Could you live on £53 a week

[tommy.irene]

£53 a week? I can survive on ONE POUND A DAY says cash-strapped teacherKath Kelly ate at free buffets and picked fruit from bushes 
Teacher started challenge as she bet her friends she could live on small sumIain Duncan Smith was challenged to live on £53-a-week on Radio 4

A teacher who survived for a year on just £1 a day has backed Iain Duncan Smith and said 'anybody' can live on a daily budget of £7.

Frugal Kath Kelly, 51, ate at free buffets, shopped at church jumble sales and scrounged leftovers from grocery stores and restaurants.

She picked fruit from bushes and trees and collected a staggering £117 in loose change dropped in the street - a third of her annual budget.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2304042/Iain-Duncan-Smith-right-You-CAN-live-just-53-week-sa...

[tommy.irene]

Snipe 100..

[salfordmarinade]

Very constructive

Yes mine are aren't they:8} I can't refute it, but im too modest to say so myself, unlike a few old delusional spammers ;-):-D

Now, just how many lives in the developing world do you think the cost of a shed-pub would save?:|

[upthecreekyetagain]

It would be more constructive if instead of wasting your money on a broadband connection you donated it to a good cause.

B-)

[salfordmarinade]

Even at 3.30 am it took you 2 minutes to respond to a post :^O:^O

Then you would never learn anything. 😮

So how many lives do you think a % cost of a shed-pub would save?:|

[fionajohnston]

Then for those who do not live near a Job Centre, they have to pay pubic transport

when i wasn't working 2009/2010 the job center gave me £5.30 the cost of the bus fare,unfortunately as there is only one bus a day 10.00 in the morning there and 17.15 home i would have had to sit all day in bus station as i'm disabled so i took car £12 in fuel then:-(

after a year i found out because of my circumstances i could have a telephone interview 

[kiss*my*pixel]

Then for those who do not live near a Job Centre, they have to pay pubic transport

when i wasn't working 2009/2010 the job center gave me £5.30 the cost of the bus fare,unfortunately as there is only one bus a day 10.00 in the morning there and 17.15 home i would have had to sit all day in bus station as i'm disabled so i took car £12 in fuel then:-(

after a year i found out because of my circumstances i could have a telephone interview 

How infuriating! You would think they could have told you that beforehand, especially as it was such a long journey. £12.00 petrol costs was a lot for 2009/10 - you must have had to travel for miles! They most definitely should have suggested an alternative (to both fuel costs and/or waiting time for public transport) or suggested something nearer to your home. It's annoying that "the authorities" think you should know this automatically - they rely on that, I think.

[aernethril]

How infuriating! You would think they could have told you that beforehand, especially as it was such a long journey. £12.00 petrol costs was a lot for 2009/10 - you must have had to travel for miles! They most definitely should have suggested an alternative (to both fuel costs and/or waiting time for public transport) or suggested something nearer to your home. It's annoying that "the authorities" think you should know this automatically - they rely on that, I think.

Yes, they do rely on it - well rather they rely on you not asking and if you don't ask, they usually don't tell.

For people with special circumstances they may contribute or as you found out, do a telephone interview, but for 'ordinary' people there is no assistance with bus fares for the regular signing on days.

So I had to budget for that out of my allowance whereas others in the same town as the JC had that much extra to spend as most could walk there.

I was lucky though in that eventually I had good helpful advisers who did let me know what I was entitled to and who helped in whatever way they were allowed when I found work but had to fork out in advance for strict dress code etc.

But overall, back to the original question - no - not for long you can't.  Even if you're young and healthy to begin with, it saps your energy and health and if you're older, it's that much worse.

I really really struggled through the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 winters and having to go without supplements and cutting back on food has had it's toll - and some things just don't get any better, rather they get worse with age.

[upthecreekyetagain]

Near the beginning of this thread I posed the question that if so many demonstrably think £53 for those under £25 and £70 for those over is not enough to live on then what do people think the correct figure should be?

Bearing in mind of course that the figure should be set at a level that makes finding a job worthwhile.

Nobody seems to have ventured an opinion.

The basic state pension is £110 and in my opinion the basic JSA should be at this level for at least the first three months.  After the initial period then I don't see how the country could continue to pay JSA at this level.

[tommy.irene]

I think you could live on £7.50 a day for food only..

[dr-whos-assistant]

I recon one person could live on £15 -£20 a week for food ,yes it would be all basic stuff and not that tasty but it could be done. Rice, pasta, curry sauce, soup, beans, bread, biscuits tinned veg, tinned fruit, tea bags all these are available in a basic range plus much more.

It wouldn't be a good diet but you could live on it and be reasonably healthy. 

[tommy.irene]

The basic state pension is £110 and in my opinion the basic JSA should be at this level for at least the first three months.  After the initial period then I don't see how the country could continue to pay JSA at this level.

.. At the moment the Goverment old age pension is £523.24...a month..

[upthecreekyetagain]

I thought the figure was £110.15 a week, £477.32 a month

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/overview

Where do you get your figure from Tommy?

[tommy.irene]

I thought the figure was £110.15 a week, £477.32 a month

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/overview

Where do you get your figure from Tommy?

I get it from my bank account every month..

[upthecreekyetagain]

There may be a SERP element in your pension Tommy