Could you live on $35/day? Jenny Macklin, the Families Minister, says she could

L-.- on 02/01/2013 - 19:55

WELL since the media's gone all berserk on Jenny Macklin's comments, I thought maybe as OzBargainers we could have a little discussion. (This article might be of interest: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/macklin-make-the-most…)

Sure $35 isn't a lot, but if you took in some of the OzBargainer spirit, I'm sure you could make ends meet.

SO, if you had $35 a day what would you allocate it to?

Food:
Rent:
Fuel:
Clothing:
Utilities:
Services (Internet, TV, Telephone, Mobile):
Entertainment/Leisure:
Kids? (If you have any):
Savings:

Fill in the blanks. The more detail the better; it'll be interesting to see what people come up with!

General Discussion

Comments

  • stargalaxy on 02/01/2013 - 20:01
    +4

    That is $245 per week. I am single, luckily, and my rent is $210 a week, so that will leave me with $35 for food for 7 days and all the other necessary expense. Definitely cannot. But if you owned you own home (not need to pay rent), maybe you can scrape thru.

    • inasero on 02/01/2013 - 20:06
      +8

      C'mon what kind of ozbargainer are you? You could stay in a room at $100/wk, groceries if well planned would be around $50/wk, lets say $20/wk for bills and utilities, leaving $75 for transport and sundry expenses.

      Just don't go out as often, buy in bulk, snap up deals on ozbargain, you know, sensible things like that

      • stargalaxy on 02/01/2013 - 20:14
        +2

        Not sure $50 groceries can last a week, I normally shop at Coles or Woolies and $50 really don't go far.

        • cwongtech on 02/01/2013 - 20:20
          +2

          I normally shop at Coles or Woolies and $50 really don't go far.

          Heard of Aldi..?

        • Commonwealth Pig on 02/01/2013 - 20:21
          +3

          You need to start shopping at Aldi. $50 can easily get you enough food for a week

          Edit: beaten by 57 seconds…

        • althamaj on 02/01/2013 - 22:17
          +6

          Wish we had Aldi in Perth:(

        • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 01:43

          Not in Queensland we haven't. I might also add the cost of living is higher as well as unemployment! Not to mention more than half of dollar that goes to tax is spent in Brisbane while the rest of the state suffers. I'm about ready to leave.

        • eve on 03/01/2013 - 03:16

          What is this Aldi?!

          Spudshed is pretty cheap for all groceries and Subi Market is pretty good for cheap fruits and vegies. =)

        • gilbarc on 06/01/2013 - 01:15
          +1

          Not in Queensland we haven't.

          What are you talking about? There are plenty of Aldi's in QLD. I have one in walking distance from my house, and five more less than fifteen minutes away by car.

        • Zerny on 06/01/2013 - 19:15

          Wasn't aware there were any ALDI's outside of the Brisbane/Gold Coast area of Queensland.

          ALDI's website is pretty useless for finding out these sorts of details.

          EDIT: Aldi Stores in Queensland

          We have listings in the following regions:
          - Brisbane
          - Gold Coast
          - Maryborough
          - Roma
          - Sunshine Coast
          - Toowoomba
          according to: http://www.whitepages.com.au/business/aldi-stores/

          So there's hardly any ALDI stores in QLD outside of the Brisbane/Gold Coast area.

        • gilbarc on 06/01/2013 - 20:25
          +1

          Seeing as over three quarters of Queensland's population live in those areas, I think it's pretty safe to say that "We haven't heard of Aldi in Queensland" is not a particularly accurate statement ;)

        • samfisher5986 on 07/01/2013 - 00:02
          +3

          Aldi has stores all over QLD.

          Much more then what whitepages is listing.

        • nikey2k27 on 08/01/2013 - 07:54

          What happen if donot have aldi?

        • chipstss on 10/01/2013 - 18:30

          Odd, there's more than that.

        • DrStinge on 19/01/2013 - 08:02

          Same with all states matey, capital always gets the coin.

      • sama on 08/01/2013 - 02:56

        From firsthand experience inasero, one of those illegal share apartments in the city with between 10-14 room mates costs around $100 a week. I've seen many overseas students and uni kids live with that kind of budget in those places. So I agree with you that, it could be done.
        (Something about that comment still kinda makes me upset though; Jenny Macklin, not yours.)

  • exc3113nce on 02/01/2013 - 20:06
    +3

    $200-$300 is roughly weekly shopping for a household with a large family!

    • Commonwealth Pig on 02/01/2013 - 20:23

      Far out.. how large?

      • Duff5000 on 02/01/2013 - 22:12

        We would do that and we shop at aldi, buy in bulk ect.

        4 kids 2 adults.

        • cwongtech on 02/01/2013 - 23:16
          +2

          We would do that and we shop at aldi, buy in bulk ect.

