Anyone else actually looking forward to the budget thingy tomorrow?

[babyblog]

Hey yeah, i'm not quite sure. I am hoping that our increments will stay the same but we may possibly receive the normal payrise part-hmmm, or perhaps i'm being very optimistic

 

[indy and lara]

I am a secondary school teacher in the public sector in Scotland - as yet, we don't know about the Scottish Government's decision regarding the wage freeze (as education is under the Scottish Parliament's mandate in Scotland) but I expect it will fall into line with the national policy.

I, for one, do not mind about having a wage freeze for two years if it means that it helps get the country out of difficulties.

What I do mind, is a bit of negativity I have picked up from some people regarding public workers and what people view their entitlements are.

Yes, there are a lot of benefits to working in the public sector (as mentioned by some before), but there are a lot of drawbacks as well - just like in the private sector. But there has been a lot of, 'why should public sector workers get pay rises...they get lots of money...'etc etc. Imagine if someone in the public sector commented on whether or not you should get a pay rise or not. You would probably tell them where to go.

Ok, people may argue that they have not got a payrise for how many years etc in the private sector...but they certainly haven't had their company come out and tell them that they will definately not get a pay rise for 2 years. The government has come out today and actually admitted that given VAT rises and incrememental price rises, a pay freeze for the public sector is essentially a pay cut.

I work in Aberdeen, home of the oil industry in Britain - I have seen people get crazy pay rises of £20,000 a year in the private sector! People moan about the public sector getting pay rises only because they are so publicised - you hear about us teachers campaigning, you hear about firefighters requesting pay rises in the news etc but you don't hear about individual people in individual firms going for their annual pay reviews and what happens there. Because we are in the public eye, it does give the public a negative impression of public workers going all out for pay rises - we don't have the luxury of arguing our case of worth with a boss, we follow a strict pay structure and for those at the top of the scale (I am talking normal main grade teacher not head of department, head teacher etc), there is no pay rise but the incremental pay rise (which is now going to be frozen). When a teacher gets an incremental pay rise, you are looking at maybe £20 more a month - not thousands like the perception seems to be.

Also, people at the upper end of the pay scale in the public sector (i.e. doctors, nurses, teachers etc) have usually had to do a lot of further education to get into that job - so lots of hard studying and probably student debt that we have had to pay back - we are certainly not having money thrown at us.

Having said all this, I am happy to take a pay freeze if it helps the country - I would just prefer to see people see things from the public sector's point of view as well.

I agree. I am a primary teacher in Edinburgh. I am not sure what the Executive will do but I do imagine it will be pay freeze time. I am on the Chartered Teacher scale but it has cost a fortune in fees to get there.

 

[poppy]

Well done Lara on getting your chartered teacher status, it must have been a lit of hard work - and money! That's another thing I don't think the general public are aware of when they complain about teachers' pay. That when we reach the top of the scale as a main grade teacher, to get any further wage rises you either have to go for a promoted post (limited opportunities in these times when they are cutting staff and upping class sizes) or have to pay out of their own pockets to become chartered (plus lots of study whilst working). For full chartered status you will probably end up shelling out close to £10 thousand pounds - and that will end up giving you a wage rise of around £5000 more than a main grade teacher.

 

[winegums]

wow i missed a lot on this thread but reading back it says that in 2 years time 26k+ wont be getting tax credits?! good!! when they admitted they were still going to give it to families on incomes of like 40k i was a bit shocked but at least they're sorting it out now

For someone who lives in probably one of the most expensive places in the country, 4 of us in a house and an income of just over 12k....... i really don't understand others moaning when they are on 3 times as much as us, in cheaper areas of the country?! it really really confuses me.

and they may say they have more outgoings? we pay just like everyone else and we're not on benefits. oh wait sorry i get child benefit. i got child tax credits last year but didn't bother renewing this year as 1. it was so little money and 2. would be more helpful to other families that are in more need.

