Kevin Peachey
Cost of living
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A series of essential household invoices increased in early April, with warnings that single parents are among the hardest.
Water bills, energy prices and municipal tax all increase in what has been nicknamed “horrible April”, although the minimum wage also increases.
The advice of the Citizens’ charitable organization said that the finances of millions of people on the lowest income were “already stretched at the point of rupture”.
Many single parents in particular would be difficult because a greater proportion of their money has been taken up by essential expenses, he said.
Laura Roan, a single mother of two girls from Cardiff, said: “Without my own mom, a few days ago when I would not have electricity.”
The 41 -year -old man, who works part -time in Asda, uses emergency credit on his energy counter and regularly plunges into his overdraft.
Laura Roan
Laura says her family brings her joy but finances are stretched
“I was paid last Friday and everything is gone. I live just day by day.”
She said that her five -year -old daughter, prudence, brought her joy and often removed her spirit from the financial challenges they faced.
These challenges increase as the price increases are launching.
Among the changes:
Water bills for households are increasing in England and Wales by more than £ 10 per month per month on average, although it varies considerably by the supplier, and by almost 10% in Scotland, the annual energy bill for a household in England, the Wales and Scotland on a variable rate and the use of a typical quantity of gas and electricity increases by 1.849 £ for PAY tax invoices increase from approximately 4.5% to 9.5% and in Scotland at least 8%
“After years of pressures on the cost of living, households across the country are about to feel the additional shock of the increase in essential bills,” said Dame Clare Moriarty, Director General of Citizens Advice.
“For those who are on the lowest incomes, these inevitable costs are already gnawing their finances, leaving their budgets extended beyond the breakdown.”
The charitable organization said that households of the lowest 10% for income already spent about two fifths (41%) of their profits – after housing – on water, energy, broadband and car insurance bills. It was a considerably greater proportion than those on higher income.
Single adult households, and in particular those who have children, were more likely than others to spend 20% or more of their post-housing income on these invoices, leaving them more exposed to price shocks, he said.
John Paine is a single father with three autistic children aged five to eight. He said he had £ 100 left at the end of the month when all the invoices had been paid.
“It goes quickly,” he said, with a school trip, a picnic or a day that usually takes a big piece of this expense. “This means that we don’t go out much,” he said.
Official figures show that a fifth of families have no savings, leaving them in danger.
Dozens of people have contacted your voice, your BBC news to tell us about their experiences.
Among them, Bradley Bayton-Harvey, who lives with his Angel partner in Dudley. They have three daughters, including Darcie-Mai, three years old. The two have full -time jobs with the NHS.
Bradley Bayton-Harvey says that family time can be affected
“We are both working almost 200 hours a month, and it’s still a section. We are delighting finances over and over again,” he said.
“If we can try to get additional changes in our rest days to get this additional income, it’s frustrating because these days of rest should be family time.
“You shouldn’t have to go back to your children and say that you cannot afford to go on vacation.”
A silver lining?
The state advantages and pension increase in a week. Salaries have also increased at a faster rate than the inflation rate, and the beginning of April also provides an increase in the minimum wage. This means:
The minimum wage for those over 21, officially known as the national natural salary, has now increased by 6.7%, from £ 11.44 to £ 12.21 per hour. For someone who works full time, or a week of 37.5 hours, this is equivalent to £ 23,873.60 per year, compared to £ 22,368.06 for 18 to 20 years, the minimum wage increased from £ 8.60 to £ 10 an hour. This means that someone over a 37.5 hour week would earn £ 19,552 per year, against £ 16,815. However, only a minority of people from this age group work on the full-learned time-apprentices are now paid £ 7.55 per hour, against £ 6.40. This means that their annual salary amounts to £ 14,762 from £ 12,513
In addition, experts say that there are ways to reduce costs to maintain household bills as low as possible.
“Our research shows that the change of suppliers if you are not contractual can cut high speed, pay television and mobile invoices up to £ 235,” said Emily Seymour, of the consumer group who?.
“It is also worth checking whether you are eligible for tax reductions or exemptions from the council and could save money by installing a water meter.”
Some of the largest banks in the United Kingdom have also said that they would proactively contact customers who, they said, had trouble providing help.