          No need to buy in bulk from Aldi unless you're trying to save on car trips/fuel to Aldi.

        • Duff5000 on 02/01/2013 - 23:24
          +6

          Not really what i meant. Shop at aldi where we can, buy stuff in bulk where we can (not just at aldi).

          Point was, even being careful it is easy to blow over 200 at supermarkets a week feeding 4 growing children.

        • abc on 07/01/2013 - 23:34

          Might do better switching to Costco with that size family…

    • Funky Moose on 07/01/2013 - 12:44
      -1

      AFAIK you get more money if you have more children to suppport…

    • huntress_love on 07/01/2013 - 16:50
      -1

      I think the $35 a day refers to per person, right?!?

  • Atoxim on 02/01/2013 - 20:19
    +11

    Of course she could do it for one day, but wait until she gets an electricity or water bill, needs to fill up with petrol and eat, etc.

    • Commonwealth Pig on 02/01/2013 - 20:37
      +5

      Mobile): $0, included in most share houses
      Kids? (If you have any): $0

      What planet do you live on…

      I have never seen any share house include a mobile and you obviously don't have kids.

      • [Deactivated] on 02/01/2013 - 21:10
        -2

        No I was saying don't have a mobile, telephone is included in some, otherwise just use skype, personally I can't remember the last time I called anyone.

        Also I don't have kids, though if your kids are at school all day I don't really understand why said person wouldn't be able to get a job during these times, there are lots of casual and part time jobs with flexible hours. Or just get a night shift job and sleep while your child is at school, simple.

        Though you wouldn't be eligible for the payment then since you'd probably earn too much so, I'm probably going to get sooo many more negs, meh.

    • powerhammer on 02/01/2013 - 21:48
      +5

      Utilities: Included in most rents

      I want to rent where you're renting…

      Also, what's with the freebies for females? Fuel? Clothes?

      • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 01:47
        +5

        In exchange for prostitution I'm assuming. Although it's not really free then is it? That's considered bartering. In that case men could also get "free" things they just have to look harder for "nice" people.

        • Smigit on 03/01/2013 - 02:22
          +6

          If you were going to prostitute yourself you may as well work at a brothel or a stip club where you'd likely earn well above the minimum wage and wouldn't absolutely need centreline anyway.

        • samfisher5986 on 03/01/2013 - 03:19
          +3

          Realistically though being a prostitute is not appealing because of STI's and the huge mental/emotional toll it has on most people.

          Making an agreement with one male is unlikely to cause any issues for most people.

    • sparkles on 02/01/2013 - 23:38
      +8

      Jeez, you should not have to resort to begging for food, or also what I assume might be being implied here, sexual favours, in order to survive on the dole. Plus, utilities are not included in most rents, or houseshares.

    • Smigit on 03/01/2013 - 02:23
      +1

      I haven't found a single shared place where utilities were included in the price of renting, especially phone and the like.

      • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 11:48

        A house divided into several student rooms usually includes utilities in the rent.

    • sama on 08/01/2013 - 03:01

      I don't think Jenny Macklin was factoring prostitution into her calculations, jeracoo.

  • _Bruce_ on 02/01/2013 - 21:37
    +2

    I could do it (certainly without a car and living like a student). I would not choose to.

  • Duff5000 on 02/01/2013 - 22:14

    Wouldnt you get rent assistance when renting as well?

    • zfa on 03/01/2013 - 12:00

      Yes, you would - generally an additional $110-120 per week (less if your single and in a hosueshare). There are also a few other bits of help you may obtain depending on your exact position which are also being neglected in all these chats currently doing the rounds.

      Discussing the headline seems a hell of a lot more popular than discussing the reality of what benefits would be and how you would live on them, I guess.

      • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 12:23

        Um, not much to make a difference though. These figures are probably a little out of date, but:

        RENT RENT ASSISTANCE
        209.30 0.00
        214.30 3.75
        219.30 7.50
        224.30 11.25
        229.30 15.00
        234.30 18.75
        239.30 22.50
        244.30 26.25
        249.30 30.00
        254.30 33.75
        259.30 37.50
        264.30 41.25
        269.30 45.00
        274.30 48.75
        279.30 52.50
        284.30 56.25
        289.30 60.00
        294.30 63.75
        299.30 67.50
        304.30 71.25
        309.30 75.00
        314.30 78.75
        319.30 82.50
        324.30 86.25
        329.30 90.00
        334.30 93.75
        339.30 97.50
        344.30 101.25
        349.30 105.00
        354.30 108.75
        359.30 112.50
        364.30 116.25
        369.30 120.00
        374.30 123.75
        379.30 127.50
        384.30 131.25
        389.30 135.00
        394.30 138.75
        399.30 142.50
        404.30 146.25
        409.30 150.00
        414.30 153.75
        419.30 157.50
        424.30 160.44

        The table doesn't go any higher, because (at the time anyway) $160.44 was the maximum amount of rent assistance you can get.

