Is It Possible to Live on Benefits for An Indefinite Period?

There are various types of benefits and no benefits are offered by the government for a lifetime period. Unemployment benefits are the most common benefits that a lot of people rely on once in a lifetime. Redundancy in the UK, or in fact in the whole world, is very common.

Benefits are offered to help people who are on low wages to meet the living cost, including housing. To become eligible for each type of benefit, you will have to meet the eligibility criteria. If your employer has asked you to get the papers, you can seek benefits like:

• Jobseeker’s allowance – they come in handy when you are in search of a new job.
• Universal credit – it is aimed at those who are on low wages, out of income and cannot work at all due to disability and helps with your living cost.
• Pension credit – it supplies you additional money when you are on low wages and over the State Pension age.

Moving to the question if it is possible to live on benefits for a lifetime, well, you can survive, but your quality of life will be worse.

Here is a real experience by someone living on benefits, an attempt to let you know what it is really like living on benefits.

“I have been unwell since the birth of my child. My employer has sacked me as I had already exhausted my maternity leave a long time back, and now he cannot wait any more for me to be out and about. Subsequently, my husband is unable to work full-time as he has to take care of me and our baby. Slashing working hours means a pay cut.

It is harder for us to get by as we are left with only €150 after the bills, which is not sufficient to cover all sorts of expenses like my child needing new clothes, heating during the scathing winter, and the list goes on.

Fearing that we will no longer be able to keep the wolf from the door, we have moved from a privately rented house to a housing accommodation. We are still not out of words. The struggle is endless, and I am desperately trying to look for a job to bounce back.”

Living on benefits is not possible for an indefinite period. Even though you manage to keep your head above water, you will feel like being in hell. Desperation will engulf you. Frustration will prick at you, and, more likely, you will fall into an endless spiral of debt.

So what should you do to avoid being wound up in treacherous financial conditions?

• Do not discourage budgeting

When your account is in the black, you do not bother to plan for a rainy day. Life can throw a curveball at any time, so you should be braced for unexpected situations.

Budgeting will help you understand your spending habits, and then you can see areas where you need to slash. Cut back on inessential expenses, so your budget has some wiggle room for an emergency cushion.

Even though you are putting in money, it is a must. The more economical you are, the bigger savings you will have.

Use apps that keep tracking your spending behaviour and send notifications to alert you when you are close to your set limit. Instead of being reliant on the app, you will have to track outgoings manually.

It is possible that you end up spending more than the target; adjust in the next month to regain financial strength.

• Borrow money wisely

Do not borrow because it is too convenient. You should borrow only when it is urgent. Ask yourself if it is actually necessary to take out a loan. Can you manage without it? Try to put it off as long as possible.

For instance, if your car is on the blink and you use it for weekends for casual errands, you can avoid getting it repaired and use a mode of public transport or go on foot. Make sure you pay for it from your pocket next month after receiving your payment. You can fit this expense into your budget by cutting down on discretionary expenses. If possible, you can switch to staple food that is cheaper.

When you are redundant and you come across an emergency, you may need to take out loans for unemployed in Ireland. Make sure you carefully calculate the cost of the debt. Do proper research beforehand so you do not get tied with an expensive deal.

• Wise up to loan scams

During an emergency, you might be tempted to borrow money, but unfortunately, you do not realise if the loan you are applying for is the right one. Small emergency loans are quite popular among those whose credit reports are not admirable.

To avoid a further ding in the credit score, you look for no credit check loans in Ireland. No authorised lender can give the green light without running a credit check. It is a part of an affordability check.

Any lender providing loans on the grounds of no credit check is a loan shark. Beware of them. They can charge outrageously higher interest rates trapping you in a never-ending debt spiral. Most of the lenders that provide no credit check loans run soft credit inquiries. They do not show up on your credit report, so there is no risk of losing your credit points.

To wrap up

It may be possible to live on benefits for an indefinite period of time, but you will not be able to get by smoothly. To live a better lifestyle, you will have to earn money, create a budget, and keep a tight rein on your outgoings.