we still pay a morgage, bills, gas, electricity, council tax, we pay for childcare and trying to save up next year for me to pay for uni. So if we can manage i don't see how people on 2,3,4,5 times as much money can't manage?! i would love to understand it

 

[Blah11]

26K is nothing. Sorry but I think it's RIDICULOUS that they expect people to live, get their children into daycare and work on 26,000 a year per household. That's 2 people both on close to minimum wage How can you think that's good?! I have NO idea how you live on £1000 a month how much is your mortgage and council tax? My bills (not including nonessentials like my tv/internet) comes to £650. Nursery bill is £500 alone for 4 days a week 8-2.30. So my total outgoings not even including food is £1150. We'd literally starve and not be clothed if we were on £1000 a month.

 

[Lillipop]

Wow winegums hats off but how do you do it?
My bills alone come to 1210.00 a month not including food!

When I was working part time and the OH full time We were comfortable on 25k but we didn't have childcare costs to pay as I worked eve and week-ends. I couldn't imagine someone managing on 26k tbh when they have to fork out childcare costs. No way!

 

[Ju_bubbs]

26K is nothing. Sorry but I think it's RIDICULOUS that they expect people to live, get their children into daycare and work on 26,000 a year per household. That's 2 people both on close to minimum wage How can you think that's good?! I have NO idea how you live on £1000 a month how much is your mortgage and council tax? My bills (not including nonessentials like my tv/internet) comes to £650. Nursery bill is £500 alone for 4 days a week 8-2.30. So my total outgoings not even including food is £1150. We'd literally starve and not be clothed if we were on £1000 a month.

26k to me, would be living in absolute luxury!! But, I have my rent/council tax paid for me atm. When OH was here tho, and we were earning around 16k before tax between us, and we only got £100 a month of our £650 rent paid, yet we still managed fine with 3 children and a massive fuel bill coz OH had to drive 100 miles a day for work coz there were no closer jobs available! We also had luxuries like contract mobiles/sky/broadband and 2 cars on top of esential bills! Which I'm now left to pay on my 8k income, which I'm still managing with coz the contracts are all i my name! So hearing people who have incomes of over 20k and 1/2 children kinda gets my goat, coz while their life may not seem luxurious to them, they could be unlucky enough to be left with no job, single, pregnant, and 3 children, with 8k to live!

 

[Jkelmum]

26K is nothing. Sorry but I think it's RIDICULOUS that they expect people to live, get their children into daycare and work on 26,000 a year per household. That's 2 people both on close to minimum wage How can you think that's good?! I have NO idea how you live on £1000 a month how much is your mortgage and council tax? My bills (not including nonessentials like my tv/internet) comes to £650. Nursery bill is £500 alone for 4 days a week 8-2.30. So my total outgoings not even including food is £1150. We'd literally starve and not be clothed if we were on £1000 a month.

We get less then that including tax credits and we manage its not easy with 4 children but we do

 

[v2007]

My OH take home wage last year after tax was £12,525.

Our rent is £520 and CT is £102.

Then we have water, electric, gas, tv licence all the essentials that need paying.

We get CTC, WTC and CB like most and we survive.

I dont work so there is no childcare bills.

Bills are paid, sometimes a bit late but paid all the same. Kids are clothes, fed washed and are happy.

I would love an income of £26,000 but we dont, so cant moan about what we haven't got.

We dont have credit cards but we have debts that are slowly being paid, we sometimes have to without but hey ho.

We manage, i dont complain because we may have a few poor days but as long as the kids have food in their bellies and a roof over their head im happy.

And..... Winegums, i take my hat of to you

V xxxx

 

[Blah11]

oh i didn't even include council tax in my bills £1300 then before food, tv/phone/BB, clothes etc etc

 

[Hayley90]

We earn £29k a year between us, and it isnt a lot around here.

Our rent is discounted, but still pushing £700... that is 25% below the average for around here, so we would be screwed if we had to pay market rent.