      • Geewhizz on 06/01/2013 - 08:33
        +3

        Yes, you would [get rent assistance]- generally an additional $110-120 per week (less if your single and in a hosueshare). There are also a few other bits of help you may obtain depending on your exact position which are also being neglected in all these chats currently doing the rounds.
        Discussing the headline seems a hell of a lot more popular than discussing the reality of what benefits would be and how you would live on them, I guess.

        If we're discussing the reality of what benefits are, we should at least have our facts right to start with.

        NO ONE gets rent assistance at anywhere near the rate you have provided. The absolute maximum payable is $160.44 per fortnight (or $80.22 per week,) and that is for a couple, with 3 or more children.

        For a single, at current rates if you're paying less than $107.40 per fortnight, you get NO rent assistance. The absolute maximum a single can get is $121 per FORTNIGHT (ie $60.50 per week), but they must be paying in excess of $268.73. That is the rate if you're living alone. If sharing, the maximum fortnightly payment is $80.67.

        http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink…

  • sparkles on 02/01/2013 - 23:29
    +11

    You would need to live in a share house, eat sparingly, have no debt whatsoever, own no car and walk everywhere, never go out to dinner, drinks, movies etc just to try to live on that amount. Quite frankly, it would SUCK. Your entertainment budget would be $1 night from the Video Ezy DVD kiosk, provided you can even own a TV and electricity when trying to make ends meet on that. Even if you owned your house outright, a massive amount would be sucked up by rates and insurance.

    And it's no wonder people get stuck on the dole, you probably couldn't afford clothes or transport to a job interview anyway.

    • AlanHB on 02/01/2013 - 23:42
      +17

      I've been on the dole between jobs and on student benefits. You can live, primarily on a diet of pasta and potatoes, rice etc. Cheap food that fills you up. You live in a crappy share house and catch public transport.

      So you can live on the dole. Does it suck? Well sure, but it makes you want to get a job so that's the whole point yeah?

      • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 01:49
        +6

        Lol I could live on the dole, I just couldn't handle the constant interviews with Centrelink. Just imagine every fortnight having to deal with your ISP because your internet isn't working, that's what Centrelink are like.

        • AlanHB on 03/01/2013 - 10:48
          +7

          I actually found that if you were nice and clear in stating your situation and what you wanted Centerlink were pretty accommodating to my needs.

          At one point I was on student benefits then suffered an injury that didn't allow me to study as much as I did before (head injury) or work in general. Student benefits defaulted due to me not studying full-time, and my eligibility for non-employment was iffy, because I couldn't work. Couple that with the temporary nature of the injury (I was recovering) and I wasn't permanently disabled and couldn't score a disability pension either.

          After explaining this situation to them we figured out a deal where I was on non-employment benefits, but didn't have to put in the fortnightly log-book for applying for jobs. It took a little explaining but the real key was to be nice and clear, because the Centerlink workers cop a lot of crap every day, may as well give them an easy one.

          Although there was a hilarious "meeting" with them. I had been on non-employment benefits whilst looking for a job. Picked up a casual jobs stacking shelves. The job slowly offset the benefits granted as the hours went up, eventually handing me 1c / fortnight due to my ridiculous hours (sometimes pushing 60 hrs/week).

          At one point during this time I was called in and sat down with a bunch of guys, unsure exactly why. Some guy comes over and goes "well I guess you all know what you're here for", and the others nod. I say "umm sorry, I don't know why I'm here". He says "well you're having trouble finding a job". I go "well I've worked 60 hrs a week, my benefits were roughly 10c this week….can I go home?". He goes "yes you can go home". Hahaha.

          Another way to look at it is if you cannot spare a couple of hours every now and then to leave the house to fill out forms and feel like you're wasting your time for money, perhaps you're not ready for a job :D

          For those people who are saying that you cannot afford the clothes to go to interviews etc, there were external systems that also helped with that. One offered me $200 to buy some nice leather shoes to work in! Very nice, I told them we'll go halves and I'll pay them back with my first paycheck, which I did.

        • _Bruce_ on 03/01/2013 - 11:11

          Happy that you had a good experience. My issues were when I was on a student allowance, working part time and all I had to do (supposedly) was report my income each fortnight.

          In reality Centrelink made a mistakes very often, which meant spending hours I my time (which I did not have) to get it fixed. And almost every time I got someone to fix a mistake they would get something else wrong in the process. The constant letters telling me that they would take me to court for fraud because they couldn't fix their own mistakes did not help.

