And I'm struggling to understand what exactly you are complaining about.....despite getting the distinct impression that you are in fact complaining about something
You've a got a job which pays crap wages......are blaming your employer or the government for that ? Serious question btw.
All said slightly tongue in cheek to be fair, and I'll put some more context on the situation first. I'm also studying part time, 2 half days a week, I started doing this job as 20 hours a week and found I needed more money and they upped my hours after a while and proved myself to be ok at the job, to the point where I now regularly work 35 hours or more as well as my 2 half days at college. I'm not blaming the employer certainly, I don't expect much more than minimum wage for a part time flexible job, that's the going rate. Do I blame the government? I'll be honest, the jury's out on that one, but someone somewhere has to be responsible for the cost of living being drastically higher than the cost of many people's basic wage.
My main point here though is that now I am in this position, I can begin to understand how so many people get caught up in the benefit lifestyle. OK, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, I've earnt a very decent wage in the past (and I'm sure I will again), but if you've only got the skills and intellect to ever earn minimum wage or thereabouts, then why bother working at all?
Get a better job.
Been trying for ages, sadly after months of looking, this was the only one I could find at all! Let alone anything that allows my hours to be flexible.
Pride?
Self esteem?
Selflessness?
They all went out the window years ago... I am a primeval being now, survival being the key!
£80 for household bills? That sounds a lot. Also move closer to work..?
2 people, £160 a month all bills, doesn't seem that ridiculous to me. Seems positively cheap compared to my previous place where 3 of us were paying £110 each for all the bills together, but then one housemate did always put turn the thermostat up to about 24 degrees every time the other 2 of us were out.
What's the minimum wage? And what's your tax allowance?
£5.93 I think, and I'm on £6.08. My tax allowance will be poor until April as I was on about £35k a year until August last year, so breached my tax free threshold well and truly inside 3 months earlier this financial year.
Please don't take this the wrong way. If That was my income, no way would I be running a car.
I can understand where you're coming from, but if you physically need a car, then you've got to have one. No point trying to justify it on a cycling forum, but suffice to say I wouldn't really get by without a car, and public transport where I need to get to and from is way more expensive than using the car anyway (car is worth about £600 and runs on LPG by the way).
On £600 a month you have no NI or tax to pay. Working 35 hrs a week I assume you are a company director. Choices should be obvious.
Yes I do sadly, as explained above... 35 hours a week, company director? Don't know what companies you've been working for, last time I saw a company director in the last 2 or 3 companies I worked for do less than 60 hours a week, they'd have called themselves a part timer!