Council tax is £140 a month. Liam runs a Clio, hardly a gas guzzler, still costs loads. I cant afford a car, as i couldnt run it.

food, bills, tv, etc etc.. we JUST get by.

currently i am 50p overdrawn, and i get paid tomorrow.
Honestly, i have nothing but rice to eat today. So £29k is not a lot at all, but it can be done... just depends where you are i guess. Im sure i could live on it if we were in a cheaper area of Kent or England.
different for everyone i guess.

...forgot to say, i do have spare money every month... which will (when he arrives) be for baby things. I could live without CTCs, as my mum will be my free childcare. If i had to pay for childcare, there would be no point in me working & we would have to get housing benefit as liams wage alone couldnt cover us. So im better off working.

 

[winegums]

Wow winegums hats off but how do you do it?
My bills alone come to 1210.00 a month not including food!

When I was working part time and the OH full time We were comfortable on 25k but we didn't have childcare costs to pay as I worked eve and week-ends. I couldn't imagine someone managing on 26k tbh when they have to fork out childcare costs. No way!

well we pay around £900 a month for the house, then 220 on council tax (but will be around 150 now as we moved house yesterday), we dont have sky or internet or anything as we dont have the money we share a mobile broadband dongle which i put money on when i can afford it which i need for my studying at the mo! my access course costs around £100 a month, then gas and electricity for us is around £550 for 3 months. my son has swimming lessons which are £114 for 3 months. childcare is £100 a month at the mo as i can only afford one morning for my studying etc etc

when you work it out we are in the minus every month. However any free time i get after studying and caring for my dad when my sons asleep i sell all my old stuff on ebay (which is really depressing lol) plus we never by ANYTHING new. its all freecycle ebay etc. I'm a good bargain hunter. I kinda have to be!

the point i was trying to make before is......... people CAN manage.. they may think they can't when they haven't been in the situation before but there are ALWAYS ways to adapt. I remember when me and OH both used to work we earnt over £2000 a month (which still isnt a lot to some people) however this is before children, or my uni costs, etc etc

so we paid rent etc. but we still had TONS of money leftover. i think back and wonder why i EVER bought things new, or bought things just because i wanted to lol.

 

[winegums]

£1145 = rent and council tax per month
£221 = gas, electricity and my sons swimming lessons per month
£100 = childcare per month

so that's £1461 + tv liscense, thames water, credit card debt i'm trying to pay off. oh and + travel money for my OH to get to work, car tax insurance, petrol etc

and we earn about £1100 a month lol! oh and my £80 child benefit

the rest we have to find by me selling away all my possesions!

and i still think we are 'doing ok'

 

[babyblog]

£1145 = rent and council tax per month
£221 = gas, electricity and my sons swimming lessons per month
£100 = childcare per month

so that's £1461 + tv liscense, thames water, credit card debt i'm trying to pay off. oh and + travel money for my OH to get to work, car tax insurance, petrol etc

and we earn about £1100 a month lol! oh and my £80 child benefit

the rest we have to find by me selling away all my possesions!

and i still think we are 'doing ok'

But i don't understand how you 'live' then. You are saying that each month you spend hundreds more than you earn?To me that is not 'living' that is getting into debt, which i personally won't do.

Surey an income of 12k, will give you a take home of around £800 per month? plus £80 CB? so that's 880? Your rent and CT are 1145 on their own-how are you surviving?

 

[// arcadia]

I dont consider being in the red every month as 'doing ok' .. multiply that by thousands of households and you have a national crisis on your hands.

I am not fussed about my tax credits taken away we fall just over the 26k mark and we can survive ok without them - because we dont have a car and we rent so any probs are fixed for us .. my oh has a decent career so hopefully we can just work our way towards being able to have car etc.

 

[polo_princess]

£1,000 a month would not even pay my essential bills, rent, CT, gas, electric etc, nevermind luxuries

To be honest i dont really see why people who have worked hard to build up careers should have to be in the position to now re evaluate their working circumstances, i think its stupid and unfair, those that work, 99% of them dont want to be sat at home, but it looks like a lot of people will now be forced to!!