          In particular, one time I got a letter saying that you left the country, and this is bad, and we are going to come after you etc. I reentered the country within the time frame such that there was no effect on the payments. I went to an office with the letter to ask what I had to do to clear it up and the staff member just shrugged and said ignore it.

        • tsunamisurfer on 04/01/2013 - 13:16
          +4

          'Constant Interviews' with Centrelink to report your circumstances once a fortnight.

          The Horror.

          Are you just too busy?

        • Geewhizz on 06/01/2013 - 08:47
          +1

          For those people who are saying that you cannot afford the clothes to go to interviews etc, there were external systems that also helped with that. One offered me $200 to buy some nice leather shoes to work in! Very nice, I told them we'll go halves and I'll pay them back with my first paycheck, which I did.

          Job agencies are SUPPOSED to do that if it is needed. The majority simply avoid letting anyone know about it. What they shouldn't be doing is requiring you to pay them back.
          They get a fairly hefty payment from the Govt supposedly for helping you find a job, whether they actually do or not. If it's needed they should be providing clothes/shoes whatever for interviews; essential clothes needed to actually start a specific job; costs for transport to interviews, and in some cases, will contribute to transport costs for a short time after you actually have a job.

        • AlanHB on 07/01/2013 - 08:55
          +1

          There was no requirement to pay back, the option was open because I asked and they accepted.

          There was no pressure, no time limit, no interest accruing, I just wanted to give them something back.

        • Skinnerr on 08/01/2013 - 07:04
          +1

          JSN's are an absolulte joke. They get money for keeping you as a client, and string you along and do the bare minimum to look for jobs as it serves no purpose for them to find you a job. Often they apply for ones they know you wont get. I have been in and out of jsn's for a long time, once putting this complete tosser in his spot saying i have various health issues, im couch surfing at my mates (was homeless) and barely have 2 cents to rub together so getting a job just wasnt gonna happen. They put me on stream 4 (voluntary JN appointments) after that.

          Im working now (just part time at coles) and on my way to correcting my life, but it sure as hell was with no help from any job network. What a racket they are.

        • Skinnerr on 08/01/2013 - 07:08

          Unless youve been to some of the real scummy centrelinks, shut your hole. You have no idea… and usually its the staff that are worse than the customers, some are complete pricks.

        • AlanHB on 09/01/2013 - 12:47

          You sound like a joy to get on with. I can't imagine you ever picking a needless fight with a stranger. Perhaps it's my experience of VIP Centrelinks that's slanted my experience.

          Otherwise I agree that I recieved no help securing a job through the job networks. I too got a job at Coles during my time with Centrelink, so perhaps persons on the dole should be immediately referred to Coles.

        • pisoj1 on 09/01/2013 - 19:34
          +1

          Mate of mine did this, was hilarious

          Addressed to the department of human services.

          To whom it may concern,

          I have recently received a letter under social security law, stating a decision has been made regarding the reasonability of not attending a centacare appointment. To quote the opening line, “After careful consideration about how you did not attend an appointment…” ”… decision has been made that you did not have a reasonable excuse” .

          I feel an error in procedural handling must've occurred as I was never approached asking for any reasoning behind my actions & no data was present for anyone to draw such a conclusion. As a man of great initiative I've taken the time out of my busy schedule to detail the statistical reasons why I believe not attending your appointment was not only a valid move, but the correct answer for terrestrial survival both locally and globally.

          First some basic ratios:

          Jobs found by centacare for me P/A
          0 or 0%
          Jobs found by me with zero influence from centacare P/A
          3 – 5 or 100%

          Judging by current statistics one can safely draw the conclusion I am infinitely (in a literal sense) better at finding work than your employment provider.

          Assuming 2 centacare appointments a week. Each running an hour. plus an hour and a half travel.

          Now if I program 500 lines a day, spending 8 hours on such between the hours of 11pm & 7am.
          Every time I goto bed at 1am or earlier to make a 10pm appointment I sacrifice 60-70% productivity. Or 300 lines of code, or, in the space of a year, 15600 lines. As I release all my code, as open sourced for the creative commons, all your system is successfully doing is stemming the growth of decentralised volunteerism and is ,under no doubt, an attack upon the human species.

          So with a ratio of 165.5 :2.5. Time not at Centacare:TimeatCentacare, we can easily discover jobs per hour (JPH)

          (3 to 5)/165.5 /52. 0.000348 – 0.0005809JPH

          0/2.5 /52
          0.0JPH

          After careful consideration and evaluation of the above numbers I came to a paradigm shattering conclusion:

          By not attending meetings (assuming proportional growth) I will discover on average .07 more jobs a year, whilst unlocking 130 additional hours for the development of my freelance portfolio, which has shown to be exponentially proportional to the number of jobs received.

