without loosing your job- the rent is likely to be cheaper than private rent too. I've lived in shared housing and had loads of fun, recomend it over living on your own personally.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In my area the wait for council housing may take a few years but you might be able to claim housing benefit.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh yeah, if u look on the website for your council it might have a calculator to predict how much housing benefit you would be entitled to if any, even while working. You would also get a 25% discount on the council tax if you were the only person living there. You could also try http://www.entitledto.co.uk/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Randomgirl wrote: »
    In my area the wait for council housing may take a few years but you might be able to claim housing benefit.

    How do they (the council or whoever it might be) decide whether someone can claim any housing benifit or not?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sofie wrote: »
    How do they (the council or whoever it might be) decide whether someone can claim any housing benifit or not?

    I'm not sure to be honest. I think if you get certain other benefits then it is automatic that one would qualify.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    my council also has 'discretionary payments' that they can make if you fall outside of the above or just need some extra help. they don't advertise it though so you'd have to ask your ownc ouncil whether they have any scheme like this.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh right, that's cool. I applied for discretionary payments last year but got told there was no money left - *bang head* like, why send me the form in the first place? grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Sign In or Register to comment.