 

[winegums]

£1145 = rent and council tax per month
£221 = gas, electricity and my sons swimming lessons per month
£100 = childcare per month

so that's £1461 + tv liscense, thames water, credit card debt i'm trying to pay off. oh and + travel money for my OH to get to work, car tax insurance, petrol etc

and we earn about £1100 a month lol! oh and my £80 child benefit

the rest we have to find by me selling away all my possesions!

and i still think we are 'doing ok'

But i don't understand how you 'live' then. You are saying that each month you spend hundreds more than you earn?To me that is not 'living' that is getting into debt, which i personally won't do.

Surey an income of 12k, will give you a take home of around £800 per month? plus £80 CB? so that's 880? Your rent and CT are 1145 on their own-how are you surviving?

errr i'm not in debt?! if you read my post i said i sell my stuff to pay for things. The thing is we don't have an option right now, we were better off before but we have moved into my dads house to care for him. this means paying all his bills and morgage as well for the time being as he has a very low income (his pension)

oh and we earn 'just over 12k' couldn't remember the exact amount as it's OHs wage... think it may be more around 13k? but i know after tax we earn just over £1000 a month. then we have child benefit of £80

 

[winegums]

I dont consider being in the red every month as 'doing ok' .. multiply that by thousands of households and you have a national crisis on your hands.

I am not fussed about my tax credits taken away we fall just over the 26k mark and we can survive ok without them - because we dont have a car and we rent so any probs are fixed for us .. my oh has a decent career so hopefully we can just work our way towards being able to have car etc.

people get themselves 'in the red' the government don't.

Just because people are used to getting money through benefits to maintain their lifestyle, which is getting out country into debt. If their benefits, or wage, total income whatever go down...... there's still no reason to get into debt!

 

[// arcadia]

Meh like i said im not bothered its not going to have a huge detrimental impact on my life. I work part time OH full time and LO is looked after by nan.

It's the people who actually make the effort to go to work - with the aid of childcare being paid that i feel sorry for.

Alot of people going to be forced to quit their jobs - only one income coming in means money is far too stretched even cutting back on 'luxury's' its going to be a big struggle.

 

[TattiesMum]

My OH take home wage last year after tax was £12,525.

Our rent is £520 and CT is £102.

Then we have water, electric, gas, tv licence all the essentials that need paying.

We get CTC, WTC and CB like most and we survive.

I dont work so there is no childcare bills.

Bills are paid, sometimes a bit late but paid all the same. Kids are clothes, fed washed and are happy.

I would love an income of £26,000 but we dont, so cant moan about what we haven't got.

We dont have credit cards but we have debts that are slowly being paid, we sometimes have to without but hey ho.

We manage, i dont complain because we may have a few poor days but as long as the kids have food in their bellies and a roof over their head im happy.

And..... Winegums, i take my hat of to you

V xxxx

Ditto ... I'm a university graduate who works in a professional sphere (albeit one that isn't highly paid)

My takehome is £15000 a year, my DH is just back in part time work after being a SAHD for years, which adds about £5000pa - so £20k a year plus CB for 1 child and a small amount of TC.

My rent is £7000 a year (very, very cheap for my area! I pay less for my big Victorian than Tattie pays for her 2 up 2 down), my council tax around £1500, plus water rates, gas, electric, tv licence, phone, food, clothes, transport, fuel, tax and insurance for one family car - all the same stuff that almost everyone has to pay

We just manage we don't have credit cards but like V have some debt which we are paying back ... if something breaks then we do without until we can afford to replace it (ebay is my saviour!) .... if we don't have ready cash then we don't buy something .... if a large bill needs paying then we will eat potatoes and eggs for a week LOL.... Most of the time we consider ourselves to be relatively well off.

I do understand that any family's outgoings expand to fit their income ... but it is nevertheless a little insensitive of those who's income is beyond the wildest dreams of so many of us to be rubbing salt into the wound by complaining of poverty

I know you are worried about how you will cope with a drop in income, and that is understandable - but please try to understand that there are a great many people who cope on significantly less money and to post sensitively