          I feel with the provided data you should have the ability to extrapolate and infer the rest of my supporting argument.

          Please contact me if this is not a valid reason and I will happily outline the rest of the reasons everything you do and stand for is a joke, insulting the face of progression.

  • -.- on 02/01/2013 - 23:39
    +19

    Just saying, the dole isn't meant to be a permanent thing. It's there to provide SOME form of assistance when you're out of work. With all that spare time around, you'd think that these people (meaning those that are just stuck on the dole) MIGHT want to look around for a job…? The dole is that low to DISCOURAGE people from using it. It should be used in conjunction with any savings, and good financial management should mean you have savings in the bank. And especially if you have kids, you'd really want to be a responsible parent and get a job to secure them a better future.

    • leiiv on 03/01/2013 - 15:01

      I don't think you can get the dole if you still have a reasonably good savings??

      • _Bruce_ on 03/01/2013 - 15:28
        +1

        You can, but there is a waiting period before you can start receiving it. Of course if you are earning money on your savings this can also prevent you from getting payments.

    • grasstown on 05/01/2013 - 01:26
      +5

      The dole is a croc. Those job centers that 'assist' the unemployed are milking the tax payer and giving nil help to the job seeker. When you can't land a job, your self worth goes down, you get demoralised andconfused with what you need to be strivibg for, you have to listen to people who care zilch for you, and then when you land a job, the job find place calls you up to come in and fill in forms so they can give you free petrol vouchers and freebies so they can get a large commission for finding you a job. Which they had nothing to do with.

      Get rid of the job find places. give the job seekers on welfare autonomy ( not pump out 10 cvs a fortnight and report in to the offices which are set up to catch rorters claiming while holding day jobs) and prosecute the crooks that rort centre link. At the moment the job seeker suffers because of the rorters. Make it easier on the job seeker. And yes it can take months and years to get off the dole. Many jobs are temporary of just a few months.

      I heard on the radio Australia will have 20% youth unemployment next year. I really feel for those youth. Nothing worse than being unable to get work. and they won't have the opportunities like many of us to get their foot in the door.

      • John Dough on 06/01/2013 - 08:33
        +1

        Have you seen the youth of today lately… I wouldn't want most of the uneducated brats that want it all for free working for me - ever.

      • dealman on 06/01/2013 - 10:23

        Get rid of the job find places. give the job seekers on welfare autonomy

        You are joking right, if the job seekers are left scott free the only time they will pick up a phone is when centerlink stuffs up a dole payment.

        It's the Bloody dole that's causing half the unemployment, people are finding it too comfortable to sit on their bum doing nothing. Stop giving out handouts and then see how the hunger in their stomachs drives them to find useful work.

        • grasstown on 06/01/2013 - 11:07
          +2

          Your comment presupposes that the job seeker is lazy. I can assure you this is often not the case. And the system your supporting is really detrimental to the legitimate job seeker at the difficult time.

        • dealman on 09/01/2013 - 18:53

          Not really,
          if a job seeker is keen and wants to work to get ahead and get a job . There are so many supporting facilities here.

          I had my tough days with nothing but the clothes and a brain on me. I could use a computer, internet connection , printers, phones faxes and a lot of support from job network agencies.

          If you don't like your agency just switch to another one. It's not that hard.

          And the system your supporting is really detrimental to the legitimate job seeker at the difficult time

          Why Care to elaborate with an Example ?

        • grasstown on 09/01/2013 - 21:16

          Yeah I can give an example, when I wanted to prepare for my job interviews by studying etc, I had to go in to my agency each day and apply for casual jobs then go home and study for my interview in the night. Interviews I had scored by long hours on my application.

          They valued 10 rushed applications over 1 competitive application. Every week I had to do 10.

          You probably don't think I'm entitled to apply for a career related job when I'm on the dole? Well I didnt want to go stale in the career I spent so much time and money at uni getting.

          It was a very tiring time and was not fun.

          The job agencies are only interested in getting their government commission. No support, and that free Internet and phone calls is so useless when I had those at home.

          On a side note, I found centre link staff fine.

  • stralya on 02/01/2013 - 23:49

    Is the $35 per person? If so, a family of 4 should get $140 a day, or $980 a week, which in my view seems quite comfortable and is a decent alternative to working ($50K pa, untaxed)

    • Duff5000 on 03/01/2013 - 00:07
      +4

      I dont think it works like that.

      Edit: actually there is no way it works like that.

      • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 01:53

        It's called family tax benefit + baby bonus and if you happen to have triplets/quads you get multiples allowance as well for a couple of years. Trust me it does get up $1000 a week but if you have triplets/quads and you need to catch a bus anywhere you can't (no prams allowed). You can't catch a taxi (baby seats). You can't even drive (can't leave all kids in car for petrol). I mean it's possible but I've taken my 4 kids to shopping to get milk, bread, a bit of fruit and it takes 2hrs+. I couldn't have 4 kids under 3 years old without my partner it's not possible even with the $1k we get a week. I've worked two 40 hours jobs a week and been under less stress lol.

