Lydia72

I don't know how keen mortgage companies would be to give you a mortgage if you had never worked!

The government don't pay the mortgage for you if you become unemployed, what they will pay (after a qualifying period) is the interest on the mortgage.

When I worked in the Job Centre we used to get people coming in who had never claimed before, they would tell me they weren't like all the other spongers (funny that no one ever thinks they are, just that everyone else is!). When their benefit was calculated they would be horrified at just how little they were expected to live on because the media had painted a picture that people on benefits were coining it in.

People who used to have high-paying jobs, that had no savings, high credit cards debts and absolutely no idea how they were now going to cope on £60 (or whatever it was then) per week.

Glowplug

iTrader: (8)

Could you live on benefits?

Not a fecking prayer.

Hysteria1983

Not very! Lol

I was just going by your hypothetical scenario.

Under the circumstances you highlighted, I would last either the length of time it took Mr P (or myself) to get a job, or until this 'interest only paid' mortgage time ran out. Because I (we as a family of four) could not survive on benefits alone.

pslewis

£130.90 per week for doing absolutely NOTHING?

BRING IT ON!!!!

OH, hang on, it takes me a couple of hours to get that .....

Jamz3k

Allegedly this fellow I know, lets call him Bob3k for talks sake, done the double last year for a few months and was earning very similar to what Bob3k is now earning in full time employment. Bob3k is sick to the back teeth of working as he feels no better off than when he wasnt plus he gets rather pissed off when he sees a job he would really like but cant apply for it because he is now working and has not been on the dole for at least 6months.

peter zippy reid

iTrader: (25)

i have 6 kids 4 of them under 18 i could claim for if i was unemployed did the calculation £284 i dont earn much more than that working but at least everything i own i paid for

Simon C

Nopes, £104 a week, my rent comes to £400 alone, thats before I pay for anything.

cster

Is that how long it takes you to get down to the post office and cash your cheque?

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I couldn't live on benefits - I couldn't even get the benefits calculator to work and ended up with no benefits!!! Oh well I will just have to live off the vast inheritance!

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

I have my families finances set up so I know precisely how much we would need to make sure we remain solvent should I loose my job. At this point in time I need to earn £1208 a month just to make ends meet.

If made redundant and unemployed for an extended period, I would be working at anything at all to put food on the table.

Lee247

Nope
I wouldn't want to, either

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

I need only £1050 a month to survive house paid for but direct debits £600 food £300 & petrol £150 is what is my minimum needs are
Anything else goes on holidays cars etc as I don't go out/ drink much nowadays and the boy works
When I got my redundancy 4 years ago I remember asking about the benefits and it worked out at about£108 per week and no council tax which for me is £200 a month
So I guess if I didn't have to drive anyway to get to work I could possibly survive if I had no tv/ gas / electric/ skyor water and lived on baked beans and bread and rainwater

If I had half a dozen kids it would of been great

fast bloke

Is the question 'how much would you get' or 'how much could you get if you know how to milk the system'

Jill Average, who has worked since she left education, got married, had a couple of kids, bought a house would get SFA. (70 quid a week)

Jill Sponge, who didn't bother with education, but knows how to have babies by various fathers, without ever getting into the messy relationship stuff could easily get 40k net, counting housing benefit, tax credits, etc etc.