There is a lot of talk in the press of the fact that we are no longer in a double dip recession but then in my little word it is hard to see and it is also hard to make ends meet. We struggle to make sure we have money at the end of the month and the one area taking a hit financially is our pensions.
The government is aware that many people will have to live on the current pension of £140 a week and is introducing an auto enrollment policy for pensions which means that as an employee you will automatically be included in your employer's pension.
So could we live on £140 a week. I know for a fact that we couldn't at this moment in time. maybe once the boys leave home and the mortgage is paid off, but we still couldn't do it comfortably. I have wrote in the past about feeding a family of four on £50, which I fear is now impossible to do well with the inflation and food cost increases.
At the moment both the boys go to Beavers and play Junior football the costs for that a month amount to £80 alone without any trips, fuel to take them places or their uniform.
Our main weekly expenditure at the moment is:
Food £80
Fuel £25
Boys Activities £20
Council Tax £35
Gas & Electric £45
There is also mortgage, phone, broadband, insurances, MOT, dental costs, TV licence, car services and many other expenses that we pay on a monthly basis and I just do not see how we would manage on a small amount.
But the hope for us is that as the boys leave home we can add more to our pension pot and hopefully have enough to give us a decent retirement.
The government is aware that many people will have to live on the current pension of £140 a week and is introducing an auto enrollment policy for pensions which means that as an employee you will automatically be included in your employer's pension.
So could we live on £140 a week. I know for a fact that we couldn't at this moment in time. maybe once the boys leave home and the mortgage is paid off, but we still couldn't do it comfortably. I have wrote in the past about feeding a family of four on £50, which I fear is now impossible to do well with the inflation and food cost increases.
At the moment both the boys go to Beavers and play Junior football the costs for that a month amount to £80 alone without any trips, fuel to take them places or their uniform.
Our main weekly expenditure at the moment is:
Food £80
Fuel £25
Boys Activities £20
Council Tax £35
Gas & Electric £45
There is also mortgage, phone, broadband, insurances, MOT, dental costs, TV licence, car services and many other expenses that we pay on a monthly basis and I just do not see how we would manage on a small amount.
But the hope for us is that as the boys leave home we can add more to our pension pot and hopefully have enough to give us a decent retirement.
We manage to heat an open plan 3 bed detached house for £25 a week so something is not right at £45 a week.
ReplyDeleteWe also manage to feed two adults for £35 a week including household items. The trick is to eat more veg as meat is expensive and eat more carbs for the calories. We also use soup spread over veg as a healthy and very cheap meal, less than £1 per person per meal.
there are loads of us oap's out here living a very happy life on the'pension'. Having been on a low income all of my life it was a real kick in the pants when I became a widow at the age of 56 and found there is no such thing as widows pension and no benefits ie job seekers allowance either if your savings are over 16K. Mine were just due to life insurance pay out but only just. I had to survive on £350 a month for 31/2 years until state pension kicked in. That £350 had to cover council tax and prescriptions too. "2 cats and I survived and now to all of those wonderful working people out there who are slaving their socks off and paying taxes to give us pensioners an income I say a very heartfelt thank you. I found many years ago poverty is an attitude of mind not a state of being and that is not to say I haven't spent many a long night staring at the bedroom ceiling wondering how on earth I am going to feed the family and pay the bills but somehow or another I did.
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