        And to answer the question I could live on $35 a day although it would be hard. Although I've never actually been on benefits until I had kids my wifes' best friend is on the dole and he manages it very well with his own car, own apartment, etc. He even manages to have enough left over to buy a pack of cigarettes or two a week.

        • Smigit on 03/01/2013 - 02:29
          +2

          I wouldn't go so far as to say you can't drive, people manage to fill up petrol with kids. The petrol station I visit has credit card facilities at the pump…I've never used them, but it'd be an option.

          Thats not to say it would be easy to manage or anything however.

        • Duff5000 on 03/01/2013 - 10:19

          Found the rates. At most if you had quads (unlikly) you would get 187 per f/n. That is only 374 a week +137 is ~$500 a week. That is well short of $1000 a week.

          I have 4 kids as well, aged 10m to 7. Would be much harder with quads, a 7 year old can actually be quite helpful. Cant leave the kids in the car getting petrol? I do, I figure they are safer in the car than walking around with all the people driving around.

          I havent included baby bonus in the above but that is only for a short period anyway and 3k will be gone pretty quickly having a baby, especially if you had quads, new (2nd hand) car, 4 car seats, 4 cots ect.

        • [Deactivated] on 04/01/2013 - 12:41

          I get that it's easy to leave them in the car but the petrol station I have to go to has told my wife they will contact the police if she leaves them in the car to pay for petrol again.

        • Duff5000 on 04/01/2013 - 15:46

          WTF? the station said that? I would be going to a different station just for them being so rude.

          I cant find anything about people actually getting in trouble with this. You can easily be supervising the kids as they are still within view while paying. I would like to know on what law the attendant thinks the police will do anything.

    • imcold on 03/01/2013 - 01:04
      +1

      The hint is a family of 4 basically you need kids. And in the long run they bankrupt you.

      I think its still possible for a single person to live on $35 a day. Probably some distance from the city. Getting much harder will electricity and water like doubling in the last few years.

  • ddogandrew7 on 02/01/2013 - 23:52

    I live on 240$ a week ezy.
    160$ sharehouse.
    spud shed once a week (supermarket in jandakot WA).
    + money left over

    • eve on 03/01/2013 - 03:08
      +8

      Fuel? Bus/train fare? Mobile phone? And are you planning to stay single, in the sharehouse, on the dole for the rest of your life?

      I agree with -.- that the point of the low dole is to discourage people from using it, but then disagree with -.- 's assumption that we "should" have savings and "should" have good management skills and disagree with the implication that otherwise you don't really want to be responsible for your children and give them a good future.

      That's all on the assumption that the person has the means to escape the poverty cycle - and in my opinion, that really means the education and social background that allows this. You need to somehow have the skills to access information about jobs, how to approach interviews, how to manage finances, have previously had a job where you earned enough to save money for starters! As sparkles said - how would you afford the clothes and transport costs to get to a job interview?

      I think we could all give the $240 a good go if we tried hard - we are OzBargainers after all, but the serious question which is sadly overlooked by the comment made by the minister is how do you get out of the poverty cycle if you are barely surviving with minimal life resources??!

      • hesokay on 03/01/2013 - 08:07
        +8

        you get out of the poverty cycle by getting a job

      • lyndac27 on 03/01/2013 - 08:27
        +3

        Good comments! In my case, I studied my but off, arts degree, teaching degree and got a job teaching.
        May I also say if the parent's struggle is compounded by low self esteem, getting into study and work is also a struggle. I daresay there are many people in this situation with added mental health issues.

        • eve on 03/01/2013 - 14:48
          +6

          Really good point about the low self esteem and struggle as a single parent, as well as the point on mental health issues! Thanks for your realistic point of view and also the recount of your experience below.

          I really believe that there are people out there who aren't "dole bludgers" and do want to improve their life, but are struggling because they don't have the skill set to do so. I actually don't believe that welfare money should increase more than what is required to survive with the basics, but that an increase in funding should be steered towards channels that help people find a job and improve their social circumstances - improving social skills, self esteem, financial management, job training.

          I don't believe you can tell someone "stop being in poverty, just get a job" as if these people would choose to live in poverty if they were able to escape it - that's truly the comment of someone who doesn't get how lucky they are.

  • thierry on 03/01/2013 - 00:08

    245 a week should make ends meet.. it is not there to provide a luxury lifestyle. I would think in sydney it would be much harder, but in other cities like Adelaide it might be just ok.. Sure some food is expensive.. but there are alternatives.. you might not eat Gourmet dinners every night, but with a bit of thought and buying specials you can get there. Just speak to some of the immigrant families who have come with nothing and still survive.

  • samfisher5986 on 03/01/2013 - 03:16

    Rent is always going to be the issue and is not really a problem if you aren't already staying somewhere.

    Its easy to find a place for $80-100 a room, a lot of people on centrelink do so, probably not a nice place to live though…

    Besides that its very easy to live on the cheap if you play it smart.

    But nobody should choose this kind of money, just get a job…

  • RobCr on 03/01/2013 - 07:44
    +4

    My monthly rent is $1084, which is $250 per week
    That leaves very little for anything else.
    And each 3 months there is the Electricity bill.
    And each 6 months there is the car reg.
    I usually have to borrow from a neighbor when the reg and Electricity fall together each 6 months.

    Rob
    PS I am on the age pension.

    • dealman on 06/01/2013 - 10:29
      -1

      My monthly rent is $1084, which is $250 per week

      You could cut down to living in a smaller place or a shared accommodation. Sorry to see your current state but Did you save well all your working life ? what happened to those savings?

      you might be of pension age but if you still want to no one's stopping you from going out and getting paying work.

      • dealman on 09/01/2013 - 18:56

        Neg me all you want guys,
        I am just asking Rob to take "RESPONSIBILITY" for his situation, and suggesting ways to move ahead. It's never too late.

        We all know that the bills are what they are, cut them where and when you can , hell this is Ozbargain.

        But for the rest of the time work and increase your income.

        • penthius on 10/01/2013 - 10:39
          +2

          Show some RESPECT for the AGED!!! Of all people they are the ones that at this time that do not need to take "responsibility". Perhaps in another 30 years you can make that statement with all the changes to Super and Pensions but not now.

          EDIT: did not mean to sound so mean sorry, but you know what I mean, the Aged population today did not have compulsory super, they relied on knowing that the Pension would be there for them when and if they ever needed it. I know plenty of the aged pop that had to sell off family homes and down size even though they had the pension coming in as it was not enough for them, but I also know plenty who rented all their lives and some like my dad who war vets and injured so never had that money to put away for retirement. I believe there are only a handful of the aged pop that are generally "well off" and "sitting pretty" for the rest of their lives, the majority of the rest of them are doing it hard.

  • hesokay on 03/01/2013 - 08:05

    i could do it

    $100 + $20 for houseshare & utilities inc internet (inner suburbs of melbourne)
    $80 on food (aldi + ozbargain deals woolies/coles offers)
    $20 on extras (toothbrush/paste, soap, hair gel etc)
    $10 mobile phone (kogan)
    $15 six-pack of beer (sat night)

  • lyndac27 on 03/01/2013 - 08:12
    +25

    I am no longer a single parent but when I left a very unhappy mariiage with two young children, this is what I found. You live week to week. You find the cheapest rent available (not always possible). You go without so your children can feel accepted among their peers. You buy second hand clothes, shop sparingly and eat cheaply. You sometimes go without in order to pay bills. You feel stressed constantly because of the run around Centrelink put you through. You make the most of the little you have and even then it falls very short and have to ask for food vouchers. You do not eat out, you do not have holidays, you do not have any savings to fall back on. And all this before these cuts. I studied full time, worked part time and raised two children alone. The good news is I got out of the cycle and now happy and comfortable but I feel for the many mothers and fathers out there who are struggling to do the very basics, put food on the table, pay the bills, find employment and raise children alone as well as keep a home.

    • dealman on 06/01/2013 - 10:33

      Good for you , you took responsibility for the situation that you put yourself in and pulled yourself out of it. Happy to see that you have changed your situation and are setting a good example for your kids.

      Wish there were more single parents like you. As they say…

      Being broke is a temporary situation. Being poor is a state of mind.

  • buzymum20 on 03/01/2013 - 08:14

    What about the fathers? Doesn't it take two to tango? Shouldn't they also be contributing to the cost of the children? And as it has been pointed out it is to discourage them from staying on benefits.

    • lyndac27 on 03/01/2013 - 08:24
      +1

      There are some good fathers out there who contribute, although child support is based on income, so if the father does not work or is in a low paying job, there is still not much to go around. For those fathers/parents who do not pay child support or find some way to avoid it only shows their utter neglect of their children's welfare. It got to the point in my situation where the father did not even buy birthday presents for his children! Being on benefits is sometimes not an option, finding work is tough and if anyone hasn't noticed Australia has not had full employment for many years.

      • _Bruce_ on 03/01/2013 - 09:38
        +2

        Australia has not had full employment for many years.

        Nowhere has ever had full employment, unless you count communism.

        I agree with your sentiment that some fathers are irresponsible, but I do struggle that we are biased towards the mother getting access and not being 'at fault'. The father needs to be concerned for the welfare enough to pay, but not expect equal custody rights.

        • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 12:09

          I know a couple that was separated recently. Mother has the 3 kids on single parent. Father on Centrelink, has $150,000 in the bank and legally allowed to see the kids exactly 0 days per year for the time being. The child support place sends the father some kind of contract that he automatically agrees to if he doesn't disagree with it. It states the mother opted to collect the money from him herself. The amount he's required to pay by child support? About $384 per year.

        • Yarkin on 08/01/2013 - 20:16

          I think Mauritius had full employment at one point.

      • jason101 on 03/01/2013 - 10:42
        +1

        I'm not having a knock here as I have been very fortunate in life, but full employment is generally an unemployment rate of around 5% - haven't we been there for years?? I would have thought anyone with a degree as a teacher would be highly sought in any region or state, even in outer metro - not necessarily country areas even.

        • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2013 - 12:03

          Nah, the government changes the criteria to suit themselves… for instance, people who have studied a certain amount of time are classed as employed in the statistics - even if they're now on the dole, things like that.

          I read somewhere a few months ago something like 9 taxpayers support 1 unemployed person. (It was something like that anyway.)

        • Cloudpkk on 07/01/2013 - 19:45
          +1

          Unemployment rate could be around 5% in australia but that does'nt mean full employment. The key factor here is "Underemployment". The employement statistic doesnt take into account under underutilise or employees wanting to work fulltime but are forced to work mimimal hours. (Eg 4 hours a day, 3 days a week)

          You might be classified as 'working/employed' with limited dole benefits but strugle just as bad..

          I've worked for a place that gave me 3 hours shifts and mimimal pay of $13/Hour totalling to $39 a day. After deduction of transportation my daily salary was around $30..

  • tsunamisurfer on 03/01/2013 - 12:44
    +19

    Of course you can live on $245 / week.

    Food:$50 (this is VERY generous, if you eat veges only it is MUCH cheaper).
    Rent: $100 (share with others)
    Fuel: Please Don't have a car.
    Public Transport : $30
    Clothing: $10
    Utilities: $20 (share with others)
    Services (Internet, TV, Telephone, Mobile): $5 for Mobile (prepaid).
    Entertainment/Leisure: ZERO
    Kids? (If you have any): Please do not have children if you are living off Welfare.
    Savings:

    The above shows how cheap it can be to live in Australia.

    The problem is that even Welfare recipients believe they are ENTITLED to things like :

    • Living in a place of their own.
    • Entertainment.
    • Internet.
    • A Car.

    Sorry but if one is living off the Taxpayer, one should be supported to stay alive. That is it.

    You will note that my calculations above results in a surplus.

    This means that Welfare is too high.

    However, I am willing to concede that some surplus should be accumulated should one fall ill. Even then those on Welfare get free health, and $6 scripts.

    Please note that Welfare recipients get MORE THAN just the $245 / week, there is also :

    • Subsidised Utilities.
    • Subsidised Shire Rates.
    • Subsidised Public Transport (FREE in Perth).
    • Subsidised Pharmaceutical.
    • Other Centrelink goodies like FTB A and B.

    Welfare recipients in Australia are VERY WELL looked after.

    • AG_ACT on 03/01/2013 - 14:09
      -3

      Well said mate!

      People on welfare benefits need to take some responsibility for their own actions. People on unemployment benefits should get support for 6 months, and if they still can't find a job, they should be entitled to enough to put a roof over their heads (preferably in government dorm style accomodation) and enough to buy a loaf of bread + milk and other BARE necessities.

      This would free up the funds for the people who actually need it like age pensioners, families etc, and people who are willing to go and find a job!!!.

      • eve on 03/01/2013 - 15:00

        Government dorm style accommodation for the unemployed sounds like the start of a ghetto!

        What happened to "Work for the Dole"? Is that any good?

        • Duff5000 on 03/01/2013 - 15:22
          +1

          yeah dorm accommodation is not a solution.

          I believe you need to do "work for the dole" (or whatever it is now called) or study to keep getting payments if you are unemployed.

        • _Bruce_ on 03/01/2013 - 15:30
          +6

          Government dorm style accommodation for the unemployed sounds like the start of a ghetto!

          With all the people who have drug addictions or mental health issues that put them there in the first place. What could go wrong?!

          There is a good reason that public housing is spread throughout cities, high concentrations of poor people is bad for everyone.

        • Duff5000 on 03/01/2013 - 18:06
          +14

          Spectacularly bad idea.

          How about we just put them in prison? All unemployed people, parents on welfare, pensioners, teens that drop out of school all in one mega prison in the middle of nowhere! Out of sight out of mind hey?

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